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THE SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Wednesday, May 4, 1960
I
from Page 1)
ice of twelve hun-
fccumbed to the artistry of
pour tall young men from
Frica, before half a dozen bars
of “'Take the ‘A’ Train” were
played. Many expected clangy
clamor—there wasn’t any. Many
expected vulgarity—there wasn’t
any. On the contrary, there was
unexpected melody, intricate rhy
thms, disciplined improvision, and
the spontaneous joy of creating
alternately lacy and gothic pat
terns of sound from the bare
bones of musical materials—in
other words it was much like a
South Indian classical music con
cert except that the musical lang
uage was different. When the
predominantly Hindu audience
recovered from its initial surprise,
it stamped and cheered just like
a group of American hep cats.”
u The other two members of the
-group are Joe Morello and Gene
Wright. A keen wit, Morello hails
from Springfield, Mass., where he
was born in 1928. Joe joined Bru-
beck in October of 1956 and has
since become recognized as one
of the outstanding drummers in
the country. The newest member
of the Brubeck Quartet, Gene,
joined the group in January, 1958.
An excellent bass player, Gene
had worked with Cal Tjader and
Red Norvo’s groups * 1 before joining
Dave.
Rudy Arnae & Don Hopkins
New
President
Ice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Chairman of Publications
Parliamentarian
Chairman of Publicity Board
Chairman of Social Board
Officers Elected
Herschelle Sullivan
Gwendplyn Eagleson
Barbara Adams
Annie Ruth Borders
Norma i. Wilson
Carol A. Jackson
Beverly Pratt
Marilynn Pryce
’CHANGES FROM SKIDMORE
(Continued from Page 1)
Spelman, she replied that she
thought it was nice, but that
some of the restrictions on social
hours coUld be removed in order
to give the girls more freedom.
She also thinks that breakfast is
too early.
Renate Kohler is an exchange
student at Skidmbre from Frei
burg University in Germany. She
has studied 2% years at Freiburg
University where she will con
tinue to work on her history and
English majors and political sci
ence minor.
During her free time she likes
to read, swim, play tennis, ski,
listen to classical music (Bach),
and— she said this with a laugh—
sleep.
Renate is very interested in
politics and is la member of the
movement for unification of Eu
rope, which is economically united.
Renate says that she would like
to study here at the Atlanta Uni
versity Center because of the
excellent political science courses,
and other graduate courses, and
because of the intellectual climate.
She likes the formality in the
classroom and is very much im
pressed with the accessibility of
the teachers.
Why did she come? First of all
because she wanted to know Ne
groes who were on the same edu
cational basis as she; secondly,
because she wanted to get ac
quainted with the typical South
ern mind; and thirdly, because
perhaps after this experience the
exchange students will be able
to help turn the efforts of the
Skidmore women in a more use
ful direction in regard to the ra
cial issue, sit-downs in particular.
The fourth Skidmore exchange
student is Ellen Baker, a resident
of Brooklyn, New York. She is a
sophomore English major who
plans to teach on the college level.
Ellen came to Spelman bedause
she wanted to find out for herself
what Negro college students were
really like. She realized that the
two weeks spent here were just
a taste. After being on the cam
pus for only a week, she said she
felt completely at home. Ellen
liked the more relaxed, atmos
phere of Spelman, the beautiful
campus, and the liberty to take
courses at the other schools in the
Center. She, too, was impressed
with the interest that Spelman
students have in national and
world affair's.
EXCHANGES
(Confined from Page 2)
found that the students at North
Central College are more con
scientious about their studies;
this, I think, is a marked differ
ence. I can safely conclude, how
ever, that the education received
by Spelmanites is not inferior to
that received by the students of
North Central College.
In comparing my social life in
a Negro environment with my
social life in a white environment
or my present situation with my
previous one I have made the fol
lowing observations.
(1) Never' before have I been
more cognizant of the fact that I
am a Negro who has-,been depriv
ed of the rights which are in
herently mine as a member of the
human race and as a citizen of
these United States.
(2) Never before have I known
what it feels like to go where I
want to goj when I want to go,
'and with whom I please.
(3) I feel much more human in
this situation because I am not
depriveid of so many things simply
because I am a Negro. I know
what it feels like to live without
being segregated or isolated.
(4) Since my arrival at North
Central College, I have had 1 * * * dates
with Negroes, whites — both male
and female, and an African. Prior
to this time I had dates only with
Negroes.
(5) Even though the whites have
been very hospitable, 1 find it a
didn’t Margie, Barb, Percy, Ken,
Paul, and Byron (other Negroes
on campus) come?” I am inclined
to believe that these opinions
have their origin in the common
connotations of segregation. Ne
groes are segregated and as a re
sult they live together and fre
quent the same places.
Well I guess that ends my on
flow of words relative to North
Central College and its students.
Oh, I heard about the arrest of
several Atlantans resulting from
the “sit-down” protests. Were any
Spelmanites arrested? If so, tell
them that I said congratulations!!!
I shall write again soon; u^til
then, may God be with you in all
your endeavors.
Sincerely yours,
Gwen (and Margie)
necessity to talk to Negroes. When 'place to start). The enrollment
I am with Negroes, I feel atnore
secure, more at ease, or in other
words, I feel more “at home.” I
have been encouraged, yet not
pressured, to develop intimate re
lationships with the other Negroes
here.
(6)1 have found that my closer
friends (excluding my roommate,
Rosalie Bargrraan; Margie’s room
mate, Barbara Mark; and the girls
that live on the same floor that I
do) are the misfits of the white
race. By misfits I mean people
who are not socially accepted be
cause they are ugly, fat, rich
(prominent), or because they as
sociate with Negroes and’ foreign
ers, etc.
The above statements repre
sent my honest opinions and be
liefs.
The most common opinions that
I have found whites to have of
Negroes are as follows: Negroes
are thought of as being “types” as
aforementioned 1 . By this I mean
that we are looked upon as
“types” rather than as indivi
duals. For example, we sing
alike, dance alike, talk alike,
think alike, do the same things,
etc. They also think that Negroes
flock together. Example: If I go
to a dance I 'am asked, “Why
Bethel College
North Newton, Kansas
March 28, 1960
Dear Dr. Manley:
We have been here at Bethel
for approximately eight weeks
now and have had the opportun
ity to make numerous observa
tions. The school, the town
(which is quite small), and the
people whom we have met have
added a great deal to experiences
both in and out of the classroom.
A little information about the
college will serve as a starting
poipt (though there are so many
things to talk about that it is dif
ficult to say which is the best
here is about the same as that of
Spelman. The big difference, of
course, is that about half of the
students: are of the opposite sex.
We had to adjust to living in a
co-educational atmosphere, but I
think we have had little difficulty.
The classes are generally larger
than those at Spelman, and they
are much more formal. Before
now I could hardly believe that
it was possible to be a part of a
class in which you are just a
number on the roll. I am rapidly
changing my mind. The large for
mal classes motivate the students
to work more diligently on their
own; this, at least, has been my
case.
The college is supported by the
General Conference Mennonite
Church, and the atmosphere here
indicates that there is a strong
religious force in almost every
branch of Mennonites—the Men
nonite Brethren) and we found
that they were quite different
from the Mennonites here at
Bethel in social customs, religious
principles, and in their heritage.
One thing that was pointed' out
to us was the fact that Mennon
ites settled primarily in single
communities away from crowded
cities and large towns where
other religious denominations
have great influence. The Mid
west has been favored because of
the “wide open spaces.” Almost
the whole of North Newton’s pop
ulation are members of the Men
nonite Church.
Many of the people are of Ger
man and! Dutch descent, . and
“heritage” and “tradition” are
frecent worC^in their daily vo-
cabulSSry. The Spelman students’
rebellion against the traditional
would be silenced immediately if
they could witness the fervent
interest in the past that all of
these students display.
Two of the annual events on
the campus are the smorgasbord
and 'the German Folk Festival.
The former was held on February
14th, and the latter was held
about two weeks ago. The smor
gasbord gave us an opportunity
to try innumerable German
dishes, anldi the Folk Festival gave
us an opportunity to get a pano
ramic view of the history of the
Mennonites. Both events proved
very informative as well as in
teresting.
From the . letters that we have
received from the Bethel students
at Spelman, I gather than they
are receiving many benefits from
the exchange as well. They are
there at a very interesting time;
the racial situation seems to he
at the boiling point.
The write-up in Jet Magazine
about the Merrill Scholars obliged
us to explain more fully to the
students here what the program
is all about, an explanation which
we were proud to make. Some of
the students here informed us
that the article had' been publish
ed and were very interested m
more details.
I’d better close this letter here
even though I have many more
things to talk about. I’m on a
strict schedule and am trying to
follow it as closely as possible,
because one of the most important
things that I learned is the value
of spare time. Please give my
Publications Staff
1960-61 Yearbook
Editor Pending
Spotlight
Editor-in-Chief
Venecia P. Gardner
Associate Editors
Betty Durrah
Patricia Smith
Johnnie Price
aspect of college life. The students,
J regards to the Spelman family,
as well las the faculty, are almost; 6 , .... , r
. . ’ ., Say hello to Mrs. Manley,
of the Mennonite
all members
Church which has any number of
branches. (I have only recently
discovered this.) The General
Conference Mennonites are more
liberal than many of the other
branches. Since we have been
here, we have had the opportun
ity to visit another Mennonite
College (supported by another
Sincerely,
Willie Mae Gardner
Good Luck to Those
Leaving This Semester
Traditions
(Continued from Page 1)
the Morehouse’ Glee Club sing
some of the most beautiful carols
ever heard. This has been a tra
dition now for thrity-three years.
The greatest tradition carried
on annually is the celebration of
Founders Day, April 11, when we
Spelmanites don our white presses
and the senior's, for the first
time, put on their caps anc'^go'yTjs.
The members of th^' Grand
daughters Club havjj^eir tra
ditional service in Imf? Hall and
there they decorht^fhe bronze
plaques, honorihg Miss Giles and
Miss Packard, with w-eaths.
The Founders Day Raiy gives
to usrfftl the opportunity \o make
a financial contribution as a
birthday gift to the college.
On the day prior to Founders
Day, each class presents a pep
song and has representatives in
the “Know your-Spelman” con
test.
The traditions and customs car
ried on exclusively by the senior
class are those of the Senio^
Bench, the Ivy Oration, and t’ e
Aluminae Ar'ch.
The tradtion associated withfc
the iSenior Bench was begun bj
the Class of 1941. This bench wa|
fashioned from one of the beam!
from the barracks that first hous-j
ed Spelman on this present site.’
Only the seniors are allowed to
sit on this bench when it is placed
on the campus. It is presented to
the Senior class during their
Class Day Exercises.
The Ivy Oration is delivered at
the Class Day Exercises by the
senior with the highest average.
As a contribution to the beauty
of the campus, the Senior class
plants some ivy near one of the
buildings on campus.
As seniors, having completed
the courses here and ready to go
out into the world, we well then
be permitted to pass under the
Aluminae Arch. This is a cere
monious symbol of our leaving
these halls.
Let us not forget other activi
ties which .throughout the year,
have become customs of the col
lege as well as of the university
center. A few of these are the
Atlanta University Charter Day;
The University Center Convoca
tion when all the colleges in ihe
center convene in Sister Chapel;
and the University Center’s Reli
gious Emphasis Week.
We also look forward to the
traditional class productions, the
annual Sweetheart’s Ball, pres
entations of the A.M.S. Players,
and other similar social affairs
which have through the years be
come a part of our heritage.
These customs and traditions
and many other small ones not
mentioned become a part of our
life while we are here, and the
memory of them will remain with
us when we have left Spelman.
They are also a tie with those
who were here before us and with
'hose Spelmanites who will fol
low us.