Newspaper Page Text
Friday, Dec. 15, 1961
The SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Page 3
(juedS 'lAJhat!
Suppose for a little fun, we
play a guessing game. The game is
pretty much the same as char
ades. Can you discover this very
familiar act Which is being pan
tomimed?
This operation is a practice
which can only be performed by
special kinds of people with very
special skills. The requirements
for this practice are rather stren
uous. To perform even reasonably
well, the performer must possess
these several traits: a loud, pro
jective voice, capable of being
heard above the roar of lions; a
keen memory, skilled in putting
faces in places; an agile frame,
swift enough to duck flying ob
jects such as spit balls; a good
sense of humor, good natured
enough to smile at an unflatter
ing caricature of himself; a clev
er wit, clever enough to detect
“the missing links”; a loquacious
ness, perfect so as to dissuade any
unpleasant occurrences; and of
great importance a temperament
patient enough to avoid the use
of bad language when removing
chewing gum daily from the heels
of shoes.
Oh, let us not forget the sig
nificance of physical stature, be
cause as well as being talented
our performer of necessity is
hearty and robust. The excess
weight prevents ill effects after
the extreme weight loss incurred
by performing the act. The
healthy nervous system helps to
exact a quick recovery from ner
vous breakdowns which could be
frequent. The mind must be alert
to answer as many as 30 ques
tions asked simultaneously and to
repeat the answers 60 successive
times.
Well, have you guessed what act
is being pantomimed? Of course
you - have, what else could be so
noble and respected as student
teaching!
As unbelievable as it may seem,
a number of Spelmanites will dare
to perform the feat of student
teaching this year. As a matter of
fact there are 31 young ladies,
who anxiously but nervously
await the second semester for
the beginning of their student
teaching. Let’s eavesdrop on the
reflections of one of our future
student teachers as she considers
what the task means to her and
her response to it. We’ll eaves
drop on Patricia Battle. She seems
to have some very penetrating
thoughts about the subject.
Pat feels that student teaching
is a “marvelous idea”, because it
gives one the opportunity to util
ize the ideas and ideals he has
been acquiring for 16 years. She
adds that student teaching will
show how mature one is, whether
or not he has a good sense of
humor and whether or not he has
the innate ability to work with
other students in the student-
teacher relationship. Most em
phatically Pat notes, “Student
teaching is very challenging,” be
cause the goals are focused on
“perfecting my ambitions.” She
exclaims, “I want to be the best
kind of teacher; there are too
many unqualified teachers al
ready.” She further points out that
student teaching allows for cre
ativity in developing methods for
handling varying types of class
room problems.
In remembering the past (when
her high school class was being
conducted by a student teacher)
Pat is preparing herself for a
number of situations which she
expects to meet — situations con
cerning smart alecks, temporary
vacationers, and joy seekers. She
"hopes to establish a. personal re
lationship with each student.
(Continued on page 4)
A Scene from the A-M-S production of “Between Two Thieves.’
(between ^Jwo ^Jhi
PLu M,
eview:
Of all the members of Spelman
Collage, the present writer is
probably the least qualified to
review Between Two Thieves, the
play by Diego Fabbri, put on by
the AMS players November 20-
22. In the first place, it is dif
ficult if not impossible to be ob
jective or even rational about a
subject with which one is per
sonally involved. For years I
have been wary of works of fic
tion dealing with either the Ger
man or the Jewish problem; now
by asking me to review a play
concerned directly with the sec
ond and indirectly with the first,
fate, in the form of the Spelman
Spotlight, has caught up with me.
1 hope it may not turn out to be
a Nemesis.
Secondly, years of teaching
English Composition have led me
to insist that when you say you
are going to talk about a theme
you should really talk about it;
or when you raise a question in
the beginning of the piece you
should attempt to answer it. Be
tween Two Thieves takes for its
theme two questions: 1) Was Je
sus guilty as charged? 2) Is the
oentury-old persecution of the
Jews, culminating in the horrors
of Nazi Germany, justified as
lu/een
punishment for having condemn
ed and executed an innocent
man? The play opens with a
Jewish family of our day, who,
having suffered the loss of a son
in the most recent horrors, seeks
to answer these questions by re-
staging the trial of Jesus. From
this beginning I had expected to
find a statement of the Jewish
position at the time of Jesus: the
disappointment of an oppressed
people, looking for a Messiah
who would free them from the
conqueror’s yoke, but told, instead,
to give to Caesar what is Cae
sar’s; the concern of the conser
vatively pious, who saw the rit
ual that had given them strength
and unity challenged by a man
who impiously claimed to be the
Son of God; the intrigues, too, of
the leaders who felt a threat both
to their own influence and the
hitherto privileged position of the
Jews in the Roman Empire. These
points are indeed touched upon
in the questioning of Caiphas,
Pontius Pilate, and Judas Iscar
iot. But the play soon turns into
a discussion of the divinity of
Christ, the authenticity of the
miracles, and the virgin birth; at
this point it teeters on the brink
of the ridiculous. What promised
ueued
to be an examination of a historic
event with far-reaching, tragic
consequences, winds up in an af
firmation of mystic faith, of the
modern need to believe and be
saved. I, for one, felt cheated.
Perhaps the “Jewish problem”
IS inseparable from the problem
of faith. If one believes that Christ
is God, his execution must ap
pear a monstrous crime, far great
er than a mere judicial error; if
one does not believe that Christ
is God, his reference to himself
as the Son of God must appear
arrogance to the indifferent, blas
phemy to the religious, lunacy to
the cynical. But, to my mind, the
true drama as well as of honest
debate is that tooth of the con
flicting positions be fairly and
truly stated. I am willing to
grant that, in the words of a lead
ing character, you cannot unroll
a trial without taking into ac
count the man who was tried. But
the play says almost nothing
about the man Jesus; it focuses
almost entirely on the God. Thus
Between Two Thieves begins by
assuming that which it sets out
to prove; to me, therefore, it is
unsound logic and unconvincing
drama.
(Continued on page 4)
(dhridtmad
'lAJanderland
Appearing in many syndicated
and local newspapers throughout
the country are many varied ar
ticles centered around Christmas.
Articles have been written on the
existence of Santa Claus, the or
igin of Santa Claus, the signific
ance of Christmas, and the birth
of Jesus. Many individuals have
written songs on the subject, such
as, “Rudolph The Red-Nose Rein
deer”, “All I Want For Christmas
Is My Two Front Teeth”, and “I
Saw Mommy Kissing Santa
Claus”. And, yet, no one has writ
ten an article nor a song on a
college student and his or her re
actions to the Yuletide.
Immediately after Thanksgiv
ing, all conversation among col
lege students turns toward Chris-
mas. Christmas carols envelop the
dormitories. Hour upon hour, a
student gazes without meaning
into a textbook.
“Socrates exemplified in his
conduct the virtues which he
taught; he was a man of remark
able self-control, magnamimous,
noble, frugal ...” — I wonder
will Joyce give a party Christmas?
I hope she has another one like
the one last year.
Even though minds tend to
wander, classes continue. Assign
ments begin to appear like a my
riad of stars — innumerable and
never ending. Could this be ac
counted for by our negligence to
study? Of course we have the best
intentions! But • • • All goes well
until someone says, “How many
more days until Christmas?” Im
mediately, all conversation is
geared toward the approaching
holidays. ——*
Well dear Spelman sisters, I will
not reveal our innermost thoughts
at this particular season of the
year. But let us ALL attempt to-
concentrate upon our classes. We
only have three days, 45 minutes,
and twelve seconds until Christ
mas. Oops! Oh, well, Merry
Christmas!!
Angela G. Owen
Students Hear Albert Bigelow
Recently Mr. Lynd’s Social Sci
ence Seminar class visited the
Quaker House to hear Mr. Albert
Bigelow speak.
Mr. Bigelow is probably best
known as the former captain of
the “Golden Rule”, a sailing boat
with a crew of four members.
Early in 1955, these five men set
sail into the bomb testing zone
of the Pacific to protest the det
onation of any bombs by the Unit
ed States or any other country.
Others, especially in the inte
gration movement, probably know
Mr. Bigelow as a participant in
the first Freedom ride from Wash
ington, D. C. to Montgomery, Ala
bama.
To go fully into his talk would
be an impossible task; therefore,
I have chosen only a few of the
more significant statements made
by Mr. Bigelow. In essence, his
discussion was as follows: War is
totally impractical and threatens
to destroy our freedom (and our
lives) just as discrimination does.
The building of bomb shelters is
also totally impractical. In case
of a war, who will decide the
success or failure of bomb shel
ters? Americans must realize that
a nuclear war will destroy the
past, present, and future. And so
we are forced to choose between
the hostility of war and that of
fraternity. However, it seems that
we have abandoned our values to
a military and industrial economy.
As a result, we are now exper
iencing a moral slip and an
abundant life without values. We
seem to take pride in allowing
the military and the government
to make our decisions. We want
peace, but we are afraid to admit
this and to take the first step in
achieving it.
. . . One of the greatest problems
facing the United States today is
that of getting behind the false
screen of differences, especially
racial ones, that exists. These dif
ferences have caused suffering,
hunger, discrimination, and a so
ciety of contradictions. People are
forced to live in places not fit
for animals. This is especially so
in the North which is hidden be
hind a false mask of integration,
equality, and opportunity for all.
Negroes migrate to the North to
get away from the discrimina
tions of the South, only to find
disillusionment because of the ab
sence of housing, and the prev
alence of discrimination, subtle
though it toe. This is why the
(Continued on page 4)
A BOOK
I am a black book
Often left unread.
My pages are like unto those of books.
The content may vary, but is basically the same.
Thoughts are printed here as in any other book.
Why does the world not take the time to look ?
I am often left on the shelf - not in use.
Some try to offer a polite excuse.
But is it only
Because my cover to black? Rowe
Abbyites Resolve
Each year in the Yule season
we look to a new horizon with
bigger and better intentions. Far
be it from Atoby to deviate from
this universal trend. Therefore,
we would like to share with you
some of 'our aspirations for 1962.
I RESOLVE TO:
Read extensively. — Betty Dur-
rah
Stop putting off things until the
last minute. — B. C.
Leave in June one way or an
other. — J. R-
Speak to Mr. Coe everytime I
see him. — E.
Stop living according to what
people think. — E. S.
Leave five minutes to eight go
ing to chapel instead of two or
three minutes until. — Florine
Mack.
Marry Barnett by Juvember,
1969. — V.
Knock my S. P.’s in the head
the next time I see them. — P.
Live everyday as if it were my
last. D. P.
Eat more. — Bronwen Unthank.
Not resolve to study this year.
—Sandra Shorter.
Study constantly instead of
spasmodically. -— Yvonne.
Stop wearing my pajamas un
der my clothes to breakfast. P.
Do my best for Abby. — House
mother.
See you next, year.
Dorothy M. Myers
