Newspaper Page Text
Page 3
Wednesday, February 28, 1962
The SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
An Exchange
Student Speaks
Dear Friends,
I have been requested to write and express a few of the
impressions and reactions that I gleaned from my all too
brief stay among you, but at the outset, let me warn you
that I don’t feel that I can as yet judge how meaningful
this past semester has been, or how deeply it will affect me.
Only time will bring to me that objectivity and insight.
I crowded so much into those, ledge that I could not help but
four months that I am at a bit of | gain from such an experience.
a loss to know what to tell you
now.
My reason for participating in
Illinois Wesleyan’s Spellman ex
change were many and varied —
adventure, education, travel in a
part of the country new to me
were a few of the more obvious
ones, but I imagine my friend
summed it up quite well When
she said “curiosity.” I personally
had been exposed to few Negroes;
I knew none, but I had done a
great deal of reading and listen
ing. As a political science major,
and as an individual, I wondered:
Exactly what is the situation?
What does the future hold? and
most important, Where am I to
stand?
Seeking the answers to these
and other disturbing questions, I
journeyed to Atlanta, fearful and
uncertain, sure only in my know-
Usally when one goes calling on
strangers, one finds one’s self won
dering what will be the response
of those behind the door. Some
times no one answers. Occasion
ally, after a suspicious movement
of window curtains, the door is
opened a little; but when I came
to Spelman the door was opened
wide, and I found a welcome and
a friendly interest which grew as
my stay lengthened.
Your campus itself is most im
pressive, and I fell in love with
it from the moment of arrival.
The lanscaped lawns, colonial
buildings, and magnolia trees took
my breath away.
For me it was an education in
itself to be exposed to the various
academic techniques. In contrast
to Illinois Wesleyan’s large classes
and formal lectures, I was im-
(Continued on page 4)
cjCetter ^Jrom l^Yjarife
VISITING EXCHANGE STUDENTS
Introducing Our Second Semester Exchanges
Among the seven students on
exchange here at Spelman are
Joyce Carncross, Susan Gates,
Constance Kellog, and Linda Hill,
all residents of Morgan Hall; Ter
ry Van Atta, Cathrine Cade, and
Anne Beilby of Abby.
Joyce, who lives on a dairy
farm in Wisconsin, attended North
Central College in Naperville, Il
linois. Her major is elementary
education and her hobbies include
sewing and, most unusual for a
farm girl, driving sports cars.
Joyce says that her favorite sub
ject here at Spelman is World
Literature. She likes the campus
very much and she says that Spel
man girls are very friendly.
Susan Gates is the tall blonde
with the deep voice. She, too, is
from North Central. Sue, who is
a science major, hopes someday
to become a scientific librarian.
She likes tennis, bowling, and one
of her favorite pastimes is swim
ming.
Constance, for Southwestern
College, is a biology major. She
has a most unusual hobby — col-
Nine Spelman Students
In Exchange Program
lecting miniature china dogs. (If
you have any that you would like
to give Connie, she will be hap
py to add them to her collection.)
Believe it or not, she also raises
sheep. Connie’s reason for coming
to Spelman and the South was “to
see how valid my preconceived
idea about the Negro race is.” She
wanted to discover just how she
really feels towards Negroes.
Hailing from Elmira College for
Women in New Y ork are Linda
Hill and Terry Van Atta. Linda’s
major is history and she hopes to
attain a minor in secondary edu-
(Continued on page 6)
Dear Spelman Friends,
I find it hard to express in
words my reaction to this brief
semester at Spelman. The ramifi
cations of this experience are
great and will most likely become
more clear in the time to come.
But at present I can sincerely state
that I have certainly enjoyed get'
ting to know you and your school
I was a bit apprehensive last Sep
tember, not knowing what to ex
pect, but I’m happy to report that
my fears have proved groundless.
Your friendliness, kindness, and
helpfulness have meant much to
me. I only regret that I could not
have stayed longer and gotten to
know more of you better.
I have been exposed to many
new things these past four months:
new food, vocabulary, dancing,
required chapel and vespers, stu
dent-led classes, demerits and
quality points, to mention a few.
And above all, I have come to
know firsthand the treatment of
Negroes in the South. To me, this
has always been wrong, and I
had to see it to believe it. The
aruea
picketing I did was but a small
contribution to your cause, and I
hope that my being at Spelman
has helped. It is when person
meets person that there can be
true understanding. We can only
hope and work for more of it.
I’d like to take this opportunity
to extend my most sincere thanks
and appreciation to the faculty
and administration both at Spel
man and Morehouse, to all my fel
low students, to my friends in
Abby, and especially to my room
mate, Alma Willis. You have made
me feel wanted and at home, and
I shall remember you always.
I am now studying at Illinois
Wesleyan University. My thoughts
often stray to my semester at
Spelman, and I hope that some
day I shall return. If any of you
are in Illinois, please contact me,
for I would like the chance to re
pay, in some small way, all you
have done for me.
Until such time that we should
meet again, I wish you all success
and happiness.
Sincerely,
Marilea White
Spelman College, realizing the
vast advantages of participation
in an Exchange Program, has nine
students on the semester ex
change. The students were chosen
from the young women who ex
pressed interest in the program on
the basis of good scholarship and
citizenship records.
Each student wrote a letter of
application to the Spelman Stu
dent Government Association. In
the letter the student stated rea
sons for desiring to be a particip
ant. The reasons found in the let
ter received from Alice Morgan
summarized briefly the general
views of the group. She said: “I
feel that the medium of the Ex
change Program provides an ex
cellent opportunity to improve
race relations, to promote the
ideas and ideals of Spelman Col
lege, and to enhance one’s intel
lectual and cultural growth.”
The colleges participating in the
Exchange Program are: Caneton
College, Northfield, Minnesota; Il
linois Wesleyan University, Bloo
mington, Illinois; Elmira College,
Elmira, New York; Western Col
lege, Oxford, Ohio; Southwestern
College, Winfield, Kansas; North
Central College, Naperville, Il
linois.
Seven of the nine students par
ticipating in the program are
classified as sophomores. They
are: Barbara Douglas, Montgom
ery, Alabama; Lucia Holloway, At
lanta, Georgia; Alice Morgan,
Memphis, Tennessee; Edwina Pal
mer, Gibsonville, North Carolina;
Bemette Joshua, New Orleans,
Louisiana; Georgianne Thomas,
Gary, Indiana; and Jeanne Terry,
Atlanta, Georgia. The other two
students are classified as juniors.
They are Dorothy Myers, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana; and Jean Leslie
Berrien, Fayetteville, North Car
olina. Spelman is proud to extend
the boundaries of its influence
through this Exchange Program.
Clara Prioleau
to R. Front Row: Dorothy Myers, Barbara Douglas, Georgianne Thomas, Alice Mor
gan. Second row: Edwina Palmer, Bemette Joshua, Jean Berrien, Lucia Holloway