Newspaper Page Text
March, 1963
THE SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Pag© 5
ELOISE STEVENS
Spelman College is participating
again, for the third year, in the
Crossroads-Africa program by
sending six students to foreign
countries. Those participating this
summer are Sadye Beasley, jun
ior; Barbara Douglas, junior;
Lucia Holloway, junior; Eloise
Stevens, sophomore; Electa Twy-
man, senior; and Emma Joyce
White, junior. They were chosen
on the basis of their applications
to Operation Crossroads Africa
Inc., James H. Robinson, Direct
or. Mr. Charles Merrill pays half
of the required fee for each stu
dent from Spelman in memory
of the late Mrs. Chauncy Wad
dell, former member of the Spel
man Board of Trustees; the stu
dents are responsible for the other
half of their fees.
Even though these students
have not been notified definitely
where they will be sent, we know
that they will be engaged in
similar projects of those who
went previously. These projects
have acted as a most effective
means of breaking down many
of the cultural and racial barriers.
We congratulate you our new
“Ambassadors of Good Will.” Bon
Voyage!!
—Georgianne Thomas
SADYE BEASLEY
JOYCE WHITE BARBARA DOUGLAS
ELECTA TWYMAN
LUCIA HOLLOWAY
Crossroaders Prepare To Cross
Have You Got The Time?
What do you do in your leisure
time? Do you read, eat, sleep,
play cards, monopoly, scrabble
or just gossip? Why not make a
change. After a hard day’s work
in class, you need more than a
smoke and a deck of cards to
relax you. You need wholesome
recreation away from your pri
vate suite in Abby, Morgan or
Chadwick. Why not visit Read
Hall in the afternoons and enjoy
some wholesome recreation?
Did you know that last semes
ter the Physical Education De
partment initiated a recreation
program for the student body?
The program was devised to pro
vide recreational activities in the
afternoon, Monday through Wed
nesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30
p.m., and the second and fourth
Monday evenings from 6:30 to
8:30 pm.
On Monday, activities offered
were bowling and gymnastics;
and Wednesday, swimming, bowl
ing and gymnastics. For the even
ing periods, all activities were pro
vided except swimming.
One might say that the activi
ties were limited. However, there
seemed to have been too many
activities for there was always
one hundred per cent nonpartici
pation. As a result, the Depart
ment of Physical Education is
considering discontinuing its pro
gram. It is up to the student body
to keep the recreation program.
If there is no sign of interest
shown, the program will termin
ated this semester and a valuable
leisure time activity will be lost.
—Elinor Smith
Up Jumps the Devil
(Cont’d. from Page 1)
blem is usually solved only after
many hours of discussion and de
bate. (5) Finally, the timing of
these negotiations has to be right.
It is not wise to begin a series
of negotiations when and if the
cause arises, there are no avail
able forces to substantiate a
threat. All of these factors in
volve a time element. It is slow
trodding, but progress is being
made. The plea is to “not grow
tired by waiting.” That is, if
waiting is accompanied by action
and progress.
Atlanta’s national image as the
“most progressive” city in the
South has been challenged by
many, but never had there been
such reason. In the midst of all
the peaceful negotiations, dis
solving of differences, and solving
of problems, a physical structure
loomed up before the public —
the Peyton Road Barricade.
This barricade, loosely called
the “Berlin Wall”, was an out
ward show of hostility toward the
cause, a slap in the face of the
Negro, and a retardation of the
progress already made. The facts
in the issue are as follows: Dr.
Clinton Warner purchased pro
perty in the Peyton Road area
which was previously inhabited
by whites only; the merchants of
the West End area financially
supported a city ordinance to
block off Peyton Road for two
blocks which served as a buffer
zone between the area occupied
by the whites and the Negro com
munity.
Leading Negroes of Atlanta
quickly met and organized
themselves into “The All-Citizens
Committee for Cooperative City
Planning,” so that a plan of action
could be discussed and decided.
The mayor, after sanctioning the
barricade, placed the responsibi
lity for negotiations in the Board
of Aldermen. However, after
weeks of deliberation, appeals
from the citizens, a few private
shenanigans, the barricade was
removed and both Negroes and
whites breathed easily again.
The bond issue rises again for
the purpose of widening Simpson
Road, the building of three
schools in Negro neighborhoods,
the improvement of the sewage
system, and for a new convention
hall. This issue which needs the
support of the Negro vote also
raises four pertinent questions:
Why build more schools solely for
Negroes when there are many
empty classrooms in many of the
white schools? Why emphasize
Negro housing facilities when
there is room for expansion in
“white” communities? Would a
new expansive convention hall be
the expected drawing card now
while the Atlanta hotels are, in
the main, segregated? Does the
mayor’s attitude allay or raise
hostilities?
Atlanta cannot live up to its
progressive reputation, until
movement toward the elimination
of all segregation is made with
out interference of any sort. Per
haps, the Negroes in Atlanta
were never really satisfied with
the pace of advancement but they
were patient. Patience is a vir
tue, but any virtue is challenged
when “up jumps the devil” in
the form of any segregated practi
ces.
—Gwen lies
Have You Seen
AWalking Book?
The Spelman College Library
regrets to announce the continu
ous loosing of much of its public
ly owned property. To its clien
tele, the library sends a special
message: “Beware of Spelman
Borrowers.” These persons make
a concentrated effort to make
apparent the limited facilities of
the large room called our Spel
man Library. The most common
and accepted definition of bor
rowing is their oath: a lifetime
loan. A message of this kind is
being sent because the persons
associated with the organization
are intelligent people yet who
lack the integrity expected of
members of the Spelman Family.
The “Spelman Borrowers” have
several distinct characteristics:
they know exactly where the most
needed reserve books are located;
they realize that they are not
guarded with soldiers armed with
weapons to harm those who deli
berately disobey respectable lib
rary procedures; they have great
regard for assignments that can
only be found in reserve books;
and they know that a book need
ed by more than two students
is in great demand. However, for
this problem, they have also
found a solution: the invention of
permanently “walking books.”
These books leave the library
being handled with special care.
Their patrons show their “honor”
and “respect” for these materials
by escorting them illegally from
their legal domains. Finally,
“Spelman Borrowers” have re
versed through deliberate efforts
the original Spelman Library to
“Spelman Mobile Library” — a
decision made without the con
sent of the majority of the clien
tele.
Those persons who refuse to
become members of the ‘^Spel
man Borrowers” are the ones
most affected and deprived of
their rights to the materials lo
cated in the Spelman Library.
This clientele, suffering from
these inconveniences attempts to
analyze the situation. The library,
they say, is mainly a public
place in its desire to serve the
masses of people by locating
materials necessary to thought
and development of strong stu
dents and citizens. They note that
the reserve shelves, inaccessible to
the public eyes are filled; and
they see the necessity of placing
some reserve books where the
students have ready access to
them. Then, they conclude:
“A library serves its clien
tele best only when its ser
vice is respected, and the
rules associated with this ser
vice are regarded and obey
ed.”
But any talk of Spelman Lib
rary would be incomplete without
the introduction of the appropri
ately labeled, “Mr. & Mrs. Visit
ors,” who must also be consider
ed in this analysis. It goes this
way. The library is used by many
persons as a convenient lounge,
elaborately equipped with radio
stations that discuss the most re
cent gossip. This occurs especially
during the lunch hour. Then, dur
ing the day, it is the most popu
lar “litterbug station”; and at the
end of the day, it becomes the
official campus dump. Yes, to add
to the “lovely” atmosphere of the
library, it even harbors “unna
turalized citizens” — those per
sons who resent any reminder of
the library policies. And, unfor
tunately, “Mr. & Mrs. Visitor”
make a conclusion too. They say:
“At Spelman, a new and
popular view of the library’s
function is constantly evol
ving — and the staff is to
blame for it all (missing
books, noise, et cetera, et
cetera)”.
—Clara Prioleau
DAFFY DEFINITION:
LOVE: Love is a feeling . . . that
you feel when you feel yourself
feeling a feeling that you never
felt before.
Sisters Split Scene
This year, as in the past, Spel-
manites have ventured to far-off
schools with much anticipation.
The second semester exchange
program presents Spelman with
the loss of some of its most out
standing students—notably, Rose-
lily Howard and Faye Powell who
are attending North Central, Rose
McCree who is enrolled at Carle-
ton, and Pat Washington who is
at Elmira.
Our school and students will
undoubtedly benefit from the ex
change in the forms of Marian
Richards, Miriam Wilson, and
Carol Vieth. Marian is from
Southwestern College and is en
joying her stay here at Spelman.
Miriam and Carol hail from North
Central College. When asked what
they thought of Spelman, all
agreed that it was a new experi
ence and thus far an interesting
one.
Our program has been broad
ened to the questioned bene
ficial weekly exchanges. On Sa
turday, February 23rd, two of
our student leaders, Emily Win
ston, president of the S.S.G.A.,
and Annease Chaney, president
of the junior class, left for Sarah
Lawrence College in Bronxwille,
N. Y. We are anxiously awaiting
their responses to life at this
well-known institution.
At the moment, Dr. Wolf, head
of the exchange program, and
her assistants are working on a
week’s exchange with Smith Col
lege in Massachusetts. Applica
tions will be accepted after March
15th from members of the fresh
men and sophomore classes for a
full year’s exchange with Bethel
College and a first semester ex
change with Wells College in
Aurora, N. Y.
Every Spelmanite should take
advantage of the many opportu
nities opened by the exchange
program. This endeavor enables
us, as Negro students, to meet
with members of other racial
groups and benefit from the ex
change of ideas. Travel and study
broaden and may even change
outlooks. The committee is anxi
ously awaiting application forms
from eligible students.
—Wanda Waples
LEILA POTTS
Biology Major
To Visit Japan
This summer, Leila Potts, a
sophomore from Denmark, S. C.,
majoring in biology, will partici
pate in a work service project in
Tarumi, Japan. Sponsored by the
National Episcopal Church of
America and Japan, the group of
twenty-two American students
will depart from California in
the middle of June. Another A.
U. Center student, Julian Powell,
a junior at Clark College, major
ing biology, will also work on
the erection of a school.
A sum of $1100 must be paid
by participants. Interested stu
dents may contact Father Scott
at the Centerbury House.
—Wanda Waples