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THE SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
December 17, 1963
SPOTLIGHT STAFF
Are We
Mark ing Time ?
Editor-in-Chief—Ida Rose McCree
Associate Editor—Georgianne Thomas
Business Manager—Gloria Knowles
Advertising Manager—Bernice Dowdy
Circulation Managers—Barbara Glover, Wilhemina Richardson
News Department—Wanda Waples, Bernette Joshua, Phoebe Bailey, Bernice
Dowdy, Marsha Goodwin, Betty Stokes, Geraldine Davis
Feature Department—Joanne Merry, Nelda King, Charles E. White, Leronia
Stokes, Judy Tillman, Jeanne Terry, Lucia Holloway, Alice Walker,
Jeannie Holloway, Gloria Knowles, Ann Graves
Typists—Cheryl Pride, Betty Stokes, Eleanor Hinton, Gloria Knowles,
Thelma Price
Stunned and a bit perplexed by
the tragic and untimely death of our
young and beloved President, many
of us paused to reflect upon the
meanings of life and death, the na
ture of hatred and other ideas in
extricably bound within the tragic
context of those “fateful November
days.”
To us, death represents an endless
or bottomless chasm existing in eterni
ty. The line marking life and death
is incalculable then, indeed.
Having life as we are privileged
to enjoy it, so many of us procrasti
nate, ultimately becoming lethargic
in all our affairs.
Proofreading—Kercenna McChriston, Eleanor Hinton, Betty Wilson, Eliza
beth Murray, Juanita Price, Leronia Stokes, Nelda King
Cartoonists—Carolyn Simmons, Mary Ann Gaither
Advisor—Mrs. Juanita Toomer
Editorial opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration,
faculty, or the entire student body of Spelman College.
FROM
THE
EDITOR'S
DESK
THE TORCH REMAINS
“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of
their country,” goes a popular typing drill. This phrase, however,
becomes deeply meaningful to us now as our nation faces a period
of great tragedy in its history. If at anytime we have felt the true
spirit of patriotism it is now. If at anytime our very heartstrings
have been tugged at and weighed down by grief and sorrowful
mourning, it is now. If ever our country has needed us in the
front ranks of its service, it is now. We are the foot soldiers, the
infantry, who must plunge forth, courageously, to serve our coun
try, and to aid her in this time of great trial.
John F. Kennedy was a people’s President. Particularly, was
he a young people’s President, one who was concerned constantly
about the strength, the intelligence, and the courage of this na
tion’s young people. If we care, we cannot allow the torch to
dwindle and fade. If we care for President Kennedy’s ideals of
honor, patriotism, freedom and integrity of all men, we- cannot
shirk our duty at this time. If we care at all for our country and
for the American dream of liberty and justice for all, we must
as young people endeavor, with all the energy we can muster
to make this dream a reality all about us. If we care at all, we
must start now—not in thoughtless words, or saddened faces
drenched with tears, not in promises of what our future deeds
will be, not even in idle philosophical verbalizations on what
ought to be and what should be done. This ethical problem of
making what ought to be coincide with what is, cannot be solved
unless we resolve ourselves to solve it now.
Right here, on our campus, the majority believes in what
is right; we have been brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradi
tion; we see wrongs about us, and yet we refuse, through our
apathy to speak out against the wrongs which prevail here and
in the larger community. We say that civil rights is a good cause
and that we are happy to share in the benefits which the civil
rights groups here in the city have secured for us. But, what have
we done to support these groups? What time have we given to
join the struggle or even to urge our roommates and neighbors
to join? We laugh at the weekly hate columns of Lester Maddox
in the local newspaper and we grin at some of the hateful words
of the black nationalists. We don’t join these groups, but have
we ever personally challenged their right to make such state
ments? Have we honestly tried to decrease the momentum of
these forces of hatred right here in our own town? Think hard.
Now is the time for serious thought and for decision making and
finally for commitment. America needs us, the young people of
our generation, devoted to liberty of all men, upholding peace
and respect among ourselves and among peoples of the world,
but above all, having mobility, activity, spirit to spread the word,
to carry on the light of freedom, to speak out against wrong deeds
and wrong words here at home and abroad.
Now is the time, not tomorrow, for tomorrow may be too late,
if we do not start today—for us, you and me, not the people in
Dallas, or Washington, or the whites or the military, but us, right
here at Spelman, to come to the aid of our country, if we would
continue to call it our country. The future depends on us, for
if we are to witness a future in which right is still regarded at
all, we as the future of our country must secure and promote
this ethical good in her and for her.
What about it? Are we able? Kennedy was. He dedicated
his life to this very task. If, then, we are not able; if, then, we are
not by now sensitive to the task that lies before us as Americans;
we deserve to perish. The torch remains; we as true Americans
must carry it forth.
Ida Rose McCree
Even though we realize the finality
of death, we still go through our
daily activities as if we have “all the
time in the world.” Life is so precious.
So much could be accomplished. Many
would, no doubt, affirm these proposi
tions, yet settle down to business as
usual in their same apathetic way.
So much is happening in the world
today. Are we preparing ourselves?
Do we dare involve ourselves? What
are we doing by way of preparation
to enable ourselves to take a place
in the total scheme of things? What
are we, as the late John Fitzgerald
Kennedy asked, doing for our coun
try?
If we should follow his example,
our lives would be filled with mean
ingful and purposeful action. We
would dream dreams and see visions
and not just be content blindly to
follow actions initiated by others,
even when the initiators are reputed
to be brilliant.
As John Kennedy was a man who
thought for himself, so should we
think for ourselves. Not content mere
ly with digests of news, Kennedy’s
voracious reading habits inspired a
national renaissance in reading. He
surrounded himself with a so-called
“brain trust.” (In retrospect, they put
forth some pretty sound policies and
helped to lift the veil of ill-repute
from the egg-head intellectuals of
our society.) As a result, of this—no
matter how indirect—there is no long
er any need to be ashamed of having
intellectual pretensions.
If you came to college to secure
the best possible education, then by
all means, make sure you keep this
aim ever before you. Unfortunately,
even though many of us come with
noble aspirations and untapped po
tentialities, for one reason or an
other (really too obvious to bear dis
cussion), we become side tracked in
our plans. As time progresses, we be
come concerned only with “getting
over.” Further and further back are
pushed our noble aims and goals
until they become like dreams de
ferred or a “raisin in the sun,” if you
please.
Now is the time to pause and make
an evaluation. Taking stock of your
self as best you can, decide on some
future line of work. Perhaps you will
change; nevertheless by that time,
you shall have constantly been en
gaged in purposeful action, acquir
ing indirectly, it is hoped, that much-
needed trait of self-discipline.
If former graduates are any clear
indicators, we should ever be cogni
zant of the fact that life here at Spel
man is partially incongruous with
that on the outside world. Here we
are affected by a benign paternalism.
At home, many of us face the same
thing, but one may be sure that a
cruel, non-benign, non-paternalistic
world awaits us.
Competition will be keen. The un
prepared will, in time, suffer im
mensely. I dare say even the most
cynical among us would recognize
a modicrum of truth in these state
ments. If, then, we realize the ve
racity of these facts, why don’t we
do something? I can’t believe that
we wish to be swallowed up by a
cruel world. To be sure, there are
some among us who wish to be able
to stand and hold their own.
Oh, that we would pursue civic
and academic interests as we do the
social. Admittedly, no one area should
be slighted, but there seems to be a
(Continued on page 4)
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor:
All the world, as well as the stu
dents at Spelman College, was shock
ed and dismayed at the death of our
President, John F. Kennedy.
I was so personally hurt and dis
appointed at this event that I, like
many others, gave way to tears. How
ever, my feelings of hurt were only
surpassed by the embarrassment I felt
as I came to school on November 23,
the day after that fatal event. I was
embarrassed because Spelman, of all
the colleges in the university center,
was the only one that held classes.
Every other American ceased his nor
mal activity out of respect or patrio
tism.
We are Americans, too. At least, I
am an American, and I consider my
self patriotic. But are the leaders here
at Spelman so hard-hearted that the
death of one of America’s greatest
presidents is considered a hackneyed
event? And so ordinary that ordinary
activities do not cease?
I had never been ashamed that I
attended Spelman College. I had
never regretted anything about her
until now. I am ashamed, ashamed
of the leaders at Spelman. If they
could not have cancelled classes for
patriotism, surely out of respect some
allowances could have been made.
There is nothing that we could
have missed by the absence of one or
two classes. Are we patriotic Ameri
cans here at Spelman or only unaf
fected human beings at an institu
tion for higher learning?
Roberta Berrien
Dear Editor:
Intelligent, thoughtful, a devoted
family man, an excellent and dedi
cated leader—John Fitzgerald Ken
nedy was all of this and more. Pray
God keep us from again becoming
so thoughtless and complacent that
we take the office of the presidency
for granted.
Delores Turner
Dear Editor:
The complete abolition of honor
dormitories would produce, in my
opinion, a feeling of disappointment
and utter failure which would have
a most deleterious effect on the en
tire Spelman student body.
I am appealing to our power struc
ture to consider thoroughly the ad
verse effects of such a drastic mea
sure.
As a resident of an honor dormi
tory, it has been my experience to
observe that the great majority of
young women are keenly aware of
the exemplary life they must dis
play. I dare say those who were not
so serious in carrying out their re
sponsibilities soon learned that they
must adjust their behavior in order
not to wreck the entire system.
If for no other reason than this
some form of “home-rule” must be
preserved.
Of course, this is just my opinion;
however, I would not place too much
stock in rumors which circulate con
cerning the alleged wholesale infrac
tions of rules which thrive in the
honor residences.
Never shall I forget the time that
I heard that a young woman was
off-campus illegally. To my surprise
I bumped into her as she awakened
from a nap in a friend’s room. These
and other accusations are, in the
main, the product of little (incon
sistent) minds, which have nothing
better to do than attribute to others
actions and characteristics they them
selves possess.
I cannot speak for Bessie Strong
as I do not live there. Nevertheless,
I feel that the greater number of girls
in both Chadwick and la Maison
Francaise strive to uphold the stand
ards of integrity and responsibility
inherent in honor living.
In all situations, some will deviate.
But, it is my contention that the in
cidence of deviation must be con
sidered before any final judgments
are made.
If you will further foster the spirit
of responsibility and its concomitant
values, don’t abolish the honor resi
dents. The net effect would be dis
astrous.
Leronia A. Stokes
The French House
Where’s Former
Enthusiasm?
A school is not what it is because
of the buildings, grass, trees, etc.,
but because of the students. We have
something that no one in the At
lanta University Center has and that’s
La Maison Francaise. In anticipa
tion of its opening, everyone was
happy and enthusiastic. We were
proud because Spelman was first to
create for its French majors a chance
to advance in the study of the French
language and culture. We planned
activities, invited guests and opened
our House to the student body. What
happened? The guest arrived ready
to present his talk or present his
slides to a large audience. Who
was there? The members of the
House, one or two outsiders, invited
teachers. Are we ready? This is what
one calls personified apathety. French
majors, French students, it is up to
you to be intellectually curious in
your search for knowledge. We, the
members of La Maison Francaise, ap
peal to you to make an effort to at
tend activities planned to create more
interest in your field.
Georgianne Thomas
BIRMINGHAM-A TEA PARTY?
“I hear they are booing before I begin, what will they do
when I end?” said noted author, Louis Lomax, as he began his
speech at Town Meeting a few weeks ago. To his surprise, how
ever, the audience seemingly appreciated his words and cheered
them in standing ovation.
Lomax gave dynamic interpreta
tions of his views of three cities—
Havana, Berlin, and Birmingham, how
they were interrelated and how the
crisis in each has demonstrated the
need for improvement of the Ameri
can image in this country and abroad.
At dead center of this thing called
Western civilization, “there is an
endemic immorality that will doom
us if it is not corrected . . . something
ungodly running in our bloodstream.”
In Berlin, said Lomax, there is still
anti-Semitism and instead of present
ing another image to the Berliners,
American Negro soldiers are still
found on the “nigger strassa” a sec
tion of town where Negroes socialize
and where they are not discriminated
against. America has created an eco
nomic miracle in Berlin but what
about the moral miracle?
In Havana, too, the author asserted,
we complain about the Communists
and their methods of conquering the
country. But what have we ever done
to raise the morale, to strengthen the
usefulness of the underdogs, the color
ed people, as have the Communists
in Cuba? This is something that has
escaped our consideration as a coun
try too long, indeed, perhaps, irre
coverably so.
Lomax continued to point out the
dilemmas that face this country, many
of which are rooted iy America’s at
tempts to escape the problem of race
relations and to refuse to present a
true image to the world.
Finally, Lomax cited incidents of
the past year in Birmingham to com
plete his “tale of three cities”. The
Negro revolt, of course, is most no
ticeably defined there as blacks were
struck down in the streets by water
hoses and dogs as they protested the
denial of their rights as free Ameri
can citizens. But this revolt, said
Lomax, is only the beginning, for
“what lies ahead will make Birming
ham look like a tea party.”
Filled with analogies, Lomax’s
speech reached its climax with a
comparison of the Negro’s humanity
to a shaky bridge over which the
U. S. must pass in order to reach the
countries of Latin America, Asia,
Africa, and Europe. At the entrance
to this bridge is a large sign which
(Continued on page 4)