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Page 2 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)