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MERRILL SCHOLARS
ANNOUNCED
Joyce Young
1967-68
Merrill Scholars
On Friday, December 9,
Mr. Charles Merrill, chairman
of the Board of Trustees at
Morehouse College, spoke to
the student body as he does
annually. At the conclusion of
his remarks, Gertrude Ann
Dopsori, Maxine Hayes, An
drea Williams, and Joyce
Young were named Merrill
Scholars. The award carries
with it $3,000 for a year of
study abroad. Gertrude is a
French major from Atlanta,
Georgia; Maxine is a biology
major from Jackson, Missis
sippi; Joyce is an English ma
jor from Augusta, Ga., and
Adrea is a Math major from
Atlanta, Ga.
Mr. Merrill assists Spelman
students each year in this way
in order that they might gain
a wider educational and cul
tural experience. This year he
is also assisting two French
students, Patricia Graham and
Patricia Roberts, who will
study in Montreal, Canada,
during the summer. All these
scholars, as well as former
Merrill Scholars and Cross-
roaders, were invited to lunch
with Dr. A. E. Manley and
Mr. Merrill following the Con
vocation.
Maxine Hayes
Ann Dopson
A. Williams
Christmas
Is Here
by Carmen Fernando Wilson
Here at Spelman College,
December is a month when
people from all over the world
gather to pay tribute to the
Messiah through joyous song.
These people come to hear a
musical program which has
been presented for twenty-
six years — the Spelman-
Morehouse-Atlanta University
Chritmas Carol Concert.
The Christmas Carol Con
certs through the years have
brought hundreds of persons
to the campus who would not
otherwise have seen the college
or its students. The concert is
held three nights. This year it
started on December 9 and
ended on December 11.
Celestine Sibley, columnist
for the Atlanta Constitution,
wrote an article in relationship
to the Christmas Carol Con
cert. She stated, “The carol
concert is one of the loveliest
things that happens in Atlanta.
So many people go to hear it
that this year they gave three
performances and still had
crowds lining the walls, filling
the vestibule, and overflowing
into the cold, windy out of
doors. The voices of the Negro
students are, of course, mag
nificent, but I think more than
anything it is the choice of
carols that fills your heart with
a sudden warming awareness
of the Christmas miracle. You
realize suddenly that Christ
mas belongs to all people, that
people of all lands have felt
wonder of it and put it in their
folk songs.”
There is no better way for
us to hear the wonderful stories
told about Christ than through
the songs done very beauti
fully by the Spelman-More-
house Chorus and the Spelman
Glee Club directed by Dr. Wil
lis James and the Morehouse
Glee Club directed by Dr.
Wendell Whalum.
Lecture Committee
A lecture committee has
been formed for Spelman Col
lege which is operated through
the SSGA. The organizations
and clubs submit the names of
those persons whom they wish
to have as speakers. The final
selection is made by the SSGA,
a Spelman faculty member,
and the presidents of the or
ganizations and clubs. This
committee was the result of
the “Carmichael Controversy”
and not the lecture committee
for the A. U. Center as indi
cated in the November edition.
The Thanksgiving Rally, 1966
by Joyce Young
In keeping with what is a part of the Spelman tradition,
the Thanksgiving Rally was held in Read Hall on November
22, at 11 a.m. Winners of the display competition were The
Sunday School, Packard Hall and The Home Economics
Department.
Ever since my Freshman year, I have noticed that though
the rally is always well attended, there is always a large num
ber of students absent. I knew why I often left the rally or
didn’t bother to go at all, but I was curious to find out how
you felt about the rally and why some of you didn’t participate
in it. My curiosity resulted in the questionnaire that many of
you saw and that sixty (60) of you took time to fill out and
pass in. (See editorial by A. Williams, page 2.) The results
from the poll are as follows:
1. 44 of the students who filled out the questionnaires
attended the rally; 16 didn’t.
2. 55 of the students contributed to the rally and 19
contributed through more than one organization.
3. 46 had attended previous rallies. 5 thought that this
year’s rally was better, 11 thought it worse, 12 thought
it as good as rallies in previous years.
4. 17 persons participated in making a display; 42
didn’t participate.
5. 32 of the students polled thought that the competition
among organizations for best displays should be dis
continued; 25 thought that the competition should
not be discontinued.
6. 42 of the students polled thought that there should be
closer contact between Spelman students and the
families receiving the baskets; 15 thought that there
shouldn’t be a closer contact.
7. 21 of the students thought that there were enough
judges of the displays; 12 didn’t. (Many of those
polled indicated that they didn’t know how many
judges there were nor did they know who the judges
were.)
8. 45 of the students polled were interested in partici
pating in a program to help the families throughout
the year; 11 were not interested.
9. 55 students thought that the rally served some useful
purpose; 11 thought that it didn’t.
10. 41 of the students polled thought that the rally could
be improved; 5 didn’t.
Included among the suggestions for improving the Thanks
giving Rally were the following:
1. Give students more time to prepare baskets and
collect money.
2. Provide a useful, worthwhile prize for students who
win the display competition.
3. Make the program shorter and eliminate the skit.
4. Let the groups meet their “adopted families” for this
would probably create greater personal involvement
with the rally among the student body.
5. Prepare the financial report in advance.
6. Provide more seating space for the audience.
7. Prepare a program to which the people for whom the
baskets are being given along with other people from
the community can come and participate in.
8. Eliminate the tribute to Kennedy at the rally.
9. Rather than have contributions made through the
organizations, ask each student to give an allotted
amount.
10. Have a Thanksgiving service instead of the rally.
One questionnaire contained comments that I think will be
beneficial to all of us. For that reason, it is being printed in its
entirety with my thanks to its author, Alice Graham.
“Rather than have a Thanksgiving Rally in which organi
zations compete for the best basket (which is really a waste of
a lot of money), let’s develop some program through which
the Spelmanites can express a real concern for those who are
less fortunate. It is truly hypocritical and patronizing for Spel
man, a Negro institution, to once a year open its eyes to the
needs of Negroes who through no fault of their own are not
able to furnish food for themselves or their families. (Most are
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