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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 (Continued on Paged)