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THE SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
December 19, 1968
The Spelman Spotlight
Published
by the students of Spelman College
Editor-in-Chief—Marilyn Hunt
Associate Editor—Ellin Osorio
Exchange Editor—Jettye Hasben
Fashion Columnist—Mary Susan Parker
Humor Columnist—Sandra Clark
History Columnist—Ernestine Clowers
Political Columnist—Marjorie Duncan
Roving Reporter—Bernadine Moses
Cartoonist—Johnnie Woolfolk
Photographer—Evanda McDowell
Faculty Advisor—Dr. Richard Carroll
Staff: Sylvia McGriff, Joie Wells, Harriet Geddes, Sherryl
Jefferson, Merchuria Chase, Joyce Horton, Wanda Smalls,
Venita Davis, Elizabeth Birdsong.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Spelman Spotlight is published monthly, except January, by stu
dents of Spelman College. We welcome articles and letters to the editor
from our entire reading public. These letters and articles do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the Spotlight Staff or the majority of Spelman
Students. We also welcome advertisements, but do not necessarily support
the views of our advertisers. Monthly deadlines will be posted.
A EDITORIAL
RESPONSE
WHY ACCEPT CHRIST?
In response to the editorial
titled “Why Accept Christ?”
I wish to respond with a few
philosophical thoughts and
questions. Why is there relig
ion anyway? Is it not one of
man’s phychological needs
born out of fear and need for
certainty? What difference
does it make which diety any
man chooses if that diety satis
fied his needs. Have we any
more right to criticise an athe
ist than a Christian?
Why can we not all have an
existentialist view of religion
in which we respect each
man’s right to chose or not to
choose a diety? Certainly we
cannot empirically prove the
existence of any diety and
more power to any man who
can believe in any diety with
out empirical proof! And if
there is a one true diety let’s
all hope agnostics and atheists
will be forgiven if that diety
comes to judge mankind.
But, on the question of
Christmas? Cannot Christmas
Dear Sisters,
We have all heard the
phrase “you look like a Spel
man girl!” at one time or
another. For most of us the
comment causes mixed emo
tions. Besides wondering ex
actly what the Spelman woman
is supposed to look like, one
wonders what other character
istics are implied. However, in
the past one could safely as
sume that neatness and ap-
propriatness were two qualities
associated with the sterotype.
Today with compulsory dress
regulations no longer existing
be viewed as merely a beauti
ful tradition of giving? Wheth
er Christ was the son of God
(if there is a God) is not so
important but the fact that this
man symbolically gave his life
for mankind is important
enough to celebrate. It may be
a paradox, but it’s a healthy
one, if many who do not ac
cept Christ can celebrate his
spirit of giving. It is an unheal
thy paradox that the spirit of
giving at Christmas has been
a source of capitalism for mer
chants, industry and selfish
people.
What does it matter what
any savior has taught? What
matters is what man can teach
himself about living in the
world for this life is all we
have and are sure of until
death comes and on that we
can not be certain. It’s Christ
mas time. Let’s celebrate liv
ing and giving and forget the
flaws and differences in our
personal religions.
Marilyn Hunt
one can still hear the phrase
but with different meaning.
We are rapidly building a new
image to project. This new
sterotype is represented by an
un-neat, faded jean clad per
son in a cut off sweatshirt.
No matter what the style,
there is still something called
taste in dress, cut-off jeans on
Peachtree Street is simply not
in good taste. In fact, dirty,
jeans and faded sweatshirts
should be confined to the dor
mitory for lounging if they
must be worn at all. What you
wear is your perogative, but
by Leila Pope
Most of us were born in
Christian countries, so until
we come face to face with a
Buddhist or a Moslem, we au
tomatically assume that every
body celebrates Christmas.
Only when we encounter mem
bers of other religions do we
actually realize that every
body does not celebrate Christ
mas, or revere Christ as their
Lord and Savior. However,
even if they do not revere him,
they will never be able to prove
beyond a shadow of a doubt
that Christ was not who he
said he was, or that he was
not of divine origin.
Since we soldom question
the religion of our parents,
I doubt if we ever try to find
reasons why anyone would
want to accept Christ as a gift
from God and to follow his
teachings. When Christ was
born to the Jews, they were
living under Roman domina
tion and supposedly following
the teachings of Moses. Moses
was their all, their Savior. He
had delivered them from Egyp
tian bondage and told them
how to find the promised land.
Suddenly, out of nowhere there
appeared a lowly carpenter’s
son from Nazareth who said
that he was the one for whom
they had been waiting. Why
should they have accepted him
when they had Moses?
Instead of keeping his unia-
tic ideas to himself, this lowly
your apparel reflects not only
on you but on every Spelman
student. This is another indica
tion of responsibility and ma
turity. We say that Spelman
women are mature enough to
dress in good taste. Most of
you have proved this. We im
plore those of you who have
taken this opportunity to look
your very worse to please not
prove us wrong.
It behooves each of us to
examine this business of dress
from a larger perspective than
mere individual preference.
With our quest to define our
roles as black women we
should consider this question
of dress and styles in relation
to femininity, modesty, black
ness, etc. Black women must
hold on to those attributes
which have distinguished them
and place them in a proper
perspective with other factors
to be considered if we are to
effectively assume our role as
wives, mothers, and workers.
Sincerely,
Bettieanne Childers
man went about preaching his
ideas and changing Moses’
laws. While Moses had said an
eye for an eye and a tooth for
a tooth, this man preached that
one must turn the other cheek
when one is hit. By what au
thority did this man teach and
change laws? While Moses had
allowed divorce, this man said
that he who marries once, puts
his wife asunder, and marries
again, lives in adultery. How
dare this man change Moses’
law on divorce! After changing
the laws on justice and mar
riage, that lowly man, Christ,
tampered with the heart of
Jewish law, the restrictions on
the Sabbath. Jewish law stated
that he who works on the Sab
bath was evil and must be put
to death. Yet this man had the
audacity to work on the Sab
bath, and instead of as king
forgiveness for his crime, he
stated that the Sabbath was
made for man, and not man
for the Sabbath. That lowly
man had a lot of nerve. He
undermined everything i n
which the Jewish people be
lieved. He made the religious
leaders, the Pharisees and Sad-
ducees, look like corrupt, evil
bumpkins. They had to stamp
out that blasphemy, so they
crucified Christ, a lowly Naz-
arene who had been God’s gift
to mankind through them. If
they had accepted him, per
haps some of the glory and
power which came to the Ro
mans and Europeans would
That time of year has ar
rived. A time of joy and a time
of laughter. A time for dreams
and a season for fantasy. A
time for giving and a time for
have come to them. At any
rate the Jews did not end
Christ’s influence. Instead a
small uneducated group of
people, his followers, kept his
teachings alive. From that be
ginning Christianity grew until
it spread to the ends of the
earth.
While on earth Christ, like
Moses before him, spoke of
one who would come after
him. This one to come, he
said, would be the Spirit of
Truth who would lead man
kind to all truths. This coming
of the Spirit of Truth would
also represent Christ’s return
to earth, Christ’s second com
ing for which we are all sup
posedly waiting. Now in the
20th century this Spirit of
Truth has come to earth in
the human body of Baha’u’-
llah. His followers are called
Baha’is. Again persons have
persecuted their promised one,
their gift from God. They have
called him false prophet and
evil one. Yet in less than one
hundred twenty-five years, he,
Baha’u’llah, has followers in
over two hundred fifty coun
tries. Will we do as the Jews
did and turn away from him,
our promised one? Or will we
do as the Roman’s did and
accept God’s gift along with
all the bounty which accom
panies such a precious gift? If
you had lived one thousand
nine hundred sixty-eight years
ago, would you have accepted
Christ?
receiving. A time for hopes
and a time of fulfillment. Let
Christmas be all of these things
to you — Let there be peace.
Ellin DeK. Osorio
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