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Page 2 THE SPOTLIGHT February, 1971 editorial 87% of polled students believe sororities relevant to sisterhood The idea of “relevancy’ on the college campus is more widespread than the fad of wear ing raccoon coats was in bygone years. Yet, the purpose and use of the term is far more vague than the purpose and use of the raccoon coat. This point is in reference to sisters on Spelman’s campus who preach about irrelevancy of so rorities. What they fail to see is that relevance is not a general term which can be used to blanket the entire campus, but it is one which each student in terprets differently. And if a student can relate to becoming a part of an organized, function ing sisterhood, then that sister hood has relevance for her. Because there are over 60 stu dents on Spelman’s campus who belong to sororities, these organi zations must be relevant to some degree to college life. There have been no recent studies by those who decry sororities as being dangerous to Spelman sisterhood. But a poll was taken last De- By Barbara Buckley cember during a required chapel program where only 72 out of 534 students polled did not be lieve sororities should have the right to operate on campus. This means that only 13% of those polled were against campus so rority chapters. There is a potential for strong college organizations in the event that sororities ever become legal campus organizations. Primarily, sororities would provide an able combatant to the volatile campus menace called apathy. There is so much of it on the campus that it overwhelms the beginning student, and usually subdues her by the sophomore year. Yet sororities have already added a new dimension of inter est to the campus. For those who would like to join, there is a struggle to maintain a good av erage add to find out just what these organizations do in the community. There is also an in terest among students who are sorority-inclined to become ac quainted with those already in sororities. In a recent meeting of student advisers and student leaders, Dean Chivers sa'id, “If we get functioning organizations, we get a functioning campus.” Sorori ties on campus have already be gun to operate unofficially by sponsoring open parties, contrib uting to the Spelman Thanksgiv ing Day Rally, ahd awarding scholarships on Awards Day. Even in their unofficial state, sororities have created more in terest and generated more activi ties than organizations which have been accepted on campus since the founding of Spelman. One of these non-functioning organizations is the YWCA. The risk in chartering sororities at Spelman will not lie in being stuck with them after they are organized, but with the admini stration, students and sororities working together to activate Spelman College to a' greater de gree than it has ever been. To this extent, sororities are relevant to Spelman students. ^pefman BY THE STUDENTS OF SPELMAN COLLEGE Editor Wanda Smalls Associate Editor Harriett Geddes Business Manager Cordelia Taylor Copy Editor Barbara Buckley Exchange Editor Harriet Miller Layout and Design Sylvia McGriff Cartoonist Roberta Wolfe Faculty Advisor Dr. Richard Carroll Reporters and staff assistants — Gail Charleston, Shirlene Evans, Marna Hale Gaston, Paula Hicks, Waltina McElroy, Cynthia Patter son, Sheila Shaw, Denise Smith EDITORIAL POLICY The Spelman Spotlight is published monthly by students of Spelman College. Signed letters and columns do not necesarily reflect the opinion of the Spotlight staff. Unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the editorial staff. The Spotlight welcomes letters expressing views and opinions on any subject. Letters and articles must be typed and double spaced and must be signed by the author (names can be with held from publication upon consent of the editor). Once articles and letters are received they become Spotlight property. Pan-African Forums held Thursdays in Brawley Hall at 7 P.M. con’t from page 1 6 Just like a firing squad 9 CPS: What is being done to involve people in Angela Davis’ defense? MOORE: Defense committees are being set up abound the country to educate people, and her family is speaking throughout the country. Black people are already concerned. This is just another episode in the repression of black people. There is literally no differenc between what happened to Julian Bond, Stokley Carmichael, and H. Rap Brown, and what has happened to Angela Davis. They all share one common thing: they took a stand on questions of national importance. CPS: How long do you think the trial will last? 1 MOORE: Well, tl^pretrial proceedings should take at least , four to five months. The trial itself could take anywhere from two days to six months. CPS: The indictment itself doesn’t say much about what she is supposed to have done, does it? MOORE: Well, you don’t have to say she did much in California. The conspiracy indictment is a capital crime in itself and can be satisfied by showing sufficiently “significant circumstances.” In California a jury can say that these facts — if proved — show her guilt of conspiracy. In respect to the other charges, they are based upon the California law of principals which simply says “all persons CONCERNED in the commission of a crime” are as guilty as if they actually did the act. How does one evidence his concern in the commission of -a crime. CPS: Will you be allowed to see the grand jury minutes? (California refused to let Davis’ lawyers see the minutes of the proceeding for use in at- taking the indictment in the New York extradi tion proceedings.) MOORE: We have the grand jury minutes now and we have raised a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence as demonstrated by them. If that motion is successful I imagine that will be the end of it. It’s sort of a ticklish thing because the test is whether there’s a reasonable suspicion of guilt. A reasonable suspicion however is not con jecture, surmise, or speculation, but is based on reason. CPS: What’s in those minutes? MOORE: The minutes are still sealed (mean ing their contents can’t be revealed to the public). There’s a protective order on those minutes that doesn’t expire until the middle of January at least. You see one of the defendants, Ruchelle Magee, still has a problem with his lawyer. He attempted to dismiss his lawyer. CPS: Was Magee one of the parties to the case where they had the kidnapping of the judge, which caused all this? MOORE: Brother Magee was a witness on the stand at the time Jonathan Jackson was reported to have entered the courtroom and taken control. He, along with Jackson and two others, then left the courthouse with the judge and entered a' van to drive away. It's claimed that Magee shot the judge. But I think the state’s going to have some trouble showing that he shot the judge. CPS: From what I’ve read in the straight press it sounds like the police shot the judge. MOORE: Yeah, I think that’s one argument that could be made; it seems unlikely Magee shot the judge. CPS' Was Magee’s lawyer court-appointed? MOORE: Yes. He’s twice attempted to have himself designated as his own attorney and he’s twice lost that. CPS: Is the Angela Davis Defense Committee interested in his case, and will you be doing any work for him? MOORE: We certainly support him and will give him every help that is possible, but we are not in the position, as Angela Davis’ counsel, of acting as counsel for Brother Magee. CPS: What about the international interest that has been shown like the protest of the Russian scientists? President Nixon said one could come. MOORE: It’s obviously a propaganda ploy, de signed to bait worldwide opinion condemning thjs vicious trial of Miss Davis. I think that Mr. Nixon should be concerned about American citizens get ting into the courtroom and being treated fairly rather than VIP treatment for a person from the Soviet Union. This is a' concern he hasn’t demon strated since he has been in public life. CPS: Will Angela participate in her own de fense. MOORE: We really don’t know yet. The judge hasn’t ruled yet. We hope she will be allowed to participate. If she is allowed it will be an inte gral part of the defense by counsel and it will be at appropriate times when her own participation should be most effective in terms of what the ultimate outcome will be. CPS: To what extent are you and the other lawyers able to confer with her in the jail? MOORE: We have unlimited rights to confer with her up until 9 at night. It’s a bit of a hassle to get m to see her. You haVe to be subjected to a personal body search. Angela’s conditions of detention are not very good; they have been treating her as though she were a convicted felon rather than one awaiting trial. CPS: Do you feel like you can carry on ahy significant communications anywhere in a jail? MOORE: Well, there are different kinds of communication — oral, written and by sign. CPS: Well, doesn’t it hamper your consultation not to be able to have full oral communicalton? MOORE: Yes, but that seems to be the restric tion of the day. There is no place in America where you can talk orally about important mat ters when you are a political personality. CPS: Can she correspond with people other than lawyers freely? MOORE: Her ability to correspond beyond a limited list is nil. She is not able to have press conferences. Jet, Time, Der Spiegel, LeMonde, and a Scandanavian magazine have requested inter views, but have been denied. We intend to take appropriate action if things don’t change. CPS: Under what conditions was she removed from the Women’s House of Detention in New York? MOORE: She was taken under military condi tions — top secrecy. The Holland Tunnel was closed; she was put on an air national guard plane for California that took twelve hours. Even when she went to the toilet the matron went with her. That’s the kind of mentality existing around this case. It seems their pride is really hurt by, one. the rip-off ahd then the blow-off. CPS: What are the chances of Angela getting out on bail? MOORE: I don’t see how she can miss getting out on bail, but I don’t decide the question. CPS: What sort of defense are you going to raise that you can talk about this far in advance? MOORE: WeR, it’s too early to tell. The case is in constant development. We have a real heavy kind ot investigation going on now. We are trying to marshall every strand of evidence. CPS: What do you think will be necessary to get her a fair trial, or is that possible? MOORE: I would tend to think, as she thinks, that it is very doubtful she can get a fair trial. However, we have go to look forward to getting a trial, and trying ot get a fair trial. Without a trial it is just like a firing squad. Through some miracle maybe we can get twelve people who have common decency and some sense of justice, who will take the jurors oath seriously and find her not guilty. CPS. Why do you say “by some miracle”? MOORE: There is an overwhelming amount of publicity that has gone out — a lot of it unfavor able. And then there’s the fact that she’s black. Anytime a black person goes to trial, the likeli hood of a fair trial is far less than for a white person. Then she’s a Communist, and Commun ists don’t fare too well. You put being black and being a Communist together and you have one hell of a pickle. Then the judge that was ripped off isn’t the kind of thing that is going to lead people to rea son coolly. It’s the kind of thing that is likely to inflame passion.