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SPELMA N
THE VOICE OF BLACK WOMANHOOD
SPO TLIGHT
VOL. XXXX IMQ.5 APRIL, 1973
Dining Hall
There is presently a great deal of concern about
our dining hall. Boarding students are curious about
the cafeteria’s present condition. They wonder about
the food, the staff, and how changes could make a
more satisfactory dining system.
As the first step in pursuit of these goals, there is
a need for information that can be used by the stu
dents to enable them to move toward the desired goal.
With this in mind, The Spotlight talked with a mem
ber of the cafeteria staff who has a great deal of
seniority.
Mrs. Upshaw has been a member of Spelman’s cafe
teria staff for 34 years and has seen the system go
through quite a number of changes. As a general state
ment she said that, “the present situation and those
in the past are as different as night and day.”
Morgan Hall, which was destroyed by fire three
years ago, housed the previous dining hall. According
to Mrs. Upshaw, everything there was more elaborate
and better organized. There had been a few different
styles of meal service at Spelman. Meals were once
served family style, with all items on beautifully de
corated tables with student waitresses and hostess
officiating.
Then plate service came into being. With this style,
the students came into the dining room, took their
seats at tables and were served their entire meal, in
cluding the dessert and beverage, on a complete set
ting of dinner dishes.
During the period of these services, all the girls
dressed for Sunday dinner and it was a special occa
sion. Mrs. Upshaw says that girls felt more pride in
those days, but the current situation has eliminated
these practices.
A boarding student is familiar with the present type
of service which operates under Campus Chef. The
personal service of salads, however, is only temporary
because of the present dining hall’s lack of space.
Mrs. Upshaw felt that the family service was best
because of the variety of choices one had in the quan
tity of food being served.
In regard to communication and student-staff re
lationships, she feels that there is no problem; it might
be added that all staff members interviewed felt the
same way. They felt that the ’69-’70 students were the
worst students as far as behavior was concerned, but
since 1970 they (the students) have become better
each year. Mrs. Upshaw says that there’s only one
group of really discourteous students and the staff
simply ignores them.
There are some problems with the students, how
ever, and the largest one is the fact that so much of
the dining hall materials are “ripped off.” Whether it
is known or not, we’re the first Spelmanites to eat on
bare tables. Previously, table cloths and place mats
were used for all meals, but since so many items were
taken, it became too much of an expense to provide
them. The same is true of silver and glassware. In
September of last year there were 1300 trays in our
cafeteria. Now there are less than 200.
Of course we’re all familiar with the tray disposal
problem. Mrs. Upshaw says that the temporary system
initiated by the SSGA was supposed to alleviate the
problem, but the problem is growing again now. She
pointed out that in previous years this was never a
problem.
The only other major disorder is the traffic in the
dining hall at mealtime. Once a student goes through
the serving line she is supposed to remain seated until
her meal is over. Repeated trips to the soda fountain
increase this traffic and the size of the cafeteria doesn’t
help the problem.
Understandably our largest area of concern is the
food. Much to my surprise, The Spotlight found that
the people who usually receive the brunt of our anger
are not responsible for the planning or the preparation
of our meals. The director of the cafeteria is Mr.
Hunter who plans the meals. The cooks have special
ized areas (baking, salads, etc.) and they are always in
the kitchen unless the cafeteria is understaffed.
There are many aspects of the food problem that
I’ve heard students complain about. One of these is
the serving of pork so often and in such large quanti
ties. Hypertension or high blood pressure is a great
threat to the health of Blacks and pork plays a large
role in the development of hypertension. It was point
ed out that all vegetables are cooked with pork not to
mention the meats and casseroles made from pork.
Mrs. Upshaw says that the staff always tries to pro
vide an alternative to main course pork situations.
For the dieters of our population, skim milk has
been provided and it was pointed out that various
salads are also available. In reply to an inquiry about
fresh fruit and low-calorie drinks, Mrs. Upshaw says
that fruit is not provided because too many people
take more than their share which means that others
don’t get any, but that provision for low-calorie drinks
could be arranged. The Spotlight didn’t fail to men
tion the amount of cereal that is used in meat in the
form of steaks and hamburger patties. This is beyond
the cafeteria’s control because the meat is received
from a packing company.
In regard to getting a wider variety of foods, Mrs.
Upshaw prescribed a channel of operation. She sug
gested that the students make their wishes known to
a committee, who in turn would relay them to Mr.
Hunter.
Anticipating the move to the new cafeteria in Sep
tember, Mrs. Upshaw professed to enjoy all 34 of her
years at Spelman’s dining hall. When asked about the
circumstances surrounding her employment, she an
swered, “I came to work here during the lighter years
of the Depression in January of 1939; I had the op
portunity many times to leave for a better job during
the years, but I didn’t because God answered my
prayers when I asked for a job and I consider it a bles
sing and I’ll be here until I retire.”
The Spotlight thinks that we Spelmanites too are
blessed to have such a concerned and understanding
person in our midst. So it is up to us to strive for im
provement in our cafeteria or — simply grin and bear
it.
by Marian (Kittye) Cobb
Ecology
Spring has hit Spelman’s campus once again, and as
always, sisters and brothers flock to the lawn for rest,
recreation and study. For most of us this is the time
for afternoons of leisure, but for the people of Build
ings and Grounds, it is quite a different story.
Every Spring the men from Buildings and Grounds
cultivate, fertilize, and nurse certain areas of our cam
pus. They put up “Keep Off the Grass” signs in these
areas and pray that we can read them. Apparently,
three to five letter words are far too advanced for our
comprehension — these particular areas are trampled
to death anyway. Why the students will walk in ferti
lizer rather than on a sidewalk of cement is beyond
understanding. It certainly makes one wonder what
type of environment some of us came from. To keep
our campus beautiful Buildings and Grounds has gone
as far as to turn our trails into sidewalks, only to find
we create new paths!
Spelman has the most beautifully landscaped cam
pus in the Atlanta University Center with enough
ground to accommodate us in any type of activity. It
is asking very little that we keep it that way, by not
abusing the various small areas of the grounds that are
struggling to survive.
Our campus is a reflection of us. Its beauty is a
symbol of our own. For our own sake, let’s keep it
beautiful.
by Amelia Hamilton
Editorial
TO: My sisters whom I am concerned about
FROM: Paula S. Hicks, Editor, Spelman Spotlight
RE:
At the conception of this particular issue, the edi
tors and staff of the Spotlight thought that one of the
answers to apathy is communication. Communication
meaning speaking, listening and understanding.
However at this particular time, the editor feels
that communication must be expanded outside the
walls of our college community. This topic has to in
clude what is happening today in this society to people
of color.
During the Academy Awards, Sasha Lightfeather
gave a short rejection speech for Marlon Brando. We
as blacks understand what she said. But did we under
stand what the audience communicated to all minori
ties in this country when they booed her?
Did we understand that unless we as a people get
ourselves together, our chances for life and liberty
will become seriously dimmed? Did we as young black
college women understand that, unless we get our
heads together and get serious about our condition in
this society, doors will be closed even tighter than be
fore to us?
It is so easy to forget about the real world for four
years. But as seniors we must get out in that world
and struggle for survival.
How can we apply what happened to Miss Light-
feather to our situation? Here at Spelman it seems
that we turn off the hearing mechanisms and turn on
the various attitudes that stifle our growth and de
velopment.
For example, ask any Spelman graduate about
SSGA elections or class elections. She will tell you
proudly that many women sought various positions
and really wanted to add to the atmosphere of the
campus.
Ask any graduate during the period of the sit-ins
and demonstrations, “Was it a struggle to get any wo
men involved?” Ask them did Spelman forget the
community? You can be assured that Spelman was
there dealing not only on an academic level but also
on a personal community level.
It seems that just recently we Spelman women,
with a long history of involvement, have fallen into a
“care-less attitude.” So many “sisters” use the excuse
of not knowing anything about anything.
But this is a cop-out!
Communication is not a passive exercise. It is active.
You have to seek information. It is almost like fixing
a hoagie or submarine sandwich. First you have to
gather all the ingredients, then sort out what you
want. Next you create the sandwich to fit your taste.
You chew, swallow, then digest it.
Cont. on p. 3, col. 3