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QUESTION: IS THERE A COMMUNICATION GAP AT SPELMAN ?
1. Francis Greer — Freshman, New Jersey
Yes. There is definitely a gap between
upperclassmen and freshmen. I think it is
because of the way the campus is situated
with upperclassmen basically on one side
and freshmen on the other side. There is
no intermingling socially.
2. Mary Glenn — Senior, North Carolina
Yes, I think that there is a communica
tion gap at all levels. I think that it’s due to
the fact that nobody is really trying to com
municate with anybody. They would rather
ignore each other than cooperate.
3. Leslie Stewart — Sophomore, Florida
There is definitely a communication gap.
Too much is decided without consulting
the students. Therefore, we are a power
less body.
4. Georgette Woodward — Sophomore,
South Carolina
I think that there is a severe lack of com
munication among the students, mainly be
cause each student doesn’t have a voice in
the student body. Most students are inter
ested in doing their own thing rather than a
together thing.
The Voice
of
Black Womanhood
SPOTLIGHT ON:
Mrs.Claire Lennon
Change within a college doesn’t always take a cen
tury. In the past seven years, Spelman College has
gone through several changes, including some revolu
tionary changes.
Mrs. Claire Lennon, official hostess of Spelman,
has seen those changes initiated by students. Mrs.
Lennon came to Spelman in the Fall of 1966 with
her husband, Madison Lennon, a Spelman music in
structor. As official hostess of Spelman, she prepares
and supervises campus social activities, such as teas,
dinners and receptions.
“When I came to Spelman,’’ she said, “I found the
school much as I expected it to be. The quality of the
women was high. They soon found out that if they
asked for things, they could get these things. Such
things, for example, as the relaxation of certain rules
pertaining to dress on campus.” The dress code
changed from dresses and skirts to pants and jeans.
Mrs. Lennon didn’t always have her head stuck in
dinner menus and frappes. She noticed a revolutionary
spirit among Spelman students in 1968. In 1968, most
of the nation’s campuses were revolting against ad
ministrative policies. Spelman was no different.
She said the students wanted change. “Wanting
change was not bad. But the way they went about
getting change was bad.” She recalled students seizing
several officials of Morehouse and Spelman in Hark-
ness Hall, (the office building of Atlanta University.)
Mrs. Lennon feels the beautiful part of the incident
was the students’ realization that effective change
could only come without drastic actions.
Since 1968, Mrs. Lennon has observed that Spelman
women are returning to the qualities she recognized
in them in 1966. She feels they have discarded die
militant front, brought about by the birth ot black
awareness.
She has noticed that this year has been filled with
a revival of Spelman pride. She attributes this to the
present student government. She specifically noted
the creation of Spelman Emphasis Week.
She has also noticed that this year’s freshman class
is different from those in the past. She describes their
decorum as excellent.
Even though Spelman pride has been reborn, Mrs.
Lennon notices that apathy still exists.
Mrs. Lennon and her husband plan to retire this
year and return to Asheville, North Carolina. She said
that she would be sorry to leave Spelman, but she is
happy she can leave Spelman the way she found it in
1966.
Wattstax:
A Truly Black
Experience
by Andretta Bryant
Wattstax is not just another black movie — it is
what brothers and sisters are about. It is more than a
film that features soul music and popular artists; it
shows the lifestyle of Watts and, of course, the “grass-
root niggers.”
The movie centers around the seven-hour benefit
concert held in Watts which was sponsored by Stax
recording company. It features such artists and musi
cians as Kim Weston, Rufus Thomas and his daughter,
Carla, the Emotions, the Staple Singers, Luther Ingram,
Isaac Hayes and many more.
But the real treat of the movie is the monologues
by Richard Pryor, who comically relates his expe
riences about ghetto life. Throughout the concert
there are candid conversations with brothers and
sisters discussing the blues, women, men, blackness,
the gospel and various other dimensions of the black
experience.
Wattstax expresses more than a soul concert or a
congregation of blacks. It expresses unity.
The cry heard for brotherhood by Jesse Jackson’s
“I am somebody” and the assembly of brothers and
sisters makes the viewer feel the warmth and “special
ness” of being black.
The film was directed by Mel Stuart and produced
by William Bell. Their techniques and sensitivity make
the viewer sense the glories of an African heritage. It
makes it clear that this sense of specialness did not
start at Watts and that it definitely doesn’t stop there.
This picture reaffirms black pride in black people.
It is an enjoyable and “down home” honest view of
blacks being themselves and sharing the common bond
of their blackness.
Though the picture may seem a bit long, it care
fully interweaves dialogues with honest humor. Check
it out. It has a message for all of us and it is a chance
to share a beautiful experience with black people.
Editorial, Cont.
If we are so hip and “aware” then why aren’t we
getting serious about what is happening to us?
Students are more concerned about where they
will be living next year than whether or not they will
have the money to afford even a tent on the yard.
Students are more concerned about curfew than they
are about various subtle forms of repression that
Nixon is bringing into existence through economic
cutbacks, states’ rights and restraints on freedom of
the press.
If you think that the editor is just crying “wolf,”
then you had better talk to seniors who have been re
jected from various graduate and professional schools.
The age of blackness being “in” is past. You had bet
ter start reading more than the comics and watch
more than the soap operas.
Sisters, the time is now. We must begin to com
mune with one another. We must begin to commune
with our education, whether it is in books or expe
riences. We must commun-i-cate. Because if we wait
too long, the lines of communication will really be
down, and then what will we do?
Call Me
For just a glimpse
/ toiled day and
night
dreaming of quiet
love.
Snow falls as I walk
alone.
Laugh aloud
cry even when told
hello.
Seven numbers dialed
everyday.
Only to receive tales
of problems.
Yet when questioned
no help from you
to me.
Our numbers exchanged.
My vision dulled to you
So I wait upon a
rock as the tide
comes in . . .
