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THE EVOLUTION OF
A PERSONALITY
by Kathryn Johnson
“Oh, my mind is goin’ through them changes . .
These lyrics by Buddy Miles find them
selves carrying a lot of truth at this particular
place in time for many students — especially
the freshmen.
For many, it is the first time away from
home for any notable period of time, and for
others, their first prolonged stay in a large
city. One of the major changes facing the new
college students involves the change from
being directly dependent upon parents to
being indirectly independent. Though there
is an absence of any type of direct parental
influence, there still remains a great number
of expected modes of behavior. This can be
easily dealt with because the decision of
which mode of behavior to follow is left up
to the individual. In some hands, this minimal
freedom can become a dangerous weapon.
Even though there is a great deal more to in
dependence, so to speak, than deciding which
mode of behavior to follow, the freedom of
choice can sometimes be misused and mis
interpreted.
For a woman from a small town who is
just entering college, the pace and lifestyle of
the big city will prove both exciting and chal
lenging. It is only natural that she want to
become a “natural” part of the environment
as soon as possible. Thus, she will adopt the
modes of behavior common to the natives of
the city. This will sometimes lead to beha
vioral patterns that are unnatural to the
woman’s personality.
Personality adjustments and adaptations
are necessary in order to meet the needs of
the new environment, but such a change must
be gradual. Effective and meaningful change
does not happen overnight — it must evolve.
It is up to the individual to make adjust
ments and adaptations that are to his own
best advantage. Being forced into certain be
havioral patterns by peer group pressure is
not necessary. You must not allow your
personal identity to be absorbed into that of
the group. Even though you are away from
home, the basic values that you learned there
must remain with you. Remember when you
were younger and your mother always told
you never to ride with a stranger — no matter
how good he looked or how large his car?
Well, you’re still not too old to follow that
advice, because you can’t measure a man by
the length of his car.
Changes of personality in order to facili
tate environmental changes are necessary, but
hasty change for group acceptance is not.
Before deciding which behavioral mode you
are going to adhere to, you must evaluate
where you are going in respect to where you
have been.
In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “If
a man does not keep pace with his compa
nions, perhaps it is because he hears a dif
ferent drummer. Let him march to the music
which he hears, however measured or far
away.
WHO TAKES THE BLAME?
by Amelia Hamilton
There has been a long history of inade
quate security on this campus. Students have
had clothing, stereos, televisions and other
property stolen from their residence halls.
Women have been horrified in the middle of
the night by potential assailants and by those
men who have actually found some way to
enter their dormitories and rooms.
There was a time when incidents of this
nature would have been considered the ulti
mate in crime, but recently we have been
plagued with a much more serious crime,
rape!
There have been at least two alleged rapes
involving Spelman women and one attempt
in the past month. In the case of the at
tempted rape, a student accepted a ride to
the Black Pearl with two strangers who ap
parently appeared to be quite harmless. There
they shared a breakfast table and conversa
tion. Upon leaving the Pearl, the sister was
offered a ride back to the campus by the
same men; unfortunately, she accepted. In
stead of returning her to campus, the driver
of the car dropped off his friend and at
tempted to take the sister to a certain desti
nation and seduce her. Realizing the serious
ness of her situation, the young lady tried to
escape; she jumped from the car, which was
traveling seventy miles an hour. She was
badly injured by the fall, and was hospitalized
at Grady in criticaDcondition. After several
days of hospitalization, she was released in
the care of her parents and taken home.
In the first case of the alleged rapes, a
Spelman student was sitting in very dim
light, in the company of a Morehouse student
on the steps of Dean Sage Hall on the Atlanta
University campus.They were approached by
two men who demanded at gunpoint that
they go with them. They were marched by
the assailants up Chestnut Street to the dor
mitory area of A.U.’s campus. There the
young man was instructed to get $30.00, and
in his absence, the sister was raped by both
men. Shortly, he returned with the money
which he gave to the assailants. The two stu
dents were then marched back to the corner
of Chestnut and Fair Street and released.
The second young lady was returning to
Spelman’s campus after a typical evening of
studying in the Trevor Arnett Library, by
way of Greensferry Ave. She was approached
by five men from the opposite side of the
street who apprehended her at gunpoint. The
sister was marched up Greensferry to the
Morris Brown campus area, where she was
brutally raped by the men.
These tragedies are evidence that some
extra steps in security should be taken. But,
whether all the fault lies in security, I am not
so sure. I think too many of the students fail
to realize the danger that lurks in the imme
diate area outside this campus. Like many
communities today, this area has been in
vaded by numerous undesirable characters.
As a result, our area contains alcoholics, drug
addicts, pimps, pushers, con-men, hustlers
and rapists. We, as women and students, are
ideal victims for these vultures and should act
with the realization of this fact at all times.
We should take it upon ourselves to pro
vide our own security to a certain degree. It
is absolutely necessary that we travel in
groups at all times. We should also be more
conscious of the way we dress and the manner
in which we carry ourselves. Above all, we
must be very selective and sensitive to the
kind of company we choose. It’s very popular
during the warm evenings here for the sisters
to stroll on and off campus in skimpy halter
tops with cut-off jeans and very often less
than that. Many times it is attire of this na
ture that attracts undesirable attention. True,
you may get the eye of that certain guy you’ve
been watching, but is he really worth the risk?
It is of the utmost importance that women
everywhere be discrete in the company they
choose, but even more so in our case. The
idea of getting to know and unite with the
other students in the area of the Center is a
beautiful idea that may one day come true,
if approached through the proper channels.
We must realize, though, that everyone who
chooses to socialize, or whatever, among us
here is not always a student nor necessarily
a person of character.
Cont’d., p. 7