Newspaper Page Text
November, 1975 - SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT - Page 3
Boston - Roll Buses, Not Heads
Boston is no cradle. It is a
boulder on a ledge awaiting its
inertia. It is middle America
attempting to roll back the
achievements of social in
tegration. And it is young minds
frustrated by the nonsense of it
all.
South Boston High School has
been unrested since the decision
to utilize busing as a means to
facilitate the desegregation of the
Boston City high schools went
into effect in 1974. But unlike its
counterpart, the predominantly
black Roxbury High School, the
black students being bused into
South Boston High continue to
attend classes in spite of the daily
threat to their persons. Black
students being bused to South
Boston High tell stories of white
teachers who taunt them and
their culture; of white students
who attack them and black
teacher aids in the corridors; of
policemen who flip their badges
to show the shamrocks of their
origins and whose side they
uphold; and of nurses who claim
1 U»
Ctardi of Conservation
; Invites Yon To Be An
And Acquire Hr Rank
DOCTOR
Of NAIHEPQIICS
; Our fart •rowing church is act
ively seeking environment-con.
i ciour new ministers who beliave
' whet we believe: Mian shoutd,ex-i;
\ irt in harmony with nature. We
' are a non-rtructured faith, unden-
i ominational, with no traditional
; doctrine or dogma. Benefits for
' ministers are:
1. Car Emblem and Pocket
I.D.
2. Reduced rates from many
hotels, motels, restaurants,
car rental agencies, ate.
Our directory lists over
1,000 prestige establish
ments extending on auto
matic cash discount.
3. Perform marriages, bap- i
tisms, funerals and ait other
ministerial functions.
4. Start your own church and
apply for exemption from
property and other taxes.
Enclose a free-will donation for
the minister's credentials and poc-
’ ket license. Your ordination is
I recognized in all 50 states and
! most foreign countries. Church
I of Conservation, Box 375, Mary
! Esther, Florida 32509.
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An You Getting
Your Fair Shan
Of Counseling III
The Spelman College Center
for counseling and Student
Development has four
counselors available to assist
any student who might feel the
need for personal-social
counseling, career choices,
tutoring, graduate and
professional school in
formation, job placements and
information pertaining to
careers In the health field.
Why not stop by and check it
out! The counseling Center is
located on the second floor of
the Albert E. Manley College
Center and office hours are
9:00 a.m. - 5 :00 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
that empty medicine cabinets
hold no remedies for their
bruises.
But perhaps the most futile
scenario is that the black com
munity in Boston is beginning to
feel virtually threatened by the
whites of Boston, and that feeling
is daily extending far beyond the
classroom.
From reports, blacks dare not
venture near the South Boston
district, and public facilities such
as Carson Beach, are no longer
considered public. Not after the
July fourth incident which
touched off a racial encounter
after whites on the beach
allegedly intimidated black
picnickers.
Whatever incited the incident of
Carson Beach, one thing is
certain; the filmed documentary
of the Independence Day
disturbance demonstrated that
the abuse, and misuse of police
power can lead to more dastardly
acts. Even shamrocks on badges
in similarly defenseless
situations.
THE REAL ISSUES
For some, the real issue in
Boston, Detroit, St. Louis,
Kentucky, and elsewhere is not
busing, but rather open housing.
If a child’s family is permitted to
live in the neighborhood nearest
the school he attends, he would
not have to be bused. So that
open housing as opposed to
busing becomes just as viable a
mechanism for achieving the
same end.
There are those who advocate
the rolling back of buses in
Boston. Surprisingly, there are
blacks among these advocates.
Blacks who are exhausted with
the abuses their children have to
face day in and day out as a
preliminary to absorbing the
benefits of the Boston City High
Schools’ educational process.
Ironically however, the rolling
back of buses could effect in
rolling back the progress achieved
by the sixties and the incremental
civil rights movement.
Boston School Board
Presently, the fate of the city
high schools of Boston rests in the
hands of the Boston School Board
And they do not intend to play a
game of political football with the
issue. It should be noted that the
time for board elections are just
around the comer, and just about
everyone the board, it appears,
has donned a football helmet.
Perhaps the court will have to
step in, in an effort to step up the
lag that has become apparent in
the implementation of the Boston
desegregation ruling. In any
event the buses will continue to
roll. And so perhaps will a few
heads. Or maybe it will only be
those young confused minds,
frustrated by the nonsense of it
all.
Support
Your United
Negro College
Fund
Why Some Teachers Come To Spelman
Pamela Spruill
Staff Reporter
As a black student at Spelman,
I’ve often wondered how white
teachers feel about being a part of
the academic community.
Curiosity led me to ask several
teachers. Those teachers were
Dr. Richard DePagnier, Mr.
Vaughn Morrison, Dr. Diana
Axelsen, and Dr. Harry
LeFevere.
When asked what influenced
him to come to Spelman, Dr.
DePagnier said that he had been
teaching in black schools for eight
years before coming here. He
also noted that when he got here,
he had no idea that Spelman was
a women’s college. He says that
he has enjoyed his years here at
Spelman and showed the
plaque that he had made from an
article written about him in the
Spotlight some time ago. When
asked whether the fact that he
was teaching black students had
affected the way he viewed his
role as an educator, Dr.
DePagnier at once said no. He
feels that his experience here has
been a rewarding one and the
learning process between him
and his students has been
reciprocal. Dr. D. enjoys his work
here and feels that he won’t be
leaving.
Mr. Morrison, when asked about
his decision to come to Spelman
said he wanted to come to the
south. He also wanted to con
tinue teaching in colleges.
Having children in Atlanta and
friends at Spelman influenced his
reasons for coming here.
When asked about black higher
education, Mr. Morrison said that
he feels that higher education is
essentially the same and that it
boils down to "people”
education. Since mathematics is
an exact science, he feels he
would teach it the same regar
dless to what ethnic group his
students belonged to.
Seeing a need for development
in our philosophy department, as
well as an opportunity to come
south, Dr. Axelsen came to
Spelman.
In view of the long line of black
leaders who have emerged from
black institutes of learning, Dr.
Axelsen feels that black higher
education is important and should
be maintained as such. The
availability of information about
our culture and folk history makes
the Atlanta University Center in
particular, an example of the
importance of black colleges.
Through the educational
process, it is important that the
student become a whole, well-
rounded individual, Dr. Axelsen
says. In any situation, the in
structor should learn as much as
possible about the culture of the
students being taught. White
teachers here should be aware of
the culture of blacks as well as
their problems in order to be
effective. It is important to learn
to relate as fully as possible to the
students, she says. When asked
how she felt students could
combat racism, Dr. Axelsen
replied, “By becoming aware of
the. processes and. ways,though
which it is maintained. Having an
active questioning frame of mind
is important in the fight against
racism.°
I also spoke to Dr. LeFevere,
who is head of the sociology
department. He was asked to
come to Spelman by a friend of
his who was at that time, the
chairman of the department. Dr.
LeFevere stated that there was a
need here, and he felt he could fill
it.
Dr. LeFevere feels that black
higher education has several
meanings, on the literal level, it is
the same as any other, in that a
person who has received a liberal
education, should be liberated.
That is to say he has knowledge of
the forces that govern his life. He
has an understanding of the
world. Black higher education
gives special attention to the
problems of blacks and here at
Spelman, special attention is
given to the role of women in
society.
The role of a teacher is to lead
the student out of himself. He
should serve as a catalyst to the
student who will in turn bring out
his own potential. The fact that
for the most part his students are
women, Dr. LeFevere says, does
affect the material that he teaches
because of the interests of his
students. The manner in which
he teaches however, remains the
same.
Dr. LeFevere suggests a
number of ways through which
students can combat racism.
The underlying idea is to come
to an intellectual understanding
of its sources.
As you Can see, these teachers
have come here for a variety of
reasons and offer diversity in
their views for the teaching
process.
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