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Page 2 - Spelman Spotlight Editorial by Lei Charlton If opening convocation for the second semester 1976-1977 school year, was any in dication of Spelman’s communication system, we are still in the Dark Ages(and I may not have said anything ‘cause no one said we were ever out of them!) About 30 Spelman sisters, one brother from Morehouse, and a dozen or so faculty and ad ministration members scattered themselves in Sisters’ Chapel, which seemed particularly large that day. One argument may stand firm, “Nothing ever happens at those convocations.” But if you do not go, you will not know how much nothing happens nor what that nothing was. You have to keep abreast to be knowledgeable and well-rounded! Well... The issue of the editorial is not to reprimand those who did not attend convocation. Dr. Stewart addressed the question, “Is College Worth It?” And while some may have left the program with the question answered or unanswered, I was convinced that he felt that college is worth “the time and toil you as students spend in these hallowed halls.” Students will be paid back for their education by its earning power and the emotional and intellectual growth it provides, Dr. Stewart said. Private and Black institutions of higher education in particular, are suffering some pretty harsh but quite valid evaluations. Do they yield products usable and functional in an ever-growing and utterly complex society? And, how do you get support for something which is under such severe at tack? Spelman is having problems — financial and academic. Dr. Stewart made no attempt to have us think otherwise. College officials expect a half-million dollar deficit for the 1977-1978 school year. The application pool of students declines. The number of students majoring in the Liberal Arts curriculum is declining. And what after all is Spelman but a Liberal Arts college? There are problems with identity. We should be flexible enough to deal with that. Offer more courses. More courses means hire more instructors; that re quires money — money Spelman obviously does not have. And while students, in our subsidized arrangement, pay a small fraction of the total cost of an individual’s education, still the burden should not be thrust upon them to provide more income (i.e. tuition rises should be checked). I am an advocate of free education. I see industrialized, capitalistic, bureaucratic education as a supreme hypocrisy. I don’t believe America will ever suffer “over-education.” She won’t stand for that! Is a national movement for full, federally- funded education that inconceivable? What can be conveived should be achieved. And if schools are not in the business to make money, certainly administrators would welcome freedom from financial problems. Then they could really undertake the job of educating! In the mean-time what about appealing to Black corporations (Black Enterprises?) for some help or to individuals who have finan cial resources and are truly concerned with the struggle of the Black race? We need tangible answers to the problem of Spelman’s existence. We can not merely say we are about the task of producing educated folks, equipped to deal with change, able to compete and survive. We must be able to do this. And we must be ready to make whatever changes are necessary to achieve our ends. South African Worker By Margret Lee Spelman College Class ’76 Following the Soweto Riots in South Africa that occurred during the summer of 1976, much attention has been given to the often ignored plight of Blacks in the racists white regime of South Africa. The riots that occurred and con tinue to occur are in opposition to the oppression and exploitation that the masses of Blacks must exist under in the Republic of South Africa. The Blacks are fighting for ma jority rule and the right to determine their own destiny. The situation in South Africa is very serious as is evident by the fact that the youth who are basically the leaders of the present struggle in South Africa have been placing themselves in a position to be killed by the South African government to display the fact that the struggle for majority rule will continue until the vic tory is won. The Black worker in South Africa is one of the most op pressed groups in South Africa. This article will provide some insight into the present situation of the Black worker in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa promotes the most cruel and inhuman form of racism that exists in the world today. This form of racism is known the world over as apartheid. South Africa is ruled by a white minority who maintains this system. Apartheid means that seventy percent of the population must live on thirteen percent of the land, and on eight reserves or Ban- tustans; it means that Africans cannot own property or settle in white areas of the country. Apartheid means that Blacks in South Africa must carry passports at all times or be thrown in jail and it means that African workers cannot form or join trade To The Ms. Lei Charlton Editor Spelman SPOTLIGHT Spelman College Atlanta, Georgia 30314 Dear Editor: Amazing Grace...as I sit here in my New England dormitory, listening to the voices of praise arising from out of the sanctity of my Alma Mater; the Atlanta University Center, and Spelman College in particular. Yes -1 am filled with pride that our “voices” are being heard still throughout this country, via unions. Apartheid further means that Blacks receive a greatly inferior education com pared to the whites and it means that Blacks receive less than one tenth of the income that whites receive. Prime Minister Voster of South Africa, during the elec tion of 1970 said: We are building a nation for whites only. We have a right to our own idenity just as Blacks and other non-whites have a right to theirs. Black people are entitled to political rights, but only over their own people. Continued on page 3 Editor: the inauguration of our new democratic president, Jimmy Carter. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Yes - our battles. Yes, indeed - our republic. “Let it resound, loud as the roaring sea§...” In anticipation of the en durance, of the American dream... Warmest personal regards to the Spelman community. Sincerely, Debbie M. Newton Brown University Spelman College Class’76 SPEAKING PLAINLY! “Paying Back” By Pamela James _ J o President Carter expressed,' on several occasions, that An drew Young was one of the few politicians he felt indebted towards. Indeed, this only fit ting because of the long, tedious hours and miles Young experienced in order to gather support in the black com munities for the President. It is beyond a doubt that President Carter owed Young a political payback. However, this indebtedness may prove to be a shortchanged ordeal for Andrew Young. The Am bassadorship to the U N is a position which carries enormous prestige and honor. Nevertheless it may also prove to provide an enormous amount of prestigious and honorable headaches, as a compensation for symbolic interraction between nations. President Carter promised during his campaign to involve more blacks and women in his administration. In an effort to keep this promise, Carter “carefully” constructed a cabinet consisting of only two women, one black and one white. He also appointed Een Brown deputy chairman of the National Democratic Party. Black leaders are already i cohorts with President Carter for his “carefully” constructed administration. Moreover, we must ask ourselves why would a president, who continuously voiced his concern over the plight of Blackamerica, place Young with all of his past civil rights experience and political abilities, in an area more concerned with international rather that internal affairs of this country. Black people are still fight ing against unemployment, poverty, discrimination, racism, a yearning for decent housing, among other problems which have plagued our people for hundreds of years, This point needs to be examined fully, for it may shed light on the difference between promises and practices. Andrew Young, in many of his interviews with the mass media, has responded to the controversy over his ap pointment by saying tht he does not feel that the problems Blackamericans face can be solved until the resources and social structures of the third world are stabilized. This statement by Young does not and cannot reassure starving black, people in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, or in the slums of Harlem and Detroit, that their stomachs will be full, or they will triumph over racism when In dia becomes a world power. Let us remember Am bassador Yourtg arid President Carter, “Charity begins at home,” not in India or South Africa, but in Georgia, Texas, California, Montana, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, and wherever oppressed people reside in this country. It should be our immediate concern and hope that these types of politcal paybacks are not indicative of what Blac kamericans can expect as their reward for electing President Carter. SPOTLIGHT STAFF Editor-in-chief Associate Editor Feature Editor Business Manager .. Secretary Photographers Advertisement Staff Graphics Reporters: Office Assistance: Contributing Writers: Lei Charlton .Stephanie Nelson . .Amanda Seward ... .Pamela Broom India Burton Roxie Hughes Pamela James ... Adrienne Pack Joyce Winters Monteith Mitchell . Tandra Dawson Josette Cole Tanya Clarkson Rocita Diggs .. Angelle Cooper Novice Johnson Robyn Mahone Malrey Head Angela Phoenix Francine Earl Myma Scott .. Debra Gilmore Drusheena Kyles Neyeswah Abiku Margaret Lee Holly Johnson Advisors: Ms. Judy Gebre-Hewit Mrs. Helen Brooks Ms. Anne Thomas Spelman Spotlight P.O. Box 50 Spelman College Atlanta, GA. 30314 (404) 525-1743 Printers: Chapman Publishing Company, Inc.