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Page 2 - Spelman Spotlight
EDITORIAL
Robyn D. Mahone, Editor-In-Chief
Weathering the storm of student protest,
despite the cries for a woman, he came and
now it is all official. Dr. Donald M. Stewart is
the sixth president of Spelman College. It is
DATUM.
Some students silently, and some not so
silently, continue to hold the view that they
could have found a woman (but he’s n ot bad).
Others, who thought that an emulsion type
relationship would exist between president
and students are pleased (some pleased in
spite of themselves) to find that Dr. Stewart
has blended in beautifully. Still others sing
no palinodes, they had not prescribed
gender, they wanted a president who was
most qualified, sex aside. And they believe
they’ve gotten the best.
Spelman Student Government As
sociation President, Paula Spence, said, we
re-evaluated our feelings and priorities.
Consequently, we have invested our trust in
Dr. Stewart.
I’ve heard rumors, invigorated through
humor, about two of the presidents Spelman
has had. One was about an extremely tall
woman who, if she caught you off campus in
the hour that you were supposed to be on, she
would pick you up by the collar and deliver
vou to vo,ur dormitory personally with social
probation on your head. ‘Some students
have never seen president so and so before’
was the other whispered joke. Or, ‘so that’s
president so and so. I’ve been here almost
four years now and I kid you not, I have never
laid eyes on the president before this day!’
Dr. Stewart is neither a tyrant nor does he
reign, seemingly incognito, to students. He is
highly visible. You may be surprised to find
how easy it is to rap with him and how eager
he is to listen to what you, the student, has to
say.
In his opening convocation speech he des
cribed himself as coming into his sophomore
year at Spelman. He did not hesitate to tell us
that, yes, he was a bit bewildered and a little
confused and frightened in his freshman
year at Spelman.
Now that Dr. Stewart has a “sense” of the
college and has pinpointed the problem
areas, he has rolled up his sleeves, so to
speak, and his relationship with the entire
Spelman Family is a reciprocal one. He is
truly one of us.
Aggressively looking for ways to enhance
our external image, identifying possible
sources of Financial support, talking with
students, in summation an entire self-study
effort has been initiated. Pulling together is
Dr. Stewart’s direction to the Spelman
family, sharing and caring.
Dr. Stewart is the new blood Spelman can
add to its own for the ultimate in aggressive
progression. Students should continue to
utilize the electric intelligence and ability
tobe upwardly mobile sine qua non Spelman
would cease to exist.
Some of us have always had our sleeves
rolled up. Some sleeves are rolled up a little,
some, the apathetic students, not at all. If
you haven’t rolled your sleeves up, do it
today. Don’t hesitate, reciprocate.
Dr. Stewart, we are glad that you are here.
Dear Editor:
1 wish to offer my
congratulations to the
Spelman family for hosting
what I considered to be an
excellent inaugural program
last Sunday, October 2.' 1. The
sneakers were often witty and
f urn- •, <‘\ (lie ba- ic tries
ig \\ a -• dear and to the point:
D<» aid M. Stewart is the best
person to lead Spelman at this
time and Spelman College is
here to stay.
Of particular interest to me
were the , greetings to the
president made by Ms. Paula
Spence, S .G .A . President of
Spelman; Mrs. Laura
Rockefeller Chasin, Spelman
College Trustee; and the salute
to the president made by Dr.
Martin Meyerson, President of
the University of
Pennsylvania. Ms. Spence
made an opening statement
refering to the irony of
Spelman inaugurating a male
president, and pledged the sup
port of the student body in a
show of tact and diplomacy
which deserved the applause
she received. Mrs. Chasin, us
ing the “mind’s-eye” of each
individual in the audience,
gave an interesting account of
Spelman’s beginning by using
an anecdote about her great
grandmother. Expanding
upon the idea of her great
grandmother “paddling her
own canoe,” she paralleled the
anecdote to Dr. Stewart taking
command of a large, powerful
ship. Dr. Meyerson used wit
during his salute to Dr.
vStewart, refering to the
“marriage” about to take place
and remarking upon the
stormy “engagement an
nouncement” which lasted for
a day during the past school
year.
Pamela D. James
Associate Editor
“You would want not to turn
away from this article. And
why did I not choose some
other topic as opposed to this
one? Rest tu, it should be quite
obvious.’’
I am sure the English
language is continually turn
ing in its grave since we killed
it some time ago. What started
out as a cute use of slang has
spread, like an incurable
disease, all over the campus,
permeating the verbalizations
of a significant proportion of
the students who reside on
campus.
It is distressing to see that
our abuse of the English
language has reached such
tragic ground. It is a shame to
reveal that this will eventually
result in our own demise,
especially if this slang leaves
the immediate Spelman com
munity.
It was disturbing to find that
there were a lot of seniors who
could not write a decent essay.
Many students, who were
concerned about this alarming
fact, questioned the validity of
two years of a foreign
language over the need to
develop English skills. Now.it
is even more imperative that
Speaking
Plainly
we construct classes in speech
as well!!!
“Rest. . . Tu . . . Toi. . . Why
did I not do this .. .? Why did
he not say that...?” are all like
sour chords to those who have
been strong enough to refrain
from the use of such slang. It is
quite evident that the use of
this type of jargon will neither
be acceptable when we get to
graduate school nor the means
to get there. Moreover, job
interviews will be a dismal
failure.
The abuse of the English
language has reached an all-
time high. It is now time for us
to reconsider the extent to
which we have mutilated our
native tongue before it is too
late. Or - “We’ll all have to rest
To Our Readers
The advisors Editorial in
the last issue of The
Spotlight was written by
Ms. Anne Thomas, a profes
sor in the Sociology
Department.
The review of “The Death
of Chaka” was written by
Spotlight staff reporter
Gassandra Glavton.
The program allowed me to
observe, listen, and learn
several items of interest about
this year’s Spelman family. I
was touched by the words and
effect created as the audience
sang the Spelman Hymn, too
rarely heard around the
Atlanta University Center.
The harmony of the Spelman
Glee Club, and the
performance of Dr. Joyce
Johnson on the organ were
both exciting and enjoyable.
And finally, I had the op
portunity to meet President
and Mrs. Stewart and offer my
congratulations and best
wishes to them.
The inauguration, while
remaining mercifully short for
an event of such magnitude,
far exceeded my expectations
and made me glad to have
taken advantage of the op
portunity to attend the
ceremonies.
Claude A, Ford, Jr.
Morehouse College
Editor-In-Chief
Robyn D. Mahone
Associate Editor
Pamela I). James
Feature Editor
Nancy West
Literary Editor
Karen McCullin
Copy Editors
Roxie F. Hughes
Mai rev Head
Avv Long
Advertising Manager
Renee Willis
Business Manager
Janet Griffin
Assistant''
Melodye Means
Photographers
Terence V. Smith
Tamasha Ujuzi
Graphics
Tandra Dawson
Josette Cole
Reporters
Valita Sellers
Tandra Dawson
Cassandra Clayton
Pamela Moore
Sheron Covington
Dorothy Williams
Brenda Cleveland
Tamasha Ujuzi
Contributor
Nancy Hite
Secretary
Ellen Thomas
Advisors
Ms. Anne Thomas
Ms. Nora McNiven
Spelman Spotlight
P.O. Box 50
Atlanta, Georgia 30314