Newspaper Page Text
SPELMAN
m
■J8 8i^
THE VOICE
OF BLACK WOMANHOOD
SPO TLIGHT
Vol. 31, No. 9
Atlanta, Georgia
May, 1978
6 Spanky’ Smith Talks Gymnastics
By Teresa Smith
I got started in gymnastics
at the age of 18 here at
Spelman College. Until recen
tly I’ve only been able to
participate during the
semesters. During the summer
before my junior year I started
classes at the Lovette School of
Gymnastics. I kept in shape
when my classes ended that
summer through cheerleading
practice. It wasn’t as extensive
as gymnastics, but it was
something to keep me going,
and it did help me when we had
stunt practice. My basic stunts
(i.e., cartwheels, rolls,
backward and forward
walkovers) became more
graceful and I could tie my
moves together with turns,
poses, etc. I’ve studied
gymnastics strictly four
semesters, two summers, and
on and off this past semester.
My first teacher of gymnas
tics was Ms. Gwendolyn Mid-
dlebrooks. She was influential
because I knew some of the
skills and she pushed me to
continue to learn pew ones.
She was a strong spotter, and
there were no personality con
flicts and she turned out to be
my second mother. She would
let Erica Fredericks and me
work out during her Saturday
classes. Erica and I would
start at 10:00 a.m. and stayed
until 4:00 or 5:00 p .m. We would
be so tired and weak that we
had to struggle to walk back to
our dorm. By keeping up with
the Saturday classes, Erica
and I were offered a teacher’s
assistant job with Ms. Mid-
dlebrooks. These classes are
attended by children from the
city. One of the most talented
students is Monica Guy, the
daughter of Rev. William Guy
who pastors at Friendship
Baptist Church. I’ve worked
with her and I’ve seen her turn
into a very nice gymnast.
Another teacher and
another favorite person of
mine was Daniel Winslow. He
was my supervisor when I
worked at Colony Square
Hotel as a cashier last
semester. He wanted me to
work night owl which is a shift
from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on
Friday and Saturday nights. I.
had to think of a way to get out
ofit, so Itoldhimthat lwentto
classes on Saturday mornings
at 10:00 a.m. and that it would
be hard for me to work and also
get to class during the
morning. He asked me what
kind of class and I said
gymnastics. Well, that was the
key word. He is a gymnast—a
black gymnast. He studied in
Europe and he knew everyth
ing there was. I brought him to
Spelman on Saturday
mornings (Ms. Middlebrooks
was away studying) and after
they saw how good he was, he
was given a teaching job. The
classes grew in number, and a
lot of the old students came
back to work out. Well, he
didn’t stay long because he
was given a new job. He spoke
French fluently and was given
q job at Braniff International
as a supervisor. These were the
only two teachers in my life.
My practice time has dwin
dled terribly because of school.
During freshman and
sophomore years, I was able to
practice at least 18 hours a
week. Now, I’m lucky to get in
five hours.
Being black has not been
damaging in finding a place to
practice. You just have to know
people who know people.
Daniel took me to Arden
Zinax. I was too old to get on
the team, and if I did compete I
would h ave to submit myself in
competition.
I’ve had difficulty with my
weight. According to Daniel, I
was supposed to be between 90
and 100 pounds. I am now
weighing 135 and I find it very
hard to lose (not that I want
to). I told him that black
women had very different
body structures than white
women aijd that I should lose
just enough to be comfortable,
and also enough so that I could
have height in aerial stunts. I
also have weak wrists and
knees, but the only way to
strengthen them is through
practice and more practice.
My favorite gymnast is Olga
Korbut. She was one of the first
to bring life into the sport, and
she was extremely enthused by
the sport and also played to the
crowd while performing.
Two Questions Asked Of Seniors
By Avy Long
In order to get some idea of
what is on the minds of
seniors, they were asked these
two questions: 1) What will you
miss most about Spelman?
and 2) What has Spelman
taught you?
The following are the res
ponses of seniors questioned
and their answers.
“I will not miss anything,
but I will always carry what it
has taught me. Spelman has
taught me to be proud of being
black, it has helped me to ap
preciate my heritage, and I
have learned more about black
people. It has taught me to be
‘proud of where I came from,
what I am, and what I can be.”
—Sharia Jones, Spanish ma
jor, Sacramento, California.
“I will miss the haphazard
way of learning how to
survive, and the first en
counter with all the various
personalities that supposedly
make up the world. Spelman
has taught me what to expect
in life as far as dealing with
people. I have also learned
what I don’t want out of life.”
—Vicki Elaine Felder, drama
major, Orlando, Florida.
“Friends and going to Cas-
bah every weekend are what I
will miss most. I have learned
that I don’t want to go to an all
black, all-female anything
ever again in my life.” —Kim
Moore, political science major,
Silver Springs, Maryland.
“I will miss my friends and
the campus. Spelman has
taught me to be firm, in
dignant, and to have ‘steel
nerves’. I have gotten the ‘true
black experience’.” —Lorraine
Brown, English major, Augus
ta, Georgia.
“I will miss the close-knit
relationship with the faculty.
Spelman has taught me how to
deal with black people
exclusively. Spelman has
taught me how not to be, how
not to act, and how not to let
people run over you.”
—Rhonda Williams, child
development major, Detroit.
“The memories of good times
Continued on page 3
Inside This Issue
Senior Wills And Testaments P a ge 3
IRS Has Jobs Pag® 5
Toni Morrison - Commencement Speaker
page 5
Dr. Stewart Talks About: Housing,
Meal Plan, Sororities page 7