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Page 2 - Spelman Spotlight
EDITORIAL
Editor-In-Chief Robyn D. Mahone
My last editorial. Years from now, when I’m old and gray, I will
open my memory album to read my last editorial written for the
Spelman Spotlight. I will reflect, then, upon how I started out
writing conscious-raising editorials. You know, remember-that-
you’re-in-a-position-to-help-others editorials. And I firmly believe
that and think college students should adhere to it.
Then, I began to write editorials which were closer to the
immediate concerns of the college. Since I had gotten no response
to my earlier editorials, in writing , I figured this would do it. But it
didn’t.
During all of this time, I’d have my fellow students come up to
me and say things like, hey Robyn, I agreed with you, oryes, what
you were saying was true but also thus and thus is the case. And I
would always say, write a letter to the editor. I would also have
fellow students come up to me with one of their beliefs and tell me
that I should write about it. No, you write it, that’s what you
believe, I would say. I got a lot of promises but very few of them
ever came through.
Most editorials written under my editorship have been written
by members of the staff. Don’t get me wrong, they were sincere
editorials, but somehow, it’s not the same.
I hope Avy Long, your new editor-in-chief, has a better time with
all you seemingly cripple-fingered students out there. One thing
you should realize is that a letter to the editor can cut through red
tape. Really. The President reads the Spotlight. Mrs. Stewart
does, others of the administration read the Spotlight, and still
others who are in the position to change or improve upon someth
ing you feel needs changing or improving. However, the editorial
page is not only an outlet for gripes, but a page to praise when
praise is due.
Another point I want to dwell on is this, if you think there is
something newsworthy which should be printed in the Spotlight
and you don’t think the staff knows about it, it would not be too
taxing for you to drop a note by the Spotlight office. Newspapers
thrive on tips. And, you will probably feel elated because someth
ing you felt the students should know was printed as a direct result
of your efforts.
Remember these things next year.
Oh yes, I hope you will forgive me for indulging myself just this
once to wish Mrs. Oretha Mahone and all of the mothers of the
world a happy Mother’s Day.
Students Speak Out
Selecting A Candidate
Malrey Head
Student protest groups seem
to be on the rise again.
Nationally as well as locally,
students are seen rising to
a uses which they support.
In the ’60s with the Civil
I ,ghts Movement, student ac-
1 vism and student protest
roups were at their height. As
gains were made this activism
died down. Today, leaders and
students of that period say
that today’s students are
apathetic and uninvolved. But
maybe, students, satisfied
with what was attained, felt no
need to protest. Now it seems
those days are changing.
Within the Atlanta University
Center (AUC) and Atlanta a
rise in student involvement
can be seen.
Two years ago, Spelman
students showed their concern
over the choosing of the new
president. The Young Socialist
Party often leads rallies and
forums to overturn the Bakke
decision or in support of the
Wilmington Ten. Recently,
students in the Center
marched in protest of what
they perceived as being the
biased reporting of Atlanta’s
two major white papers. Even
more recently, students from
Atlanta Junior College (AJC)
and Morehouse have voiced
their support of teachers who
they feel are being victimized
by the administrations at their
respective schools. It is ob
vious that students speak out
when they feel the need.
Maybe all students do not feel
strongly about every issue, but
when necessary, they make
themselves visible.
Hopefully leaders will take
notice that students are not as
apathetic as they thought.
Evidence is shown everyday
that students are aware and
concerned with what is going
on. Although it may be said
that student protestors are a
minority, from evidence it
seems that those days are ap
proaching when students will
again stand up in numbers for
causes that they believe in and
that truly will affect their lives.
Avy Long
About a week ago, it was
that time of the year again.
Students were deciding what
offi,ce they would run for, what
position they would be most
likely to succeed in, or maybe
they were just now getting a
chance to run for that office
they’ve always wanted but
were too bashful or didn’t quite
have all the qualifications for.
Exactly how much thought
goes into running for an office, „
we may never know. It is easier
to tell how much thought the
student body as a voting body
puts into it—not much.
Out of a student body of 1,-
250 students only a little more
than 400 students had voted by
3:30 p.m. on election day. If not
even half of the student body
had taken the trouble to vote, it
is safe to say that even fewer
came out to hear the can
didates’ speeches. Again, out
of 1,250 students, one of the
classrooms in Giles was large
enough to hold the entire
audience with a few people left
to find room on the floor, in the
windowsills, or standing
immediately outside the
doorway. The SSGA can
didates themselves made up a
significant portion of the
audience. Another significant
portion of the audience was
made up of class officer can
didates who had spoken the
night before, and lastly
students who already held
leadership positions. After
Mari Ladson
Every year, Morehouse
College has the Miss Maroon
and White Pageant. Miss
Maroon and White is the reign
ing campus queen for the next
school year. Many young
ladies would like to carry the
title and many young ladies
compete for the title. Being a
young lady from Spelman, I
am interested in the pageant. I
feel that there should be a more
democratic way of selecting
the homecoming campus
queen for Morehouse College.
In selecting the queen for
next year, each Morehouse
man was supposed to
nominate the names of three
young ladies for the pageant.
These young ladies were sup
posed to be nominated on the
basis of having “poise,
personality, intelligence and
character as well as beauty.”
After the period of selection of
the young ladies was finished,
less than 25 percent of the men
from Morehouse had voted.
The nominations of these
selections are the six nominees
who are now the finalists of the
pageant.
“The Miss Maroon and
White Pageant” was held in
the Martin L. King Chapel
(Morehouse campus) on April
21. The finalists did not have
to demonstrate any talent,
which may give insight into
these three groups concerned,
active students made up about
a fourth of the audience. And,
of course, there was a handful
of Morehouse men there.
The purpose of campaigning
and speeches is to give the
constituency an objective
method of selecting the best
candidate. Sure, we can all
vote for our friends, for
popularity, or just for a name
that looks familiar. However,
it takes a little more time and
thought to select the person
who is hard-working as well as
best-qualified for the
particular office she’s running
for.
The major responsibility of
informing the voters falls on
the candidate, but the student
body also has a responsibility.
If the candidate posts signs,
passes out fliers, and makes
speeches, it is the voters’ res
ponsibility to read and analyze
the signs and fliers and to
listen to and analyze speeches.
If the student voters do not
carry their end of the res
ponsibility, they have failed
just as miserably as an officer
who accepts an office but
neglects her duties.
When a question is raised
about the lack of participation
on Spelman’s campus, the
answers lead to a confusing
circle. The student body
blames the student leaders and
student leaders blame the
student body. As the saying
the character of the person.
Besides not having a talent
portion in the pageant, there
was a lack of participation of
the men of Morehouse at the
pageant. Actually there were
more women than men there
arid the women didn’t have a
vote.
I feel that this pageant, and
any other pageant that works
on this order are unfair. First
of all, if (as in this pageant),
there was a lack of sufficient
votes for a nomination, it
should have been invalid. The
pageant should at that time be
offered to anyone (junior or
senior) qualified to run. The
committee in charge of the
pageant should then conduct
an interview, pick the semi
finalists and then have the
pageant. The semi-finalists
should be involved in an ac
tivity with or around the men
of Morehouse, such as a ques
tion and answer period in an
assembly. This would let the
men see the qualities of the
contestants. In the Pageant,
there should be a talent
segment and a discussion
period which shows the
intelligence, personality and
character of the contestant.
The pageant should be
attended by a substantial
number of the men because
they are the voters.
goes: “where there’s smoke,
there’s fire”, which in this case
means that there must be
shortcomings on both sides.
The student body must
function as a body. Whether
participant or leader we must
all realize that we are all parts
of a whole. Everything that
each individual, each clique,
each club, or each class does
affects the student body as a
whole. The sooner we all
realize that there are sins of
omission as well as com
mission, the better off we will
all be. Not participating and
not getting involved is
harmful to the progress of the
Spelman student body. Once
each and every one of us
realizes how important in
dividual input is, the sooner we
can make Spelman a better
place to live.
Editor-in-Chief
Robyn I). Mahone
Associate Editors
Malrey Head
Avy Long
Feature Editor
Nancy West
Literary Editor
Karen McCullin
Copy Editors
Malrey Head
Avv Long
Business Manager
Melodve Means
Photographer
Terence V. Smith
Graphics
Josette Cole
Reporters
Valita Sellers
Pamela Moore
Sheron Covington
Dorothy Williams
Brenda Cleveland
Gayl Phillips
Angela Alexander
Secretary
Ellen Thomas
Advisors
Ms. Anne Thomus
Mr. Ed Collins
Contributors
Ms. Ann Thomas
Ms. Pamela Johnson
Wilma Wooten
Spelman Spotlight
P.O. Box 50
Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Morehouse Pageant Unfair