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Page 2 - Spelman Spotlight
Editor-In-Chief — Avy D. Long
Associate Editor — Malrey Head
Development Editor
Pamela D. Moore
Reporters
Angela Alexander
Sheron Covington
Pamela Johnson
Shelia Poole
Vallta Sellers
Nancy K. West
Dorothy Williams
Contributing Writers
Elayne Walker
Adele Newson
Photographers
George Balams
Ruth Cauthen
Advisor
Christopher Reynolds
A Source of Black Hope
by Malrey Head
Morehouse Medical School, the only black medical school to
be opened this century recently got underway.
Although it has a very small enrollment, it is a step toward
producing more black doctors. Statistics show that black doctors
are a great minority in the city and an even greater minority in the
rural areas. If Morehouse is successful, and it is sure to be,
measures can be taken to help increase the number of black
doctors and black medical care.
Morehouse and its establishment of the Medical School is proof
that it is trying to live up to its responsibility to black people. It is
allowing more persons, and especially those who may not have
made it into white institutions, the opportunity to make it in this
society.
There is often talk of the demise of black institutions, but
without black institutions, many black people would not be where
they are today. It seems that we as a people should be grateful to
black institutions and feel a responsibility to make them and their
programs work. Despite integration, black institutions in this
country and including those in the Center are continuing to make
their contributions to society.
Morehouse is only an example, but a good example of what
black institutions can mean to black people. Of course much of the
talk about the loss of black schools applies to public schools, but
private institutions have their problems too. Private schools are
very hard to finance and because they sometimes use federal funds
they are faced with the threat of possibly having to integrate.
But black institutions, public or private, should strive to
maintain their place in society. For many individuals, black
institutions are their only source of hope. This is to say that
black institutions take only those persons considered to be the
bottom of the barrel. It simply means that black institutions are a
means of giving students that are pushed out of larger crowded
institutions and those that just need that little extra help, the
opportunity to move on in society.
So, like Morehouse, black institutions should continue to
expand their resources and strive to remain so that black people
can continue to take advantage of what they have to offer. And we
as black people should applaud and encourage black institutions
and their programs as a means of helping ourselves.
Cafeteria Receives Comment
Dear Editor,
I would like to commend the cafeteria staff for their courteous and
polite attitude toward the students this year. It is certainly something that
we are not use to, and I hope they will maintain their present attitudes.
Even though the cafeteria food doesn’t seem to show much
improvement, their positive attitudes make eating a more pleasant
experience.
Also, the snack bags on Sunday is a very good idea. Sometimes the food
in the bags is more appetizing than Sunday dinner.
However, I do have one complaint. Will someone please replace the
front cover on the water fountain? Having exposed wires not only looks
bad but it may not be safe. Pam Demse Moorg
Sophomore
Apathy: How Much
Does It Cost?
by Avy D. Long
Yes, here it is again—that
ugly word called apathy which
has plagued this and other
campuses year after year after
year. Only this time, it has a
dollar sign ($) attached to it.
Have you ever wondered
exactly how the $30,000 or
$40,000 Spelman Student
Government Association
(SSGA) budget is spent? Do
you think you’re getting your
money’s worth from the $30
activity fee that you pay each
year? Would you like to have a
voice in how this money is
spent?
If you have not asked
yourself these questions before,
it is time to start thinking about
them. This school is no
different from any other
governmental structure in
which the leaders are accoun
table to their constituents.
Students have a responsibility
to see that student leaders are
serving in the best interest of
the student body. If you think
that student leaders are doing
their jobs well, then compli
ment them. In the same respect,
if student leaders are not doing
a good job, they should be
constructively criticized.
The time to become involved
and informed is now. Don’t
make the mistake that some of
us have made by getting
involved too late. For instance,
last year’s SSGA has left this
year’s administration with a
$7,000 deficit which affects
each and every one of us
whether we realize it or not. But
what can be done about it now?
From what I’ve been told—
“nothing.”
Those who are responsible
for this deficit are no longer
among us. At this point the best
thing to do is to make sure that
this mistake is not repeated by
the 1978-79 administration and
to put what’s left of our budget
to the best possible use.
In order to do either of these
two things, it is important to
have a certain amount of infor
mation. However, if one does
not have a sufficient amount of
information, she cannot accu
rately assess the situation. She
cannot tell if the SSGA is
spending too little money in
certain areas or too much in
others. This has been my
experience while trying to
obtain certain information
from the SSGA. Ms. Kathy
Carter, SSGA president, has
been quite unwilling to disclose
information concerning the
budget that I feel should be
available to any student who is
interested in knowing it One
reason she gave me for not
disclosing this information is
because she does not want any
“malicious or fallacious state
ments” to be circulated through
out the student body. Instead of
letting it seep through the
grapevine, she prefers to inform
the entire student body at one
time so that we can all hear it
from the same source. This is all
well and good except for the
fact that she has continuously
postponed student body meet
ings in which this information
is to be disclosed. I, for one, am
getting quiet restless. Hope
fully, by the time you read this
editorial, the long awaited
student body meeting will have
taken place and we will know
exactly how our SSGA budget
is being utilized.
The student’s responsibility
does not stop after the cam
paign speeches and election of
SSGA or class officers. We
must all keep abreast of what is
happening on our campus and
determine if these events are in
keeping with the total Spelman
image that we would like to
project. And just what is the
image that we would like to
project? Do we want to create a
new image of involvement,
awareness, and responsbilility
or do we want to continue to
project the traditional image of
superficial concerns and elitism
which encompasses such things
as parties, fashion trends, and
Morehouse men???
This strange face has
suddenly popped up in
odd places throughtout
Spelman and Morehouse
—on the sidewalks, on
bulletin boards, on
walls, in buildings.
Have you seen it?
No one has yet caught the
culprit-artist at work.