Page 3 - Spelman Spotlight
Freshmen Respond To Accusations
Waste of Talents and Energy
Being a freshman and a young
journalist, the article in the
September-October issue of the
Spotlight entitled, “Freshmen
Have Style of Their Own,” greatly
disturbed me.
First of all, the article was not
newsworthy because it was of little
importance to the majority of the
student body and faculty. As a
matter of fact, the principles on
which the article was based and the
examples that supported the prin
ciples were so vague and trite that
it reminded me of telephone gos
sip. The Spotlight staff should con
cern themselves with issues that
will inform their readers of events
and developments that will help
them deal with the outside forces
that oppress black people, espe
cially black women.
Secondly, I cannot understand
why Ms. Moore would waste her
talents and energy writing such an
insignificant, biased, and critical
article. When a more positive and
interesting story could have been
developed from the information
contributed by, Ms. Theresa
Chandler alone. Futhermore, the
story was based on presumptions
and unresearched facts. If the arti
cle was supposed to be an editorial
it should hav been labeled as such
and placed on the preceding pages.
Most important, I was under the
impression that the idea behind
Spelman sisterhood was for the
students to assist and direct each
other rather than to judge and
degrade. We complain that the
Morehouse men judge us unfairly,
yet we continue to criticize and
label each other. Moreover, the
intended purpose of every female
at Spelman should be to acquire an
adequate education and not to
impress those who are not directly
involved with helping us attain our
goals.
Melba Jenise Renfro
Poll Results
Most of the class of ‘82 was
directly moved by the article in
the last issue entitled “Freshmen
Have A Style of Their Own.” A
number ot response sheets were
circulated among the freshmen to
find out their views on the story.
In relation to the article as a
whole, according to the poles: The
freshmen felt the article to be
biased, opinionated, and trivial.
One response was “To classify a
class of (approx) 400 as wild, less
aggressive, uncooperative, unim
pressive and immature on the basis
of three incidences and a few opin
ions, was in bad taste.”
Another response was “The
image gave the impression of
reflection on 99 percent of the class
when it was really only 1 percent.
As far as upperclassmen are con
cerned, the polls show the major
ity of the upperclassmen were seen
as snobbish and uncooperative.
While next in line they were
seen to be pleasant, with the
exception of a few. The implica
tions pertaining to Morehouse,
and the implication or presump
tion taken in the incident of a red
leotard were not looked upon
favorably. The majority felt, they
were irrelevant-according to the
response sheets. The class seems
to feel they’re not being judged cor
rectly.
id
HAD PLANNED To HAVC a
J^RNIOUS ™ 5 /VM ^
BoT i
Sc ,we^u
CAN'T FlflD T0
L c iT in!!!
Impressive, Mature, Sadate
Dear Editor
UNIMPRESSIVE! WILD! IM
MATURE! These are just a few of
the characteristics branded unjust
ly on the freshman class of 1978.
Exactly what does this broad
unfair characterization prove? I
feel that the person who wrote the
article concerning the freshman
class stereotyped the class and did
not make a fair evaluation of the
upperclasswoman as a whole body.
In the future 1 would hope that the
Spelman Spotlight staff will not
write articles that are totally un
supported and biased. As a mem
ber of the freshman class, 1 did not
appreciate the article nor did I feel
the article was necessary. I would
like to point out that the class of
1982 is one of the most impressive,
mature, and sedated classes that
has ever entered Spelman College.
Ms. Eyerce L. Armstrong
We Are Not Here to Impress
As freshmen class president, I,
Dianne Givens, was directly
affected by the article. Although
the verbal accusations made about
us were the same accusations that
were made about previous fresh
man classes, I felt that it was
thoughtless on the author’s part to
even consider writing such an arti
cle. Many freshman felt personally
accused of being “wild,” “unim
pressive,” etc. Her evaluation of
the upperclassmen’s views was
invalid because it was lacking the
proper statistics needed to base it
on. No real survey was ever con
ducted. As for her “talking to
numerous upperclassmen,” those
could have been friends of hers
whose views were similar to hers. I
say this because it seems strange to
me that she could not find one
upperclassman whose views dif
fered from hers. I, having only
been here for two months, have
encountered dozens.
As far as the article is concerned,
it was contradictory. After Ms.
Moore labeled us as “wild,” she
was included in a picture on the
opposite page acting “wild” right
along with us. Her accusations and
insinuations were unfair and in
most cases untrue. To say her
examples of our “wildness” were
weak would be an understatement.
She generalized in almost all of her
too many accusations. She labeled
us as a whole instead of on an indi
vidual basis. As for her stating that
we were unimpressive to the upper
classmen, I have just one statement
to make. We, the freshman class,
are not here to impress anyone. We
are here for a purpose. We are here
to learn together academically, cul
turally, and socially.
I hope, that in the future, the edi
tor of the newspaper will refrain
from letting articles of such con
tent be printed. It will only be det
rimental to the achievement of a
oneness within the Spelman
Sisterhood.
As an upperclassmen, I, Donna
Dunlap, felt that although every
incoming freshmen class is stig
matized as “wild,” it was inconsid
erate on the part of the author to
write the article. Upon the release
of the article, many upperclassmen
were opposed to the generalization
that was placed upon the freshmen
class. Undoubtly, there are those
who may be considered “wild,” but
there exists also, those who have
achieved scholastic excellence in
the freshmen class. The “wild”
members of the class are out num
bered by those that are talented
and have the ability to pass on their
creativity to others.
Upon the arrival of future fresh
man classes, I should hope not to
witness such distatesful articles
segregating the freshman, or any
other class from the Spelman Sis
terhood.
THE WOODROW
WILSON SCHOOL
of Public and International Affairs
at PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
will interview students interested in pur
suing a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs
with the following Reids of specialization:
International Relations; Modernization
and Development; Urban Affairs and
Domestic Policies; and Economics and
Public Policy. Interviews will be held
on Thursday, November 9, from 9 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. at the Placement Center,
Atlanta University Center. Contact
Mr. George Land. Minorities and
women are encouraged to attend.
