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Page 8 - Spelman Spotlight
Sororities!
Pledging On Campus
Members of the AUC Fashion Troupe rehearsing for upcoming show. Photo by Ruth Cauthen
Fashion Troupe Plans To Travel
by Angela J. Alexander
by Shelia Poole
After several years of protest
from students and some faculty
members, sororities will be offi
cially on campus. The four major
black sororities were invited to
initiate chapters on campus; Delta
Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho,
Alpha Kappa Alpha and Zeta Phi
Beta. Presently the Alpha Kappa
Alpha sorority does not have a
chapter on campus although one is
expected in November and no
word has been heard from the Zeta
sorority.
According to dean of students,
Ms. Sadie Allen, the decision to
have sororities on campus was pro
posed to President Donald Stewart
in November 1976 and a commit
tee was designed in January 1977.
The comittee members were; the
late Dr. Edward Riley, Dean Sadie
Alien, Dr. Katherine Brisbane,Dr.
William LeFlore, Dr. Pauline -
Drake, Dr. Jacquline Jones, Ms.
Laura Althimer, Ms. Rhoda Paul
and Ms. Flo Roberts.
The idea to let sororities on cam
pus was also motivated by com
plaints from faculty members and
parents that the students who were
pledging were falling asleep in class
and their grades were falling. Pres
ident Stewart said that by having
sororities on campus the school
can monitor the students so that
they maintain their grades.
President Stewart said that he
could no longer see the rationale of
not recognizing sororities since
Spelman has grown physically and
more students are enrolled. “I
think sororities are very responsive
and make great contributions to
the community. Today sororities
are far less socially oriented and
more service oriented,” he said.
Although President Stewart
advocates sororities on campus he
feels there are also drawbacks, “I
understand that sororities are very
selective about who can join and
can be very expensive,” he said, “I
would hate to see any student dis
criminated against.”
President Stewart said that
before sororities could offically be
on campus the committee had to
establish guidelines that had to be
approved by the Board of Trustees
and the national offices of the sor
orities involved. After the commit-
by Robin Barnes
Saturday Oct.14 was an evening
of cultural enjoyment for all who
attended the production of ‘‘The
African Wedding.” Developed by
Ms. Rose M. Guiraud a well
renown dance performer from the
Ivory Coast, it was a show to
remember.
Ms. Guiraud has been with us
here at Spelman for just four
weeks. In that time, she’s chosen
students from the various dance
classes and worked with them to
bring forth and produce one of the
tee had been established it was
chaired by Dean Allen.
Each sorority will have an advi
sor; they are Ms. Hulda Wilson of
Sigma Gamma Rho, Dr. Jacquline
Jones of Delta Sigma Theta and
Ms. Rhonda Paul of Alpha Kappa
Alpha. According to Dean Allen
the chapter presidents and dean
of pledges will sit on the
committee.
The purpose of the committee
will be to review violations, if any
occur. Although the college can
invoke penalities the national
chapter will be notified and the
penalities can lead to suspension of
the chapter.
The basic guidelines include:
1) Sororities agree to work in
accord with the college’s policies.
2) Women may be pledged at the
beginning of their sophomore year
provided they have passed a min
imum of 24 hours of college work.
3) Sororities agree not to inti-
ate anyone who has less than a 2.5
cumulative grade-point average.
4) Any student invited to join a
sorority must have satisfied her
financial obligations to the college
and other regulations with regard
to scholarship and conduct.
5) A student under 18 years of
age who wishes to join a sorority
must provide the dean of student
affairs and academic dean with
written permission from her par
ents or guardian.
6) Exchange students who wish
to join a sorority must receive per
mission from the dean of students
of her respective institution and
must fulfill the requirements of the
Committee on Sororities. The list
of guidelines will be included in the
student handbook. Office space
for sororities will be provided by
the college in the Manley Colleg
Center.
Dean of students Sadie Allen is
a member of the Sigma Gamma
Rho sorority. “I’ve been for sorori
ties on campus for years,” she said,
“when I was a student no one tal
ked about sororities they weren’t
very popular, especially on this
campus.”
Presently there are more than
20,000 chapters of fraternities and
sororities in the country with a
total membership of more than
eight million.
most intriguing events to be
brought to Spelman’s campus this
year.
Saturday’s performance was
complete detailed evidence of her
abilities and dynamics. In the Read
Hall Gymnasium the full crowd
applauded the dancers with a well
deserved standing ovation. The
efforts and time were well spent.
It’s clear that during her stay she’s
brought forth much of Spelman’s
potential dancers. The majority of
the dancers were freshman..
The Atlanta University Center
(AUC) Fashion Troupe, under the
direction of Dennis O. Shortt and
working with a staff of seven is
now in its fourth year. The troupe
includes 33 models and eight stu
dent helpers. Models in the AUC
Fashion Troupe come from Spel
man, Clark, Morehouse, and Mor
ris Brown. The eight student
helpers work in areas such as war
drobe and as stage managers.
Director Dennis Shortt, who is
the only black and the youngest
promoter of fashions, feels that he
has the confidence needed for the
particular field. He says,“Because
the group is made up of young
But what happens after the
mobile unit has gone and the rov
ing guard is in the guardhouse?
One student’s car was broken into
and a tape deck was stolen. Men
get on campus and sometimes find
their way into the dorms. Due to
the shortage of guards, anything
could happen.
Hopewell said that one of the
main problems in obtaining new
public safety officers is the slow
process involved. He said that an
applicant must have a high school
diploma or equivalent, previous
experience in security in a police or
related field for at least two years,
and he or she must pass a rigid
background investigation and
physical examination in order to
become a public safety trainee.
When space is available in the
Police Academy, Hopewell said,
the trainees are sent there for police
training. The entire process can
take 6 to 8 months.
One would think that the result
of such rigid qualifications would
be 44 sharp, professional public
safety officers. Unfortunately, that
people from across the U.S. and
because he feels they are the best
group of amateurs in the country,
he intends to take the talented
troupe all over the country. Shortt
hopes to establish an itinerary for
the group and have the travel,
climax the year. The troupe is
made up of a group of young,
determined, hardworking individ
uals who have a lot of talent.
Shortt stated that he is happy
that Clark and Brown feel its time
for unity , which is why the troupe
was started. He says the troupe
works as a whole and he is con
cerned that unity will remain in the
troupe throughout the year. When
they go “on-the-road” Shortt
is not always the case.
Many students report nastiness
on the part of the guards. But the
guards complain that quite a few
students treat them the same way.
Hopewell said he has heard
about the problem, but not one
student has come in and identified
a guard who spoke offensively to
her.
He said, “I instruct my officers
to be courteous, even if students
say something they don’t particu
larly like.”
Hopewell said he depends on the
students to make reports on offic
ers. He said that if students do not
turn in names and badge numbers
there is nothing he can do because
hearsay and rumors are not factual
evidence.
He also said there is a false loy
alty among students where men in
the dormitories after hours is
concerned.
Guards can be lax on the gate or
men can climb the fence, he said,
and get into a dorm which has been
left unlocked to see a girlfriend or
anyone they can find.
hopes that pay will be involved. He
also makes an effort to get his
models involved in the various
beauty contest, advertisments, etc.
around the city that may eventu
ally receive nationwide acclaim.
There will be two shows this
year, the first will be November 11th
at 7:00 p.m. Shortt says that the
AUC Fashion Troupe is composed
of “young blacks helping other
young blacks because to date, the
benefits of those in the troupe are
experience and an appreciation for
what they are doing.” The dona
tions for attending the fashion
show supports the United Negro
College Fund.
“A girl should get on the phone
in either case,” Hopewell said,
“and report it to the director of the
dormitory.”
Another criticism of the security
system is that ladies say they have
not been able to obtain keys to
their dorms after 6:00 a.m.
Hopewell said students can and
should be given keys after that
time. If the roving officer is unable
to open the door for a student, the
officer in the guardhouse should
contact the mobile unit to do so.
Hopewell recommended that stu
dents remind officers of this fact if
they ever encounter such a
problem.
Hopewell became the Director
of Public Safety in 1977, but was
on sick leave until October of the
same year, so he has been with the
department for a relatively short
time. He said, however, that to
build a security system and remove
all of the “bugs” can take anywhere
from 3 to 5 years.
But the security system must be
faring well because Hopewell said
(continued on page 9)
Ivory Coast Dancer
Produces “African Wedding”
Questions About Security
(continued Jrom page I) ^
