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
Vilata Sellers
Nancy K. West
Donna Williams
Dorothy Williams
Photographers
George Balams
Ruth Cauthen
Randy Grier
Contributing Writers
Robin Bames
Daisy Minter
Adele S. Newson
Elayne D. Walker
Rolonda G. Watts
Advisor
Christopher Reynolds
Does Unity Exist — Part II
by Robin Barnes
In the last issue, I was sure that
there were a number of ways to
achieve this unity we all need.
It is evident that we all have our
different career goals in the center.
Hopefully, we won’t let these goals
distort our thinking. All things
come together to form society. At
the four undergraduate schools, we
have those in the field of communi
cations, law, medicine, business,
education, and so on. Correct me if
I’m wrong, but we all need each
other. Businessmen get sick, the
media keeps us informed, doc
tors and everyone else have a good
chance of being in court one day,
and education is essential for us all.
Each school has it’s specialized
departments. Long before we came
"here, people were making big sacri
fices for us to benefit as we do. The
buildings on the campuses were
named after some of these people.
Individualism is fine; I think one
should remain loyal to the school
of her choice. I also think that we
could exercise more common sense
and see that when we divide our
forces to the extent that we have,
we are doing ourselves more harm
then good. Do you think that it’s
possible for our organizations to
join forces with the other under
graduate schools, even if it’s on a
monthly basis?
We were suppose to find out
how we could unite in this issue,
but I don’t know yet, maybe you
could help me out. Write your
response and send it to the Spel
man Spotlight.
Respect Yourself
by Malrey Head
With the reinstatement of Fresh
man Orientation has come manda
tory attendance at convocation. In
attending these convocations, it
seems that a large number of per
sons in the audience are rude and
unattentive.
Unfortunately, many of these
persons are freshmen and they’ve
been criticized enough this year.
However, whether you’re fresh
man, senior or faculty member, the
audience owes its full attention to
the speaker. Whether one wants to
be there or not is no cause for ill
manners.
On one occasion a group of stu
dents pursued by a bee, disturbed
the whole chapel with unnecessary
laughing and yelling. This bee had
flown over the whole chapel yet no
one else had felt the need to cause
an uproar.
In a more recent convocation
there was a lot of chatter heard in
the chapel. Students may not real
ize this, but they’re disturbing oth
ers when they talk who may want
to hear.
The purpose of this editorial is
not to citicize, but to inform those
students who may be unaware of
what their behavior should be in
chapel.
It looks bad for the school when
a speaker has to interrupt his or her
speech to wait for a group of peo
ple to settle down. One never
knows what impressions speakers
are taking with them when they
leave the school. Leaving a good
impression on guest can be to the
school’s advantage and when the
school benefits, students benefit.
Surely as maturing adults, stu
dents know or should know how to
act when in certain places and
situations.
Since it is the belief of many that
sisterhood and helping each other
is what Spelman is all about, 1 hope
that students can help each other to
understand that certain behavior is
expected of them not only because
they represent Spelman College,
but because it is only common cur
tesy.
Don’t Compromise
by Avy D. Long
Recently, at a luncheon given by
Dr. Lois Moreland as a source of
input for a class next semester in
Minority Women in Politics, a
number of outstanding black
women spoke to an audience of
students, faculty members and the
President.
Each of the guest speakers spoke
specifically about her respectvie
career, but I think the most impor
tant comments were made on cer
tain miscellaneous subjects. The
guest speakers were Ms. Ella
Gaines Yates, director of the
Atlanta Public Library System;
Ms. Mildred Glover, state repre
sentative and associate professor
of business administration at
Atlanta University; Ms. Ruby
Hurley, former Southeastern
regional director of the NAACP;
and Ms. Mamie Reese, a member
of the Georgia Board of Pardons
and Parole.
Some questions that these ladies
made interesting comments to
were: 1) What can be done about
apathy and 2) What each wished
she had known before acquiring
the position she holds now.
Ms. Glover said that one of the
things she wishes she had learned
was how to compromise. Being in a
legislative position requires com
promising and going in round-a
bout ways to get something done—
specifically, getting a bill passed.
However, after a little advice from
other persons at the luncheon, I
think Ms. Glover was convinced
(as were many of us) that her old
approach of being direct and
aggressive would prove to be more
effective in the long-run.
Ms. Yates’ reply to the question
of compromising was, “Even if you
get clobbered in the end, your prin
ciples will still be intact.”
Ms. Hurley commented that she
didn’t know of any historical
event—from the Missouri Com
promise to the Panama Canal—
that has worked out well as a
compromise. She said that “as
women and as a people we have no
room for compromise.” We must
stand on principle no matter what.
Knowing more about the state
political system was one thing that
Ms. Resse would like to have
known before entering the political
arena. She firmly believes that
more can be accomplished from
within the system than from the
outside.
Ms. Hurley and Ms. Reese made
some interesting comments about
apathy and this generation of
young adults.
“I have problems with the word
‘apathy’,” said Ms. Hurley. Even
though she hesitated to use this
term she finally replaced the word
‘apathy’ with ‘ignorance.’ She pro
ceeded to describe ignorance as not
being touched personally by a par
ticular condition such as injustice.
In reference to young blacks she
said that we have not forgotten
how we got where we are but many
of us do not know how we got
where we are.
Ms. Reese said that “this genera
tion is beginning to feel that we
have made it” when in reality this is
not the case. This train of thought
is suicide, she said.
One solution to the general
unawareness characterizing youth
today could be provided through
radio stations. “If some of the rock
and roll music were replaced with
some viable, meaningful informa
tion” this would be a step in the
right direction.
Phantom P. Phantom
Out of this World (Ork)
November 3, 1978
I
Spelman Spotlight
Spelman College
Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Dear Spotlight:
Upon my return to the Atlanta University Center, I was
extremely pleased to find that my picture (although not a very good
likeness) was included in your September-October issue. My pur
pose in writing this letter to you is to extend my most gracious
appreciation for your recognizing me in the Spotlight. It has been
so many light years since my achievements have been so tastefully
hearaled. Thank you very much. Na-no!!
Mysteriously,
Phantom P. Phantom
Center Encourages Alienation
by Adele Sheron Newson
This is the story of four black
vocational colleges which are con
sidered by the masses who attend
them to be liberal arts institutions
of higher education. These are: the
College of Communications, the
College of Etiquette, the College of
Football,and the College of
Choral Music. These schools exist
in a complex known as the
Northern-like Southern University
Center, yet they are totally inde
pendent of each other. In addition
to these schools in the center are
two others: The Bible School and
the Northern-Like Southern Uni
versity. The motto of the schools is
“Confusion through Diversity.”
Theoretically, it is perfectly per
missible for a student from one col
lege to take courses from any one
of the other colleges. In practice,
however, the various advisors at
each school frown upon the inter
mingling of students. In addition,
there appears to be intense conflict
and mutual dislike among the
faculty members at any one school.
In fact, internally, faculty
members neither respect nor
exhibit a healthy professional atti
tude toward one another.
The students at each school are
socialized into a loathing of stu
dents at the next school. Each
school body must necessarily feel
superior to the next school body.
This is the only point that the stu
dent body of any one school can
agree upon i.e, “We are better than
they!” Otherwise, internally there
exists indifference of one class for
another, e.g. the senior class for the
junior class.
On a larger scale the students
attending the College of Etiquette
indulge in the fantasy that they are
the most beautiful and cultured
women in the center. The students
attending the College of Choral
Music fancy themselves the most
intelligent and well-bred men in
the center. The students attending
the College of Communications
fancy themselves as the smartest,
most handsome, most beautiful and
toughest students in the center.
The students who sit in the College
of Football are not quite sure of
their place in the center but are
positive of the fact that they are
looked upon as step-children of
sorts.
The presidents of each school
seem to all suffer from delusions of
grandeur (with one exception).
The president of the College of
Choral music fancies himself a car
penter. The president of the Col
lege of Etiquette pretends to be the
head of a large automative corpo
ration. The president of the Col
lege of Communications is too new
for the determination of his idio
syncrasies. Lastly, the president of
the College of Football imagines
himself to be a globetrotter. There
is no love lost among any of the
presidents, who tend to simply
acknowledge the others existence,
coupled with a subtle competition.
This story is worth considera
tion in that it points to the peculi
arities of a race of people, who all,
with common ancestry, seem to
have somewhere in the evolution
ary process branched psychologi
cally in different directions. It
should be noted that this group is
considered a minority in the larger
American society, yet they seem to
welcome division among
themselves.
The students at each school look
to their faculty members and presi
dents for guidance. Whether this a
conscious process or not the fact
remains that students are regard
ing administrators and faculty
with intense interest to aid in their
maturation process. The problem
is that upon scruntinization of the
administrators and faculty the stu
dents notice things that they would
never like to indentify with oremu-
late. They wonder where their role
models are, for obviously they do
not exist in the center.
