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Spelman Spotlight December 18, 1979 Page 2
Editor-In-Chief - Roionda G. Watts
Associate Editor - Pamela Denise Moore
Editors
Advertising Manager- Phyllis Sawyer
Art Editor - Ellen Robinson
Arts Editor - Claire Henry
Business Managers - Trevonia Brown
Angela Nickerson
Circulation Manager - Lavita J ohnson
News Editors - Kiron Kanina Skinner
Adele Sheron Newson
Photography Editors - Ruth Cauthen
Pamela Scott
Public Relations Manager - Sheron Covington
Religion Editor- Angela Benson
Literary Editor - Michelle Dacus
Photographers - Kirby Ayers
Collette Laviolette
Samuel Matchette
Reporters
Cynthia Williams
Robert Young
Samuel Matchett
Linda Fritz
Arnell W. L. Hayes
Adele Newson
Michelle Dacus
Tracey M. Willard
Anthony R. Smith
Sheron L. Covington
Marcella Coverson
Caroline Ita
Vivian Fannings
Will the Real Khomeini
Please Come Forward?
By Pamela D. Moore
Associate Editor
It is hard for most Americans
to conceive of the gall that the
Ayatollah Khomeini must have to
challenge a nation as mighty as
the United States.“Surely this
man must be crazy”, is the usual
comment that most seem to have.
Such a comment must also
have been thought by the
Phillistines upon learning that a
small shepherd boy named David
was willing to singlehandedly
challenge their hero, the colossal
Goliath. But David slew Goliath-
easily, and his key to succcess
was that he had God on his side.
Perhaps the Ayatollah
Khomeini also has divine guidan
ce and inspiration. Maybe the
Lord has promised the Ayatollah
Khomeini that he will deliver his
enemies unto his feet. Maybe the
United States will fall at the feet
of tiny Iran just as Goliath fell at
the feet of little David.
But on the other hand, the
Ayatollah Khomeini can also be
seen as a fanatical, power-
obscessed, and ego-driven man,
but nevertheless, a brilliant
political strategist.
It has been reported that the
Ayatollah had planned to over
take the U.S. embassy two days
before the Shah arrived in the
United States. The underlying
motivation of those plans is said
to have been the desire to
prevent pro-Communist Iranian
students from becoming too
powerful. Thus, Khomeini’s
strategy seemed to have been
related to Machiavellian prin-
ciples--to create an enemy
around which the country could
unite in opposition, thus further
formenting the power and
stability of the established leader.
And the plan worked. Thirty
days after the initial captivity of
the hostages, the Iranians, elected
Khomeini to rule for life. It seems
that in their eyes he is the Lord’s
servant sent to deliver them from
the evil, imperialist, satanic U.S.
power.
But in the eyes of those on the
other side of the fence, he ap
pears to be a vindictive, in
flexible, uncompromising, and
ruthless leader, who by using all
the demagogic powers he can
amass to create a kind of unity
based on hate instead of love, is
bent on the destruction of an
already disposed leader who is
thousands of miles away from
Iran while he should be taking
care of business in his own
backyard.
Should the AUC Schools
Merge? ... No!
By Carolita V. Jones
It seems to me that the thought
of merging the six institutions in
the Atlanta University Center is a
popular issue being discussed on
the campuses. Therefore, I
decided to do a little research on
the idea of a merger and have
discovered a merger would be
ineffective and unnecessary and
these are the reasons why:
(1) It would be a merger of
financially unequal institutions.
Spelman and Morehouse have
greater resources both monetary
and otherwise than the other un
dergraduate schools. An
economics professor explained to
me that merging would produce
no unit reduction. He noted the
only way money could be in
creased would be through the
elimination of faculty and ad
ministrative positions that are
duplicated. For example, there
would be no need for five
presidents, deans of students,
deans of academic affairs, depar
tment heads, etc.
(2) The strength of each school
lies in its individual differences.
Each school has a separate
history and mission with its own
identity and distinct academic
traditions. For instance,
Morehouse’s primary purpose is
to educate men, Spelman on the
other hand focuses on women’s
educational needs and problems
in entering traditionally male
dominated fields. Clark and
Morris Brown are both liberal ar
ts institutions, however, Morris
Brown is directed towards many
technical fields with a Methodist
religious background. Whereas
each school may have a similiar
goal, their approach towards that
goal differs. There is a need for
diversity in higher-education in
stitutions along with their goals in
education.
(3) At this time, the Atlanta
University Center is the largest
consortium of black colleges and
universities in the nation. Those
students attending the un
dergraduate schools now have
the benefits of small schools as
well as a larger school. The very
personal level of communication
between the teachers and stu
dents could easily diminish if
expanded.
If the concern for merger is
due to increase the strength of
the Atlanta University Center,
then why not improve our center
co-ordinated programs. For
example, construct a larger cen
ter-wide computer science cen
ter, increase the centralized
security force, support the new
library and have a centralized
commissary to cut costs on sup
plies and food. Looking on a
larger scope, a center-wide
student union or student
cafeteria would prove to be
beneficial.
My arguments against a
merger could be expanded on but
these three basic reasons I have
stated can be justified. As long as
the undergraduate colleges are so
financially unequal they should
remain individual institutions
each with their own distinct
traditions that have survived
through the years. The ad
vantages of attending one of the
small colleges in the center with
the opportunity to utilize the
other schools is a policy I don’t
want to see changed. If ever there
is progress in the move for
merger, I will oppose it.
On Individualism
By Tracy M. Willard
The thought of finding true un
derstanding and acceptance, to
me, is one of Life’s most
treasured gifts.
As I glance around me and
project my thoughts out into my
enviroment, I notice a similar ex
pression held in all my fellow
human beings eyes. I sense a
feeling of a never-ending search.
A journey that many of us are not
even aware that we are pursuing.
But as it has once been stated:
“The eyes are the mirror to the
soul.”, and my brothers and
sisters, as mine meet yours, our
souls share in a common con
versation. They speak to one
another, “We ned understanding,
we need meaning, we need
truth.”
We often think that our lives
have direction and purpose,
because we may hold the top
position among our class, or we
may be that beauty which all men
and women seek. But the further
we climb the ladder, of success
the “step for lasting rest”, grows
further and further out of our
sights. We find there are
numerous others who also seek
the same as ourselves. The reality
of prestige and honor, becomes
oh, so tight, as the competition
grows. Thus, we lamelessly drift
away from ourselves and from
one another because we believe
Life has nothing to offer us and
we have nothing to offer it.
But inside of our beings, there
is a vibration which generates
through us, a feeling we seldom
seem to recognize. This feeling
simmers from a compartment
which holds our infinite poten
tials; diverse and indepth as they
might be. New ones are con
stantly being uncovered. Oh, and
how I, myself, cherish them, for
they fill my own life with variety,
inspiration and hope.
Each of us must respect our in
dividual callings, I refer to them
as the secrets to our hearts. We
all know, or better yet, have keen
ideas, visions, or instincts to what
we would like to do or be in Life.
These feelings must be
recognized and accepted, for
they are the key to understanding
ourselves, and the separations;
the distinctions of everyone’s dif
ferent personality. These feelings
lead to the core of our individual
creativities, for we are all born to
be artists.
Each of us has an individual ex
pression to offer Life, when it is
rendered, our blinded search will
cease, and a meaningful ad
venture begins.
Prospects and Problems
for Black Education
By Manning Marable
One of the principle “success
stories” for the 1960s was the ad
vance of black Americans in the
area of education. At every
academic level, from high school
to graduate study, more
AfoAmericans were enrolled
than ever before. Obscurred
within these rosy statistics,
however, are hidden problems
which have been solved neither
by traditional white and black
academicians, nor by their black
nationalist critics.
To grasp the significant impact
the Civil Rights and Black Power
Movements had upon black
educational opportunity, we need
only to review AfoAmerican
history prior to 1960. About one
fifth of all blacks were illiterate
as late as 1930. Over one third of
all black children between the
ages of 5 to 20 were not enrolled
in school in 1940. Only seven per
cent of all black adults had a high
school education in 1940; less
than one percent of all black
adults had completed four years
or more of college.
W.E.B.DuBois’ “Talented Ten
th”, those blacks who had
received a university education
and were trained in the arts,
humanities and natural sciences,
was considerably less than 10 per
cent of the total black
population.
The demand for an end to J im
Crow restrictions in public ac
commodation swiftly became a
general critique of segregationist
civil society, especially its
educational institutions. All-
white universities, medical and
technical schools were forced to
admit black pupils for the first
time. Private foundations and the
federal government gave scholar
ships and grants to black studen
ts. Thousands of AfoAmericans
completed college and sub
sequently were able to become
more competitive in various job
markets. Affirmative action
programs, racial quotas and
aggressive recruitment policies
were largely responsible for these
and other progressive changes.
The ststistical evidence on
overall black educational ad
vancement for the past twenty
years is impressive. From 1960 to
1973. the percentage of black
adults over 25 years old who had
completed high school rose from
20 percent to 43 percent. Median
school years completed for this
group climbed from an average
of 8.2 to about 1 1 years. Six per
cent of all black adults had
received four or more vears of
college.
These educational advances
were acquired by persons bet
ween the age of 25 to 34. In 1960,
for example, the median school
years completed for blacks and
whites between 25 to 34 was 9.3
years and 12.1 years respectively.
Whites were over twice as likely
to finish high school and college
as blacks. By 1975, whites still
held a lead over blacks, but the
distance had diminished con
siderably. About two thirds of all
blacks and 78 percent of whites in
the 25-34 age bracket finished
high school. Twelve percent of all
blacks and 20 percent of all
whites have college diplomas.
The median school years com
pleted for blacks is 12.3 years and
12.7 years for whites. DuBois’
Talented Tenth appears to have
become a reality.
The price for these gains was
unclear at first, even to most
black educators. Even in the
1960s, the great majority of black
students attended traditionally
black colleges. Most of these in
stitutions are located in the
South, established during or im
mediately after Reconstruction.
Tuitions were relatively low, and
student enrollments rarely ex
ceeded one thousand. These
small black colleges were respon
sible for developing scholars like
DuBois’, John Hope and Charles
J ohnson; they were, and remain,
the bedrock for black academic
and cultural life.
Today, over one million bleaks
attend white colleges and univer
sities, about four times the num
ber attending the traditionally
black institutions. Most of the
better qualified black students
prefer Harvard and Berkeley
(See BLACK EDUCATION, p. 31