Newspaper Page Text
May 14,1982 Spelman Spotlight
Students Speak Out!
Letters To The Editor . . .
Page 3
Phi Gamma Nu
Dear Ms. Davis,
This missive is concerning the
attention, or lack thereof, af
forded our organization in the
recent, April 20,1982 issue of the
Spelman Spotlight.
We have a few criticisms we
would like to make about the
treatment given us in this issue.
We are displeased that our
Greek symbols were placed
under a topic on public service
sororities. Phi Gamma Nu is a
member of the Professional
Fraternity Association, hence we
are a national, professional
Greek organization. To present
our symbols in the manner
printed is to imply an affiliation
with other public service
sororities, which is not true,
Gamma Omicron Chapter did
not participate in the “Greek
Week,” hence we should not
have been included in the
"Greek Week Festivities...” sec
tion of this paper. We would like
to note that no reference was
made to other non- public
service Greek sororities with
chapters on Spelman’s campus.
Why singleout Phi Gamma Nu? If
the Spotlight had a desite to
report on Phi Gamma Nu and its
activities, we should have been
contacted and/or interviewed
by a Spotlight reporter. We
would have complied gladly to
this effect.
A suggestion to the Spotlight is
that in the next issue you print a
feature on the professional
fraternities active on this campus
and/or the enclosed article on
Phi Gamma Nu, National
Professional Sorority in Business.
It is our hope that this letter
and article will clear up any
misconceptions you and the
student body may have about
our sorority.
Yours truly,
The Ladies of Phi Gamma Nu
National Professional Sorority
In Business, Gamma Omicron
Chapter
Editor’s Response
First, thank you for voicing
your concerns. It is through
positive communication that
improvements and growth are
made.
The staff artist and the layout
editor, both of whom are
freshen, were unaware of Phi
Gamma Nu’s distinctiveness as a
professional organization. Both
thought your symbols were to be
included on the Greek Week
page. As editor, I take full
responsibility for the error,
which I overlooked. The
Spotlight is sincerely sorry for
any complications our mistake
may have caused your organiza
tion.
I might point out that the
confusion surrounding the
classification of Phi Gamma Nu
as a sorority is paramount
amongst the student body.
Because your organization par
ticipates in certain activities
similar tothosejof publicservice
sororities (i.e. pledge lines),
many assume Phi Gamma Nu to
be the same type of sorority.
Thus, I agree that an article on
Phi Gamma Nu, as well as other
professional fraternities, would
alleviate some of the confusion. I
have passed this suggestion on to
the Spotlight’s new editors.
Hopefully, we will keep in
mind that all sororities on
Spelman’s campus are present in
an effort to enhance the quality
of student life and that although
Phi Gamma Nu may not be
"affiliated” with the other
sororities, it does identify itself
through Greek letters. Thus, if
the administration decides to
remove sororities from campus,
that will include Phi Gamma Nu.
Our goal, be it as members of
public service or professional
sororities, must be unity. Again,
thank you for your concern.
Change Of Words
To Lish'a Brown, Associate Editor:
To begin with, I really ap
preciated the insightful article
you wrote in the Spotlight. I
think many students will benefit
from the “unspoken truths” you
dare to speak, especially the one
about “going with the flow...
rather than analyzing what is
right or wrong.” Many others
were pleased with your articles.
Next, I would like to express
my disappointment and distur
bance with the terrible misprints
in the El Salvador article. I don’t
know who is responsible for the
error, however, in order to avoid
future problems, I would like to
point them out. In the second
paragraph the first sentence
(which is unfortunately the
theses statement) is in -tragic
error with the original copy,
which should read: “Mass
violations of the most fun
damental human rights is not a
new phenomenon in El
Salvador.” The Spotlight copy
read: "Massacre violations of the
most fundamental human rights
is now a new phenomenon in El
Salvador.”
As you can see the misprints
dramatically change the mean
ing of the sentence and might
confuse those who aren’t
familiar with the events in El
Salvador - that is my real con
cern. So much for the weak
point... Thanks again.
Shari Bankole
Editor’s Response
Thank you for your concern
and the support you’ve offered
to the Spotlight. We sincerely
apologize for the typographical
error that the printer made and
that we failed to notice. V
The External Affiars Board has
done an excellent job in
researching and relating impor
tant information to the student
body. It was such an input as
yours that helped to make the
April 20th issue a relevant,
newsworthy, and positive issue.
The Spotlight welcomes all
letters to the Editor. Please
send them to P.O. Box 50.
Dr. E. Gillard’s class responds . . . .
Problems In The Educational System
Developing A Positive Self Esteem In
The Black Child: Our Responsibility
Teacher’s
Expectations
by Saralyn Barkley
Are teachers’ behaviors
effected by their expectations of
the children in their classroom?
Do teachers behave differently
towards students that they have
high expectations for, than they
do towards those they have low
expectations for?
I think it is very important for
teachers to wake-up and see the
effect that their expectations and
behavior is having on our
children’s performance in the
classroom. However, teachers
behavior towards our children
tells each student what behavior
and achievement she expects
from him, and this affects the
child’s self-concept, achieve
ment, motivation, and his level
of aspiration. If a teacher con
sistently gives a child this treat
ment, it will tend to shape the
by Donna Shadd
Studies show when parents
and teachers worked together
on the educational program of
the child, positive gains were
made in academic performance.
The 1981-82 Standards of
Education statistics show
American 14 year olds com
prehension reading scores to be
the third lowest in the nation.
child's achievement and
behavior. “High expectation”
students will be led to achieve at
high levels, while the achieve
ment of “low expectation”
students will decline. With time,
the students' achievement and
behavior will conform more and
more closely to that originally
expected of him. Researchers
have found that there are many
things that influence teachers’
expectations of their pupils,
some of them are as follows: The
ch i Ids’ cumulative records,
socioeconomic background,
personal appearance, and stan
dardized test scores. Are these
sources valid enough to form
expectations of a chiIds’ perfor
mance in your classroom? In
closing, I say that if teachers do
form expectations of our
children and it effects how they
treat them, and this treatment
effects how students learn, then
the issue is of considerable
importantce to our society.
The average mathematics scores
for high school seniors were the
lowest among the nations tested.
If gains are to be made in the
academic performances of
today’s children, parents and
teachers must remember their
responsibilities and roles in
education and work together
toward the maximum growth of
the individual child.
by Ojetta Pearson
It has been written in many
books by theorists and scientists
that black children suffer from
the problem of having a low self
esteem. Other labels such as
hyperactive, culturally deficient,
slow learners, and other negative
terms have been used to
describe the problems that black
children seem to have. The
majority findings have been
those efforts of middle class
white psychologists who have
been looking at the system and
the reactions of blacks to the
system and trying to evaluate it.
Children Growing
Up Too Fast?
by Marilyn Miller
“ARE CHILDREN GROWING
UP TOO FAST TODAY?” Are
children growing up too fast
through the viewing of some
television programs and through
the viewing of some movies? Are
children growing up too fast
through the listening to some
song lyrics and through ex-
iperiericing certain experiences
in society? Are parents and other
guardians watching to see what
their children are watching on
So many factors can and do
effect blacks such asdealing with
racist attitudes, misinformation
about our history and education
and lack of concern and interest
from the system about our needs
as a people. However these
factors do not determine our self
esteem. We have learned to
overcome these odds and will
continue to for as long as we
have to.
Blacks are people oriented
and what is very important to us
is our interaction with others.
Primary feelings about oneself
for the child are affected by
television? What they are listen
ing to on the radio? Are parents
and other guardians taking the
time to just sit down and talk to
their children to see what is
happening in their lives? Think
about it. Are children around
you growing up too fast today? If
they are, is there a problem?
Think about it.
Identifying
Special Children
by Deborah A. Dickinson
How should we test to identify
special children? Is there truly a
family who are the first people
we come in contact with. A child
requires protective care and
emotional support, and with
consistent caring a child will
develop strong feelings of
belonging and worth. As future
parents, educators, and leaders
we must realize Mow important
we will be in the lives of our
children. We cannot allow the
ignorance and apathy of this
American society to predeter
mine the lives of our own
children. We must be the
teachers, demonstrating
qualities of assertiveness, self
confidence, and Black pride.
fair way? Currently the method
used to identify special children
is through norm reference tests.
It has been proven that these
tests exaggerate group
differences and underscore
group inferiority. Resulting in
minority children overcrowding
the special or remedial classes.
Some say that the children are
not properly tested and the tests
are not culture free. Maybe
there is no answer as to how to
test for special children. Maybe
we shouldn’t test at all and
simply allow for the children’s
differences.
Lack Of Unity