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Page 4 Spelman Spotlight November 17, 1982
Round-Up Of Black College Day
By Karen Burroughs
The round-up program of
Black College Day 1982 for the
entire Atlanta University Center
was held on Monday, September
27 in Sisters Chapel at 8:00 p.m.
The program was opened by
Brian A. Hart, President of the
National Pre-Alumni Com
mittee. “Morehouse, Clark,
Spelman, Morris Brown, ITC, all
of these AUC schools have such a
rich tradition, a rich heritage,
they are names that we should be
proud of wherever we go,” he
said. “Make yourself a com
mittee of one by saying, ‘I am
going to take a stand and do what
I can to help black colleges.”'
Following a prayer by Calvin
Rodwell and the song “I’m So
Grateful” by Ivan Spearman,
both students of Morehouse
College, greetings to the
audience were given by the SGA
presidents of the respective
colleges in the Atlanta University
Center.
“In addition to greeting you
tonite, I would like to take this
opportunity to remind you that
there are people who have made
sacrifices so that we might be in
this chapel tonight,” said Dennis
blackwell, president of the SGA
of Clark College. “Those of us
who are sitting here must devise
some solutions to the problem
and ask ourselves the question,”
Where do blacks go from here?”
Let us take this opportunity
tonight to take self-inventory
and find out who we are.”
After the greetings and
another selection, this one from
Denise Thimes of Spelman, the
guest speaker of the program,
journalist and founder of Black
College Day, Tony Brown, was
introduced.
“We are involved in a struggle
for the minds of our people,”
Mr. Brown began. “We are
fighting for the stuggle against
racism. Racism is spelled l-G-N-
O-R-A-N-C-E. We must fight
against the ignorance that exists
among blacks.
Mr. Brown told the audience
that the myths taught in the
history books are a great con
tributor to the ignorance of
blacks. “If you got an ‘A’ in high
school history, you probably are
an expert in HIS story,” he said.
"They have taken each segment
of history and rewritten it to their
own satisfaction.”
“I am not trying to indite any
person,” Mr. Brown explained.
“I am trying to indite a state of
mind. We are too concerned
about what white people think.”
Mr. Brown cited the example of
the controversy over making
Martin Luther King’s birthday a
national holiday. “We say we
love MLK,” he said, “but we are
waiting for white folks in Con
gress to say it's alright.”
Mr. Brown stressed that blacks
in America have economic and
political influence in this coun
try. "The only thing that matters
in this society is power,” he said.
“You have power. If you took
blacks out of America, Wall
Street would collapse.
“The only political power we
will ever have will be power
commensurate with our ability
to put blacks into office and
white people into office who will
do what they should do.”
Mr. Brown concluded his
speech by saying, “There will be
many more Black College Days.
It is not a movement headed by
any charismatic leader. It is
headed by momentum going in
the direction of our freedom.”
Rising Enrollment Spawns
New Dormitory
By Karen Burroughs
In response to the growing
need for housing for Spelman
College’s over 1400 students,
Spelman President Dr. Donald
Stewart has announced plans for
the construction of a new living
learning center. The building,
whose cost has been estimated at
$3.7 millin dollars will be located
on the southwest corner of the
campus.
On October 1, 1982 at 4:00
p.m., the groundbreaking
ceremonies for the new center
were held at the site of the
building.
Following the remarks by Dr.
Stewart, Dr. Carmen Jordan-
Cox, Dean of Student Life took
the podium. “This is an impor
tant day for us,” she said. “By
building this living-learning
center we will be increasing our
housing capacity from 850
students to 1,050 students.” This,
Dr. Cox explained, will allow
Spelman to house 72% of its
students as opposed to the
present 53%. “We will be able to
virtually guarantee housing toall
incoming freshmen. No longer
will the lack of adequate housing
be a debilitating factor in
Spelman’s campus life.”
Dr. Donald Stewart then ad
dressed remarks to the crowd.
He began by telling a brief
history of how Spelman came to
be. “In 1883 the faculty and
students of the Atlanta Baptist
Seminary for Colored Women
and Girls moved from the base
ment of the Friendship Baptist
Church to the site which is now
Spelman College,” he said. "This
was an answer to a prayer. The
army barracks which housed the
students also served as
classrooms; living and learning
were continuous, closely related
processes.
"The prison-like character of
dorm life at Spelman changed as
society changed. We now have
eleven dormitories housing 850
students. As the barracks in 1883
were an answer to a prayer, the
dormitory for which we are
symbolically breaking ground
today is the answer to a prayer.”
Dr. Stewart concluded,” This
new dormitory is indeed a state
ment of this instiuttion's hope
for the future. By building this
house, we are confirming our
faith in this future.”
Following the remarks by Dr.
Stewart, Dr. Carmen Jordan-
Cox, Dean of Student Life took
the podium. “This is an impor
tant day for us,” she said. "By
building this living-learning
center we will be increasing our
housing capacity from 850
students to 1,050 students.” This,
Dr. Cox explained, will allow
Spelman to house 72% of its
students as opposed to the
present 53%. "We will be able to
virtually guaranteee housing to
all incoming freshman. No
longer will the lack of adequate
housing be a debilitating factor
in Spelman’s campus life.”
Dr. Cox went on to describe
some of the special features of
the new dorm. “The new
building will be laid out with
several self containing living
units, each with its own
bathroom and living room.
There will also be a study room
on each floor. The building will
also contain conference rooms
and facilities where structured
co-curriculum activities can take
Dr. Wheeler Installed At Morehouse
Morehouse School of Religion
Board of Directors were proud to
announce and invite the entire
Atlanta community to the In
augural ceremonies of its new
dean, Dr. Edward L. Wheeler,
October 17 - 20, 1982.
The Inaugural events were
held Sunday evening, 7:30 with
an address by Dr. Wheeler at the
Zion Hill Baptist Church,
Lynhurst and Benjamin E. Mays
Drive, southwest Atlanta.
Tuesday evening, 7:15 Oc
tober 19th, The Reverend Dr.
Cameron M. Alexander, Presi
dent of the General Missionary
Baptist Convention of Georgia,
Inc. will deliver the Inaugural
Sermon at the formal installation
services of Dr. Wheeler. This
service will be held at the Union
Baptist Church, 291 Hightower
Road, NW, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Inaugural events will
culminate Wednesday evening,
7:30 with the Annual Scholarship
Banquet and Inaugural Dinner in
honor of the new Dean at the
Omni International Hotel (Inter
national Ballroom). The keynote
speaker will be The Reverend Dr.
Kelly Miller Smith, Sr., Assistant
Dean of the Divinity School of
Vanderbilt University and Pastor
of First Baptist Church, Capitol
Hill, Nashville, Tennessee. Ban
quet donation is $15 per person.
Dr. Edward L. Wheeler is a
native of Hempstead, New York,
but received his secondary
education in the Atlanta Public
School System. He is a graduate
of Morehouse College, Colgate -
Rochester Divinity School, and
received his Ph.D. from Emory
University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to coming to Morehouse
School of Religion, Dr. Wheeler
was the Associate Director, Black
Church Relations Department,
Southern Baptist Convention of
the Home Mission Board, Atlan
ta, Georgia. He has served as a
pastor in Rochester, New York
and Toccoa, Georgia.
Dr. Wheeler is married to the
former Mary Susan Parker and
ahs three daughters, ages 11, 7
and 1 year old.
place. This building will be a
major accomplishment in our
second century; the entire stu
dent body, present and future
will be better off because of
this.”
The final remarks of the
program were given by Mr. John
Lewis, Vice President of Toombs,
Amisano, and Wells, Inc., the
architectural firm for the new
dorm, as well as the architects for
McAlpin Dormitory and Manley
Student Center. “We have a 12
year association and friendship
with Spelman College,” he said.
“We are pleased to be a part of
Spelman’s growth and availabili
ty of life on this campus. We
share your faith in the future of
Spelman College.”
Following the words by Mr
Lewis, the ceremony for the
breaking of ground was held.
Attorney Edelman, Dr. Stewart,
Dr. Cox, Mr. Lewis, and Gena
Hudgins, president of the SSGA
participated in the formal
groundbreaking for the new
dorm.
Jo Moore Stewart