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Spelman Spotlight November 17, 1982 Page 6 Gina Hudgins Spelman’s Own “Glamour Girl by Stephanie Green There is a “glamourous celebrity on Spelman’s campus this year. Even though she is a “Glamour Girl,” you won’t find the heavily - applied make - up, overly flashy clothes, or the one - dimensional character that is sometimes associated with the type. For those of you who don’t know yet, I am speaking of Gina Hudgins, president of Spelman’s Student Government Associa tion. You see, Gina was selected as one of the Top Ten College Women of 1982 by “Glamour” magazine. It was on a recent autumn afternoon that I finally got a time slot in Gina’s busy schedule to talk with her about gaining recognition by a major women’s publication. Gina spoke of how she went about applying, what it was like being selected, and the opportunities that have resulted after “Glamour’s” August issue hit the newsstands. Being con vinced by her mother that she should apply, Gina sent the necessary background informa tion and list of her ac complishments to the contest with the normal amount of doubt. As her mother put it, “the only thing that they can do is tell you ‘yes' or ‘no’.” When Gina did receive the all important call that she had been selected, the next step was to have her picture taken and an interview scheduled to deter mine what would be printed in the magazine. “It was great being recognized be a national magazine,” Gina stated. “In addition to being in the $1,000.” If anyone deserved to be selected, Gina most certainly was. In her twenty - one years, Gina has accomplished a great deal, and her years at Spelman have exemplified the talented and diverse person that she is. Beginning with being elected President of her Freshman class, her list of past and present activities and accomplishments include; Chairperson of the External Affairs Committee, Most Outstanding second and third year Engineering Student, Vice - President of S.G.A., a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the basketball team, and even the winner of a Scripture Reading contest! Since adding the Glamour award to her list of credits, Gina stated that “a lot of offers and opportunities have come my way. The article was sent to various corporations across the country, which was a big step in letting companies know about me.” However, Gina is not one to by Angela Jackson Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Presi dent of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference -(SCLC), and president of the Black Leadership Forum, spoke in Sisters Chapel on September 30. Rev. Lowery, one of the foun ding fathers of SCLC, served as SCLC’s vice president until 1967. Under the nomination of Dr. Martin Luther King, he was elected as chairman of the board. In 1977, at the 20th anniversity of SCLC, Rev. Lowery was unanimously elected the 3rd president of SCLC. Since 1968, Rev. Lowery has been associated with Central United Methodist Church, Atlanta’s oldest and largest pre dominantly Black United Methodist Church. Under Rev. Lowery’s leadership, 2,000 new members have joined. On the national front, Rev. Lowery has been a fighter for civil rights and nuclear disarma ment. He began his speech using the story of Ester as an analogy of the attitudes of the American people. The Jews were being persecuted, and Mordecai went to Ester for help. Ester replied, “I’m sorry Mordecai. You know I’m working on a degree now. I’m on Spelman’s campus ... I’m in the palace now and I presume a certain priviledged position .. I hear you - maybe I’ll send you a check the first of the month — even say a little prayer for you.” Rev. Lowery continued, “I’d like to lift that out of that Old Testament and place it on your mind and your heart this mor ning — right where you have come — to this place of privilege, this place of preparation, this place of challenge and inspira tion. I think you’ve come to this SCLC: Still Working For You kingdom, for such atimeasthis.” Rev. Lowery stated that students need to adopt the attitude stated in a popular statement received much applause. According to Rev. Lowery, this age is also plaged by insidious individualism. “If you marry insidious insensivity with in vidious individualism, and you have a poison which has crept into the life stream of America ... it has crept into the Black ex perience. That is the frightening thing about it because more than insidious insensitivity, invidious individualism is alien to our culture.” He asserted “We have made it thus far along the way because we were able to relate to each other.” Blacks as a people had common dreams and aspirations that enabled us to communicate with each other. Rev. Lowery states that Spelman students, as members of the black race, must help to break the chains that have divided the black race. “Whether you’ve been to Morehouse or no house. Whether you've been to Tuskegee or bit by a’muskegee’,” stated Rev. Lowery, “we have to understand that no matter what level we reach on the economic or social ladder, there is a common ex perience, the commonality of heritage, that binds us together and leads us.” He continued, "our salvation is in each other.” “The black experience and the progress it has experienced is a direct result of our movement. Nobody has ever, out of terror, given us anything. We had to sieze it and wrestle it, our movement.” As the movement continues, Rev. Lowery suggests that blacks must make it con tinue. We must not be totally dependent on outsiders. One way to continue the movement is through the vote. He says that blacks must register, examine the issues, vote, and hold elected officials accoun table for their actions. Blacks must challenge a system where "the poor folk steel and go to the penitentiary, and the rich folk steal and go to Ber muda.” “The rich get richer and fewer and fewer and the poor get poorer and morer and morer.” Where large companies donate money to black colleges yet, won't hire the graudates of these schools. Rev. Lowery stated that blacks must stay close to their faith. He asserted, “what has brought us thus far along the way is the God of our weary years, the God of our silent tears.” He continued, “that faith gave us bou - an - cy in the midst of the turbulent sea. That faith gave us hope when unborn hopehaddied.Thatfaith kept us alive.” Rev. Lowery concluded with his original analogy. In response to Mordecai, Estar stated, “If I do go in to see the king I may perish but, if I don’t go in I’m already perished.” Rev. Lowery stated if each individual in the audience doesn’t goto see the king, he will have the same fate that Ester will have. “You have come to the kingdom Spelmanites for such a time is this. You come to ex perience education and enrich ment of your life ... for such a time as this my sisters, you've come to the kingdom.” “To serve the present age 99 dwell on things, for she con tinues to be a very busy person. Her days are filled with the many and varied activities that her position of S.G.A. president entails, along with her studies at Spelman and Georgia Tech. Her future goals include ob taining a degree in bio - medical engineering, which will enable her to design life - sustaining machines. Well, it’s been proven wrong that a “Glamour Girl”, does not necessarily have to fit into a certain limited mold. All I can say is that becoming one of Glamour’s Top Ten College Women couldn’t have happen ed to a more deserving person. Keep up the good work Gina! If you have the desire to be selected asoneofGlamour’sTop Ten College Women, the poster advertising the contest is in Spelman’s Post Office. Who knows, you just might be next year’s “glamour girl” from Spelman. my calling to fulfill, oh may I all my powers engage to do my masters will.” He continued, “It really doesn’t matter how those before you served. The challenge now is to you. For you’ve come to such a time as his.” Rev. Lowery gave an analysis of the time in which we live. He said, “This is an age of insidious insensitivity. We’ve grown cold and callus in our regard for human suffering. We’ve grown insulated and isolated from the groans and the cries of despair, from the moans of hurt from people all around us.” He continued. “Unemploy ment in this country is as high as it has been since the Great Depression, and few people are moaning and crying about it - only those who are directly affected.” Insidious insensitivity reaches into the realm of the government. The government seems insensitive when “the president is willing to get on television and talk about the economy is improving, while unemployment goes up.” According to Rev. Joseph Lowery, hunger is another grave problem characteristic of the eighties. He elaborated. “Hunger is all around us. In our ghettos and across the world.” Recently, Rev. Lowery and his wife were arrested for protesting the dumping of PCB, a nuclear chemical, in warren county, South Carolina. Warren County is 2/3 black, poor, remote and rural. All of the 12 women tested, have PCB in their breasts. Rev. Lowery plans to continue fighting for the cause. “I am going to get back in front of the trucks as long as they insist on dumping in that county.”