Newspaper Page Text
November, 1986 SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Who is to be
blamed for
Spelman students’
GRE scores?
By Donna A. Hill)
I remember sitting in Howe
Hall on a hard, uncomfortable
wooden chair, listening to the
buzz and clatter of some two
hundred plus women preparing
to take what might be the se
cond most crucial standardized
test of our careers. As usual the
exam started late, and by the
time the test had been dispens
ed and the directions un
necessarily repeated orally, the
dark little auditorium had reach
ed a sweltering 95 degrees and
so had the tempers of most of
the women on the row where I
was sitting.
As some of them fumbled
through the test booklet leaves
for sneak glances, I remember
hearing sarcastic exclamations
like, “I don’t believe stuff, Are
they kidding?!” or “1 never heard
of this guy.”
Judging by the noise level
which never really subsided, it
was the beginning of an exam
which for which few of us was
really prepared and as a result
none of us took very sreiously.
After all, the general consensus
seemed to indicate, NEXT TIME
we can take it for credit. In the
course of the next two hours it
seemed as though the NEXT
TIME for many of us looked
more like a useless effort with a
fruitless outcome.
During the course of the day
the consolations were dooled
out, along with the tissues, by
supportive faculty members as
students began considering
possible alternatives. In the
English department the LSAT
suddenly gained new interest as
English graduate school looked
further in the distance. In other
places there were the usual mut-
terings about the exams “racial
and cultural biases.”
Not just in the English depart
ment but everywhere it seemed
as though Spelman students
were all asking the same ques
tions: Is the blame to be placed
on the biases of the test writers
only? Was it our fault for not
preparing for it further in ad
vance, or was it Spelman’s fault
for not offering the types of
courses that cater to the needs
of test takers, thereby, throwing
us unprepared into the cold? I
think the fault lies with all of us.
Spelman and other black in
stitutions score lower than the
national percentile, year after
year, consistently, much to the
frustration of faculty and
students. But I maintain it is not
because we are any less in
telligent than a student from a
state or private white institution.
The difference is that these in
stitutions begin preparation for
exams of this kind from the
freshman year. If we are ever to
be able to leave an exam like the
GRE with our heads held high
we must recognize the impor
tance of these tests and their ob
vious biases and use this
knowledge through our own
faculty (most of whom have had
personal experience with these
exams) and prepare our
students as early as possible. No
exam should be as consistently
demoralizing as this one has
been, and with a little ambition
on the student’s part, a few ex
tra preparatory courses, or even
supplemental textsd designed to
tutor a student in her own spare
time, we can overcome this hur
dle which bars many institutions
from recognizing the true in
telligence and potential which so
many of us posses.
Dear Readers 9
The Spotlight encourages you
to voice your opinions, make
suggestions or comments and to air
your grievances. All letters must be
typed and signed.
Sincerely yours,
Spelman Spotlight
M.B.A. challenges Spelman
to address social issues
facing black community
By Kevin Ransom
President, Morehouse
Business Association
The Morehouse Business
Association, or as it is better
known, the M.B.A., is an
organization which was
established to facilitate business
development among
Morehouse business students
outside of the classroom
environment.
The M.B.A. has done that
through its various seminars and
forums on everything from
dressing for an interview to
moving up the corporate ladder
once you have the job.
Some of the past highlights of
the organization include the
spring tours of ’83 through ’86,
which included representatives
of both the student body and
faculty of the business depart
ment. The tours included cities
such as Chicago, New York,
London, Rome, Brussels, Paris,
Honolulu, Tokyo, and Hong
Kong. This has definitely in
creased the exposure of the
Morehouse Business Depart
ment around the globe.
This year, along with many of
the established activities of the
organization, we are also seek
ing a new developmenet in the
area of black women in
business, and in particular —
“Spelman Women in Business.”
We would like to see not only
Morehouse, but also Spelman
gain recognition within the For
tune 500 corporations and
various other businesses across
the United States.
It is hoped that together we
can accomplish some major
goals and address many of the
crucial issues that we now face
as the upcoming leaders is not
only the black community, but
in society as a whole. There re
mains a staggering number of
black youths unemployed in the
U.S.; black Americans are even
more distant from whites in
terms of economic equality than
we were in the 1960’s; many
black businesses are failing to the
new wave of conservatism in the
U.S.; and so much is going on
around us that affects our lives
everyday.
We will be addressing many
of the issues that are of concern
to us as black americans and
also formulating solutions to
these problems through a
business approach. You may
ask, why business? Well, it is
clearly evident to me that the
control and power lies in the
money, and it is time that blacks
realize that we must be
technically able to ethically
sound to own and operate our
own businesses. It is my convic
tion that this is our way of get
ting our people out of the jails,
mental institutions, unemploy
ment lines, food stamp offices,
and all the rest of the places that
we need not be in.
Thus it is my challenge to
you, the Spelman body, to get
involved in an organization that
is not only preparing you for a
progressive career in business,
but also developing your ability
to take action on social issues af
flicting the black community.
After all, isn’t this what
Morehouse and Spelman are
really all about?
I would like to take this time
to thank several persons who
have aided in the development
of this column. Mr. Donovan
Martin, Vice-President for
Advertising; Mr. Darrell Green,
Vice-President for Finance; Mr.
Gerald Richardson, Vice-
President for Accounting; Mr.
Benjamin P. McLaurin,
Morehouse College Placement
Director.
Library late fee intended
to serve as a reminder
by Julie Alexander
If you’ve been in the AUC
library recently, I’m sure you’ve
noticed signs posted stating that
there is a $10 late fee for ID
cards that have not been em
bossed before Oct. 10, 1986.
You probably think it is crazy
because money is hard to come
by while in college, especially for
an imprint on a plastic card.
This year, the AUC schools
consist of 8,605 students. At the
end of September, only 2,557
students attempted to get their
ID cards embossed. This is sur
prising because there were an
adequate number of flyers an
nouncing the importance of get
ting Id cards embossed on time.
Cheryl Merideth, a senior at
Spelman, did not get her ID
card embossed because she was
occupied with her class schedule
and after getting settled, she
forgot. Cheryl says, “After the
date had passed it was
rediculous to pay $10.00 to get
my card embossed when the
library gets sufficient funds from
overdue books and lost books.
Another student, Tim Senior,
a Junior at Morehouse says he
did not get his ID card emboss
ed because “It is an absurd pro
cedure because it imposes on
my leisure time. I’ll just get a
friend to get my books for me in
stead of paying late fee.”
Surprisingly, the AUC library
does not want our money. In
fact, they have not collected
more than seventy dollars from
the late fee to go towards their
budget. This is hardly enough to
correct problems that we have
caused in taking care of our
library. Instead of taking care of
our library, we choose to bring
food in the library which causes
exterminator bills. We stuff toilet
paper down the toilet stools
causing plumbing bills. And let’s
not forget how we return books
that have been mutilated.
Mrs. Hulda A. Wilson, Direc
tor of Public Services says that
there is a special time for ID
cards to be embossed because it
is time consuming. The library is
understaffed and one person
cannot be appointed just to em
boss ID cards on any given day.
She also added, “As intelligent
people, we ought to be able to
read and abide by rules and
regulations and be willing to suf
fer the consequences.”
It is important, as college
students, to realize that the staff
at our library are trying
desperately to assist us in our
educational endeavors. Let us
take a closer look at rules and
regulations and try to get our ID
cards embossed on time next
year. It will make things much
easier for students and the staff.