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Page 2 « SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT « January-February, 1987
Car Towing
Angers Student
On Monday January 26,
1987 several students’ cars were
towed. The majority of these
cars donned “ON CAMPUS”
parking stickers and were tow
ed from their regular parking
spaces. We now understand
that these cars were illegally
parked in faculty-designated
spaces however, our primary
grievance concerns the security
officers’ actions accordance with
the Atlanta University
Center Parking Regulations
pamphlet.
According to the Atlanta
University Center Parking
Regulations pamphlet “the
Department of Public Safety is
authorized to remove and im
pound vehicles, at the owner’s
expense . . . when a student,
faculty member, staff member,
or visitor’s vehicle has three or
more unpaid tickets during an
academic year,” and “when the
owner of a vehicle has not paid
a fine within 30 days of a viola
tion or adhered to the final deci
sion of the Traffic Appeals
Board.” Students on Spelman’s
campus receive numerous
yellow/orange “warning”
stickers on our windows, but
have yet to receive a ticket. The
security officers therefore, were
clearly not acting in accordance
with the Parking Regulations
when non-ticketed, non-fined
cars were towed. Additionally,
those cars parked in Living-
Learning Center’s front parking
lot had yet to receive “warning
stickers prior to Monday,
January 26, 1987.
Given the ambiguity of the
sign that sits on the island in this
parking lot and the fact that
these students have never
received previous notification of
their illegal actions, it is quite
easy to understand our disap
proval. The same holds true for
those students who park in the
lot located between Manley Hall
and the Fine Arts building.
Clearly, the fault does not lie
entirely with the security guards,
administration, or students.
Evidently the guards are confus
ed, the administration is incon
sistent, and the students are vic
tims of the aforementioned.
This inconsistency confusion
and victimization is undoubted
ly due to lack of communica
tion. It is our understanding that
faculty and staff members com
plained that students were park
ing in their designated spaces.
These complaints however,
were never brought to the Stu
dent Government Association. If
anyone has a concern that af
fects a representation of the
Spelman students, feel free to
contact any Association officer.
In closing, if this towing must
persist we would greatly ap
preciate it if our towing dollars
were given to a minority-owned
business.
I sign my name herunto
representing concerned students
of the College.
Kimberly D. Russaw,
President
Spelman Student
Government Association
Students Against Towing (SAT)
Stewart’s Farewell
This farewell was received by the
Spotlight newspaper in between
issues but the information is
important.
Dear Spelman Alumna:
As 1986 draws to a close,
sadly we prepare to leave this
beloved institution earlier than
intended when the original an
nouncement of my resignation
was made in April of this year.
Following a study trip and short
vacation in Japan during the
month of December, I will
assume my responsibilities as
President of the College En
trance Examination Board in
New York in early January,
1987. I write to you about this
because I know that many alum
nae are concerned about the
well-being of the College and
anxious to know what steps are
being taken to ensure a smooth
transition from the current ad
ministration to that of the new
president.
I am assuming at this point
that there will be an interim ad
ministrative arrangement put in
to place from the time of my
departure to the time the new
president takes office and is able
to assume the responsibilities of
Chief Executive Officer. The
Trustees will determine the
nature of this interim arrange
ment and it should be announc
ed shortly by Chairperson,
Marian Wright Edelman (Class
of ‘60).
In the meantime, I know that
a thorough national search for
my successor is well underway
and I am sure that the Trustees
will choose an outstanding in
dividual capable of serving
Spelman well as we move
toward new opportunities in a
new century. We already have
at the College an experienced
management team and able
faculty which will continue to
work well during the period of
hiatus between presidents. May
I ask you for your continued
support, love and respect for this
great institution and those
responsible for running it. Let
me also take this opportunity on
behalf of the Stewart family to
thank you and all Spelman
Alumnae for the ten most
wonderful years of our lives. We
shall be making our move in It
stages as my wife, Isbel and son,
Carter finish up the academic
year in their respective schools.
As you know, Jay is now a §
sophomore at Harvard and |
Carter will graduate from Atlan
ta’s Westminister Schools this 1
June.
I will be coming back to cam
pus most weekends throughout |
the Spring of ’87 to be with my J
family. We hope during that|
time to be able to see the many,
many friends who are alumnae
here in Atlanta and those who
will be coming from out of |
town. We certainly plan to be
on hand for Founders Day and J
Commencement. Spelman will |
always be home. This is where §
our children became young men
and we learned of the beauty,
history and enduring values off
Spelman College. In spirit, we
shall never leave. Thank you for
your understanding and good|
wishes. All the best.
Sincerely,
Donald M. Stewart
Dr. Laconyea Butler Addresses GRE Concern
By Dr. LaConyea Butler
Unfortunately some persons
assumed that the lack of
response to an earlier (October)
article about the GRE was
perhaps apathy on the part of
the faculty and/or administra
tion. Actually, the November
issue of the Spotlight was the
first issue that most of the facul
ty saw and that issue was not
readily available to some.
In order to deal wit\ the mat
ter of the GRE, it is necessary to
put some things into proper
perspective. First, it is of primary
importantce for students to
know that we as faculty agree
with your concerns about the
less than desirable testing
facilities. The problems of space,
temperature control, adequate
ventilation, etc. have provided
the focus of several reports and
memos to the administration.
So the faculty has not been
unaware of the existing pro
blems and possible effects on
students’ performance; nor has
the administration been
oblivious to the needs in this
area. Some improvements,
especially in the areas of
lighting, repairing of seats, pain
ting, and general appearances of
Howe Hall, have been made in
recent years. The cost of air con
ditioning for such a facility as
Howe Hall has been prohibitive
but we have not given up on this
alternative as well as others in
trying to find solutions.
One of the solutions posed of
having students tested is as
many different areas as possible
is not operationally feasible, not
because we can’t find enough
faculty and staff to assist.
Teaching faculty and student
support staff (e.g. counselors,
resident directors) have been
especially cooperative in this
regard. The problem is one of
standardization which is a very
complicated matter. Standar
dization includes standardization
of test administration pro
cedures. Increases in the
number of test administrators
and testing rooms lead to a cor
responding decrease in standar
dization of the testing process.
Moreover, there arises a greater
problem of test security.
Another concern expressed
was the “unnecessary oral
repetition of the directions.”
Standardization of testing pro
cedure requires that certain
specific directions be read aloud
to the examinees. Lack of
awareness of this requirement
perhaps underscores the need
for us to do a better job in the
orientation of students to the
testing process in general and to
the GRE testing process in
particular.
As far as preparation for the
exam, it is good to note that at
last (by senior level) students
recognize this need. Hopefully
some freshmen, sophomores,
and juniors will be so inspired as
to begin their preparation before
the GRE and other professional
school examinations are upon
them. We have a lot of informa
tion in the form of books, tapes,
and computer software available
in the Office of Testing and
Evaluation and in the various
labs (math, writing, reading) and
departments on campus. (A list
is being compiled.) In addition,
faculty members have taken
many hours of their time to plan
test preparation sessions for the
GRE General as well as the Ad
vanced Subject Test. These ses
sions have been open to any
students, but are frequently at
tended by only a very small
number of seniors. It is especial
ly frustrating and disheartening
to us when students fail to take
advantage of the available
resources. A college cannot pro
vide all the courses necessary for
good performance on the sub
ject tests so students need to
assume some responsibility for
taking electives and for reading
materials in areas of weakness.
Several departments have
developed (or are developing)
reading lists to provide students
with additional information.
Please be aware that your
concerns are ours and we do
appreciate your suggestions as
to how we can improve all that
we do at Spelman. If you have
further concerns or questions,
please direct them to our office
(Testing and Evaluation, Giles
307 or 314) or to one of the
members of the Committee on
Testing and Evaluation. We will
be happy to consider your ideas
in one of our meetings.
Thank
You
For
| Responding