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JLk A Spelman College W 'tT \\/A\ r=—Sa 1 Lg#^# J ir 44V^ SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT PUBLICATION Vol. 1. No. 1 Intellectual Framework for the Freethinker September 2013 New Students participate in white dress ceremony & brother-sister exchange. Welcome Class of 2017 A Letter from a Junior t>ea r First yea rs, Welcome to Spelman College and congratulations on your many achievements. On behalf of the entire student body, faculty and staff, we are delighted to have you as the newest addition to this diverse and everlasting family. This welcome aims to give you a glimpse of the wonders your college journey will bring you. As you are welcomed, you are charged with an urgent realization that this is your time to pursue your dreams. You have been granted with the opportunity to be a part of this chivalrous legacy that will afford you the vital tools for achieving greatness. You are encouraged to regard these next few years as the fundamental experience that will mold you into intellectual writers, competent thinkers, innovative project developers, ethical service leaders, and renowned, world-changing Spelman Women. With the start of a brand new chapter in your life, there are a great number of adjustments to be made in ensuring your contentment throughout this structural journey. Many of you are miles from home and will indeed get more homesick than you would ever imagine. In those times, you are invited to build similar home-felt relationships with the genuine women of Spelman College. Meet the faculty, explore the campus, and become active in registered student organizations. If you feel the urge to begin your own student organization, drop by the Office of Student Life and Engagement; this office is next door to the Bonner Office where community service opportunities are available. Visit Sisters Chapel, which is considered to be the spiritual heart of Spelman with its rich history and inclusive ambiance. Stop by financial aid and get to know the scholarship coordinators. Spelman offers much more than academics and is a host of many educational and entertaining art forms. Stray away from confining yourself and open your mind to potential change. Spelman is devoted to your progress and by making such adjustments, you will become the lead pioneer in the quest to find yourself. Among the list of imperative initiatives you as First Years will take, the most important are perhaps the initiatives to seek knowledge and cause effective change through service. Learn as much as you can about Spelman’s esteemed history and commit yourself to positive social change. Be enthusiastic about unfamiliar topics; a wealth of knowledge is absolutely necessary for survival in this realm of academic excellence. Challenge yourself to accept and further understand opposing views with hopes of a mutual equilibrium. Test the theories by which you live, and enlighten the world based on your findings. Work to increase your potential and the potential of others. Closely examine your actions for they dictate the perception of your character. Being accepted into Spelman is an achievement, a wonderful privilege, and all the reason for a celebration. However, accepting the role of a Spelman Woman is a duty and a commitment to scholastic supremacy, consistency, and civility. Spelman College dares you to conquer unforeseen challenges while bonding your heart to a global and lifetime occupation. The memories you create here will be unforgettable and the friendships everlasting. It is imperative that you remain critically conscious of the company you keep, the places you go, and the actions you take. In closing, it would behoove you to pay particular attention to the many women who have come before you to pave your pathway to Spelman Lane. Spelman chose you. Now, what choices will you make? With grace and love, Alaja Philips C’2015 Junior, Dual Degree Physics and Architectural Engineering Major EDITORIAL Allow Us to t Ourselves... This is a public service announcement to the greater AUC community. We, the editors and writers of The BluePrint, are proud to Ko Bragg C’2015 reintroduce the Spelman College newspaper back into campus life. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ko Bragg and I am incredibly honored to say that I am the Editor in Chief of The BluePrint. This tremendously talented staff and I want to assure you that this inaugural issue of The BluePrint will be the first of many editions geared to be journalistically excellent. I often remind myself that you have to know someone’s journey to understand the paths that he or she takes. My voyage to Spelman College was more of a globetrotting expedition than it was a journey, but nevertheless it sheds light on the path that I am creating for The BluePrint. Spelman accepted me as a transfer student in the spring semester of 2013, and I am now a junior majoring in History. I spent my freshman year at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California, where I learned that I need a little bit more in life By: Ko Bragg C’2015, Editor-i than constant sunshine and palm trees to be completely happy. Between Claremont and Spelman I studied abroad in 15 countries over the course of 107 days through Semester at Sea. I was born in Virginia and spent most of my childhood there. The latter half of my most formative childhood years took place in New Jersey, which I left to attend boarding school in New Hampshire. I currently reside in Philadelphia, Mississippi—at least for now. Having lived in six different places throughout the course of the past two years I am no stranger to change; it is a part of me. Now that you know a little of my story, I hope that you will be open to working with my staff and me so that we can help to represent yours. As you hold your copy of the paper, keep in mind that anyone with a vision has to have a blueprint—a detailed plan with structure. Beyond that, a blueprint is a highly accurate, stable reprint of an authentic creat ion created by impressing one image onto another. Like the physical blueprinting process, we have taken guidance from previous Spelman Spotlight staff members and older editions to re-brand the newspaper as 'The BluePrint. We recognize the Spotlight’s authenticity as the voice of African- American womanhood since 1957, as it is a value that we want to continue to foster in all -Chief of our endeavors. For that reason, The BluePrint is not a new production. Instead, it is a more stable, consistent version of Spelman’s student news source. We are confident that our name change will work in solidarity with our goal to provide the intellectual framework for freethinking people. This edition is focusing on new beginnings, and not only our own. We are celebrating the arrival of the Class of 2017, all of the transfers, domestic and foreign exchange students, and PED Scholars who have come to join us as well. We are also covering the changes taking place this semester with regards to the Wellness Program and Market Friday. As reinforced by the contribution by Dr. Tatum on page 2, we are making it a point to look back and reflect on our history. Now, more than ever, is a perfect time to pay homage and respect to those who dedicated their lives ensuring that people like you and I would even have the opportunities to be in such a place as this. The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, happening as I write these words, is a tangible reminder about how a dream turned into a blueprint to change the nation. Continue on paths towards greatness so that you can look back and be proud of your journey. Welcome Class of 2017, welcome new readers, welcome all. 50 Years Later: Spelman’s March Towards Freedom By: Jasmine M. Ellis C’2015 ABC/ AP Photo / Susan Walsh Woman who was present at March on Washington in 1963, celebrates 50th Anniversary During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 50 years ago, women were not included as speakers for the program. However, two Spelman women from the King family had the opportunity to speak during the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 2013. One of these women was Dr. King’s older sister Christine King Farris Ph.D., C’48, who addressed the crowd along with President Obama, two former presidents, and Congressman John Lewis (D-Georgia). Rep. Lewis, whose district includes Spelman, served as the youngest speaker during the first March on Washington. Spelman College and the King family have a relationship that transcends decades. The King legacy begins with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mother, Alberta King, C’22, and spans to Dr. King’s niece, Angela Farris Watkins Ph.D., C’86. While the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington resonated with Americans across the nation as a catalyst for freedom and equality, this day was very important for Farris, associate professor in the English studies department at Spelman. “It’s very significant to me,” said Farris, the oldest of the three King children. “It brings back memories of my brother and knowing his sacrifice and his determination to see justice served.” Race and economic injustices were focuses of the movement that Dr. King touched upon during his I Have a Dream Speech on Aug. 28,1963. Gloria Wade Gayles, Ph.D., founding director of the Spelman Independent Scholars Oral History Project and faculty mentor for SIS, was in attendance during the march 50 years ago. “I am rarely at a loss for words because there really is no way to explain to someone who wasn’t there what that experience was really like,” Gayles said. “It was unbelievable in the sense that it was something we so desperately needed as a nation and we were not so sure that we could pull it off and we did. When I say ‘we,’ I don’t mean only the organizers, but the people, the hundreds of thousands of people who were there.” As a civil rights activist held in solitary confinement for four and a half days in Atlanta, Gayles was well engrossed in change, leading up to the March on Washington she spent the summer of 1963 working in freedom schools in Mississippi. Similar to Gayles, the hundreds of thousands of people who attended the march were also eager to see a change in the nation. “It was remarkable in the sense that it was such a commitment to change, you could feel it in the air. If you touched someone you could feel it in their pulse,” Gayles said. “Everyone there believed that this was a new beginning that we were in fact as a nation at the daybreak of real achievements in the arena of justice. We were convinced that we were creating a new movement and not just for blacks, but for working class poor across races.” Fifty years later, the inspiration that many Americans felt during the March on Washington continues through the actions of those who are willing to serve humankind. Abraham Davis, Ph.D., Morehouse College, C’61, and professor of Political Science also had the opportunity to attend the March on Washington in 1963. Inspired by the words of Dr. King and the march as a whole, Davis has prepared both Spelman and Morehouse students such as Martin Luther King III to become social change agents by holding them to a standard of excellence. “Excellence is colorblind and knows neither race or national origin,” Davis said. “It only knows hard work, patience, attention to details, and dedication.” “The most effective way that I know to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not by what we say, but by what we do to prepare the next generation of students to be able to compete successfully with other students in the global community.” Leading up to the anniversary celebration, citizens of all walks of life gathered on Aug. 23, 2013, to commemorate Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” and focus their efforts with a common goal in mind, change, which Alaina Long, C’ 2015, a comparative women studies major witnessed at the event. “There were people of all ages and races which was very cool to see,” Long said. “A girl about seven years old carried a poster that read, ‘Support Trayvon’s Law,’ a scene which truly moved me and saddened me at the same time that a child so young has to know and experience the injustice of our society.” Looking towards the future, Spelman students will have the opportunity to help Dr. King’s dream become reality. Farris emphasizes that through reflection of the past and by paying close attention to the present day Spelman students will assist in changing the world. “I would like for Spelman students to understand that we still have a ways to go,” Farris said. “We have accomplished quite a bit in these last 50 years, but there’s still that undercurrent of non-acceptance of minorities and so forth.”