The Athenaeum. (Atlanta, GA) 1898-1925, February 01, 1925, Image 18

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

160 THE ATHENAEUM fronting the Negro youth and the part that education has played in the past and must play in the future in their solution were the dom inant features in the discussions and programs, scholarships, honor ary degrees, and even in the pilgrimages. The “Go to High School- Go to College” movement, the study of Negro Literature, foreign Scholarships, business training for Negroes and development of Negro business, programs of Social organizations and, vocational guidance, all of which are sponsored by the different Fraternities and Sororities, are not to be regarded lightly, but must be carefully re viewed, because in no other organizations do we have such, well out lined and well defined programs. The issue of Fraternities and Sororities is gradually making its way to the front—trampling under feet “would be failures”—and the time is not far distant when present pessimists will be forced to lay aside their “gats” and recognize Fraternities and Sororities as neces sary factors to the education and enlightment of the Negro youth. FISK—Conflicting reports have appeared in the white and color ed press with regard to the happenings at Fisk during the first week of February. The white press carried tales of a riot by students with threats on the life of Dr. McKenzie- The Negro press emphatically denies that there was either riot or threat. From sources that we ad judge fair and authentic we present without comment the following facts. For the past few years there has been a growing feeling of unrest among the students and dissatisfaction with the administration at Fisk caused mainly by the ever-increasing restrictions placed by Pre sident McRenize upon student activities. This dissatisfaction was accentuated when on sundry occasions President McKenize caused or permitted concerts to be given by Fisk students at places where the colored audience was segregated. This unrest culminated when an order was issued forbidding the appearance on campus or streets of men and women walking together. At 11 P. M. February 4, a group of students staged a noisy but non-violent demonstration mak ing the following charges: “That the students are allowed to do almost nothing of their own initative. They can have no organizations except such as are not supervised by the faculty, but with membership determined by the faculty, with some member of the faculty sitting at every meeting to listen. “That Fisk University is not taking an honest position with re gard to the Southern situation. It has deliberately embraced a pro paganda which discredits all df the hard work which the forward fighters for Negro freedom have been doing. It overpraises the liberal white South and continually teaches its students and constitu ency that the liberal white South is in the the ascendency and that it is ruling, and the only thing required of the black men is aquie- scence and submission.