Page Two
THE BENNETT BANNER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1976
Will We Survive?
These are troubled times for black institutions. They are
confronted with problems in the areas of enrollment, finances,
employment and maintenance. Bennett College being a black
institution has all of the latter problems and because it is a
church school for women those problems all seem to be more
pronounced.
Enrollment at Bennett went up remarkably this year due
to an all out recruitment effort. However, Bennett still does not
have an enrollment indicative of growth and progress. The en
rollment this year tends to counterbalance the slight decline in
enrollment in the two preceeding years.
Theoretically as the enrollment is increased steps should
be taken to insure that the quality of the students accepted is
not lowered just to procure large classes. At black institutions
allowances have to be made and are made about the caliber of
students admitted. Then to a large extent many of the bright
and talented blacks choose white institutions over black institu
tions because of better facilities, financial aid and sometimes
the name that school happens to carry along with it, leaving
black institutions with the dilemma of trying to maintain enroll
ment and caliber of student in the face of competition with
bigger, more prestigious schools. It has been suggested with
the advent of civil rights and the opening of the doors of white
schools that predominantly black schools are obsolete. Why not
consolidate them into the white university systems and be
through with them, especially since even now in 1976 great
discrepancies exist between black institutions and white institu
tions in relationship to finances and facilities among state schools
not to mention private schools.
However, it has to be interjected here that black institutions
educate on a whole, more black people than do other institutions
and without them the black race would definitely suffer.
The financial situation at black institutions is perhaps the
number one problem. A school can not operate without adequate
funding. Bennett relies on alumnae support, the Methodist
Church, the United Negro College Fund and its endowment fund.
Students at Bennett only pay half of what it cost them to at
tend the school leaving the college to pick up the rest of the bill.
Black institutions do not have adequate alumnae support.
Students on occasion here at Bennett have said “When I grad
uate from Bennett I am not going to send it a penny.” “I got
mine and the rest can get theirs. The same way I did.” We
exhibit little enthusiasm and gratitude toward a place in which
we spend four years preparing for our careers. We need to as
educated women, be proponents of education and adopt an atti
tude that would see that others have an opportunity to receive
an education and support our school.
Black institutions also have problems securing faculty mem
bers. The salaries for teachers at Bennett is lower than many
other institutions making it hard to attract new teachers and
keep old teachers.
Maintenance at black institutions is poor because they do
have less money and when budgets are cut maintenance is the
first to suffer. The physical plant at Bennett College is not in
the worst of conditions but things could be much better. As it
stands now it takes at least two weeks for most repairs to be
made. And in some instances longer, for example it is the middle
of October and dryers and wash machines that were broken
when school started still are not fixed.
The fact that inflation has increased the price of heating,
plumbing and electricity does not help the college much either.
In light of all of the above, one would have to wonder how
Bennett will survive as a private-black-all-women’s institution.
In a recent conversation President Miller gave some comments
on the schools future. According to President Miller, Bennett
will survive. He feels the school’s chances of surviving are better
because it is a women’s college which gives it an added distinc
tion. Also if the school can become an outstanding institution in
the area of preparing women for new and emerging fields, in
the disciplines of medicine, dentistry, and science; public school
teaching, home economics with emphasis on family life, business
administration, marketing and merchandising, media and com
munications and diplomatic service.
Financially President Miller feels Bennett will survive with
good management of available funds and doubled efforts to se
cure money from the alumnae, and business corporations. Also
the support of the church and the UNCF will help the school
to endure.
The future of Bennett College does rest largely in the hands
of administrators and the board of trustees. We as students can
contribute to the continuation of the school by supporting it fi
nancially and morally. We often brag on the merits of other
black schools like Howard, Fisk, Spelman and Hampton Institute,
which is good, but we need to recognize that we too have some
thing to offer. If we want Bennett to continue, if we believe the
education we receive here is worthwhile, then we owe it to our
selves for the time we have invested in Bennett to see to it that
the school does continue. This can best be done by achieving in
our individual areas of study and demonstrating to the world
that Bennett College is supplying and meeting the needs of
young black college women.
Editor-in-Chief ,
Diane Stevens
Associate Editor
Joyce Bass
Adviser
Dr. Virginia Tucker
Layout Editor
Deborah Tillman
Circulation Manager . .
Cleo Branch
Feature Editor
Robyn Denise Berryhill
Business Managers
Deborah Luttery and Terry Lewis
Advertising Managers
Sandy Monroe and Kelly Gardner
Cartoonist
Bobbi Durdin
Photographers
Joyce Bass, Becki Holder, Gena Haskett
Reporters
"Kool-Aid" Bartley
Marcelle Miranda
Cleo Branch
Sandra Monroe
Gail Burgess
Rochelle Moody
Kelly Gardner
Linda Pittman
Gena Haskett
Hattie Purnell
Barbara Hamm
Thomasina Stallings
Lennet Hill
Robin Stamps
Debra Hodges
Kathy Torrence
Faye Howard
Yvonne Wiggins
Bianca Hurley
Cathy Young
Juanita McGhee
ire 'vH-
9-e^
of' -tW
Three Free Culs:
A Student's Riglit
The trouble with policies at
Bennett College is that some
where down the line they al
ways seem to get miscon
strued. Unfortunately this is
so and it is definitely so in re
lationship with the class at
tendance policy. Supposedly a
student has one cut for each
semester hour she is carry
ing. It is not stipulated that
those cuts must be used for
any reason other than the rea
son she chooses to use them
for. It is stated, however, that
no make-up test will be given
for unexcused absences. The
policy goes on to say that as
long as a student has a doc
tor’s excuse for missing a
class that absence is excused
and not considered to be a
class cut. This year, though,
and on more than one occasion
students have been told not
to seek excused absences but
to use their cuts and when
their cuts are completely used
up then they may go to the
Dean for an excuse. This is
blatant and unjustified regi
mentation coupled with com
plete disregard for students
rights.
It is bad enough to have
mandatory classes and have
to listen to roll call like ele
mentary students, but to be
told that the small amount of
freedom that the class at
tendance policy does provide,
in actuality does not exist is
taking things just a little bit
beyond tolerable limits.
From
Anotlter
by Gena Haskett
It is very strange for a country
so well known for its news gath
ering and the speed at which news
is dispatched to leave half of the
country confused. I refer to the
matter of Earl L. Butz, former
secretary of agriculture and what
lead to his resignation.
For that we must go back to the
end of the Republican convention
and a flight from Kansas City
with Butz, singer Pat Boone, and
John Dean, former White House
lawyer and No. 1 stool pigeon
about Watergate.
Boone and Dean were involved
in a conversation about the lack
of black representation at the
convention. (There were only
about 76 black delegates to the
convention). Boone: “John and I
were discussing the appeal of the
Republican party. It seems to me
that the party of Lincoln could
and should attract more black
people. Why can’t this be done?”
Butz: “I’ll tell you why you
can’t attract coloreds. Because col
oreds only want three things. You
want to know what they are?”
Boone shook head no. Dean indi
cated yes. “I’ll tell you what they
want, a tight , loose shoes,
and a warm place to
John Dean later published the
story in the Rolling Stones omitt
ing Butz’s name by saying a
“member of the cabinet.” Butz
later admitted to the President
that he had made what he con
sidered a “joke.”
The President gave Butz a
“strong reprimand” saying that
Perspective...
“such language and attitudes were
not accepted for a member of his
administration.” This was not the
first time Butz has made an
ethnically offensive remark. In
1974 Butz had quoted a fictious
Italian woman in a heavy accent
as a comment on the Pope’s stand
on birth control. Butz said: “He
no playa da game, he no maka
da rules.”
If the remarks Butz made had
no place in his administration then
why did Butz stay? Perhaps it’s
because Butz is very popular in
the midwest and Ford needed him
to campaign among the farmers.
Alan Grant president of the
American Farm Bureau Federa
tion said, “The resignation will
have an effect on the fa»-m vote.
It will look like he was forced
out.”
This is what Ford did not want.
He needs every kind of vote he
can get. He waited for the last
possible moment not to do some
thing because he did not want to
hurt his chances for election.
George McGovern, the senator
from South Dakota said, “This is
not the first time that he has dis
played his contempt for his fol
low humans. But it is the worst
example of an attitude that can
not be tolerated in the U. S. gov
ernment. No apology can wash
it away.”
I feel the same way; however
this can be applied to President
Ford. You do not wait for a Gallup
poll to tell you what is morally
right.
Continued on Page 4
Banner Salutes Dr. Miller for Important Contributions
It is sometimes necessary to
stop and pay tribute to individuals
who weather all the criticism,
complaints and out and out op
position and say to them, “maybe
you are not so bad after all.” Dr.
Isaac H. Miller, Jr. has been with
Bennett for the last ten years
through what could probably be
termed some good times and some
bad times but he has stuck by
Bennett and made some improve
ments along the way.
Many of the programs which
we handily take for granted were
instituted by Dr. Miller: the 13
College Curriculum Program, In
terdisciplinary Studies Program,
Cooperative Education Program,
Presidential Scholars Program,
Computer Assisted Instruction,
Home and Family Life Program,
Women’s Studies Program, Pro
gram for Women in Leadership
Roles in International Service, In
stitute for the Training of Direc
tors of Learning Centers, Special
Services Program, Academic Op
tions Program, Academic Advis
ing Program, Academic Re-in-
forcement Program, and Six In
stitutions Consortium.
During Dr. Miller’s administra
tion the campus was expanded
through the erection of Henry
Pfeiffer Science Building and
Player Hall.
Since Dr. Miller has been here
the percentage of teachers hold
ing the doctorate degree has in
creased from 25% to 65%.
New majors that have been
added to the colleges curriculum
are Recreation, Student Personnel
Services and Communication and
Mass Media. Also he has sup
ported and encouraged the de
velopment of a dual degree pro
gram in Mechanical and Electrical
engineering between Bennett Col
lege and N.S.A.&T. State Univer
sity.
For a decade of service to the
college we at the Banner salute
Dr. Miller and hope that he will
continue to direct Bennett in a
forward direction.