PAGE FOUR
THE BENNETT BANNER
Friday, November 15, 1985
Director excels in diplomacy
by Rhonda Wesby
“If there ever comes a time
where I couldn’t interact with
people, I think I’d just die,”
says the director of alumnae
affairs.
According to Mrs. Ellease
Colston’s record as an expert
in human relations, that time
is never going to come.
A vibrant personality, a
gift for diplomacy and devo
tion to duty have marked her
32 years of service to the
college. After her graduation
from Bennett in 1953, she
managed the book store, the
post office and the snack bar,
and she worked as an assist
ant in the records office.
Those missions familiarized
Colston with tht business
operations of the college.
T^en, 15 years ago, when
President Issac H. Miller Jr.
urged Colston to accept her
present job, she was ready.
The human relations part
of the job came naturally. It
was instinctive for her. “Basi
cally, I like people, and this
is a people-oriented job. You
have to learn to deal with a
lot of personalities and criti
cisms,” she says.
Colston has been so success
ful at building bridges that
the alumnae have met the
goal of raising $1 million in
five years.
Her many-faceted job in
cludes organizing and visit
ing alumnae chapters, handl
ing class reunions and doing
recruiting, research and re
cord-keeping. But she feels
her biggest task involves be
ing an educator.
She has to answer many
questions from alumnae
about how their money is be
ing spent, whether or not the
Bennett tradition is continu
ing to be instilled in the stu
dents and what the conditions
are in the dorms.
“I try to educate and moti
vate alumnae and bring them
up-to-date about what’s going
on,” she explains.
She feels a strong obliga
tion to her alma mater. “You
have a certain commitment
and loyalty, not only to the
school, but to young black
women,” she says.
The most challenging part
of her job is to see that con
tributions increase from year
to year. “People give to people
—not to causes. If you see
them one-on-one, they’ll con
tribute. Letters don’t get it.
The phone-a-thon has been an
excellent help,” she observes.
What’s her strategy? “Bas-
cially, you tell people the need
of the institution, whether
it’s faculty salaries or paint
ing the dormitories, whatever
the need is. There is no de
gree in alumna affairs. You
leam by trial and error and
by the number of workshops
you go to,” she states.
Although her work is com
plicated by plenty of travel
and paperwork, Colston finds
she especially enjoys Alum
nae Weekend. “The exciting
part is the 50th reunion
class,” she says. “They all
look so good.”
She is also an on-campus
educator, advising the pre
alumnae club and reminding
seniors not to forget their
alma mater once they’ve left
campus. She feels that no
student pays for her entire
education. She asks seniors
to show pride in their college
and to inform other grad
uates of how well the school
is progressing and how well
the faculty and administra
tion are preparing students
for the challenges in a chang
ing society.
What improvements could
be made in her office ? Colston
would like to add another
full-time person or adminis
trative assistant to do records
research and some travel.
She wants the job fully com
puterized and the salary up
graded.
What makes Colston such
a success on and off campus?
She’s got charm, tact and a
wealth of common sense.
Trip to Ohio State University is mind-expanding experience for student
a column
by Karen R. Taylor
I was excited. It was ap
proaching midnight and I had
one more person to say good
bye to before I picked up my
bags, cleared my room and
ran to the Bennett College
van where Mrs. Cheston,
Evelyn Fulmore, Penny Hill,
Mrs. Scarborough and Aman
da Smith were waiting to go
to Ohio State University.
There always seems to be one
more great opportunity to
take advantage of just when
I thought my luck had run
out. Naturally, I slept the
whole day and had to be
awakened upon arrival.
I didn’t rush into OSU. I
walked cautiously, with eyes
open to the possible rewards,
challenges and pitfalls. The
OSU experience was one of
choice, challenge, and com
mitment.
My choice to attend OSU
is a likely one. Nov. 3-5
marked the 15th annual grad
uate and professional school
visitation days. Fifty-seven
institutions were represented
and it was an exciting ven
ture.
OSU is unusual for many
reasons, particularly because
its large size includes its very
own McDonald’s and airport,
to name a few of its features.
In other words, it is a city
within a city.
The Office of Minority Af
fairs at OSU was the sponsor.
This group tried to encourage
the minority students repre
sented to pursue graduate
studies at the Ohio State Uni
versity. This group also did
a wonderful thing by bring
ing the students there. This
type of opportunity was not
taken lightly but as an ac
complishment.
In my lifetime I hope to do
great things. It takes a mix
ture of things that will pre
pare me for the world. The
three days spent at OSU were
instrumental in helping me
crystallize my thoughts about
a career.
I was amazed at the num
ber of options that the grad
uate journalism and com
munications schools had to
offer. This knowledge has
helped to broaden my hori
zons and bring my career
goals into focus. My status
as a GPSVD honor student
allowed for much greater in
volvement in some aspects of
the school, and it provided a
better understanding of
OSU’s unique perspective. At
this point, I would like to
enter graduate studies. This
reaction comes from my ex
perience and reinforces my
decision to pursue a master of
arts degree in journalism.
Furthermore, the intelligent
very probably commit more
crimes than the less intelligent.
It is unfortunate that the re
searchers focused only on violent
crimes and not on other such as
embezzlement, fraud, smuggling
and the like which are usually
committed by older, more intelli
gent, middle class men and wom
en. Note, for example, the rela
tively light punishment served for
siphoning funds by members of
the E. F. Hutton corporation.
By far, the weakest of the pro
posed criminal characteristics is
body types. Shorter, more mus
cular men, whose builds have
been associated with “expressive,
extroverted, domineering temper
aments,” are not neccessarily in
herently more violent, but are
probably more violent because of
societal expectations and arche
types.
Certainly, this matter is not to
be lightly addressed nor hastily
swallowed. What, for example, do
researchers say of the millions
who fit the distinctions but who
never commit crimes? What do
they say to the fact that though
tendencies may exist in aU, only
Of course, there were fun
times. I had a chance to meet
students from all parts of the
nation. We exchanged ideas
and addresses and hope to
one day see each other again.
We attended a concert that
featured the gospel group,
Tlie Winans. They were fan
tastic. We also attended
a banquet where Benjamin
Hooks, executive director of
the NAACP, gave the key
note address. He inspired
greatness through example.
He told us to “vote, dream,
try and believe.”
Picking the right graduate
school is never easy. OSU
holds a great deal of poten
tial, especially since it offers
fellowships to many minority
honor students. Although my
orientation to graduate school
is toward OSU, other grad
uate schools’ offerings are
vast and are open to anyone
who approaches them.
certain circumstances bring them
out? Honestly, they seem to con
tradict themselves and agree with
the theories of a humble college
student with no degrees or titles.
They say the “conscience,” which
determines morality, “is probably
the chief restraint in keeping
people honest,” and that “one
encounters that moral tone at
every turn.”
Unfortunately, our perception of
what is criminal has been shaded
by the media and is therefore
relative. Somehow, we must
finally agree that crime is crime
no matter how it is packaged.
Whether a thin white woman
commits a crime or a short, mus
cular, unintelligent black man
commits a crime, it is the same.
Actually, it is not what Wilson
and Herrnstein said that bothers
me so much. It is what they left
unsaid. They attempted, unsuc
cessfully, to completely ignore
race. Did they assume that we al
ready know of our criminal pre
disposition? Sure we know. From
the blood of kings and great war
riors and educators came the cri
minal. Something smells fishy,
king-fishy.
Contest closes;
Induction rites
Foreign Languages Contest: The
deadline for entering the “Foreign
Languages for Global Understand
ing” visual arts contest fell last
Friday, and the final winners will
be disclosed before Thanksgiving.
The contest, which was open to
any junior high, senior high or
college-level foreign language
student in Guilford County, soli
cited posters, collages and photo
graphs, Entries are judged by a
committee here, with French In
structor Mrs, Betsy Simpson serv
ing as coordinator of the contest.
Last year, sophomore Andra
Henning won first-place honors
on this campus and placed second
in the county-wide competition.
The contest is sponsored by the
Foreign Language Association for
Strengthening the Humanities,
Society Ceremony: Sigma Tau
Delta, the national English honor
society, inducted nine new mem
bers on Nov, 6.
Four members of the communi
cations department entered the
organization—Dr, Martha B'rown,
Dr, Carol Meeks, Miss Marcella
Whidbee and Michael Gaspeny,
One student, Dayme Joseph, and
four alumnae—Yolanda T, Du-
Rant, Kay Boyd, Leslie Barr and
Joan Y, Davis were inducted.
DuRant teaches high school
English in Burlington, and Boyd
serves as a graduate assistant in
English at A&T,. Barr and Davis
were honored in absentia. The
former works as an accountant in
New York City, and the latter is
attending law school at the Uni
versity of Alabama,
Sigma Tau Delta’s officers are
Amanda D, Smith, president;
Bonita Moore, vice president;
Penny L, Hill, secretary; Vicky
Dunn, treasurer; Dee Evans, mar
shal; and Karen R, Taylor, his
torian.
Books-from page 1
Tucker. She added, “Dr.
Charles was my instructor
in graduate school and Dr.
Cowling was a graduate
school instructor of Dr. Char
lotte Alston, director of the
division of humanities.”
Perhaps the students who
will get the most use out of
the book collection will be
those who helped move the
books to campus.
The students included
seniors Rhonda Wesby, Gail
Brady, Penny Hill, Amanda
Smith, Natalie Pratt and
Lisa Tharpe; juniors Lynda
Keith, Lois Wilkie and Dayme
Joseph; sophomores, Bernice
Scott and Karen Hoi’ne; and
freshman Tammy Reid.
Rifles-from page 2
the backbone of the P/R, but you
do not have to be in the program
in order to be a member of P/R
and P/A, Company N-4 serves
A&T, Bennett College, Greensboro
College, Guilford College and
UNC-G, There are already four
active members from Bennett
College, They are Jessica Mc
Daniel, LaVonda Trimble, Jackie
Washington and I,
There is a pledge period in
order to gain membership, but
the P/R and P/A are a non-Greek
organization. As a member, you
can also pledge a Greek organi
zation if you are pleased to do so.
AU interested students are to
bring their questions to the P/R
and P/A interest meeting on
Wednesday, Dec. 4, The dress is
semi-formal and the meeting is
at 8 p.m. Please be prompt.
Yvonne Breece
P/A
S-1 Adjudant
Coronation Festivities: Penny L. Hill, crowned Miss Bennett in October, re
ceives due courtesies from President Issac H, Miller Jr, Photo by Keith Miller.
From page 3—
Research errs