PAGE FOUR
THE BENNETT BANNER
Friday, February 24, 1989
Sisterhood can banish animosities
Opinion
by Joycelynne Hodges
If a stranger came to Bennett
College and asked a Belle, “What
is Bennett like?” What do you
suppose her response would be?
Would it be positive like, “Oh,
Bennett’s great?” Would it be
negative like, “Ugh, Bennett
stinks?” Her response would pro
bably be negative. The main ques
tion here is why do we feel like
this?
A thought came to me yesterday
as I watched the Belles walking to
and from classes. The sun shined
brightly down in the quad as the
squirrels ran back and forth to
the trees with acoms. I then rea
lized how beautiful Bennett
College y is.
N^ Jra you go into hys
terics, let me explain myself.
Sure, Bennett needs a lot of work,
but look at what we have and
what we share.
We have a woman president
who has told us constantly how
she will improve Bennett and
create us into black women ready
for the 90s, “phenomenal women.”
We have a faculty and staff
who are daily challenging us to
reach the highest educational goals
fxwsible.
How many other schools do you
know have dorms in which if
someone is taking a shower, you
have to yell, “Flushing” so that
you don’t burn the person in the
shower?
Think about the long lines in
the cafeteria, how we push to
get into what we always address
as “that horrible place,” Isn’t it
fun to jump in front of everyone?
It’s true that we have problems
at Bennett, but how can they be
solved? Certainly not through
complaining.
Day in and day out, constantly,
all we hear on campus are com
plaints. Complaints are floating
around about the cafeteria, the
dorms, the library, even the stu
dents. Complaining is a passive
act and now is the time for us to
stand up and do something about
the things we are unhappy with.
For example, if someone has
complaints, legitimate complaints.
then perhaps a petition could be
drawn up.
What about fundraisers? In
high school, bake sales, car
washes and parties usually brought
in the most money. They are
probably just as effective now.
O.K., I already know what
you’re thinking. You’re saying,
“WeU, who’s gonna support us?
The Belles?” And why not the
Belles? If we have a goal that
has to be met, then why can’t
everyone do her part? The real
issue here is the existence of
school pride and sisterhood. Do
they exist?
As far as I know, they barely
exist. Have you ever tried to use
someone’s typewriter on this
campus? It’s impossible.
Or how about the looks we give
each other and we really don’t
even know each other.
If you receive a phone call in
the dorm, how many messages
do you get or do your neighbors
even bother to come and get you
for the phone?
Sure there’s a sense of pride
and a sense of sisterhood if you
belong to the same organization
or club, but what we must rea
lize is that we are all a p«rt of
an organization, Benneit. We are
all, supposedly, here for the same
purpose; to get a degree. And,
we all, no matter what dorm we
stay in, no matter what our
g.p.a. is, no matter who we are
or what we are, we all have to
yell “Flushing” in the bathroom.
The hostility level on this cam
pus is growing everyday while
the respect level shrinks. This
could make or break this school.
We all need to stop and look at
what’s going on before it’s too
late.
Maybe I’m being too hard and
judgmental, neither of which I
mean to be. Yet I know that our
behavior is evident not only to
me but others as well. Everyone
is not acting like this, but in
time, things might get worse.
Perhaps we should look to our
school song on how we, as Belles,
are supposed to behave.
“Bennett, now our voices raise
Harmonies of grateful praise;
We, thy daughters find thee
fair,
Loyalty thy colors bear,
Truth and honor in thy halls,
Faith and love within thy
walls;
Ever dear to us thou art,
Firm within each loyal
heart!”
The song is telling xis that we
need to praise our school, not
just our neighboring schools. We
need to show off our school by
wearing items with its name on
them. We need to have love, not
only for our school, but for our
sisters here. We need to care for
our school and have pride in it.
Since Bennett stresses sister
hood, let’s try to show it.
Celebrate
Black History
Month All Year
Scott is honored
Bennett College’s president,
Dr. Gloria Scott, was recently
honored by being chosen as
one of 75 women featured in
Pulitzer Prize winner, Brian
Lanker’s “I Dream A World:
Portraits of Black Women
Who Changed America.”
The honorees represented
three generations of black
women who had brought
changes through their res
pective professions, volun
teer/community services or
both.
Dr. Scott says of the honor,
“It was a fantastic experience
and I enjoyed having the op
portunity to dialogue with
some of the fellow honorees
about the current generation
and the commonalities of ob
stacles all generations posses
sed.”
Two copies of “I Dream A
World” are featured in the
Thomas Holgate Library.
Lorraine Patton
Protecllon tips
(from page 1)
if such a situation should
occur.
On the college campus,
students should behave cau
tiously, especially after dark.
Walk to destinations with a
friend, and if you must be
alone call ahead so that some
one is expecting you.
Remember that crimes and
dangerous incidents occur
when you least expect them
so everyone needs to take
precautions and be prepared
mentally and if possible phy
sically.
DC killing spree
(from page 2)
in drug trafficking and ended
slaying innocent children and
adults. Drugs are like a steering
wheel, which controls your every
move. The mayor of our capital
city had accusations brought upon
him that he too was involved in
using drugs.
As for the drug dealers (hust
lers), they’re waiting to employ
pre-teens so they can have the
opportunity to make fast money.
Parents have to compete finan
cially with the dealers because
they set the trend for the latest
fashions.
Some of my p>ast associates
have been captured by this vicious
drug circus. This is one circus
I hope does not stay in t>jvn.
We as a nation need to get our
priorities in order. If our capital
city is in chaos, what holds for
our nation?
Betsy M. Peoples
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