BACCALAUREATE
Sunday,
June 3
THE VOICE
'DIGEST OF STUDENT OPINION
COMMENCEMENT
Tuesday,
June 5
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2
FAYETTEVILLE, STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE
FAYETTEVILLE, N. C., MAY, 1956
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SPECIAL PUBLICITY ISSUE
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This Is Fayetteville State Teachers College
A Communify Resource
Fayetteville, which is experiencing a remarkable, revitaliz
ed interest in higher education, actually has been a college
for nearly 80 years. This city is the site of Fayette-
vill^tate Teachers College off
Murchison Rd., founded in
1877, which makes it the oldest
icacher - education institution
established in North Carolina
and the oldest state-supported
college for Negroes in the
state.
What has been the relationship
between the community and col
lege during the institution’s his
tory?
Dr. J. W. Seabrook, president of
the college since 1933, declared,
“Fayetteville has furnished the
type of environment and atmos
phere which a college is looking
for.”
Expanding from this statement,
Dr. Seabrook continued, “The cit
izens welcome our students in
their homes and in their churches.
The influence upon our student
body is wholesome. The people
of Fayetteville have always helped
our college financially, morally,
and in every other way we could
expect a community to aid and en-
cQurage an educational institu
tion.”
The effect of this “very stimulat
ing and safe environment upon our
students,” Dr. Seabrook said, has
been that no college student ever
has been charged with a crime
more serious than a traffic viola
tion since he came to the school
as dean in 1922.
The college president pointed out
that students of the college do not
seek out undesirable places “and
these joints would not welcome
our students, for they know the
surest way to arouse the indigna
tion of the citizenry of Fayetteville
and get their places closed would
be to entice or cater to college
students.”
Fort Bragg Asset
Turning to the neighboring Fort
Bragg reservation. Dr. Seabrook
stated, “I can conscientiously as
sert that Fort Bragg is a definite
asset to the college and that we
have had many helpful ahd pleas
ant contacts and dealings with the
Fort Bragg soldiers and their fam
ilies.”
Many military personnel over
the years have taken special
courses at the institution. Their
v/ives and children have attended
and are attending the institution.
“The young soldiers that visit
the college are just as genteel and
circumspect in their conduct as are
the male students,” he added.
“Many have entered upon suc
cessful marriages with our female
graduates . . . We find them above
the average intellectually and so
cially. There are other types
among the 40,000 troops at Fort
Bragg, but they do not visit the
college. Actually, that undesirable
group, knowing it will not find
liquor, gambling and fast women,
just doesn’t come.”
“There is an exchange of musical
presentations, educational p r o -
grams and other events between
the post and college that proves
to be “pleasant and profitable,”
the college president added.
What has been the progress of
Fayetteville State Teachers . Col
lege during the 23 years Dr. Sea
brook has served as its head?
In 1933 there were 364 students
attending the institution — then a
two-year normal school. The State
Legislature designated it as a four-
year teachers college in 1939 and
growth has been steady until its
present enrollment of 550.
Over half of North Carolina’s
hundred counties are represented
among the student body. Of the
total enrollment, 494 are from this
state, with the remainder mostly
from New York, New Jersey, Vir
ginia, South Carolina and the Dis
trict of Columbia.
Many Day Students
An interesting note is that one-
third of the student body is day
students. Dr. Seabrook said that
most of ’these 187 non-boarders
commute to the college each day
from their homes in Fayetteville
(Continued on Page 9, Col. 1)
Fayettevi!fe Plays Host to NationaS Speech - Drama Meet
The Twentieth Annual Conference of the National Association of Dramatic and Speech
Arts was held at the Fayetteville State Tcachers College April 11-14. This year’s session
was an enthusiastic and"meaningful one with delegates in attendance from South Carolina,
North Carolina, Louisiana,
Guorgia, Missouri, Kentucky,
Ohio, and Florida.
The Thursday assembly session
was heightened by a keynote ad
dress by Paul Green, author of the
Pulitzer prize winning play. In
Abraham’s Bosom, and currently
chairman of the Department of
Folklore at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, N. C.
Introduced by Dr. Thomas E.
Poag, chairman of the Department
of Speech and Drama at the Ten
nessee A, and I. State University,
Paul Green spoke from the topic
“Our Democratic Heritage.” At the
assembly session, Dr. J. Ward Sea
brook, president of the college,
formally welcomed the group to
the campus and Dr. Thomas D.
(Pawley, head of the work in
Speech and Drama at Lincoln Uni
versity, Jefferson City, Mo., gave
the response.
Varied Speech Drama Activities
The four-day meeting was jp'S-
plete with displays, lectures, dts-
cussions, and demonstrations on
effective choral speaking, speech
correction, and radio and TV
drama activities. Likewise, the
program provided for High School
Day, Affiliated Organizations Day,
and for the annual NADSA semi-
formal dance and the annual As
sociation banquet.
Array of Consultants
Among consultants present were
S. Randolph Edmonds, chairman of
the Department of Speech and
Drama at the Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical College, Tallahas
see, Fla.; Dr. Thomas E. Poag, for
mer Association President and
Chairman of Speech and Drama at
the Tennessee A. and I. State Uni
versity, Nashville; Dr. Thomas D.
Pawley, former Association Presi
dent and Chairman of the Depart
ment of Speech and Drami at Lin
coln University, Jefferson City,
Missouii; .Tanjos E. Randoiph._Di-
rector, Community Youth Center,
Springfield, Mo.; Irene Edwards,
Director, Children’s Drama, Flori
da Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Tallahassee; Dr. W. S.
Swiers, Assistant Superintendent
of Schools, Fayetteville; Nancy
Keener, Speech Correctionist, Fay
etteville Public Schools, Fayette
ville; and Dr. Edgar A. Toppin,
Chairman, Department of Social
Studies, Fayetteville State Teach
ers College.
The Thursday evening series of
plays included “Overruled,” by
George Bernard Shaw, presented
by Central State College, Wilber-
force, Ohio; “Smokescreen,” by
Robert Kaster, Kentucky State
College, Frankfort; and Paul
Green’s “No Count Boy,” Mary-
(Continued on Page 7, Col. 1)
«m
NADSA Conference Group