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FAYETTEVILLE STATE COLLEGE
Vol. 20 Nos. 4-5
Fayetteville, North Carolina Thursday, Dec. 15, 1966
A Catastrophe at Christmas
By LAURA GILMORE
It was just twelve in the afternoon. Those
little, green hands on the alarm clock looked
like little monsters. They just wanted to be
mean. At a time like this, too. Gloria thought.
“I’ll have to sleep at least six more hours be
fore I can awake refreshed and unexcited. If
the girls knew that I was all excited about go
ing home for Christmas, they’d never let me
forget it. As usual, I hadn’t made a fuss about
what I wanted for Christmas. I had said that
I probably wouldn’t get anything anyway, so
why bother!”
Gloria was now a sophomore in college,
and for as long as she could remember, every
Christmas had been a happy one for her. She
realized, of course, that some of the girls in
her dorm weren’t as fortunate as she, and she
had learned, all too quckly, that a student
didn’t talk about what she had, so she had
been accepted into the group. Oh, sometimes
it got a bit monotonous, hearing them talk
about how poor they were, but there seemed
little else better for them to talk about.
There was one little girl, down the hall
from Gloria, who invoked pity in her. Gloria
really didn’t know why either, because Mary
was independent. Both of her parents were
dead and she was sending herself to school,
still she made good grades; in fact, Mary
seemed to get along better than Gloria. Gloria
had both parents helping her and she didn’t
have to work between classes to make it; yet,
it seemed that it took everything that she had
to keep her grades up. Oh well, if Mary want
ed to kill herself, why not let her? It was a
free world. Every man had his chance. De
spite this trend of thought, Gloria had in
vited Mary home with her for the holidays,
and to her dismay, she had refused. It had
made her angry at first, but later, she passed
it off as experience. She’d remember the next
time that she asked anybody to her home.
Was it just four o’clock now? After all
this long time! Gloria’s roommate hadn’t turn
ed over or made any kind of human sound
in all that time. Gloria started to wondering;
all those excited devils could sleep while she,
supposedly unexcited, couldn’t close her eyes
with her hands. That’s life, she thought; you
can’t have everything. She had more than a
lot of other girls, yet she was probably the
unhappiest of them all.
Gloria woke up completely at exactly six
thirty p.m., to so much noise that she had
to cover her ears. Those little nitties were
getting ready to go home. Gloria decided to
lie there for another half hour. The girls
would absolutely die! Imagine somebody sleep
ing on a day like this! About sevenish, she
dressed slowly and got ready to go home. Her
parents were going to pick her up early; so
now, she must wish everybody a merry
Christmas. She wondered what kind of merry
Christmas some of these poor things would
have. Poor Mary.
Obviously, no one could imagine the re
verie that had occupied her mind all morn
ing. All of the girls seemed very enthusias
tic in their holiday greetings to her.
At last she was home for Christmas. Al
though there were few gifts under the Christ
mas tree, she knew that her mother had lock
ed up the prized ones, to be set out only on
Christmas Eve. Everything was looking up so
far.
On Christmas Day, Gloria got more pre-
ents than she had ever gotten. Relatives, whom
she hadn’t seen in years, remembered her
this year. She got cards from a lot of her
girlfriends. They were all beautiful and de
corative, especially the one from Mary
Greene. Gloria would wait and read the in
side greetings later; now, she must get into
the holiday spirit. Surprizingly, it never came.
It was probably the longest day of the year.
That night, before she got ready to go to bed,
she noticed that Mary’s Christmas greeting
still lay on the night table, unread.
Slowly, she began to read, “Dear Gloria,
merry, merry Christmas to you and your
family. I would have spent the holidays with
you, but I felt that I would have been intrud
ing. Although you never told me, I always felt
that you didn’t really feel close to us, and
especially me. Your invitation only made me
feel more rejected. I don’t expect to receive
any gifts this year, but I’m going to have a
very merry Christmas. I have so many things
for which to be thankful: a strong, healthy
body, a good, clear mind, and many friends.
No other gifts could replace these. I’m also
going to thank God for giving us his Son, to
be a companion for us here on earth.”
"Sometimes, I wish that I could have
some presents and a nice, warm family, but 1
know that someday I will, and I want to share
with them all that I have experienced.”
“I hope that my sentimental letter doesn’t
put a damper on your holiday spirit. Again,
I wish you a very merry Christmas.”
Gloria turned off the night light and fell
asleep.
A Hrrry OHirtfitmas
AND
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GLAD CHRISTMAS
The snow flakes shade the fir tree
And sleigh bells ring a melody,
Expectant boys play on papa’s knee
When glad Christmas comes around.
The windows greet the mistletoe,
The holly’s wrapped around the door;
Fleet reindeers frolic in the snow
When glad Christmas comes around.
The meadow’s fully white
Snowbirds make faint, dancing sounds;
The forest lights up the night
When Glad Christmas comes around.
Sleek icicles are pointing,
They almost touch the frigid ground;
Sweet angels are annointing
When glad Christmas comes around
The carols resound so spritely,
Glad hearts rejoice so brightly
New toys are prayed for nightly
When glad Christmas comes around.
A Day I Always Enjoy
By JAMES M. SAULS
To someone who enjoys living as much as I do, every
day seems like a holiday. Upon awaking in the morning, I
think of countless adventures to which I can look forward.
It doesn’t mater if they are work or play; I still enjoy them.
One of the days that I enjoy most is New Year’s Eve.
It is strange that I enjoy New Year’s Eve as much as I
do because for me it is a very sad time. I never did like the
thought of losing anything. This is what I feel when the
old year slips into its final minutes of life. There is a sense
of loss almost equal to the loss of an old friend. I think
that there is something gone that I can never regain. I won
der if I did enough to show my thanks for the happiness
that the old year gave? All of these thoughts leave me in
a happy but depressed mood. So, with all of these thoughts
and a few verses of “Auld Lang Syne,” I bid my departing
friend good-by.
NCTA MEETING HELD AT
FAYETTEVILLE STATE COLLEGE
By MATTIE L. COGOELL
The Thirtieth Annual Meeting
of the Southeastern District of
The North Carolina Teachers As
sociation was held on the campus
of Fayetteville State College, Fri
day, November 18, 1966.
The national theme and the
theme of this meeting was, “Indi
vidual Commitment of Profession
al Excellence.” Registration was
from eight to nine in the morning.
Refreshments were served during
this period. According to the reg
istrar, Mrs. Helen T. Chick, more
than 1200 teachers, administrators,
and visitors attended the meet
ing.
Sectional meetings were in ses
sion from nine to ten-thirty in the
morning. They consisted of dis
cussions in different areas of sub
ject matter. Persons outstanding
in specific subject matter areas
led these sessions.
From ten-thirty to twelve, de
partmental meetings were in ses
sion. There was a department
for the classroom teacher. The
theme was “Professional Unity —
Our Commitment.” There was an
other department for administra
tors and supervisors. The theme
there was “Individual Commitment
to Professional Excellence.”
The Executive Committee had
a luncheon meeting at noon to
hear reports and resolutions.
The business session was held
from two to four in the afternoon.
During this session, Mr. L. G. Mul-
dron from Reiglewood, North Caro
lina, was elected president. Mr.
Muldron previously served as vice-
president.
The final session, from four-
thirty to six in the evening, was
the general session. Everyone was
greeted by State President Ru
dolph Jones, Mayor Monroe
Evans, and Mr. C. Reid Ross. It
was then that an inspiring address
was given by Dr. L. C. Dowdy,
President of the Agricultural and
Technical College at Greensboro,
North Carolina. The entire day
was very informative.
PRESIDENT AND MRS. RUDOLPH JONES
We would like to wish every member of the College Family a
very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It is our hope
that the wheels of fortune will turn in your directions, and
with the highest hopes to which you aspire.
Future Seen
Bright
A North Carolina leader told
delegates attending an Elks con-
venion in Statesville that, “The
will to perform calls for the will
to prepare.”
“The future seems bright for
the Negro,” said S. T. Enloe. If
we better prepare ourselves to
take advantage of opportunity
when it knocks at our door.
Enloe is president of the N. C.
State Association of Improved
Benevolent Order of Elks.
He said the number of school
dropouts disturbs him, because the
dropouts are losing sight of to
morrow’s dollar trying to grasp
today’s dime.
Enloe urged the convention
delegates to do all they could to
impress upon students who are
potential dropouts that “they must
prepare in order to rise up to
tomorrow’s dollar class.”