Fage Two
THE BENNETT BANNER
DECEMBER, 196S
THE BENNETT BANNER
Published Monthly by the Students of Bennett
College, Greensboro, North Carolina
THE INQUIRING REPORTER
Question: What will you remember most about our late president?
Ten Cents A Copy
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sheila C. Brinkley
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Frances Campbell
Patricia Greene, Cathy Bounds
Delores Polk
Frances Kelly
_.Willette Daye,
ADVERTISING.
BUSINESS
CIRCULATION-
COLUMNISTS-
EXCHANGES—
REPORTERS
TYPISTS-
Nancy Wiggins, Jo Laurence Richardson
Lilia Alphonse
Verna Venson, Nancy Glymph,
Lillie Madison, Sandra Satterwhite,
Jewelle Merritt, Cathy Bounds,
Patricia Greene, Tommie Miller.
Sylvia Duncan, Velma Harris,
Yvonne Pannell
Coffin that passes through lanes and streets,
Through day and night with the great cloud
darkening the land,
With the pomp of the inloop’d flags with the cities
draped in black,
With the show of the States themselves as of
crepe-veil’d women standing.
With processions long and' winding and the
flambeaus of the night,
With the countless torches lit, with the
silent sea of faces and the nubared heads
With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and
the sombre faces.
With dirges through the night, with the thousand
voices rising strong and solemn,
With all the fournful voices of the dirges pour’d
around the coffin.
The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs—
where amid these you journey,
With the tolling, tolling bells’ perpetual clang,
Here, coffin that slowly passes,
I give you my sprig of lilac.
—From “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” by Walt
Whitman on the occasion of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination
in 1865
WHY!
Jamelle Rack-
ley, f r e s h m an,
Orangeburg, S. C.
French major.
“Racial problems,
problems result
ing from commu
nistic invasions,
Cuban crisis,
threats on West
Berlin, the Rail
road dispute; all ^
of these and more burdened the
young president of the United
States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Aside from the exuberance, radi
ance, warmth and yet sternness of
his being, which won his the af
fections of many, his handling of
the afore stated problems will be
foremost in my mind when I think
of the Kennedy administration.
“Being a Negro I consider Ken
nedy’s views and policies concern
ing civil rights were of particular
significance. Throughout events in
Mississippi, Birmingham and other
racial torn spots, Kennedy display
ed a genuine desire to create and
preserve harmony among the
American people.
“Hoping to keep the free nations
unmarred by communistic invas
ions the Kennedy administration
willing advocated aid for those be
ing threatened.
“President Kennedy, this great,
powerful, and loved diplomat, hus
band and father, was killed just
when it seemed that life was his,
ending his superb work on eathr
but bringing to him glory and
renown never to be forgotten.”
Eartha Walker,
junior, Charlotte,
N. C., music ma
jor. “The late
President John F.
Kennedy will
loijg, be remem
bered by us. I
remember his
visit to North
Carolina and his
campaign speech
es in which he promised to dedi'
cate his term in office to helping
I the people of America.
I “During this time he actually
' fulfilled many of his promises. He
did much for America. He in
tervened in the Meridith situation
and was influential in Meredit’s
entrance as a student in the Uni
versity of Mississippi. He made
available to many competent Ne
groes government positions. Most
of all he kept us out of war and
n peace and concord with other
lations.
“All of us can probably think of
niany more things about this great
man to be remembered. He was
well loved.”
Saundra Jenk
ins, sophomore,
Orangeburg, S. C.
English major. “Ij
can very vividly
remember Presi
dent Kennedy’s
contributions not
only to the Ne
gro race, but to
the world. He ||:
truly was a stat
uesque individual and stadfast in
thought, word and deed.
“He always stood ready to be of
assistance to anyone. He knew no
barriers and had none. What he
really wanted and constantly
dreamed of, was that one day this
world would live in peace and
that each person in it would be
given equal opportunities.
“He will long be remembered
for the ideals he believed in, and
the strong faith that was so much
a part of him. Our world has in
deed suffered a great loss.”
t
The Yule Log
The Yule Log was burned by
pagans for 12 days around the
same date as our Christmas is now.
A giant log was placed on the
hearth to continue burning during
the entire period siftce it was
thought that day and night stood
still.
LET’S HAVE A TALK
During my college tenure, many,
many words have been spoken and
written concerning the apathy
which seems to have invaded our
college campus. Perhaps these few
words can do or say no more than
has already been said or done—
but I feel that I must speak.
Apathy is not just a part of oui
college campus. It seems to be
everywhere, in the high schools, in
the community and in the hearts
and minds of many people. We as
students and Americans can no
longer afford to move complacent
ly through life, accepting what
ever falls our way without ques
tion or discussion. We must realize
that our actions and the actions
of others form chain reactions
wihich influence the lives of many
people and have far reaching con
sequences.
We were all saddened during
the past few weeks by the death
of our late President. It was per
haps a double shock to us that he
should die so violently. We all ask
the question, “Why”? This one
word seems to echo around the
world. There have been many vari
ed answers to this question by
many different people.
One caiinot offer any one defi
nite answer to the question why,
how, or even WHO was responsi
ble for the death of our President
I feel that one definite factor that
caused his death is one that we
have all heard about many times
on our campus—Apathy.
Many of us seem to feel that
apathy is unique to our campus.
This is not true. It seems to have
permeated the lives of many Ameri
cans. For too long we as Americana
have stood complacently by while
other Americans and world citi
zens have become the victims of
hate mongers, slander and ^ther
THE CHRISTMAS STORY
(from St. Luke)
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which
is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God, and saying.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men.
On Friday, November 22, shock and disbelief engulfed
this campus as it did the world. Why ? Why did such a good
man as our President have to be the victim, while the evil
continued their treacherous plots upon the humble and strong
alike? Why did the victim have to be someone who believed
in the equality of all mankind, who believed in justice, and
who was willing to fight until the very end for the cause?
What does this mean to us? What does it mean to see
those so dedicated fall to the face of the earth ? What does it
mean when a part of an ideal is smashed ? What does it mean
to the world, to the nation, to Bennett College?
It means that, among many things, we should be “so
dedicated to the unfinished task to which he gave his last
full measure of devotion.” Abraham Lincoln spoke these
words in reference to othv?r great soldiers in his Gettysburg
Address. Our goals should be even more vivid and we_ should
be even more determined to accomplish them, for this is what
we feel that he would have wanted of us. That cause for
which he gave his life should be uppermost in our minds and
we should strive with an even greater knowledge that our
cause is just, this knowledge being emphasized that one so
loved and respected gave his life for it.
These events also mean that we should thank God that
President Kennedy lived, that there are such men who mold
their imprints upon our lives and give us examples to live by.
In the words of our college president, “We will remember
John F. Kennedy” and let us remember him through exempli
fying the principles that he lived. He shall never be forgotten
in the hearts of free men.
—CAMPBELL
/ BUS Eu , ^
Dec.-35 Exodus
derogatory tactics. We calmly and
firmly believe that what happens
to others is of no concern to us—
as long as we reap no ill from
them. Only when something as
tragic as the death of our head ol
state occurs are we awakened—il
only for a few moments—to the
tragic turn that our American life
has taken.
I True, many noble words have
! been spoken in tribute to our fal-
I len leader but none can bring him
I back. We all did not agree with all
of his policies but then—was that
i necessary? He said “Ask not what
your country can do for you, but
' what you can do for your country.”
This was his philosophy and he
lived by it. What is yours and what
are you doing about it?
We as Americans seem only to
act and react to situations when
we are shocked into it. Usually it
is too late. One of the most heart
rending statements during our
period of national grief came from
a little girl who asked, “Why didn’t
we love him like that when he was
alive?” It is my sincere hope that
it is not too late for us as students
and as Americans to re-examine
our lives and to form new habits,
among them being a new thirst
for knowledge, an eagerness to
learn about life and an apprecia
tion and understanding for the act-^
tions of ourselves and others. Only
by doing this can apathy cease to
exist—here on our campus and in
our world today. This is my opinion
is one of the highest tributes that
the late John F. Kennedy.
Respectfully,
Jo Laurence Richsirdson
TO
OBEY youf^
TRAFFIC
uvws.