FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 1977
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VOL XXXIX, NO. 2
ACES Requirement Gone;
No Grades to Be Given
Dean Tipton talks about lyceum
suspension.
Photo by Joyce A, Bass
by Joyce Bass
In an effort to upgrade stu
dent life in the academic and
enrichment area of the camp
us, some revision in the
handling of Lyceum series
and Academic Cultural En
richment Series (ACES) has
occurred, including the de
cision not to require attend
ance at ACES.
According to Dean Chelsea
Tipton, recently Dr. Ruth
Lucier has been appointed
chairman of the Sub-Commit-
tee on Lyceum Series. The
five committee members are
Dr. Ruth Lucier, convener;
Dr. Helen Trobian, Ellease
Browning, Mary i. Crawford
and Ruth PowelL
The responsibilities of the
committee include upgrading
programs from the broader
perspective, thus foi'mulating
programs that have balance
in such areas as: performing
arts, visual arts and drama.
“Further, the committee is
to upgrade the quality of per
formances, while re-evaluat-
ing the present series for pos
sible deletions,” stated Dean
Tipton.
He did not comment on the
reason behind the revision of
the procedures for selecting
lyceums.
Dean Tipton said that Ben
nett believes that ACES and
Lyceums provide a very im
portant enrichment program
for the strengthening of the
total student. Therefore,
strong emphasis will be placed
on these areas and students
will be encouraged to attend
these programs.
“However, a decision has
been made not to require at
tendance or record grades.
This too, will challenge the
sincerity of students and de
termine whether they are ma
ture enough to take advan
tage of very special pro
grams,” stated Dean Tipton.
Special Collections Room Opens
by Sharon Sanders
Holgate Library will have
the official opening of its Spe
cial Collections Room during
the Founder’s Day weekend.
The Special Collections
Room will be named in honor
of Constance Hill Marteena.
Mrs. Marteena was the first
librarian in Holgate Library,
from 1939 until 1967. She re
ceived her B.S. degree from
Hampton Institute in 1933 :md
received her M.L.S. degree
from Chicago University in
1946.
Mrs. Marteena was the di
rector of Publications at
North Carolina A&T State
University from 1929 until
1937. She was a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Mrs. Marteena initiated the
publication Who’s Who
Among Black Librarians in
the 1950’s.
She recently wrote “The
Lengthening Shadow of a
Woman; The Biography of
Charlotte Hawkins Brown.”
Mrs. Marteena is responsible
for the Rare Book Collec
tion and many other collec
tions at the Holgate Library.
The Special Collections
Room is room D in the library.
It will house the Afro-Ameri-
can Women’s Collection and
Norris Wright Cuney Collec
tion. Norris Wright Cuney
was a Black Texas Republican
during the late 1800’s. It will
also house the Rare Books
Collection and the Special Art
Collection.
This year the entire student
body will receive a copy of the
Thomas Holgate Library man
ual.
English Exam Required to Graduate
by Sheila Purnell
Beginning with the current freshman and sophomore class,
all students of Bennett must pass an English Comprehensive
Examination in order to be graduated.
The examination, w’hich will be given the first semester of
the junior year, will consist of a theme to be written during a
two-hour examination period.
Vanessa
class.
‘Kool-Aid” Bartley awaits
"Kooi-Ald" Offers
Course on Death
by Marion Johnson
The Student-Designed
course, “Death—In The First
Person” under the instruction
of Vanessa “Kool-Ald’ Bart
ley will begin on Oct. 11.
'The course is designed to 1)
cover a wide spectrum of is
sues ! children and death, sui
cide, the fear of death and
other related topics; 2) com
bine theory and a fair amount
of factual knowledge; and 3)
also give individuals oppor
tunities to express their fears,
anxieties and feelings.
The course will meet twice
a week for tw'o-hour sessions
and the participants will
(Continued on Page 5)
re-
Topics Provided
A list of topics will be provided
to the students by the English fac
ulty. The theme will be expected
to develop the chosen topic and
will be a minimum of four pages
in length, with the student writ
ing on alternate lines.
Students who fail to pass the
examination will be offered al
ternative means of improving
their writing sl^ills and will repeat
the examination at the next reg-
ularly-scheduled exam period.
Weaknesses Noted
The faculty recognizes the great
est weaknesses of Bennett stu
dents are the lack of written and
oral communication skills. Stu
dents are refused jobs and others
lose their jobs because of poor
communication skills.
For this reason the Academic
Standing Committee last year rec
ommended that an examination in
communication skills be required
for graduation.
The chairman of the commit
tee, Chelsea Tipton, dean of Ben
nett College, feels that this is an
excellent means of developing and
improving communication skills.
Faculty Action Taken
The examination idea was ap
proved by the faculty at its May
meeting.
To draw up the procedures for
the examination a committee was
appointed consisting of Dr. Lynn
Sadler, director of the Humanities
Division and chairman of the Com-
(Continued on Page 3)
Construction Begins on Management Unit,
Multi-Purpose Room for Family Life
by Linda Anderson
Construction is now well under
way on the Home Management
house to complete a management
unit, necessary to the develop
ment of courses emanating from
the Family Life Center.
The multi-purpose room be
ing built will house a confer
ence area, a management dem
onstration area, dining area,
laundry room and a study area.
“The Center is concerned with
a program for all students on the
campus. This program will con
sist of courses for majors and non
majors and will be credited or
non-credited as specified in the
curriculum bulletin,” according to
Louise G. Streat, chairman of the
Home Economics Department.
“A Management Seminar —
Home Management Update” gave
Dr. Howard Thurman to highlight Founders’ Day program.
104th Founders’ Day Convocation
Hear Dr. Howard Thurman
education at Morehouse College
where he was Phi Beta Kappa, Dr.
Thurman received the B.D. de
gree from Colgate Rochester Theo
logical Seminary. He has received
numerous honorary degrees from
such institutions as Boston Uni
versity, Bethune-Cookman Col
lege, Lincoln University, Oberlin
College and Tuskegee Institute.
The recipient of a number of
awards. Dr. Thurman received the
1977 First Annual San Francisco
Council of Churches Award and
the 1977 Jefferson Award.
Dr. Thurman has addressed fac
ulty and students in some 500 in
stitutions around the globe. He
served as guest lecturer in Tokyo,
Hong Kong, the Philippines, Cairo,
Beirut and London. He was signal
ly honored on two distinct oc
casions to be chosen narrator, un
der the baton of Dmitri Mitro-
poulos, and later with Artur Rod-
zinski, conductor, for the rendition
of Honneger’s Oratorio, King Da
vid. It was performed by the San
Francisco Municipal Chorus and
the San Francisco Symphony.
Between 1944 and 1975, Dr.
Thurman has written 22 books,
including his most recent selec
tions, The Search For Common
Ground, The Mood of Christmas,
A Track to the Water’s Edge and
The First Footprints. Thurman se
lections have been recorded on
six long playing records and he
has conducted a meditation hour
over a San Francisco radio station
for nearly five years.
Dr. Thurman heads the Howard
Thurman Educational Thrust, a
charitable and eleomosynary trust,
to provide a channel for the en
listment of funds from those shar
ing his human concerns. It dis
burses funds to support special
religious, charitable, scientific,
literary and educational causes.
Dr. Howard Thurman, noted
theologian and author, will de
liver the convocation address at
the 104th Founders’ Day assembly
at Bennett College on Sunday,
Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. in the Annie Mer-
ner Pfeiffer Chapel.
A native of Daytona Beach, Fla.,
Dr. Thurman has held a number
of distinguished posts, including
honorary canon of the Cathedral
Saint John the Divine in New
York City; dean emeritus of Marsh
Chapel and professor of spiritual
resources and disciplines at the
School of Theology at Boston Uni
versity; and minister emeritus and
co-founder of the Church for the
Fellowship of All Peoples in San
Francisco, the first completely in
tegrated church in leadership and
membership.
Receiving his undergraduate
details concerning the before and
after of home management im
provements. In addition to this,
the Seminar featured the plans for
the addition to the Home Man
agement house.
The overall objective of the
Center is to provide each student
with concise, relevant information
about contemporary families and
their related problems. The theme
for this year is “Time, Energy and
Management.” The second semes
ter program will consist of four
mini-courses to prepare students
for a weekend in the Home Man
agement house.
The student will have an oppor
tunity to participate in the man
agement process by living in the
residence.
Prerequisites for this portion of
the course are Home/Family Life
301, 300.4, 300.16 or 300.18.