FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1978 THE BENNETT BANNER Page Five
Miller initiates freshman program
Debra Moore is welcomed to Bennett by faculty members, Mrs. Willie M. McCallum, Mrs. Mary J. Crawford and
Dr. Georgie Latimer.
photo by Myra Davis
Current developments in post
secondary education cause serious
educators in black colleges and
universities to be quite concerned
about meeting the unique needs of
entering students.
To help meet these needs at
Bennett Dr. Isaac Miller, presi
dent, announced during the clos
ing meeting of the Bennett faculty
and staff on May 14 that he was
planning a special summer pro
gram for the entering college
freshmen. He later appointed a
working committee of faculty and
staff to implement the idea which
received support of the United
Methodist Church, with which
Bennett is affiliated, and govern
ment support.
On July 8, the President’s Pre-
Freshman Advancement Institute
officially opened. Nearly sixty
young women registered as part
of this pioneering effort on Ben
nett’s part. Parents were also in
cluded in the opening program.
“It’s important that parents
know what the mission of the col
lege is and how they fit into the
scheme of the college experience,”
explained Dr. Miller to the plan
ning committee.
During their three-week experi
ence, these students received a
variety of experiences. In the
mornings they engaged in reading
and writing skills workshops un
der the tutelage of reading spe
cialists and English instructors.
Afternoon sessions included sem
inars in such areas as time man
agement, assertiveness, developing
study skills, developing library
research skills, and student gov
ernment involvement. Recreation
al activities included instruction in
tennis and swimming. A variety
of coeducational social events was
also held.
Consultants consisted of Bennett
alumnae and staff. Students were
enabled to interact with former
Bennett students about their
college careers and professional
development.
“Institutions like Bennett have
an obligation to explore and dis
cover new measures to enhance
the success prognosis of black stu
dents,” Dr. Miller said.
“We black educators must en
deavor to motivate our young
people to cooperate with the col
leges’ programs and the teachers
so that they will overcome the
deficiencies which limit their
success,” he added.
Class of ’82: to seek, but not to yield
by Barbara Jones
Not long ago, the most impor
tant moments in a woman’s life
were those which involved mar
riage and childbirth. Now that
women are at the point where
they are able to attend college and
have responsible and respectable
careers, they are expanding their
horizons.
This also holds true of the mem
bers of the Class of 1982. These
young women are seeking to find
knowledge and skills here they
can use for the rest of their lives.
With this knowledge, they will not
yield to the obstacles before them.
Furthermore, the “Bennett Exper
ience” will be a part of them
whether they are here for four
months or four years.
According to Dorothy Harris,
director of Freshman Studies,
there are 206 young women in the
freshman class at the present time.
These young women have chosen
a wide variety of majors ranging
from accounting to theater.
Regina Scott, a freshman Med
ical Technology major from Phil
adelphia, Pa., says that her main
disappointment about Bennett was
that she was told the sizes of the
classes were small in number,
only to find out there are sixty
students in her biology class. De
spite that major issue she feels
that everyone here is very friendly
and she feels comfortable.
Freshman Brenda Boyette, a
clothing and textiles major from
Goldsboro, N.C., says that she pre
ferred Bennett because of its very
fine home economics program and
its closeness to her home. Brenda’s
only criticism is that she doesn’t
think curfews should be enforced
so strictly upon freshmen.
Angie Bethea, a freshman music
and voice major from Winston-
Salem, N.C., says that Bennett is
the place for her because she can
study better without male distrac
tion. Angie is satisfied with the
sizes of her classes and the ade
quacy of her instructors. Her only
gripe is that she has to wait six
weeks before she can go home to
visit her family, and she feels that
she should not have to sign out at
the desk when she leaves campus.
Gloria Johnson, a freshman
photography major from Durham,
N.C., says that she was attracted
to Bennett because she heard it is
a very good learning institution
for young women. Gloria feels that
the food could be better than it is
at the present but doesn’t consider
it to be a major grip>e. Gloria does
believe that a curfew is needed
for the freshman class.
Freshman Tryna Patterson, an
early childhood education major
from Hope Mills, N.C., feels that
attending Bennett College will
help her to get along with other
young women her age. Tryna says
that Bennett is a tradition with
the women in her family, and it is
one of the reasons she decided to
attend.
A pre-med major, Anita Hick
son, from Washington, D.C. says
that her first words upon arrival
on campus were, “Oh wow, so this
(Continued on page 6)
Peer Advising Center developed to aid freshman students
Bennett College: love it, don’t leave it
by Romona Reid
Bennett College is not perfect,
as many of you know and as many
of you are finding out.
In my four years here at Ben
nett I have trudged the same
roads and made the same com
plaints as I am sure years of past
graduates have. I have complained
about the rules and regulations,
the lack of co-ed visitation, the
food, and other problems facing
students here.
However I have never, ever
been faced with such extreme ex
amples of some of these same
complaints as I was this past
sunmmer when I was enrolled at
A&T.
For many reasons I decided to
stray from the norm and attend
A&T State University for summer
The
White House
Fellowships
A unique highly competitive
opportunity for Americans
early in their careers to
work for a year at
the highest levels of
their Federal Government
For more information write to:
The President's Commission
on White House Fellowships
1900 E Street, N.W.. Room 1308
Washington, D C. 20415
school. I had always heard adverse
rumors about the summers there.
The boredom and the heat always
seemed to keep i>eople a little edgy
and apathetic.
And sure enough, for me and
for other Bennett Belles who at
tended A&T this summer, it was
a non-stop expression of constant
complaints. From the very first
day I attended A&T, I was anxious
to leave and return to my home
across the tracks, Bennett.
Endless registration lines, ac
companied by the sour attitudes
and dispositions of the Aggie
women only seemed to make the
Aggie men enjoy more the tradi
tional “battle” taking place be
tween Aggiettes and the Belles.
The mammoth dorms housed not
only a melting pot of conflicting
personalities, but also an army of
arthropods.
The Woolworth type cuisine of
fered at the Red Carpet cafeteria
was quite similar to that of Mrs.
Paul’s heat-and-serve recipes. I
realized from this that home cook
ing was something found only at
home and at Bennett.
Quite to my surprise, co-ed vis
itation as it existed at A&T is far
more than the average Belle could
cope with. This smug authoriza
tion only leaves the female student
open at all times to receive vis
itors, even those she does not
expect. Men roaming the halls
always seemed to be very aggres
sive and anxious to introduce
themselves, even if you were nap
ping in your nighty at the time
of their intrusion. Before I was
finished with summer school, I
longed for Bennett College and
my privacy.
So, I say to you, old and young,
senior and freshman, Bennett has
its many faults, but there are other
places, some not far away, that
have a whole lot more.
by Andrietta Brown
The basement of the Freshman
Studies Center has been renovated
to house the Peer Advising Center
which is designed to provide space
for freshmen to consult with their
peer advisers.
The center contains the offices
of the peer advisers and the office
of the Peer Adviser program co
ordinator, Ophelia Foye, who is to
assist the peer advisers. Also lo
cated in the center is the confer
ence room and lounge area which
provides space for tutoring and
conferences. A large supply of
books to aid tutors is also located
in the center.
Support for the development of
the center was received from the
National Division of the Board of
Global Ministries and the National
Division of the Board of Higher
Education, both boards of the
United Methodist Church. The
funds were secured by Dorothy J.
Harris, director of the Freshman
Studies Program, through propos
als which she submitted to the
boards.
Miss Harris believes that “the
new center has a tremendous
amount of potential for develop
ment of a more professional at
mosphere for academic advising
by upperclass students.” The peer
advisers are referred to as “stu
dent paraprofessionals” because
of the complexity of their jobs,
she said.
Each adviser is assigned 10 to
20 freshman advisees and her job
is to aid the students with their
academic adjustment. The students
are free to contact the center
anytime and arrange a conference
with any adviser.
The peer adviser also works
with a faculty adviser. This team
works together to assure that
freshman students make satisfac
tory adjustments to college life.
The peer advisers designed the
layouts for their offices and dec
orated the center with curtains and
paintings that they made them
selves.
The center is now in operation
and each peer adviser has her
available office hours i>osted. The
center does not close at 5 p.m.,
for seven to 10 advisers will be
available from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The goal of the peer advisers
this year is to increase the reten
tion of freshman students. They
expect to have a 95 percent or
better retention as a result of their
work.
Miss Harris feels “that the Peer
Advising Program is another way
for Bennett to say ‘We care’
about our students; and we will
do everything to insure that they
have a successful academic exper
ience at the coUege.”
Peer advisers for the ’78-’79
school year are Dino Bradley,
Lucinda Brunson, Shaun Echols,
Belinda Foster, Lisa Johnson,
Sharonlyn Jones, Tina Jones, Vi-
centia Lipscomb, Sheila Miles,
Sandra Monroe, LaSandra Mul-
drow, Romona Reid, Shellby Rich,
Yvette Shelton, Mary Simpkins,
Deborah Tillman, Edwina Wilson
and Marilyn Wilson.
Peer Adviser Shaun Echols provides an informative session during Freshman Orientation weei. In this small setting she
establishes personal relationships with students. photo by Myra Davis