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Bennett College
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1979
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VOL. XLI, NO. 4
Sandra Neely slain
Sandra Neely Smith was active on and off campus during her years at Bennett.
by the Banner Staff
Sandra Neely Smith, Marxist
organizer, was murdered by a
right-wing extremist shotgun blast
in the same area of Greensboro
where less than six years ago she
served as SGA president of Ben
nett College.
Smith, head of the student body
during 1972-73, was killed Nov. 3
along with three other college-
educated radicals in the fateful
“Death to the Klan” rally directed
by the Communist Workers Party
(CWP) at the Momingside public
housing project. A fifth party
member has subsequently died.
Fourteen men with Ku Klux Klan
or American Nazi connections
have been jailed without bond, 12
charged with murder and two
with conspiracy to commit mur
der resulting from the lethal as
sault of gunfire. CWP leader
Nelson Johnson, local activist, was
arrested on a charge of inciting
a riot.
Who’s Who honors 15
by Myra George
Fifteen Bennett women
have been selected for inclu
sion in the 1979-80 edition of
“Who’s Who Among Students
in American Universities and
Colleges.”
According to Harold E.
Bragg, dean of student af
fairs, the successful candidate
“must have a minimum 3.0
cumulative average and ex
hibit leadership involvement,
potential leadership and good
citizenship.” Bragg also ex
plained that while candidates
are chosen by a campus nom
inating committee, the entire
faculty votes on the students
to be honored.
Among the women receiv
ing “Who’s Who” status are
Miss Bennett, Kathy N. Cros
by, an Early Childhood Edu
cation major from Charlotte,
and editor of “The Bennett
Banner” Debra A. Hodges, an
ISP-Communications major
from Mount Holly, N. J.
Other students winning this
distinction are Marchelle
Boatwright, an Accounting
major, and Dino M. Brown,
a Biology major, both from
Cincinnati; Sandra M. Brovra,
an ISP-Communications ma
jor from Charleston; Melissa
L. Graves, a Sociology major
from Burlington; and Carolyn
Hall, a Medical Technology
major from Cross, S. C.
Also cited for all-around ex
cellence are three Greensboro
natives. Elementary Educa
tion major Randye Jones,
Home Economics major Ro
berta Judd and Mathematics-
Engineering major Linda B.
Smith.
Other women who combined
solid scholarship with impor
tant contributions to campus
life are: Elementary Educa
tion major Sharonlyn Jones,
Montgomery, Ala.; English
major Regina Pegram of Dur
ham ; Mary J. Simpkins, a
Medical Technology major
from Waynesboro, Ga.; Gail
L. Wiley, an Early Childhood
Education major from Madi
son; and Edwina C. Wilson,
a Pre-Medicine major from
Blackstone, Va.
There had been some con
troversy over the require
ments adopted for this award,
but Bragg maintains that
clarification is forthcoming:
“The committee will convene
before this semester is over
to evaluate exactly what our
criteria consists of.”
Nevertheless, these women
will admirably represent the
college in the next “Who’s
Who.”
Born on Christmas, 1950, in
Piedmont, S. C., Sandra Neely
Smith, 28, was a prominent stu
dent who is clearly remembered
at Bennett. Teachers and peers are
grieving over what President
Isaac H. Miller, Jr. sees as a
“tragic loss of talent.” Echoing
the views of many others. Miller
profoundly regrets Smith’s CWP
involvement. “Sandra had to have
a first-hand knowledge of the
black experience that was free of
political overtones,” Miller main
tains. “Had she had a lifetime to
spend applying her compassion
and expertise (to the needs of her
people), she could have made con
tinuous inroads on correcting and
redressing injustices that we all
are dissatisfied with.”
Expressing the sorrow of the
campus community. Miller states
that “we genuinely mourn her
loss. I have always looked upon
our students as my own children
in a sense. I mour her loss as I
mourn the loss of one of my own.”
According to teachers, coxmsel-
ors and peers, Sandra Neely’s
career at Bennett was character
ized by commitment to the trans
formation of injustice and to
scholarship. A Social Welfare
major, she was an above-average
student—sometimes making the
Dean’s List—whose professional
objective was to become an em
ployment counselor. She was a
“joiner,” and her campus activi
ties included reporting for this
paper and serving on the Hand
book committee.
But Sandra Neely wasn’t con
tent with on-campus involvement.
She took her convictions into the
community, working in voter ed
ucation, youth programs at East
White Oak Community Center
and within the Greensboro Asso
ciation of Poor People. Harold E.
Bragg, dean of student affairs,
recalls that Smith was a “genuine
and dedicated humanitarian.”
Marcella Whidbee, Smith’s
roommate for two years, remem
bers a flurry of work on Smith’s
part. “She spent a lot of time
outside of the room,” Whidbee
says. “She was always into strug
gling for the less fortunate, work
ing in neighborhood groups and
things. She always had late night
meetings, and she was forever
making posters about something.”
By all accounts. Smith didn’t
have the rigid, dogmatic person
ality that often accompanies po
litical fervor. Whidbee points out
that “we were quite different, and
I think it surprised people ttiat
we got along so well, but we were
really very close.” Associate pro
fessor Leon McDougle remembers
Smith as a large girl with a big
smile and a “radiant personality.”
Ltc. Charles T. Byrd, bookstore
manager, says that “she was quite
pleasant to everybody. Whenever
she passed by here and I was out
there (at the counter), she would
always speak.” Assistant professor
Willie Mae McCallum’s impres
sions coincide with the general
portrait. “As far as I was con
cerned,” states McCallum, “she
was congenial, very likeable,
friendly, very easy to get along
with and very interested in
people.”
Although Smith was amiable,
she was also candid in the expres
sion of political views. “She wasn’t
what you would call a radical,”
claims Cynthia Y. George, a class
mate of Smith’s, “but she was
very outspoken about some
things.” Dorothy J. Harris, direc
tor of freshman studies and aca
demic support services, concurs
with George, saying that “she al
ways let you know her feelings.
You always knew what her posi
tion was because she spoke out
on things she believed in.”
To analyze Smith’s gravitation
toward radicalism, the political
climate of the late sixties and
early seventies must be consid
ered. Sandra Neely arrived at
Bennett in 1969, a year after the
assassinations of Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Robert F. Kermedy.
Turmoil involving black militancy
and anti-Vietnam War demon
strations dominated the time. In
the spring of 1970, students were
murdered at Kent State and Jack
son State, and these events, cou
pled with the Nixon administra
tion’s approval of bombing in
Cambodia, prompted a massive
demonstration in Washington.
(Continued on Page Four)
Names and events you should know
College organist Alfred T. Carter will give his first
recital at Bennett Nov. 18, 8:00 p.m., in the Annie
Merner Pfeiffer Chapel. The presentation includes
baroque and contemporary compositions by Bach,
Dandrieu and Heiller.
The new dorm director of Memer Hall is Patricia
Eason, a 1978 graduate of North Carolina A&T State
University where she majored in Political Science
and History. Eason’s experience includes teaching in
the Charlotte public schools. Her main goal is “to
attend law school and pursue a career as a prominent
attorney striving to help my fellow Black brothers
and sisters, giving my all to the American political
system.”
* * *
A minor fire occurred on the second floor of
Reynolds Hall Oct. 17 at approximately 6:00 p.m.
When the residents screamed “Fire,” two young men
visiting the dorm bolted to the scene and helped ex
tinguish the fire. A clock “exploded and burst into
flames,” according to Iris Settle, sophomore Early
Childhood Education major, who added, “I’m just
thankful no one was hurt.” Settle and roommate
Diedre Kennedy were able to return to their room
after the smoke cleared. There was only minor
damage.
* * *
LeAnder Canady, as a result of his recent art
exhibit in New York, has been commisioned to do
a painting. To meet the request, the artist has begun
an abstract. “Having my work in private sectors is
a good experience,” Canady says. “The people who
(Continued on Page Four)
Photo by Bernelta Hamilton
Literature and advice w/ere plentiful in the booths set up in the union foyer during the Health Fair sponsored by the
Zeta XI Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.