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Friday, February 5, 1982
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VoL XLIII, No. 6
Financial aid reduced
President releases grave statistics on federal cutbacks
Pianist Vincent Phillips and soprano Eleania Ward will perform Feb. 15
at Annie Wlerner Pfeiffer Chapel. The duo will be the first in an array of scholars
and performers visiting the campus this semester under the auspices
of the Mellon Grant.
by Rosellen Durham
President Isaac H. Miller,
Jr. released some grim statis
tics on the Reagan adminis
tration’s flagging commit
ment to Black institutions
during his address at the
Opening Convocation Jan. 28
in Annie Merner Pfeiffer
Chapel.
Bennett has lost 50% of its
federal support for this year,
and the future of student
loans is bleak. Two major
forms of student assistance—
Pell grants and Work Study
funds—will be cut by 40% in
1982-83 and 60% in 1983-84.
The reductions are a rever
sal of governmental policy
during the last 15 years.
“Those are the President’s in
tentions,” Miller said, “and
unless they are turned around,
they are likely to be put into
law.”
Miller received confirma
tion of the government’s re
duction in educational fund
ing during a Jan. 26 confer
ence in Washington on the
President’s initiatives toward
historically Black colleges and
universities.
The Reagan policy of the
New Federalism places re
sponsibility for aid to higher
education in the hands of cor
porations — a change which
Miller and other educators
are sharply questioning. Mil
ler was skeptical of the depth
of the commitment of cor-
Singers, writer to visit
by Arlene McNeil
Dr. Ruth Lucier, chairper
son of the Mellon Grant Com
mittee, has listed several out
standing scholars and per
formers who will be visiting
the campus in February and
March.
Beginning the Lyceum pro
gram this semester will be the
Ward-Phillips Duo. They will
be performing on Feb! 15 at
8:15 p.m. in the chapel.
Eleania Ward, soprano, is the
assistant director of music at
N. C. State University in
Raleigh. Pianist Vincent Phil
lips is on the music staff at
Meredith College in Raleigh.
This duo has thrilled audi
ences throughout the South
east. Lucier comments, “They
will perform music concern
ing Black History Month.”
Ward is a graduate of
Howard University. She has
received many awards and
scholarships which include
being named as a finalist in
the 1975 Concert Artists
Guild Auditions in New York.
Ward is a very versatile so
prano who portrays a variety
of characters as she sings.
Phillips was a scholarship
student at the University of
Cincinnati. In 1978 he was
selected by the North Caro
lina Arts Council to partici
pate in its Visiting Artist
Program where he has given
over 200 performances.
Together the duo’s reper
toire includes standard piano
and voice literature, music of
Black composers, contempo
rary works and operatic
scenes. These two artists are
a joy to hear, according to
Lucier.
On March 1, David Bradley,
a 30-year-old Black writer
and Temple University pro
fessor, will be visiting the
campus. Bradley is the author
of The Chmieyville Incident
which is being called one of
the finest novels by a young
Black author since James
Baldwin. The New York
Times hailed the book as one
of the top novels of 1980.
Since then, Bradley has been
a frequent guest at important
writing conferences around
the country. He is also the
author of an acclaimed first
novel, South Street.
On March 22, Paula Larke,
an artist in residence at Chat
ham Central Technical Col
lege, will be a guest on Ben
nett’s campus. Larke is an
oral historian who conveys
her stories through music,
drama and old tales. Accord
ing to Lucier, more specific
details of Bradley’s and
Larke’s visit will be an
nounced at a later time.
Colston, Bennett trustee and influential educator, dies
by Shelly Coston
Dr. James Allen Colston,
former chairman of academic
affairs on the Board of Trus
tees, died in January.
Originally from Quincy,
Fla., Dr. Colston was a grad
uate of Morehouse College in
Atlanta, where he received a
degree in science. He got his
master of arts degree from
Atlanta University, and held
a doctorate from New York
University.
Dr. Colston will be remem
bered as an educator and pio
neer. He had been involved in
education for 36 years, serv
ing a total of 31 years as the
president of various colleges.
He retired from the head of
the Bronx Community College
in New York in 1976 where
he held the honor of being the
first Black to preside over a
traditionally white college.
After retirement he served as
professor and chairman for
the school.
The other schools he pre
sided over include Knoxville
College, Georgia State College
and Bethune-Cookman Col
lege. While at Cookman he
helped incorporate the school
into a four-year college.
President Miller described
Colston as a “warm, genteel”
person. “Dr. Colston held a
very critical and constructive
approach to matters of edu
cation and the board. He al
ways considered the intelli
gence and rights of others
while remaining firm and
true to his own principles,”
says Miller.
“I was pleased he retired
in Greensboro and that we
were able to enlist his services
as a board member. I knew
that his experiences as pres
ident of four other schools
(See page 3)
porations to the plight of
Black institutions.
Miller urged the audience
“to know the kind of environ-
mnt in which we are work
ing and studying” and to
strive to influence Congress
through political, religious
and scholarly organizations.
He also released some grave
data on the state of the Ben
nett student body. Seventy-
seven students have left the
college since last August and
125 students are presently on
academic probation. Miller
stressed that probation be
comes an increasingly pre
carious situation because any
student receiving federal as
sistance must be making “sat
isfactory progress” toward a
degree or face the possibility
of canceled funds.
“The financial aid is that
which enables our students to
attend college,” Miller stated.
In the light of new political
realities, it becomes more im
portant than ever for students
to establish and meet strong
goals. Miller raised the neces
sity of each individual’s re
assessing duties and setting
new goals.
“You and I must be setting
our goals today, or someone
else will establish the conse
quences for you and me,”
observed the president.
“Capitalize on your invest
ment,” Miller said, whether
the money originates from a
Pell grant or parental funds.
Calling for a renewed ded
ication to excellence. Miller
emphasized the individual
student, teacher, and admin
istrator’s accountability for
his or her own fate.
Modifying the United
Negro College Fund slogan
“A mind is a terrible thing
thing to waste,” Miller said,
“It is a tragedy or it is a sin
to waste a mind.”
Faulty grade print-out sheets appear;
Corrections to be finished soon: Eady
by Myra George
The problem of last semes
ter’s faulty grade print-out
sheets is one that has been
discovered and is already be
ing corrected, according to
Mary Eady, college registrar.
Last semester, courses and
grades were omitted from the
print-out sheets. These sheets,
which are printed from the
Computer Center, carry the
students’ course grades, qual
ity points, semester and cum
ulative grade-point averages.
As a result, the quality points
and grade-point averages
were incorrectly calculated.
“Over one-third of the stu
dents were affected,” accord
ing to Deborah Holland, the
Records Office coordinator of
computer information.
Eady said that the problem
occurred “because of the tran
sition from one computer sys
tem to another.” Last spring,
the college changed to a Sys
tems 34 process. The previous
computer system, the 1130,
was too outdated and mainte
nance costs were too high.
“The mistakes are all part
of getting the ‘bugs’ out of
the new computer system,”
said Eady. This process usu
ally takes between six months
and a year to perfect.
Records Office officials are
now manually checking each
student’s grades on the print
out against the courses re
corded on the pre-registration
cards to make the necessary
corrections.
The corrections are ex
pected to be completed by
early February, said Eady.
Dr James Allen Colston, who died in January, will be remembered
as a pioneering Black educator for his leadership at five colleges, including
Bennett. He was the first Black to preside over a traditionally white college.
(Photo from Publications Office)