Newspapers / Bennett College Student Newspaper / Jan. 27, 1984, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO THE BENNETT BANNER FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1984 You are history; pass it along History is ignored in this “now”-obsessed culture—even recent history. This problem was freshly illustrated during a Jan. 11 ABC evening news report when black elementary school children in Atlanta were asked to identify Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. None of them could do it. One student assured the interviewer that King was a doctor. Another explained that King advocated black children’s attending black schools and white children’s going to white schools. No one could define “segregation.” This lack of knowledge isn’t confined to black children. If interviewers had queried a class of white students about John F. Kennedy, the results would have been just as bleak. Our purpose isn’t to berate the children but to indict the forces behind their vacancy. First, popular culture, particularly TV, often celebrates stupidity in students. Call this situation the “Welcome Back, Kotter” factor. In that show and others like it, ignorance was more than bliss; to be dumb was cute, even sexy. Most important, being an airhead was being normal. Belonging to the crowd is every teenager’s dream. How many younger children, we wonder, have been affected by such warped portrayals? Then the parents of the children in Atlanta need to be chided for non communication. They ought to be talking more to their children. An obligation of parenthood should be to pass along the past. Mothers and fathers ought to say more to their kids about their own experience—even if pei’sonal history is painful. In fact, the greater the pain, the greater the ob ligation. No parent should want his or her children to relive injustice. Isn’t it possible that such revelations might stir love and respect in the chil dren? People assume a greater worth and reality to us when they tell us honestly and vividly about themselves. Finally, the travails of Dr. King represent a triumph that all children need to know about. Our point is that we all need to speak more plainly and frankly to one another. That is the main way we make ourselves real and keep the past alive. Get set, seniors Things are almost back to normal here with the new semester in full swing. 1984 holds promise as well as some sadness for almost everyone. Seniors are looking forward to graduating and striking out on their own. Some will be starting new and exciting careers while others with be going on to grad school. A few will probably even be planning weddings. Even though some seniors are looking forward to the future, others are not. Time is slowly running out for some of them. It is already second semester and time for them to plan for the immediate future. Waiting until the last minute to find employment could be a disastrous mis take. The time to go on a job hunt is now. Apply for several positions because you can always politely turn down any offers you receive that are not suitable for you. You should also apply at different graduate schools. Having only one choice does not give you an opportunity to change your mind. You don’t want to be at a loss for what to do and where to go. Don’t let a year of promise become a year of sadness. Seniors, start planning now because soon it will be too late. (Yolanda DuRant) A non-conformist who changed America by Victoria Dunn This text, in a slightly different form, was given as an address Jan. 16: A day of celebration was set aside this month in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The al lowance of this day of commem oration should not merely have been to appease a crowd hungry for recognition of a true hero, but instead should provide an oppor tunity for the world to honor one of humanity’s finest creations. I hesitantly call Dr. King a creation of humanity. It is diffi cult to imagine that a society that not only condoned, but pro moted slavery, and that promoted the mutilation of men under the auspices of the law, and that promoted racial segregation and strife, was capable of producing, a leader such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As he was so unlike the portrait of the American Negro that had been painted for him, one might consider him a non-conformist, a social misfit. But then, it is al ways the non-conformist that begins the world’s revolutions. Dr. King’s revolutionary spirit manifested itself in his many speeches. His ardent rhetoric was considered anything but typical of the Negro who was expected to humbly bow his head, refusing to demand the justice that had been so long delayed. As Dr. King fervently said, “Justice too long delayed is jus tice denied.” The black men, who had been freed from fear, and who had been inspired by Dr. King felt as he did, that if they had said anything that under stated the truth, or that indicated their having a patience for any thing less than brotherhood, they should beg God’s forgiveness. The success of the Civil Rights Movement is largely attributable to Dr. King’s non-acceptance of his society’s norms. He spoke for most of black America when he said, “No, no we will not be satis fied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream,” and typified much of white America’s point of view when he spoke of the “shal low understanding from people of good will (as being) more frus trating than absolute misunder standing from people of ill will.” Ironically, according to Dr. King, the reason for the success was that of its similarity to that of the separationists. It was “be cause of the sacred heritage of our nation, and the eternal will of God embodied in our demands,” that Dr. King zealously spoke out about man’s inhumanity to man. Dr. King recognized that “the common goal of America was freedom,” perceived the tremen dous injustices being done, and demanded freedom for the op pressed. Without fear, he ex pressed the faith of some thou sands of hopeless people. After all, “wait!” rang on the ears of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “wait” almost always meant never, until Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the mes- siah of the 60s through his fiery speech attempted to break the “manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” and to transform the “sweltering heat of injustice into an oasis of freedom and justice.” This fluent, persuasive humani tarian had but to survey his own society to become embittered about life. Instead of expressing bitterness, however. Dr. King transformed the negative response to his dreams into a positive force. Evidently, a glimpse of the prom ised land was all that Dr. King needed, for without having fully realized his dream, he continued to express faith in the powerful momentum of tne revolutionary summer that had swept aside any possible fear of opposition. Perhaps Dr. King’s philosophy is best compared to the declara tion of the psalmist David who said, “The Lord will give strength unto his people, the Lord will bless his people with peace.” How to obliterate the load of those nagging leftovers a column by Victoria Dunn “Happy New Year.” This catchy phrase still rings in our ears after weeks of hav ing returned to this institu tion of higher learning. To make the transition easier, keep a few handy tips in mind. 1. You are no longer in the comfort of your own home. 2. You cannot leave your toothbrush in the bath room. 3. You must make re quests for toilet paper. 4. That very large bottle of milk of magnesia is going to be a necessity — yes, even much more than your personal can of bug spray (The bugs have gone south for the winter). So, with these things in mind, let us embark on a sur vival extravaganza. First, since you’re at a loss for what to do with your first semester notes and bulletins, let’s rid ourselves of them. For a more energy-efficient room, stuff each crack in and under your walls, windows and doors with these papers. This should require quite a bit of w’ork, but don’t over exert yourself. You can al ways paper your walls with the stuff as a constant re minder of your purpose. Occasionally, of course, constant reading and re reading of old test papers can throw one into a deep depression. This thought brings us to our second sug gestion. Have a bonfire—yes, that’s it, a bonfire! This wouldn’t be just any bonfire either. It could bind us more TTle Fennell iSa Editor-in-Chief Yolanda DuRanI Associate Editors Leslie Monique Barr Dee Evans Adviser Michael Gaspeny Avanti Allen Alaina Cloud Amy Galloway Pamela Gary Reporters Patricia Hairston Melanie Hubbard Vonda Long Omotayo Otoki Darlene Smallwood Karen Taylor Jacqueline Williams Vanessa Williams Opinions expressed in columns and letters to the editor belong to the authors and do not represent the editorial views of this paper. than any other student proj ect. I mean, I know that every one has at least one paper that she’d like to burn. No? One final, forgotten notecard left from the ominous past? Burn it! One bill, correct or incorrect? Burn it! One scrib bled page of notes that you never recopied? Burn it! One very abused ACES card? Burn it! Suggestion number three offers a handy hint for the disposal of No-Doz. It should be carefully ground and stored for sprinkling on those days when you’ve just gotta have snow. And while we’re sprinkling, grind up the re maining Alka-Seltzer tablets. Now that exams are over we do not need tablets for nerv ous stomachs. On the other hand, maybe you’d better keep the Alka-Seltzer for other purposes. Now, let’s discuss the uses for all of the snacks you have crammed in the drawers. These should be saved for chilly winter evenings when the short trudge to the dining hall seems like the Boston Marathon. Soggy chips should be revived on the radiator. Soda that lacks that extra zing should be enhanced with the last of the Alka- Seltzer ! Finally, if you should come upon one of the “Dear Mom and Dad’s checkbook letters,” save it. It will give you something to add to the blaze next winter. As I See It Seeing the end? opinion by Joan Y. Davis For some time now, I have heard a lot of people say that Bennett is well on its way to closing down. It is a sad thing to hear, yet there are those who feel justified in feeling this way, and there are others who are slowly coming to feel that this is the beginning of the end for Bennett College. If you are asking yourself why some might be prone to think this way, allow me to give you several reasons that have been given to me. First, there are those who feel that the administration is not responsive to the needs and feelings of the students. Some even feel that students come second here and are rarely, if ever, taken seriously. Sadlv enough, there is truth in that statement, and many students will find other colleges and universities where they can make a dif ference. If the students at Bennett do play second fiddle on this campus, it makes one wonder how the priorities of the college are set, doesn’t it? Another reason given to me was that our institution is slowlv allowing the quality of its students to drop. As a result, the quality of educa tion available here also begins to drop. I can imagine that it is very difficult for instructors to challenge students when part of the class is on the college level, and the other half is on a third-grade level. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it? The reason most given, and nerhaps the most evident, is that there is a very negative attitude on this campus. I was told that very few people here really care about what goes on here. This is obvious if one checks the attendance at class meetings, SGA activities, chapel services and other school functions. If there is anathy on this campus, one might wonder if enough peo ple care to try to prevent Bennett from closing. Is Bennett going to close? No one really knows at this noint, but if things don’t start to change soon, it very well could close. If the administration does not take steps to communi cate more seriously with the students, Bennett will close. If the qualitv of students and education doesn’t improve, Bennett will close. If all of us don’t take more of an interest in our school, it will close and what was once the beautiful campus of Bennett College could one day be the Gate City parking lot. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?
Bennett College Student Newspaper
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Jan. 27, 1984, edition 1
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