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Friday, February 17, 1984
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
Vol. XLV, No. 6
*^1001 Black Inventions”
Pin Points enthrall audience
Saying "so long”: Mrs. Louise G.
Streat Is retiring In May after
40 years In the home economics
department.
by Dee Evans
“A point is a purpose and
our purpose is to pin point
the conditions your condi
tions are in” — this is the
manifesto of Pin Points, a
Washington-based theatrical
company.
They were right on target
during their Feb. 9 per
formance of “1001 Black
Inventions.”
The production teaches its
audience about black inven
tors in an anecdotal way.
“The program was not only
positive in production, but
the actors expressed general
Streat to retire
by Alaina Cloud
After 40 years of service
to the college, Mrs. Louise
Guenveur Streat, home eco
nomics professor, is retiring
in May.
Streat, chairman of her
department, said, “Retiring
is not easy, but one does not
go on forever. The key to any
type of career is knowing
when to stop.”
Recipient of numerous
awards during her time at
Bennett, she was named one
of the top 14 women in man
agement by the National
Home Fashions League in
1973.
Streat has enjoyed work
ing at Bennett because it is
a liberal arts college: “Liber
al arts contribute to the total
person. Seeing the role that
home economics could play in
a liberal arts setting kept me
here.”
Her department inaugu
rated the mini course con
cept, whose special offerings,
lasting from one to 10 weeks,
have been open to all majors.
Known for her energy and
hard work, Streat said: “My
admiration for doing a job
well came from my father,
who was a plumbing con
tractor for 50 years in
Charleston.”
Optimism is her creed. “I’m
not a negative person. We
destroy our purpose here, by
always harping on the nega
tive,” she explained. Streat
believes that people look at
what’s wrong with a situa
tion, instead of looking at
what’s right.
Looking back on her ca
reer, she remembered the
1960’s as “unsettled academic
years. You thought education
was going to disappear from
the earth.” But “the 1970s
were really better and the
students knuckled down.”
Streat has worked under
three presidents here. She
said Dr. David Dallas Jones
gave her a lesson in disci
pline. The second president.
Dr. Willa B. Player, “was a
very quiet, soft-spoken per
son. She had a clear under
standing on what the philoso
phy of the college was about.”
Her evaluation of Dr.
Isaac H. Miller Jr. was, “He
administers by present-day
management procedures. I
see him as a scientist, a
philosopher.”
Streat enjoys traveling and
plans to continue doing so
after she retires. She will be
making trips with her hus
band, Professor William A.
Streat Jr., chairman of the
architectural engineering de
partment at A&T.
She has traveled in West
ern Europe by yacht, and she
has been “locked in a train
by the communists in Eastern
Germany.”
In addition to traveling,
Streat writes. “I’ve done
some poetry for the BENNETT
Banner years ago, about my
exchange teaching experience
at Mount Holyoke College,
which is a girls’ school in
South Hadley, Mass,” she
said.
After four decades of
work, Streat still believes
Bennett is a very special
place.
ideas by exposing black talent
in a pleasant way. They
taught us while we laughed,”
said Tricia Hairston, a fresh
man communications major
from Winston-Salem.
The first act had a docu-
drama focus on such black
inventors as Dr. Daniel Hale
Williams, (heart surgery),
Jan Ernest Matzelinger,
(shoe-making machine), Dr.
George Washington Carver
(scientist) and Benjamin
Banneker (clocks).
Most of the comedy occurs
in the second act, “The Twi
light Zone,” about a typical
modern-day family attempt
ing to survive in a world
without black inventions. The
craziness arises when the
family has to live without
beds, lamps, irons, refrig
eration, fountain pens, en
gines, bicycles, safety hel
mets, brain surgery, modern
music and much more — all
Black inventions.
The production offers
much provocative thought. It
was mentioned during the
segment about Matzelinger
that teenagers these days al
ways complain about every
thing and spend too much
money unreasonably on “Cal
vin Klein jeans and Pierre
Cardin sweaters. They know
the price of everything and
the value of nothing,” said
the actor.
Penny Hill, president of
The Bennett Wits, said the
group was very good. “They
depicted what blacks have
done in a comedy way, but
got their point across. The
presentation recognized
blacks who have not been
given credit for their
achievements.”
Hill was on the board who
chose the Pin Points to per
form. “I voted for them be
cause the price was reason
able and their advertisement
publication sounded good for
the purpose of Black History
Month.”
The comedy was widely
recognized by the students. “I
liked how the learning sit
uation was put into enter
tainment,” observed Rhonda
Jackson, a junior English
major from Chapel Hill.
In addition to the comedy,
“The body language did a
lot,” stated Dr. Ruth Lucier,
chairperson of the Lyceum
Committee.
Even though the group
does an excellent acting per
formance, Ersky Freeman,
president of Pin Points,
points out that “everyone
thinks of himself as some
thing else before actors and
actresses.”
The Pin Points started in
1975 as a writer’s workshop
where the members critiqued
each other’s works. Then the
group became a musical
theatre company because the
group found that its members
consisted of multi-talented
vocalists, dramatists, comedi
ans, musicians and dancers.
The group decided to use
an educational theme because
many of the members are in
structors. Surprisingly, “the
only acting training that most
of the performers have is
with the Pin Points. Most of
them had no previous train
ing,” says Freeman.
SGA gives spring plans
by Jacqueline Williams
The SGA’s main goal this
semester is to improve Ben
nett’s image within the
community.
Over the past several
weeks, the SGA officers have
been attending meetings
within the community and
around the state. Through
their efforts they found that
Bennett was being ignored
and forgotten.
SGA President Kay Boyd
says, “We’re hoping to change
that and make some very pos
itive contributions towards
improving our image.”
“One thing we’re looking
forward to is changing our
role in relationship to A&T.
In the past it’s been kind of
assumed that all our relations
were of a social nature,”
says Boyd. The SGA plans
to center its efforts on an
intellectual level.
The SGA is also hoping to
make some policy changes. A
request has been brought be
fore the committee on aca
demic affairs for all students
with a 3.0 grade point aver
age and above to be recog
nized during Honors Convo
cation. Another policy change
will be for the cabinet to have
better provisions for more
efficient operation.
The SGA has many plans
for February, which is Black
History Month, including a
three-day festival, “Kaleido
scope in Black,” concluding
Feb. 18 and featuring art
exhibits, dance groups, gospel
choirs and plenty of food.
A college IQ Bowl match
ing Belles against A&T stu
dents will occur Feb. 21 at
7 p.m. in the science assem
bly. Questions will cover
current events with special
emphasis on black history.
A&T has slated a forum
similar to the IQ Bowl on
Feb. 27. “We hope to have
Bennett students both on the
platform and in the audi
ence,” says Boyd. This event
will be geared toward politi
cal issues and current events.
In addition, the SGA is in
viting students from More
house College to attend the
President’s Ball. Says Boyd,
“That’s to provide an oppor
tunity for all the students to
get to know one another and
to build that bridge between
the two schools again.”
The SGA is also working
with the Student Union
Board to create a Spring Fes
tival on the quadrangle. No
date has been issued.
In a meeting held in Wil
mington, the North Carolina
Association of Black Student
Government decided to set up
activities to raise funds
to aid Fisk University. One
of the activities planned was
for each of the colleges to set
up an April 14 walk-a-thon
in its city and to include
neighboring colleges and uni
versities in the event.
“I am really looking for
ward to a good semester. I
think that everybody is re
freshed from the Christmas
holidays and ready to work,”
says Boyd.
52 scholars get honors
A four-year honor student
topped the list of 52 Belles
recognized for academic
achievement during the
Spring Honors Convocation
Feb. 9.
Senior Yolanda DuRant, an
English major from Florence,
S. C., received special praise
from speaker Patricia Pinnix
Hobson, ’69, services mana
ger at the Miller Brewing
Company in Eden.
Joining DuRant on the list
of seniors who have main
tained a 3.40 average or
above were two other Ei^glish
majors, Leslie Monique Barr,
also of Florence, and Joan
Yvette Davis of Tuscaloosa,
Ala.
Five students achieved per
fect 4.0 averages during the
Fall semester. They are soph
omore Tina Morrison and
freshmen Teri Abel, Lawan-
da Addison, Victoria Dunn
and Vera Walker.
Three juniors have kept
averages of 3.30 or above—
Tonya Horton, Robbin Rowe
and Christiana Tumaku.
Eighteen sophomores have
preserved a 3.20 or above.
They are Natalie Bennett,
Sayon Bright, Andree Chan,
Deirtra Evans, Karen Fish
er, Evelyn Fulmore, Penny
Hill, Mary Junious, Sherri
Kitchen, Bonita Moore, Tina
Morrison, Laurrie Murphy,
Demorris Norris, Amanda
Smith, Karen Taylor, Rose
Taylor, Theresa Thompson
and Cassandra Walker.
Twenty-eight freshmen
made a 3.00 average or above.
The group consists of Teri
Abel, Lawanda Addison,
Thelma Baker, Josefa Bethea,
Pamela Bolden, Jeanna
Bridges, Sarah Brodie, Cyn
thia Brooks, Marquerette
Byrd, Wanda Dilworth, Vic
toria Dunn, Bonita Dupree,
Tracye Falkner, Chardel For
rest, Patricia Hairston, Le-
Leza Harris, Alicia McCol
lum, Laura Nelson, Adrian
Phillips, Sharon Pretty, Sher
ri Purcell, Kim Romeo, Yvone
Zodwa Sikakane, Tracey
Townsend, Annette Vines,
Brenda Vinson, Vera Walker
and Rhonda Watlington.
It’s our month . .
Lend your hand
To Black History
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March 30
Copy due date
March 20