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Friday, March 30, 1984
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VoL XLV, No. 7
Senior Day Ceremony: Nedra McGee, Miss Bennett, is Joined by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Virgil McGee
and President Isaac H. Miller, Jr. after the annual ritual during which seniors in good standing receive graduation
regalia. The service stirred nostalgia in many of the participants. (photo by Otis Hairston)
Ritual evokes reflections
by Dee Evans
Some seniors felt that Sen
ior Day was a glorious oc
casion, but others held a
different view.
SGA president Kay Boyd
experienced a sense of joy. “I
didn’t know it would mean so
much,” she said. “I didn’t feel
it until we left the gym; then
I could taste the fact that we
had almost reached the vic
tory at the end of the mile.”
Several seniors began to
realize that they were enter
ing a new phase of their lives.
Debra Lovett, a psychology
major from Estill, S. C.
thought about her past and
future: “Senior Day made me
think about graduation, the
future; what was ahead and
behind and how my years at
Bennett were. It was like I
made it, but hadn’t made it
quite yet. It was a good
feeling.”
Monica Jones, a biology
major from Philadelphia, felt
that she had reached “the end
of a new beginning: the end
of the semester and the be
ginning of a new route.”
“I had looked forward to
Senior Day since my fresh
man year,” said Jeanette
Hatch, a professional theatre
major from Atlanta. “It was
a big thrill to sit on the right
side of the chapel for a
change. I felt especially good
when I was able to hug my
little sisters after they robed
me. Senior Day was a mo
ment that I will always
cherish in my memories of
Bennett.”
Some seniors were not so
thrilled with this day, which
they had anticipated for so
long that it didn’t turn out
as they had expected.
“I wasn’t affected by the
day because I wasn’t grad
uating at that time,” said
Angela Wilkins, a political
science major from Sumter,
S. C. “Maybe I’ll have some
delayed reaction when grad
uation does come,” she
concluded.
“It wasn’t as exciting as I
thought it would be,” said
Sharon Smoothe, a biology
major from High Point.
One senior blamed the dis
appointing day on the ad
dress. “I was deeply disap
pointed by President Miller’s
address, it was too negative.
He could have made it more
positive about what the fu
ture was going to be like,”
said Valorie Emory, a pre-
med major from Virginia
Beach, Va.
“From the speech, I got the
impression that our class
went around jiving and car
rying on all the time,” said
Wilkins.
Eventually, most seniors
will have the same feelings
as Doris Deemi, a health
science major from Liberia.
“I feel good about my senior
year because it gave me the
chance to grow, be indepen
dent and make my own de
cisions without my parents’
guidance. I have an insight
of what a goal is and what
life is all about,’ said Deemi.
Jesse is rebuked
by Yolanda DuRant
When Democratic presi
dential candidate Jesse Jack
son called Jews “Hymies”
and New York “Hymietown,’|
was he expressing blacks’
views of Jews?
The consensus on campus
is that Jackson was wrong
for making these derogatory
statements. Blacks are not
anti-Semitic, according to re
spondents to a Banner poll.
Many Belles, however, were
not aware of Jackson’s slurs.
Sherill Baldwin, a senior
from Whiteville, said, “I am
not prejudiced against Jews.
I don’t think it was appro
priate for him to make such
a statement since he is a pres
idential candidate. I think
that since it was said in a
private conversation it
shouldn’t have been publi
cized. In private conversa
tions, it is hard to keep track
of what is being said.”
Lorraine Merant, a sopho
more from Wilmington, said,
“I don’t agree with Jackson’s
statement because I don’t
have anything against their
[Jews’] religion. There are
so many different types of
religions, and I don’t see that
it is necessary to use slang
names against the Jews or
criticize their beliefs.”
“I disagree with what Jack
son said because during the
Civil Rights Movement he
helped blacks overcome the
discrimination and segrega
tion whites placed upon us.
Whites began to feel that
blacks were taking over; now
he is showing the same atti
tude that whites had toward
blacks to the Jews. How does
he expect to get votes with
such a negative outlook to
ward Jews of America?” com
mented Fredricka Watson, a
sophomore from Charleston,
S. C.
A freshman from Charles
ton, Lynda Keith, said: “Jesse
Seniors Honored
should have never said that.
I am indifferent towards
Jews because they are just
like any other whites. In his
position as a presidential
candidate, he should have
never said it because he is
supposed to be the liberator
of minorities.”
Another freshman, Karen
Horne of Durham, stated, “I
don’t feel prejudiced toward
Jewish people. I think it was
a slip of the tongue. All poli
ticians are human and are al
lowed to say one thing out of
the way.”
One Belle partially sympa
thized with Jackson’s view.
“In a way, I agree with
Jesse,” said senior Cheryl
Mackeyof Queens, New York.
“I’m not totally against Jews,
but I am [against them] in
the way in society in which
they [Jews] try to get over
on blacks.” Mackey was con
cerned about what she con
sidered the unethical practice
of some Jewish store-owners.
by Karen Taylor
Senior Day was any ordi
nary day for underclasswom-
en, but for seniors, it repre
sented the beginning celebra
tion of the commencement
ceremonies.
“To be a college graduate
or seem to be?” That was the
question according to Dr.
Isaac H. Miller, Jr., in his
address to the class of ’84.
Preparation for the real
world outside of Bennett
College was the main point
stressed in Miller’s address.
“Are you warm; are you
real, Mona Lisa? Or just a
cold and lonely, lovely work
of art,” Miller asked the
seniors.
Susan Smith, who gave the
appreciation speech, said:
“To be chosen by my class
mates as their representative
is something that will remain
in my heart for the rest of
my life.”
Senior Day was not only
an exciting day, but it was a
special day as well. “It
marked the end of many days
of hard work and the begin
ning of a new and exciting
future,” Smith stated in her
address.
It was a day to say
“thanks” for the support and
encouragement that has been
given to the graduating class.
“The unyielding support and
feeling of deep concern for
our progress by the faculty
and staff is something we
will forever be thankful for,”
said Smith.
Smith also thanked the par
ents for giving students the
opportunity to become a part
of the Bennett family. She
explained, “We recognize the
sacrifices that were made to
maintain our stay here and
we are sincerely grateful.”
“Those of us who have
reached this point fully real
ize that without the devoted
support of those who cared,
we would not be here,” said
Smith. “And because of you,
dear parents, faculty and
staff, we feel confident that
we are prepared for the com
plexities of the world in
which we live.”
“In appreciation for all
that you have done for us, I
would like to pledge on behalf
of this soon-to-be-graduating
class of 1984, that we will
become the additional links in
the chain of fine Bennett
women who continue to make
notable contributions to the
society in which we live,”
Smith vowed.
Biggers believes roots make beauty
a review
by Leslie Barr
Blend the exploration of
roots with a brilliant imagi
nation, and you have the mas
terful art Dr. John Biggers
exhibited and discussed here
Feb. 28-29.
Soft charcoal grays, reds
and blues dominate the sketch
es and paintings of the artist-
educator from Gastonia.
“Hold on to your precious
memories,” Biggers advised
student-artists, for recollec
tion is the raw material of
art.
Learning the ancestral past
is another principle of Big-
eers’. In 1957, he won a
UNESCO fellowship enabling
him and his wife to travel to
Africa.
He said this experience
“laid the foundation for my
desire to present Africa from
that point to now.”
His first lecture was Rri-
marily devoted to his “The
Great African Kings” series
financed by Budweiser. These
works contain vivid imagery
and minute detail. Striking
colors of gold, red and earth-
tones as well as life-life fig
ures give the audience a sense
of actually being in Africa.
Biggers also presented his
great “Adair” mural which
denicts the beginnint? and
endine events in the life of
Christia V. Adair, the Texas
activist. His commentary was
cut short, however, by a mal-
functionincr projector and an
unruly audience.
On Feb. 29. Biggers dis
cussed some of his prints with
150 students from Jackson
and Lincoln Junior High
Schools. The youngsters’ en
thusiasm and the artists’ tal
ent for effective communica
tion made the event more
educational and entertaining
than his first presentation.
The first print “Holocaust”
is Bigofers’ statement of how
he views the world after a
nuclear attack. The colors
are red and sky-blue, and
the print are very abstract.
Biggers stated that if “we
drop atomic bombs, all of
nature might be spoiled.”
The second print “Bridges”
forms part of a mural for the
music building at Texas
Southern University. It is
primarily concerned with the
“wheels of life from life to
death.” It included many
themes and scenery from
America, South Carolina and
Southern cities.
The third print “Harvest
ers” portrays two black wom
en. Biggers stated that the
theme of this print was that
“we should as people know
each other better.” TTie colors
are black and white and the
two figures are elongated
in shape, and there is an
emphasis on the bones of the
hand.
The print titled “The Seed”
shows a black male and fe
male working in a field and
planting rows of seeds. This
is also done in black and
white. Its primary theme is
the “toiling of the earth.”
Biggers said about his
work: “I use the human body
as a means of expression.”
During the question and
answer period of the presen
tation, Biggers stated that he
did not always want to be an
artist. In fact, while at
Hampton Institute he wanted
to be a plumber because
“I wanted to make me some
money.”
However, his desire
changed and Biggers decided
to make painting his way of
life. He stated that of all
things dear to him, “my most
precious possessions are my
drawings and my paintings.”
Biggers sums up his philos
ophy and aspirations in an
article which appeared in the
March issue of Ebony. He
.states that, “My job now is
to reach the universe through
the Black art experience. I’m
a man who believes in Black
art and am not insulted by
it.”