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Friday, February 16, 1990
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
Vol. XLXI, No. 3
Students disillusioned after fire
by Erica Salter
An honors dorm once filled
with student activity stands
temporarily condemned be
cause of a fire.
The 52-year-old building,
Memer Hall, was the scene of
a fire on Jan. 12 that des
troyed several second floor
rooms and damaged others.
Some former residents of
Memer relocated to other
dorms, but “are angry after
having to adjust to new living
conditions,” said freshman
Aprell Hamilton, who had to
move.
“It’s quite an adjustment
to move from Memer, which
was quiet and peaceful, to
Barge, where all hell breaks
loose 24 hours a day,” said
senior Yvette Freeman.
Others, like freshman
Patrice Holt, looked on the
bright side and said, “I will
always be loyal to Memer,
but the rooms are bigger” in
Barge.
Donations of money and
clothing from the Red Cross,
alumnae, churches, businesses
and community residents have
been received and used for
Memer renovations and to
help displaced Belles.
TTie financial contributions
for the Memer Fire and Stu
dent Relief Funds totalled
almost $2400 as of Jan. 20.
Pledged money that has not
been received is not included
in this total.
The students will not be
reimbursed for the posses
sions that were lost or
damaged in the fire. They
found out, after the fire, that
Bennett’s insurance did not
cover their belongings or any
other student’s. Only the
buildings are insured.
“Administration kept say
ing, ‘Don’t worry. Bennett has
insurance’ and led us to be
lieve that our stuff was in
sured,” said sophomore
Jacquelyn Griffin. “It wasn’t
until Bennett’s lawyer came
that we realized we would not
be reimbursed.”
The 37 students received
reimbursements of $40
from Bennett to purchase
clothes and laundry change,
“which wasn’t nearly
enough,” said Freeman. “So,
everythng that I needed, I
had to buy myself.”
They also received clothes,
books and supplies from the
bookstore, but besides this
they have not gotten any of
the money contributed by the
various organizations and
people.
Responding to whether
Bennett did everything pos
sible for the students. Holt
said, “the administration
eventually realised that their
approach wasn’t productive
and remedied it quickly.”
However, “the students and
faculty have been very nice
about helping us. Our Bennett
sisters came to our rescue
with beds, clothes and hugs.”
“I feel that the fire could
have been prevented if the
dorm had been properly up
dated and inspected,” said
Freeman. “Most of the dorms
are over 40 and 50 years old
and they’re only able to handle
a certain amount of elec
tricity. So, with students who
naturally have televisions,
radios, irons and other elec
trical appliances, of course,
there are going to be prob
lems, and Bennett should
have made sure that a fire
of that magnitude didn’t
happen. The whole situation
could have been avoided.”
Some former Memer resi
dents expressed disillusion
ment with the college’s poli
cies.
“Bennett waits until a tra
gedy hits to try to react,” said
Griffin.
“After the initial anger, I
wasn’t surprised,” said Holt.
“I just want everyone to rea
lize they aren’t protected
either.”
Fortunately, the fire began
during class and lunch time,
at about 1 p.m. It began in a
second floor room occupied by
sophomore Michelle Dumay.
The alarm sounded after
Dumay unsuccessfully tried
to put out the fire. Some re
sidents learned that the fire
doors were locked so, “every
one went out the front door,”
said Griffin.
The firemen extinguished
the fire in less than hour, but
not before some rooms were
destroyed, others damaged
and the dorm filled with
smoke.
'The fire started in a circuit
and was deemed electrical.
Memer sustaned $750,000
in damage. The college intends
to reopen the building in the
fall.
Former dropout finds life’s beauty
Looking to help others: Freshman
Jennifer Chollette has a special
reason for wanting to become a
social woricer. A former runaway,
she wants to give something bacic.
(photo by Freeman)
by Iris Becton
You may have wondered
who the Bennett student is
who works with the mainten
ance crew on campus.
She is Jennifer Chollette,
a freshman majoring in social
work. She’s been through
trials and tribulations but is
much stronger because of
them.
At the age of 14, Jennifer
dropped out of school in New
York and ran away from home
because she wanted to explore
life on her own. She hitch
hiked to Califomia. She stayed
there until the juvenile au
thorities sent her back home
where she was placed in a
group home by family court.
The girls at the home had all
kinds of problems. “Some
were in gangs, some had
family problems and the
others had dropped out of
school,” said Chollette.
The home was in upstate
New York in a town a little
smaller than Greensboro. It
was like a college campus; the
only difference was all the
girls were taught in one class
room. Jennifer “stayed there
maybe a month and ran
away,” hitch-hiking back to
New York City.
She says being on her own
was fun at first because she
“stayed with friends and
other runaways.” When she
didn’t have somebody to stay
with, she lived on the streets.
She survived by doing “odd
jobs like helping people with
numbers running or pick-
f)ocketing.” Jennifer says,
“The gang's just stuck to
gether and provided for each
other. When one had, every
body had. It was like a little
family.”
Chollete met Jennifer
Woodson who helped her
change her life. Wowison did
a documentary on runaways.
Chollette was featured in it.
She says that after seeing the
documentary on TV she de
cided that wasn’t the kind
of life she wanted to live any
more and she wanted to try
to do thing’s the right way.
At the age of 15, with
Woodson’s help, Jennifer went
to a boarding school and
stayed there for three years
and got her high school dip
loma from John F. Kennedy
High School.
There she leamed a lot
about herself and she found
out just how beautiful a per
son that she really is both
on the inside and outside. Her
most important lesson was
knowing that whatever she
does she’ll always need God’s
help. She values life and tries
not to be materialistic or take
things for granted. She says,
“If I hadn’t been able to see
the real beauty in life, I
wouldn’t be alive today.”
After getting her high
school diploma, Jennifer went
to nursing school for a year
and then took a year off to
decide if she want^ to attend
college. Meanwhile, Woodson
was in touch with some people
from the United Negro College
Fund and Jennifer spoke with
them and was granted a scho
larship. With the help of her
guidance counselor from the
high school that she dropped
out of, she decided to attend
college and they chose Bennett
together.
She chose Bennett because
she wanted to get away from
New York and the scene
there and come here where
it was quiet. But she found
out that it’s not as quiet as
she thought it would be.
She says she chose her
job as a “groundsperson” be
cause she likes being close
to nature and because it keeps
her in touch with reality. She
likes to observe the squirrels
and see how they survive.
She says she felt like a
squirrel when she was living
on the streets because she
was always trying to survive.
Chollette sometimes thinks
about dropping out of school,
but she says it would be
pretty selfish of her if she
dropped out of college now
because it wouldn’t be fair to
the kids out there that she
would be able to reach.
She knows that she could
help somebody. Even if she
only reaches one out of a
thousand, she says, “That’s
the one that counts.”
Sit-In commemoration provides inspiration
by Lorraine S. Patton
Action is the only answer
and 30 years ago on Feb. 1,
1960, four young men from
A&T State University decided
to act out against racism and
prejudice by sitting at a
white-only lunchcounter at
F. W. Woolworth’s, which is
located in downtown Greens
boro, and asking for service.
When they did not receive
service, they sat until closing,
but returned bright and early
the next day to sit again.
Feb. 1-4, 1990, was the time
set aside to commemorate and
celebrate the courage and
power that the Greensboro
Four had. Citizens, students
from A&T and Bennett
gathered to bask in the Four’s
dory but to also interact and
organize so that the Four’s
dream — equality for every
one regardless of skin hue —
wUl become a reality. The
theme for the weekend was
“Stepping Stones to Freedom”
and it served as a guide for
everyone.
The festivities began early
Thursday morning with the
reenactment of the sit-in by
the Greensboro Four. During
the reenactment, a student
march, beginning in the Hol
land Bowl on A&T’s campus,
was making its way down
Market Street. Just as in the
old days. Belles were there
participating and showing
their concem in our fight for
freedom.
At Woolworth’s, after the
march had arrived, bronze
footsteps were unveiled, and
the crowd was the first to
see the changing of the street
to February One Place. At
11:45 a.m. a commemorative
luncheon was held in the A&T
Student Union Ballroom
where the keynote speaker
was Harvey Gantt, former
mayor of Charlotte. After the
luncheon, honored guests,
activity participants and over
200 Aggies gathered in the
Student Union Quad to wit
ness the dedication of a
memorial built in the honor
and name of the Greensboro
Four. At 7 p.m. on Thursday,
Bennett College was co—host
of an open-forum, featuring
one of the Greensboro Four,
Mr. Franklin McCain Sr. and
civil rights leader Floyd
McKissick, father of Ms. S.
Charmaine McKissick-Kemp,
director of the Interdiscipli
nary Studies Program.
Friday night a gala banquet
was held in the Sheraton Ball
room to honor not only the
Greensboro Four but also
those who inspired, helped and
encouraged them. Among the
honorees were Mr. Hobart
Jarrett, who not only was
the featured keynote speaker
for the affair but who was a
faculty member of Bennett
College during the sit-in
movement and Ms. Gloria
Wise Brown who was serving
as Bennett College’s SGA
President in 1960.
As the weekend came to a
close at a city-wide ecu
menical service at Shiloh
Baptist Church on Sunday,
one could not help but be
moved while listening to the
message by Bishop Cecil
Bishop of the AME Zion
Church which was entitled
“Action is the only Answer.”
My Bennett sisters, we can
gather in the name of the
Greensboro Four and Martin
Luther King from now until
the day we breathe our last
breath but we must realize
that all injustices, not only
the blatant ones but those
which are subtle will not
cease to be until we not only
address the problem but act
on the problem because action
is the only way.
A friend returns
by Iris Becton
A familiar face has re
turned to the college as
assistant president of student
affairs.
Ms. Jimmie Gravely grad
uated from Bennett in 1971
with a major in business ad
ministration and has worked
in many capacities here.
The former director of
academic advising wanted to
come back and “share some
of the knowledge” she has “of
the outside world with the
(see page 2)