3 • BENNETT BANNER ‘MAY 14,1999
* OPINION * OPINION * OPINION * OPINIONj^OPlNlQll-:
Banner MaJlbag
letters to the editor
Miss Bennett '98-99 responds
to letter by Miss Blue and White
“You may write me down in
history, /With your bitter, twisted
liesy You may trod me in the
very dirty But still like dusty I
Rise /1 Rise/1 Rise.”
The previous excerpt taken
from Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem,
“And Still I Rise,” accurately
summarize my response to an
article written by Miss Royal
Blue and White, 1998-1999.1
am your Miss Bennett College,
1998-1999.1 write this letter not
out of offense -- for I only
become offended when things
stated are true. With this said, I
have absolutely no reason for
being upset or “guilty.” Instead, I
merely write this letter to address
some of the issues that many of
you (the students), including
myself, have surrounding the
article [letter to the editor].
Allow me to begin by saying
that Miss RB&W had every right
to suggest pageant reforms. I am
only curious as to why such
suggestions were not made prior
to this year’s pageant, especially
when she was directly asked if
she had any input?
Let us now address some of
the falsehoods mentioned in the
article. First, anyone who
attended this year’s pageant
“popularity,” as was mentioned,
is yet another insult to our
judgment as students.
As to the point raised about
“tampering with the judges’
scores,” rest assured that as soon
as the pageant was over, the VP
of Student Development imme
diately collects the judges’
ballots and gives them to Dr.
Treadway for calculation. Must
we once again insult the integrity
of Dr. Treadway and the VP of
Student Development?
I, myself refuse to insult
anyone like that because it is not
sisterly behavior. It is quite
ironic to me how loosely we use
the term “sisterhood.” You see, it
is not enough to host seminars
to discuss sisterhood, or use the
term in our campaigning, and
never apply it after the chats and
the elections are over. Where is
the sisterhood when we refuse to
congratulate the next “Miss
Bennett College” at the
President’s Ball for a job well
done?
For those of you who do
know, being Miss Bennett
College is not an easy job, that is
if you serve the position cor
rectly. The time and expectation
involved is quite demanding, for
my mother’s words to pray for
those persons who wish to
mistreat me. For as long as I
realize that my steps have been
ordered by God and submit to
Him despite what others may
say or do, I have absolutely
nothing to worry about So,
don’t hate me because I am
BLESSED! I love you no less -
my Bennett sister. After all, it’s
not you...(Read Ephesians 6:12
to understand my point) Until
then, allow me to close by
saying that: “No weapon (not
even yours) that is formed
against me will prosper!”
(Isaiah 54:17).
Once again, I want to thank
.all thqsfi.who supported .me,,
during my reign and truly
apologize to any persons who
may have been inadvertently
insulted from last month’s
article. I pray that you will
continue to be blessed in all of
your endeavors.
Lovingly,
Willacin V. Gholston
Miss Bennett College,
1998-1999
ailCllUW U11.3 ^ ^ T>T> OL\Tr
knows what a sophisticated panel both Miss BC and Miss RB&W.
of judges we had, ranging from But when I ran, I prepared
the Provost, to the Athletic
Director, to the Dean of Fresh-
woman Studies. These are
respected individuals who know
Bennett well, in addition to one
respected member of the
community, and were pre
approved by the VP of Student
Development Questioning the
value of their judgment in the
pageant, is truly an insult to
them.
Secondly, I favor the current
voting block: judges 40 percent
student body 60 percent. Why?
Because as students, we are
mature enough to decide the best
candidate, for we see the
candidates on a day to day basis
and know who does what. To
suggest that we only vote out of
The Bennett Banner
welcomes all letters that
are typed, doubled
spaced, and don’t contain
more than 175 words.
All letters to the editor
must be
signed •••••••••••••••
andmust *letterpolfcy \
include * ,
the ••••••••
author's
name, address, and
daytime telephone num
ber. No letters will be
published in the Banner
without the author's
name.
Once a letter has been
accepted by the editor, it
becomes the property of •
The Bennett Banner •
and will not be returned. J
The Banner editor
reserves the right to edit
all letters.
Letters
»•••••• may be
hand
delivered
!•••••• person
to the
Banner office located in
Shell C-2 or mailed to:
Letters to the Editor
The Bennett Banner
Campus Box 25
Bennett College
Greensboro, NC
27401
115
myself for the reality that I may
not win. In that case, I would be
determined to be the best Miss
RB&W, without complaint,
because I realized that it was not
about serving me, but serving
Bennett College...(It was not for
my will to be done, but God’s
Will alone.)
I personally refuse to become a
part of the “Conspiracy Theo
rists” ideology and accusation
that if an expected outcome does
not come to pass, it was “set-up.”
Complaining, criticizing,
pointing fingers, casting both
blame and insults is not my style.
Never was, never will be. I shall
not allow myself to be brought
down to that level.
Instead, I am encouraged by
Editor's Note: Ms. Gholston
requested the Banner to bold
some of the words in her letter.
It is not the Banner policy to
bold words or letters in
"Letters to the Editor."
neering from the University of
Michigan, where she also earned
master’s degrees in civil engi
neering and in urban planning.
In preparation for the com
mencement exercises, the Opera
tional Work Group Committee
has been working to ensure that
everything will work smoothly.
“In case of inclemoit weather,
we will have other sites for spec
tators, such as family and Mends,
to view commencement live on
television screens,” said Bruce
Goritthu^d from Page 1 ?
Clark, director of the Teleccm-
munications program.
"The other alternate sites are
located in student union foyer,
the basement of Annie Memer
Pfieffer Chapel, or Black 106.
The commencement exercises
will be videotaped by the staff of
the Telecommunications pro
gram. The tapes will include foot
age of alumnae weekend events
including the White Breakfast,
baccalaureate and the choir con
cert The cost of the tapes are
$25 and $100.
Earn $1,000,000,0001
^ow diat we hare
your attention)
The Betmett Banner newspaper has the following openings
for the fall and spring 99-00:
•Reporters
•Movle/Mtisic/Book Reviewers
•Feature Writers
•Graphic Artists
•Production/Design Personnel
For more information contact Monya Tomlinson, Banner Editor, fall 1999