THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 25.1975
Valentine Calls Guyana
Land of Contrasts
“In many ways my summer
trip to Guyana was a
metaphysical journey within
myself,” according to Robert
Valentine, Asst. Dean for
Student Academic Affairs and
Assistant Professor of
Spanish. Isolated from the
of South America,
geographically and culturally,
Guyana’s population is com
prised of English-speaking
East Indians who were br-
tought to South America as in
dentured servants by the
British after the abolition of
slavery in 1838 and blade
descendants of the slaves who
cut lumber and sugar cane.
Since independence was gran
ted to this former British
colony, most whites have left,
as have most foreign in
vestors. Foreign companies,
mostly sugar and bauxite, are
gradually being nationalized
by the pro-Cuban, pro-Third
World, socialist, black party
of Prime Minister Forbes Bur
nham, whose party came to
power in a coalition with
Portuguese businessmen who
have since left Guyana.
Although blacks are out
numbered by the East In
dians, they have managed to
win all of the elections since
they came to power, thanks
largely to their control of the
ballot boxes. Racial tension
betweoi blacks and East In
dians is critical and could ex
plode into violence at any
time, as it did in 1964. If this
happens, the British army will
not be present separate the
two groups, according to
Valentine, as they did in the
past.
Dean Valentine returned
from Guyana with a collection
of literature, school books,
photos and posters currently
on display in front of the
Registrar’s office in the
Liberal Arts Building. He en-
ountered swne trouble shop
ping in bookstores, as il
BOB'S
JEWEL
SHOP
The Place to
go for all your
Jewelry needs
Main St.
College Plaza
stores in the capital city of
Georgetown dose at 4 p.m.
because of frequent
muggings. Valentine was war
ned not to walk around town
alone in daylight and his hosts
gasped in horror when he ex
pressed a desire to j(^ around
the park at ni^t.
The most illuminating
aspect of the trip, according to
Valentine, was being a mem
ber of a small racial minority.
The other U.S. members of the
entourage sponsored by the
Piedmont University Center
of North Carolina were black,
with the exception of one
woman who was thought to be
blade by her Guyanese hosts
prior to her arrival. While
Valentine’s black travding
companions were lodged in
private homes and schools, he
was isolated in a hotd in the
middle of tovm. “I thought I
was getting special treatment
imtil I discovered that hosting
a white in one’s home in
Guyana was not the
fashionable thing to do,”
Valentine says. “The ex-
perioice of reverse jyejudice
was intense and un
forgettable. Although the
majority of my hosts were ex
tremely gracious and kind, I
found myself devdoping an
unjustified case of mild
paranoia. Generally speaking,
I can only conclude that being
a membCT of a radal minority
can be a very threatening ex
perience, whether the threats
are real or not. I am still
trying to discover why I felt
threatened and what this says
about me,” Valoitme said.
Professor Valentine studied
the educational system of
Guyana from the first grade to
the university level, visiting
over twenty schools
throughout the country.
Although shocked by the la^
of facilities, the overcrowding
and elitism, Professor Valen
tine was impressed by what
was being accomplished with
the few materials available.
The best dementary school in
Georgetown boasts a student-
teacher ratio of one to 45. Six
large first grade dasses are
conducted in one large hall,
separated only by moveable
portitions. In spite of this
crowding, *the uniformed
students are very disdplined
and quiet. The reason for this
uncharaderistic six year-old
behavior is the long waiting
list of applicants to this public
school. “If a child
misbehaves, he is out ot his
ear,” said Valaitine. The ab
sence of textbooks is prevalent
through the college level. At a
vocational school for home
economics the teachers asked
Professor Valentine to send
them used McCall patterns
and pattern books.
Rather than spending its
limited resources to improve
education, Valentine noted,
the goverrunent of Giq^ana is
pouring millions of dollars into
the establishment of a quasi
military organizatiai called
the National Service, a cross
between Boy Scouts and
brownshirts. Platoons com
prised of unemployed
“toughies” are sent irto the
jungle to establish colonies
and to prevent the invasion of
a part of Guyana claimed by
Venezuela, "^s bright-green
uniformed private army ser
ves to augment the Idack
regular army, should the East
In^an majority decide to at
tempt to overthrow the Bur
nham administration. Valen
tine attended several parades
at which the presence of large
numbers of this elite force was
impressive. Among the of
ficers of the National Service
were several Mack American
expatriates who left the U.S.
for a variety of reasons. A for
mer New York activist for
example heads the propagan
da unit that turns out thousan
ds of booklets and posters sup
porting the current regime
and its policies.
Valentine is full of praise
and criticism for this
emerging nation and would be
happy to relate his ex-
periaices to interest students.
Art Sale Scheduled
A representative from
Baltimore’s Ferdinand Roten
Galleries will be at St. An
drews on Wednesday, Oct. 15
for an exhilxt and sale of
original graphic artworks.
Induded in the exhiW will
be nearly 400 works by such
noted artists as Jean Miro,
Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso,
Marcel Duchamp, Henri
Matisse, Edvard Munch and
Victor Vasarely.
According to a Roten
Galleries brochure heralding
“THE LOVES OF A BLON-
DE“ directed by Milos For
man. Concerns the bit
tersweet love affair of a fac
tory worker and a concert
pianist. Bosley Crovfther of
the New York Times called it
“human, true but understated
- inconclusive, indeed, as in
life...” Apparently a comedy
with great emotional sub
stance. (7 pm., Sunday, Sep
tember 28 in Avinger
Auditorium).
the exhibit and sale, “While
important limited editions of
outst€^@ding graphic ex
pressions by major artists in
the Rotai collection can cost
many thousands of dollars,
most of the works in the
catalog cost under $100. Some
of these original prints cost as
little as $10.”
The nature of the graphic
Bunn Awards—
(Caitinued From Page 1)
group. A group report will be
drawn up presented to the ad
ministration.
Offering both classrown in
struction and actual fidd ex
perience, this course is one of
the truly important places
where students can get in
volved in the future of St. An
drews.
The devdojHnent package
currently planned by the
college indudes construction
of a 21-acre shopping and
business office complex at the
intersection of Hi^ways 74
and 15-501, as wdl as, a
couple of hundred acres for
residential housing.
media, which can produce dif
ferent editions of wiginal
{ffints from the same work,
accounts for this broad range
of prices.
The Roten exhibit and sale
will be held in the foyer of the
Vardell building mi the south
side rf campus from 9 ajn.
until 5 p.m. The works will be
laid out Ml tables for in
dividual perusal. "Die public is
invited to attend.
Farrago—
(Continued From Page 1)
from the first show back for
another run. Niblock said he
would try to run Farrago as he
had seen some similar cof
feehouses in LondcKi run—a
special guest or two, along
with some regulars who ap
pear frequently. “I
hope it can be a place where
people can try things out,
too,” he said, “their first
songs, or their first per-
formanceS“that sort of
thing.” He said suggestions
would be welcomed regarding
future entertainment, as well.
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