State Teachers College News Letter
Voluye 16 y Elizabeth City, N. C., January, 1956
RELIGIOUS EMPHASIS WEEK OBSERVED
Numbar 2
REVEREND E. PAUL SIMMS
GUEST SPEAKER
The College was greatly inspired by
the Religious Emphasis Week program
which began on January 15 and con
tinued throughout the week. The
guest minister was the Reverend E.
Paul Simms, pastor of the First Bapt
ist Church of Norfolk, Virginia, and
also professor of Speech at the Nor
folk Division of Virginia State College.
At the opening program during the
\ esper hour on Sunday afternoon, the
Reverend James F. Banks, College
Chaplain, spoke on “Looking For
ward . He emphasized the importance
of being able to look into the past
only to gain inspiration, hope, and
faith to combat life’s mysterious rid
dles.
Reverend Simms spoke each day
at the student Assembly. His theme
was “The Conjugation of Lite into
Its Various Tenses”. Though he main
tained audience attention throughout
the week, he was at his best in dis
cussing ‘The Conjugation of Life in
the Present Tense”. In this sermon,
he elaborated upon the facA that the
acquisition of degrees means little to
individuals unless they use them as
tools. Unless one can define his ignor
ance, he continued, he cannot measure
Ins intelligence. Reverend Simms was
scholarly, yet practical, as he in an
extraordinarily interesting manner
made applications of religion to every
day life.
Brief devotional services were held
6:30 in the evening. On Monday
evening tlie Y.W.C.A. led the devot
ions. The Reverend J. Jasper Freeman,
instructor of Religion at Roanoke In
stitute, a unit of Shaw University,
spoke at a service sponsored by the
Sigma Rho Sigma Social Studies Club
on Tuesday. The Thalia Sororsis Club
conducted the Wednesday evening
devotions; and on Thursday the Rev
erend O. K. Ingram, pastor of the
First Methodist Chm-oh of Elizabeth
®ty, spoke at service led by the Sun
day School.
Devotionals were followed by
eell meetings at the home of the Pres
ident, and also in Bias, Butler, and
Syniera Halls. These proved helpful
01 facult}', students and visitors. On
l^londay and Wednesday evenings a
Coffee Hour” followed.
informal evaluation of the isro-
grani of the week, sponsored by the
Student Council and the Pan-Hellenic
Council, was made at the Vesper per
iod on January 22. Here faculty and
students expressed their ideas con-
eernmg the satisfaction and inspiration
■■eceivecl during the periods set aside
for religious meditation.
—James Leathers
A Resume Of The
Ecumenical Conference
On Christian One
World Mission
During the Christmas holidays it
was my good pleasure to attend the
Ecumenical Student Conference on
Christian World Mission which con
vened at the University of Ohio. The
conference began at 6:00 P.M., De
cember 27, and ended at noon on
January 1.
At this conference were 3,500 dele
gates, 500 more than the anticipated
number. The delegation from North
Carolina numbered about 140. The
total delegation represented 4,000 col
leges and universities and many faiths
and every “nation and kindred and
tongue.” It was especially gratifying
to see all these students, teachers, re
ligious directors and advisers, and mis
sionaries worshipping, working, and
living together in brotherly love.
The leader of all morning worship
services was Dr. Wilham Faulkner,
former Dean of Chapel of Fisk Un
iversity. The director of the internat
ional choir was a Filipino, and the
general director of music was Mrs.
Rosa Page Welch, an American Negro.
The theme of the conference was
“Revolution and Reconstruction.”
Among the many outstanding speakers
for the conference were Rev. Richard
Shuall, Executive Secretary of the
Volunteer Student Movement; D r .
John Mackey, President of Princeton
Theological Seminary and Mrs. Jorge
Quismundo, Missionary for the United
Church in the Philippines to Indon
esia.
Space does not allow me to com
ment on each message but I can safe
ly say that all the speakers agreed to
(See MISSION, Page 4)
COLLEGE ASSISTS IN
POLIO DRIVE
At one time or another, most of us
have been brought in contact with
friends or acquaintances who have
been struck with the dreadful disease
called poliomyelitis. For many years
the outlook for preventing it was a
dim one. Howevei, a brighter outlook
came when Dr. Jonas E. Salk released
to the public his discovery' of a vaccine
which would prevent die chsease.
To lessen the spread of it and to
help bring the tiniest ray of sunshine
into the lives of its victims are two
important things which one assists in
doing when he contributes to the
Polio Drive.
The necessity of funds is recognized
by our citizens, and the College gladly
shares in the Polio Drive.
—^Annie Bailey
STUDENT TEACHERS AT WORK
If you were to pass the Admini
stration building about eight o’clock
on any morning from Monday through
Friday, you would observe a hustle
of teachers busily engaged in getting
off to their various classes on time.
Three elementary schools of Eliz
abeth City are used for tlie training
of these cadet teachers. They are plac
ed as follows:
Bank Street—John Bias, Helen Har
graves, Ernestine Hill, Cornelius Page,
Rosetta Price, Myrtle Rawls, Bernice
Scott, James Spence, Gladys Trotman,
Lorraine Whitehurst, Annie Mae
White, Delores Vines.
P. W. Moore—Carolyn Boone, Doris
M. Coston, Billy Hodge, Lee H. Tay
lor, Mary Trafton and Mary J. Will
iams.
Training School — Oscar Blakey,
Yvomie Bland, Alton Bobbit, Darius
Brown, Pauline Bryan, Mary Com
mander, Lonnie Davis, Ruby Dupree,
Robert Cregory, Myrtle Johnson, Alta
Markham, Ollie Moses, Willard Moses,
Lillian Purvis, Robert Reed and Vir
ginia Wasliington.
College Initiates Faculty
Adviser Service Program
On January 11, in an Assembly
talk. Dean C. R. Payton, infonned the
student body that the faculty adviser
service program is now in operation.
Where do people take their trou
bles? To whom does the average per
son turn when confronted with diffi
culties? These are questions in the
minds of our student body, said Dean
Payton. For this reason, some mem
bers of the Staff who indicated that
they were willing to render their time
and services to this program are being
used to give service to the student
body.
Some of the reasons that faculty
advisers are needed, she continued,
are: to bring the College closer to the
realization of the goal of being an
institution dedicated to the develop
ment of its students, and to the as
surance of a student’s developing to
the extent of his potentialities; to aid
in the educational, social, and emot
ional adjustment of our students; to
lessen the evidences of social disor
ganization on our campus; to decrease
maladjustments, high rates of College
mortahty and failure; to know the in
dividual, to help him choose the ex
periences he needs, and guide him to
the fullest use of these experiences;
and to provide individual counseling
in order that students may be helped
to know themselves.
Faculty advisers will be willing to
help you with any problems you liave,
from doubting the value of worship
to having the blues, said the speaker.
Later in the year, the College hopes
to evaluate the program to see what
values, if any, have been derived.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING
The Executive Board of the Eliz
abeth City State Teachers College
Alumni Association held its annual
January meeting at the College on
Saturday, January 14, beginning at
ten-thirty a.m.
Mayola T. Murrel, president of the
Alumni Association, presided during
the business session which was follow
ed by a period of discussion of plans
for the Founder’s Day Program and
the Annual Alumni Day during Com
mencement.
The following persons were present
at the meeting: Mr. John Bias, Mrs.
Gladys Grandy, Mr. Samuel Hemby,
Dr. James E. Jones, Mrs. E. H. Mit
chell, Rev. J. R. R. McRay, Mr. Calvin
Paschal, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Alston,
Mrs. Idonia Rogerson, Mr. Melvin
Roundtree, Mr. F. P. Shields, and Mr.
Walter Turner.
Panel Discussion Held
An interesting and informative panel
discussion was given by English class
es under the direction of Dr. E. B.
Winston on January 9.
The ^program was based on several
hikhlights for 1956. These included
“Benjamin Franklin’s 250th Birthday”
by Shirley Mizzelle; “Progress in
Health”, Constance Taylor; “Progress
in Religion”, Roland Wright; “Inte
gration in Public Schools”, George
Goode; “The Virginia Referendum”,
Phillip Smith; and “Our Responsibility
in Measuring up to Standards Such
as Teachers’ Examinations”, James
Rountree.
After the discussion, time was given
to a period for questions and answers
concerning the discussion.
ALPHA KAPPA MU GETS
NEW MEMBERS
Tlie Alpha Kappa Mu Honorary
Society has initiated three new mem
bers: Josephine Midgette, Marie Rid
dick and Marva Thomas. These young
ladies were chosen because of their
high scholastic averages maintained
from the freshman year until now.
All are members of the Junior Class
and are outstanding, not only in stud
ies but in various campus organiza
tions.
Josephine Magette is a native of
Woodland and was a ’53 honor grad
uate of the W. S. Creecy High School,
Rich Square, North Carolina. She was
the valedictorian of her class. Marie
Riddick, also an honor graduate, com-
Ijleted her high school courses in 1953
at the W. S. Etheridge High School,
Windsor, North Carolina, as salutator-
ian. Marva Thomas was grauated from
the Attuks High School, Venita, Ok--
lahoma; she was also salutatorian of
the class of ’53.
The new members have expressed
pleasure in being elected to Alpha
Kappa Mu and also the anticipation
that it will stimulate higher endea
vors.