THE COMPASS
VOLUME 31
THORPE INVITED
ON TRAVEL
SEMINAR
Dr. Marion D, Thorpe,
President of Elizabeth
City State University,has
been invited to represent
the institution on a Tra
vel Seminar in Asia. The
Seminar, sponsored by
The Institute on Man and
Science, is designed to
study the dynamics of
change in the Pacific
East, and will include
other educators, scien
tists, and governmental
leaders.
According to informa
tion from Everett R.Clin-
chy, President of the In
stitute, the group will de
part on March 20, 1970
for various countries in
the Pacific East, and re
turn to the west coast
on April 13.
In his letter of invi
tation to Dr. Thorpe,
President Clinchy stat
ed, “The studies we will
make in education and
science advances....will
serve as a refresher
course for administration
and for teaching.”
Dr. Thorpe, deeply
honored by the invitation,
stated, “I hope that my
very heavy and busy sche
dule of duties and appoint
ments will afford me the
time to take advantage of
this opportunity.”
Other than busying
himself with the admini
stration of ECSU, Dr.
Thorpe also serves the
National Consultant
Teams for the Accredit
ing of Teacher Educa
tion, the Commission on
Colleges and Universi
ties of the Southern As
sociation of Colleges and
Schools, the Education
Commission of the States,
and the North Carolina
Association of Colleges
and Universities.
ELIZABETH CITY. N. C
FEBRUARY, 1970
NUMBER 6
Mayor Lee Joins President and Mrs. Thorpe.
CHAPEL HILL’S MAYOR LEE SPEAKS
The Pan-Hellenic Day
observance at Elizabeth
City State University was
another historic occasion
as the seven Greek Let
ter Organizations brought
the second Negro Mayor
to the campus this month.
Greeted by President
Marion D. Thorpe, pre
sented the key to the city
by Councilman Tye New
ell, and introduced by
Charles Hopkins, Mayor
Howard N. Lee challen
ged the Moore Hall Audi
torium audience with his
projections into the Se
venties.
Bringing greetings
from Chapel Hill, N.C.,
which he called “The
Mind of the South,” Lee
asserted that “Whatever
hope there is for us to
ever fill the need for
Black leadership rest
with the predominantly
black institutions such as
this, and with students
such, as you,”
“For from among you
and out of this institu
tion, I believe will emerge
the kind of leaders who
will not sink into the
cesspools of hatred and
hostility; but the kind of
leaders who will rise a-
bove the quicksands of a-
pathy, sell out-ism, tok
enism, gradualism, and
uncle tomism,” the
speaker felt.
Lee cautioned, “But we
must not let rhetoric dis
place thought and spon-
tanity displace planning.”
After giving an ac
count of the civil rights
movement of the past de
cade, Lee urged, ‘Weare
going through a very im
portant social revolution
in this country which will
and must take full bloom
in the Seventies, and will
continue to expand until
every man is free to
choose his own form of
bondage.”
Although admitting that
America was now divided,
and greatly disturbed
over injustices, conser
vatism, racism, and na
tional priorities, the
Chapel Hill leader still
felt that the division was
“not too Impossible to
mend,” and that “Amer
ica was still worth sav
ing.”
Speaking of Black Po
wer, Lee assured, “ We
will never use our power
to do what our white bro
thers did to us.”
“But we will make sure
that he never does the
same thing to us again,”
he added.
Lee’s formula for po
wer caught the ears of
the ECSU listeners when
he revealed “I long for
the day when we can add
Black Power to White
Power; divide by green
power, multiply by po
litical power; and come
out with democratic peo
ple power.”
He urged his audience
to push on together in the
building of this new race
and nation of men. Fol
lowing a medly of Greek
Songs, and the benediction
by Dr. R. Irvin Boone,
University Minister,
Mayor Lee joined Pres
ident and Mrs, Thorpe in
the receiving line during
the reception in the ban
quet room of the Univer
sity Center.
Dr. Blyden Jackson
Addresses ECSU
Assembly
“In order to talk a-
bout Negro history, you
have to talk about Negro
literature,” So stated Dr,
Blyden Jackson, as he ad
dressed the closing as
sembly program in ob
servance of Negro His
tory Week, Thursday
morning, at Elizabeth
City State University, The
University Choir’s sing
ing of the spiritual, “I’ve
Been ‘Buked,” fitted in
with the deep thoughts be
hind Dr, Jackson’s thesis.
After establishing a
working definition of ‘ ir
ony,” Dr. Jackson, Pro
fessor of English at the
University of North Car
olina at Chapel Hill,spoke
of the words of the Dec
laration of Independence,
the Constitution, and
other documents, as
‘great, grand, and no
ble rhetoric,” the basis
of the “Negro’s external
expectation.”
Telling a story of a
young Negro who, de
spite his pure genius in
playing a violin, was lyn
ched by a mob because
he was seen talking to
a white woman while des-
parately seeking help, the
speaker, the first Negro
Professor to teach at
UNC and an authority on
Afro- American ^ litera
ture, remarked, “He had
hoped that the American
dream applied to him.’
“As his body swung
from the tree on Main
Street, and the wind made
music as it blew through
the branches of the tree,”
the emotional experience
of the irony, “he got his
chance to play his vio
lin,” Dr. Jackson add
ed.
“This irony has meant
that the life and history
of the Negro in America
has not been a life of
action, but one of reac
tion,” he asserted, be
fore describing Negro
literature as “protest lit
erature.”
Despite this irony and
reaction to injustice in A-
merica, “The Negro has
always wanted to live a
positive and constructive
life of action, instead of
one of negative reac
tion,” Dr. Jackson em
phasized.
Following his address,
and in response to a ques
tion from ECSU’s Pres
ident, Dr. Marion D.
Thorpe, Dr, Jackson,who
was honored at a recep
tion the night before,
carefully developed
points to show that be
cause of the “biological,
social , and political
successes of the Negro,
the situation is being
changed.”
Other activities dur
ing the observance of
Negro History Week, pre
ceding the assembly pro
gram, and sponsored by
the Social Science Club,
included: a program of
Negro spirituals, featur
ing four church choirs
from the community; a
public debate involving
students from ECSU and
the College of the Albe
marle; a movie, “Baby
Blues,” featuring Ray
Charles; and films on Ne
gro history.
NEW PROGRAMS
AND POSITIONS
AT ECSU
While still planning for
the academic year 1970-
71 at Elizabeth City State
University, Dr. Marlon
D, Thorpe took time out
to announce some signi
ficant additions to the Un
iversity’s programs and
operation. His announce
ments followed recent
action by the State Board
of Higher Education,
which approved funds to
expand and improve the
present language labora
tory at the University.
Other action by the
state board affecting
Elizabeth City State Un
iversity were as follows:
..Approval of an aca
demic position in busi
ness administration. The
person so employed by EC
SU will teach some cour
ses in business and com
plete the necessary plan
ning for a major in bus
iness administration.
..Approved a faculty
position in foreign lan
guages for the develop
ment of an active minor
in French and the plan
ning for an eventual min
or in Spanish.
.. Authorized the Un
iversity to confer the ba
chelor of science and the
bachelor of arts degrees
in chemistry andmathe-’
matics upon qualified
candidates.
.. Created a staff po
sition in student person
nel service, that being
associate director of stu
dent personnel services-
men. The responsibilities
of the new position are
now being carried out by
a faculty member.
.. Provided additional
funds for supplies, equip
ment, materials, and
other operating expendi
tures.
Announcements were
made earlier of action by
the state board which re
sulted in the approval of
the planned Community
Workshop on Drug Abuse,
and courses in library
science under ECSU’s
library science program.
ECSU Receives Grant
(Picture on page 5)
Elizabeth City State
University has received
a $7,000 grant from the
Southern Education Foun
dation for the establish
ment and operation of its
“Community Art Educa
tion Enrichment Pro
gram.” The action of the
Foundation follows a re
cent visit to Atlanta, Ga.,
by two ECSU students,
who observed a similar
program in operation at
Clark College, and a re
vision of the proposal that
was developed by Dr. Vin
cent de Gregorio, Chair--
man of the Art Depart
ment at the- University;
For ECSU it will be an
expansion of its propos
ed community action pro
ject, and for Dr. de Gre
gorio it was a dream that
came true.
“Since no art educa
tion program of any sig
nificance has ever exist
ed in the school systems
in this community and a-
rea, it has always been
my dream to setup some
thing like this ever since
I first came here,” Dr.
de Gregorio stated. He
has been Chairman of the
Art Department at ECSU
(Continued on page 5)