North Carolina Newspapers

PAGE 2—MARCH, 1968 THE PEN EDirOR-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR FEATURE EDITOR CORRESPONDING EDITOR LITERARY EDITOR Danny Scarborough Dorothy Yates - Roosevelt Moseley Pamela Jones Pamela Brito PHOTOGRAPHER William Carson SPORTS EDITOR Hilton Smith and Edward Gill ADVISORS Mrs. Chapman, Miss Harper, Mr, Allen, Mrs. Reid, Mr, Bradley Our policy is to print the neivs and views of the students. We pledge ourselves to full, fair, and open reporting in regard to all parties. We Are Not TH Mli) The Negro ‘‘Where There Is No Vision, People Perish” The Pen Dear Mr. Editor; Before getting to the main thoughts of this letter, I want to congratulate you and your staff for the spirited eagerly awaited Issues of The Pen that you have published this year. One of the measures of a good college is, I thlnjc, a student newspaper that Is a generative, provocative and constructive force in the life of the college as a whole. There Is a tradi tion In such a newspaper that faculty members inject from time to time their Ideas and concerns as part of a continuing mutual dialogue of campus life exposing them to examina tion by all. It Is In this spirit that I offer a few thoughts that I hope you will see fit to print, ana whlcn i hope may evoke some useful discussion from those Interested In the welfare of the college In general and students In particu lar. My comments are not to be construed as dicta but simply as reflections on both the national student scene and on our scene here at St. Aug. With reference to the national picture, I think the present student unrest and agitation Is part of the antl-ratlonal, antl-lntellectual attitude that has been building up for decades because of the discontent with the failure of the rational and pragmatic leaders of our society - specifically the Bourgeoisie - to deal successfully with the pressing problems of war, racial prejudice, poverty, colonialism, overspeclallzation big ness, religious archaism, and the ever-increasing concentra tion of life of tlie acquisition of objects (materialism) rather than on the improvement of the relatives between human beings. The appalling rate increases In crime, divorce,- alchollsm, racisms, suicide, highway slaughter. Juvenile de linquency, sexual aberration, unemployiiDiiltyaremdlcatlonsof the failures of our practical men of affairs, who tend to deal with day-to-day problems without ever coming to grips with the root (radical) problems of an Industrialized world. What seems In sum, then, to be agitating students is that 2500 years of a commitment to nationality as the method to humans happiness has led after all this time to the creation of a society whose highest values are symbolized by televi sion sets, automobiles, shopping centers, and endless acres of suburban lawns - all green! Since college and universities have long t>een considered our prime Institutions devoted to the principle that rational learn ing is the key to the best possible life any antl-rationallstlc, anti-lntellectual movement or mood is bound to use colleges as prime targets, since they are partners In the Establish ment that has coped unsuccessfully with the Immense prob lems created by a world becoming all the time more popu lated with machines and masses of people. With specific reference to St. Augustine’s College - all the time keeping in mind the larger framework just suggested - I should like to set forth some observations which I hope will lead to worthwhile discussion and action. FIRST: I think we should move to ond the Invidious distinc tions between professors as teachers and the students as learn ers. We are all learners! One human can teach another very little, but they can all help each other learn. We learn by learning not by being taught. One can usually measure the success of a college and the degree of Intellectual and emo tional ferment not by how much teaching Is going on, but by how much learning (especially among the professors) Is going on. Perhaps we need to break entirely the mould of set classes, hours, cr^lts, etc, which are designed by the faculty and ad ministration as a framework within which they teach and students learn. As Jefferson said; "The only truly educated man is the self-educated man.” SECOND: While there are indeed many methods of learning It would be fair to say that as of now and in the forseeable future, the major method is reading. Until a person reads well, he will not read easily and If he does not read easily, he will read little and If he reads little he will learn little. Crash programs are needed. Perhaps a battery of outside profes sional experts should be used. Until this problem Is solved on our campus, there will be little learning, either of facts of about human emotions. THIRD: All learning should have a chance to be articulated, even If It only takes the form of an Interior monologue with oneself. Until articulated, silently or overtly, learning is a dead nothing; and memorized facts that cannot be articulated because they are not understood or are Irrelevant are a fraud. FOURTH: Perhaps we need some course or some type academic experience devised and conducted by students, with those professors who care to - as they should - participating as students themselves (hopefully good students). FIFTH: Perhaps we need to experiment with some pass- fall courses, with no grades given. And It would be worth an try to have a course either with no grades at all, or Just "evaluative grades” that would not go Into the record; or perhaps even so radical an experiment as giving the student a "guaranteed passing grade” at the beginning of a course which goes Into his record and an "evaluative grade” which would let him know the professor’s estimate of his work as reflected in his performances on assignments, tests, and In the classroom discussion, but would not be recorded. SIXTH: Certainly we need to do some extensive experi menting with programmed learning, either used In machine or the special textbooks embodying this method. SEVENTH: It might be well to try so-called T(touch) or I (self) courses In which psychological group dynamics, and religious spiritual exercises are used to help develop great er sensory perceptlves and stimulate the non-cerebral. Ima ginative modes of human awareness. EIGHTH: Perhaps we need a formed or even informed course on Situation Ethics versus Christian Ethics to help us all cope with the Immense attack on our moral sensibilities that Is now here and will continue to Intensify and multiply. NINTH: It would be an excellent experiment to offer courses based solely on reading with no classes, only a final oral and written examination; based for example, on twenty select ed books In a given learning area, areas selected by the stu dents thereby having a real learning experience himself. TENTH: It would surely seem worthwhile to give added emphasis to the expressive, creative use of the body through the arts, crafts, music, dance, sports, etc. Our excessive concentration on spending so much of one’s youth seated at a desk in a classroom, has robbed man of the chances to use his organism In keeping with his maturally-evolved phy sical and artistic expressive talents. ELEVENTH; Effective ways must be found to express a meaningful and relevant Christian faith. I’m afraid that many of the traditional forms are archaic, derived from a La tinized, pre-lndustrlal era, TWELFTH; On the really radical side I should like to see an experiment In which students would be paid for getting good grades. For example, $200 for a "A” In a course; $100 for a "B”, etc. It seems a little Incongruous to have our basic reward system In life based bn money and have students prepare for It with such a nebulous. Intangible thing as getting grades. THIRTEENTH: In these days of the ever-mounting fervor of Afro-Amerlcanlsm and Its related emphasis on the unique ness of being Negro (which means black) perhaps the predomi- n.intly Negro college should become wholly so, especially In Its control, from trustee down through departmental chairman or perhaps even lower, so that If there Is any particular Volk- Dead, Falcons! Against Himself THE INK WELL Who Is Dead? Dear Editor, In the past Issues of the Pen, many students have given the school and the administration a hard time about existing conditions, or promises that are not fulfilled, or “we wants” that we "don’t get,” but nobody has thought to com plain about the students, other than call them dead, or "pick on the Student Council. Is this really fair? How many of us as students are really serious about our complaints, or better still, how many of us are "tad enough” to make an attempt to help our so call ed problems by eliminating some of the thorns in the side of those In charge. By now you’re probably wondering what I’m getting at. Consider our existing dining hall situa tion. There are times when you have to wait In line to get clean sliver or glasses, that is If you aren’t lucky enough to catch your buddy on his way to return his to be washed, or when you have to actually “case the place” In order to find salt-and pepper, or sugar for coffee. There are two ba sic reasons for this. Number one, there aren’t enough of these In the cafeteria to go around, especially during the Tuesday-Thursday rush hours and Sunday. The second rea son Is the answer to the first; they are smuggled out to the dormitories. There’s the in cident about the girl who told the borrower to bring the sugar container back to her table, because she was going to take It back to her room. Better still, there’s the time that there was a "raid” on Atkinson for some stolen ar ticles, after which the direc tor and other members of the search party found approxi mately 15 pieces of equipment not Including that thrown from the windows: These Included plates, sliver, and salt and pepper shakers. We cry about being treat ed like children, and not as responsible adults. Are we ready to be treated as adults. Yes! We are, when It comes to the lighting at the Saturday night social, or golngoff cam pus to see James Brown, but what atiout In the good ole dining hall where we have to be watched like Inmates In or der to Insure our finished plates a safe return to the dish room, I feel really good when I see Mr, Smith or others standing around the wall spy ing on us. Then I know I’ll have a place to sit and a glass to drink out of. The first part of the school year, we the academically - Inclined complained about the library and its Inefficiency. This was good, and Improve ments were made. Mrs. Ir ving and others did a fine job. For what? We’re worse off now than ever before, te- cause we are stealing our library blind. One "brilllkrit” speech student had the auda city to even tear pages from a volume of Britannlca. Are these acts of responsible a- dults. If so, then I’ll re main a child. , . Academic atmosphere In the dormitories is a thing of the past. What ever happened to the quiet hours, 8 p. m. to 7 a. m.? Unless one owns a pair of muted ear plugs, study before mld-nlght Is a thing of the past, I often wonder If there are some sort of psychedelic benefits gained from bouncing a basketball up and down the corridors, or if there are secret contests held to see which student can use the most profound termi nology. To some that I’ve heard, the world’s greatest sailors would run a close fourth, for the group at St. Augustine’s has the first 3 places tied up. I wouldn’t be among one of the first to call this home, but we must consider that, as stu dents, we spend more time In residence here than any other place. So, since we have to spend time here. It’s home, a- way from home. Let’s appre ciate It for those In charge make It better for us. In this Issue of The Pen, there is a letter from our Stu dent Council president de fending the student council. II there are any persons who can defend the students actlonsiof tearing up and stealing books, stealing salt and pepper shak- kers, or raising hell In the dormitories please let me hear from him. Signed: The Anti-Student of St. Augustine’s College geist unique to the people of African ancestry it will have a chance to express Itself fully, although personally I think the contemporary world Is much too complex a cultural mixture to make cultural particularity successful in the long run. But this Is a very knotty problem and needs much more thought and time than we have In this already overlv Ion? letter. ® FOURTEENTH (and finally): Having implied throughout tnat there Is much wrong with traditional modes of college edu cation let me close by noting certain values derived from these tradition modes. Our most successful form of expres sion In recent centuries has been that of science - and In science Is based on rationality not irrationality. Politics and wealth may be short term power, but long term power stems ultimately from knowledge. Knowledge Is exceedingly hard to acquire, requiring endless hours of toll and mental wear and tear. At present there Is no short cut, no gimmicks, and reading Is still the basic Instrument for Its acquisition. And to conclude, the knowledge embraced within the evolu tion of western culture Is not. In spite of some of the obvious moral failures of western people, to be taken lightly. Its scope. Its flexibility, Its Inherent emphasis on progress and the possibility of the betterment of human life offers the very kind of cultural milieu In which cultural diversity is most at home and has the best chance of fulfilling its potential. The Inherent narrowness and stifling nature of all "Isms” stands always In stark contrast to the liberating spirit of the western Idea of progress and Its resultant cultural diversity, the guard ian and progenitor of which should be our Institutions of higher learning. Any goal less than this demeans the stature and potential of the individual human. Colleges should liberate people from all cultishness from all one track conception of life, which always land In disaster for both the cultlst and his victims. "Where there is no vision, the people perish.’^ E. C. SCHWERTMAN PROF. OF HISTORY THE PEN ST. AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE Dear Students, In the January-February is sue of The Pen, a question was asked, *^s the Student Council dead?” Then It went on to say "If so, who do you blame?” Who ever raised that question should come to a Student Coun cil Meeting. Maybe the ques tion should read 'Is the student body dead?” And then "If so, why?” It seems to be more or less of a custom for the students on this campus to pass the buck and demand things for their wel fare. The students demand this and that; left and right. As a result, many of their demands are answered. The only prob lem Is that the Students do not know what to do with what they receive. The school newspap er publishes Black Power con temporary news. This seems to be more of an Interest to the student body than reading about an Art Show on campus. It Is much more Important to party than to voice ones opi nions at a Student Council meet ing, or any other meeting. When things go wrong, everyone Is a pro on the Ex Post Facto Stu dy. But when problems are small we all go Into our In groups with our own Ideologies about the life and love of a College. Our superegos and lack of motivation have failed us as a group. We seem to only live to wait and see what others will do for us. We may at times be of different opinions, but It can be said that we are not at heart on the side of the truth. And the truth Is It’s the Student body that Is running a lost race. It is the Student body who Is dead. How many of you have written your class president lettlnghlm know your point of view? Are W’e Ju^ a mass of matter adding no weight to anything here at St. Augustine’s College? We are the "Mighty Falcons” better look Into a looking-glass and see if you really are a "Mighty Falcon.” Conrad E. Lake Representative to Student Council Freshman Class President. Save Benson The Student Body % Editor of the Pen Fellow Falcons; ^ As a member of the student body at St. Augustine’s Col lege I feel obligated to con form to all of the rules set forth by the college. I am also certain that I do not standalone in this belief. I would like to refer speci fically to the removal of refer ence-only material from the library. By this I mean en cyclopedias periodicals, news papers and all other material designated for use only In the library. This removal of ref erence-only material is both a unwarranted and selfish act. It deprives the remaining student body of critically needed ref erence material and should not be tolerated. I trust that you, as Interest ed students, wUI take the neces sary action. John B. Monroe Your President Dear Editor, President Johnson asks that we be united in support of the Viet Nam war — but will he have us united If we believe that the war is wrong, wrong in every way, a defilement of American goals and of con science? He leads, yes, but In a war to which we gave no mandate. How long can he go this course without our as sent? Perhaps something Is being won on the field of battle, the Viet farmer’s field. But not so in the President’s struggle to persuade us to unite behind him. All that he has to of fer is the same old cold-war rhetoric. President Johnson says that we must defeat the Commu nists in South Viet Nam or face them on another battle field, almost as If Indonesian and Cambodian and Indian and Vietnamese Communists were physically the same people. They are not even politically the same people. Moreover, It Is not at all clear that Communist guerrillas in other Southeast Asian nations, or the oppressed to whom Commu nism may appeal, will be de terred In the slightest by the outcome of the war in Viet Nam. To argue that Is to ignore the real reasons why Com munist gains occur In under developed countries: social injustice, economic Inequali ties, rightest dictatorships. It Is also to Ignore the Impor tant forces of nationalism (with which Com.munlsm of ten seeks to ally Itself). The most important considera tions for Malayan Commu nists, for example, will be for Malaya. Yours truly, A PROTESTOR EXCERPTS FROM A REPORT BY CLEMMONT E. VONTRESS BY LARRY BROWN AND JOHN MONROE Througnoui tue Negro’s stay In America, he has been mis represented, misjudged, and maligned; he has been talked and written about. The growing tendency of the Negro to de valuate self and its far-reach ing repercussions have been almost overlooked. Hehasbeen denied by the dominant group his rightful place In the American stream of life. Never, has the American Ne gro been treated as a person valued as such rather than an instrument, a stepchild of de mocracy. His status in so ciety, even in the North, has shaped his personality. The Negro with his black face and klnkj' hair has been reacted to In varying degrees of horror, disgust, avoidance, indiffer - ence, and toleration. In his relations with whites, he receives an unpleasant Image of himself that eventuates into self devaluation. He, therefore, denies whenever possible not only his background but his race as well. To be taken as an Indian, Oriental, or Mexican Is a compliment. He spends much money and time onmaklnghlm- self look less Negroid. The frantic desire to be something other than American Negro has recently resulted in some A- merlcan Negro women’s as suming coiffures of Africans, since the latter usually receives better treatment in the United States than native Negroes. A few Negro males are also wear ing their hair longer and get ting haircuts less frequently; they use neither promade nor process. Even so, there Is no escape from Identity for the vast majority of American Ne groes. The dominant characteristic of the Negro personality is that of feeling, feeling that he Is inferior, worthless; and since this feeling has been planted in him by the superior group, a paternal figure against whom he cannot relieve his frustration, he must hatehlmself, must pun ish himself and/or others like himself. Thus, there appears In the Negro a personality bent toward self-destruction, both conscious and unconscious. That aggression and destruc tiveness are Innate to the Ne gro Is unacceptable. He be comes pugnacious and destruc tive to others (usually of his own race) and to himself when his Inner nature Is twisted In chains of racial hatred and bi gotry on the outside, he often becomes victim to alcoholic fa talities. Understanding that being a Negro In the American society Is apt to color practically ev ery act and thought of the Negro child is Instrumental In grasp ing the meaning of the Negro against himself. From the earl iest beginnings the Negro child finds himself In a world In which most of the beauty and glory, the heroism and worth are measured by a "white” standard. The child comes to associate his dark skin, broad nose and kinky hair not only with ugli ness but with inferiority as well. This conviction may be rein forced within the Negro group. The darker child In the family often becomes the ugly duck ling, and as a result generally develops accordingly. In Negro organizations spe cial considerations are often given tP lighter Negroes, so that even success within the group may become associated with a lighter skin, diminished Ne groid features, and "good” hair, A vast majority of Negroes have learned who they are and what they are from things which have happened to them. The Negro Is caught up in the white web, a white point of view which has held for so long that anything Negroid Is infer ior, to' be avoided, disliked, or despised. Thus, in a sense the Negro In this kind of en vironment is denying the good ness of himself and is all too often operating to his own dis advantage. Poverty "A dlsmtegratlng neighbor hood and Its social casualties are in every way a burden,” says John W. Gardner, former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Recently Mr. Gardner, one of the most distinguished educa tors in America, resigned from the cabinet In order to head up the Urban Coalition, which Is an ambitious private attempt to attack the poverty problem. "Poverty is not easy to eli minate,” he admitted, and cited the comfortable American who turns his attention away from the other end of towm. SomeA- merlcans prefer to forget that other Americans live in condi tions which breed social Ills. ‘In the case of the Negro (poverty), (Its elimination) Is made harder by the evil of ra cism.” 'T have heard the authentic voices of hatred, and the threats of violence — from white men and black. But those who hate cannot save us; they can only destroy... The Pen.. Change Of Policy The Pen of St. Augustine’s College Is a student publication "of the students, by the students, and for the students.” Yet, some have fall to realize the power of the "Pen.” As a student publication, the school paper requires the aid of everyone Interested In the betterment of the college Discussing an explosive issue in the privacy of Lynch, Baker, Gould, Delany, Tuttle, or Atkinson HaHs is one thing - bringing the issue Into the open - through the medium of the school paper is another. Since October, 1967, The Pen of St. Augustine’s College has campaigned for the following Innovations: Issue: An extension in library hours. Issue; Open stacks. ^ Issue: Freedom with Responsibility and Respectability. Issue; Free use of Alcoholic beverages. Issue: The 90% (them) 10% (us) Policy (against). Issue: A plea for student interest in campus and world affairs. Issue: A plea for a Jazz concert on campus. Issue: A cry for better lyceum participation. Issue: Freedom for Baker Hall girls. Issue: An attack on the business office (the attitudes of some of the secretaries). Issue: Improvements for Hunter Building. Issue: An appeal to apathetic students. Issue; A discontinuation of Senior Comprehensive Examina tions. Issue: A decrease in the ROACH population in Lynch Hall. Issue: Respect for the equipment In Benson Library. Issue: A plea for the "now”, construction of the Student Union Building. Issue: The Dining Hall Thus, the "Pen" needs your help. It is bound by no faction, controlled by no clique, but published in the interest of the students and school. With a limited staff (students seem to think the "Pen” Is a personal problem) the "Pen” struggles to do justice to the students and tries (at time things are pretty rough) to do Justice to the college. BY D. L, S, Falcons.. Let’s Get Ourselves Together (iver S900.000 has been approved for the construction of a Student Onion Building on St. Augustine’s College campus. If the building aids In the formulation of student unity, the development of school spirit,, and a decrease in apathy on the part of all students, the building wUl prove to be a welcomed asset to a "Big Family Society” which is slowly decaying. However, If the building fails in any of the areas mentioned above, the school loses $900,000. By now, it’s a known fact that the school needs every dollar that it can possibly obtain. At other colleges, on both the local and national level, the Student Union Building is the focal point of campus activities. It’s the setting for student council conventions, chamber music, movies which have received critical acclaim, noted authors, poets, and lecturers, attacks on the school paper, jazz concerts, art shows, government officials, and - if you are looking for soul - Aretha Franklin, and Dionne Warwick. The problem which should be of concern to all Falcons Is, "How can I prevent the school from jyastlng $900,000.” D. L. S. Editorials In Brief Return Of May 25th On May 25th, not one, but two weddings will occur In the college chapel, puess who. ^ Malnutrition The Pen of St. Augustine’s College Is suffering from mal nutrition - a lack of student help. Yet, "the struggle (to exist) prevails.” To B. M. Since the **Pen** is a student paper, we will convey the message of B, M. to the student body. B. M. announces that .she .is giving up her good looks for Lent. Something Good About The Cafeteria From The Halls Of Lynch Some students pick up more dirt (gossip) than the bulldozer being used to level the ground for the student union building. Happ mess H^piness was seeing The Pen of St. Augustine’s Col- lege in the Benson Library newspaper rack. **The Pen** Pnl Times” and "The Washington i display carried some type mes- sage? Review Junior: Have you seen the movie, “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?** Senior: No, but I have been to the cafeteria and have heard students talk about *Guess What's Coming to Din ner. Food Line Calling Sophomore: What’s for dinner?” Member of "The Pen” staff; "Name something.” WalJdng Through The Campus BY PETE MORGAN As I stroll through the small but relatively dull St. Augus tine’s campus, a feeling of dis appointment hits me dead In the heart. I was expecting a beau tiful, spacious, well kept cam pus Instead I find an old de crepit school of higher learn ing. For the prices paiu (l,bdd some odd dollars) I think at least we could have heat In the rooms of the boys’ dormitory. From this startling feature, I will start this general look of the school. As you walk from the boys’ dormitory to the lunch room your shoes will be torntc shreads or eaten up by .the rocks and red mud you must walk through. There is nopav ed walk from the t>oys’ dorm to the dining hall. As you reacli the hall you must wait 15 to 20 minutes before you eat a small, cold, under cooked meal served to you ^by the meanest bunch of women on earth. After receiving your meal you must then wait another 10 to 30 min utes for a dirty glass and dirty silverware. After lunch you leave the lunch room and start your walk to class. Now the classrooms are all right except some of those in the Hunter Building. In these dingy, poor ly lighted rooms you must study either cold In winter or too hot In summer. But the exciting feature of St. Augustine’s Is the red tape you must go through to get enrolled. This along with other facets of the schools run ning must be greatly improved. If all these things appeal to you I suggest with no regret that you go to that lovely tun retreat, St. Augustine’s College. Student Protest In the January-February edi tion of "The Pen of St, Augus tine’s College,” the Pen Staff asked the members of the stu dent body to become involved in world affairs and campus events. During the Orangeburg crisis, many of the male stu dents on campus responded to the plea Students from Lynch Hall and Atkinson Hall parti cipated in a silent and orderly protest against the slaying of three Orangeburg -students.