Newspapers / North Carolina Central University … / Sept. 30, 1960, edition 1 / Page 3
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Friday, September 30, 1960 THE CAMPUS ECHO Page Three Elder Talks To 50th-Year Freshman Class By Alfonso Elder Usually when two people meet for the first time and find out that they are graduates of the same college, almost invari ably the question is asked 5 “When were you there?” The reply generally includes a states ment such as: I was there when Bo and so (some well known, person) was there or I was there when such and such a thing happened. Thus, a point of re-^ ference is established for fur ther conversation. Our freshmen of 1960 occupy Question asked of Freshmen: What do yon think of North Carolina College? Jean Harrington, high school; honor student and Math major from Carthage says; “For the most part I think NCC is a well rounded school. I think the! school is capable of giving all of its students the necessary academic, social and spiritual guidance which goes into the making of a successful student. During my stay here I intend to avail myself of all of these wealthy resources.” Thomas Boyd, honor student from Trenton who plans to ma jor in Physics, is most impressed by the competent staff here at NCC. “I feel that the staff is truly dedicated to the proposi tion of cultivating the minds of its jgt'jdents. My intention is to take advantage of every oppor tunity given me here at NCC in order that I not only better my-> self as a student but for the betterment of the school.” Marion Hilliard, Weldon resi-, dent and General Science major, finds NCC to be one of the finest institutions of learning in the South. The young honor student enjoys the generally pleasant at-, mosphere of the school. She would advise any high school graduate to enroll at NCC be- (continued on page 11) an enviable position in that they can always say: “I was a freshn man when the College cele brated its 50th anniversary.” This year will be one of the greatest years in our history. Many persons of distinction will come to our campus to partici pate in our 50th birthday cele-i bration on November 9-12. We will be honored by their pre sence. We are honored now by the presence of our freshmen and other students because the ultimate glory and prestige of the College will depend upon the quality of their achieve ment. So, this year, our 50th year, assumes great importance as a point of reference. The use of points of reference is quite common and there are many different kinds of pointsi of reference. -For example, in( traveling, if we wish to know how far we are from our desti nation, we first refer to wher0 we are at the time of the in- quiry. When we are young, we. use our parents as points of re ference in that we often make decisions regarding our actions' on the basis of our knowledgel of "what we know they wtWi think about our behavior. There are certain widely ac cepted points iOf reference! among cultured people. For ex ample, there are certain ac cepted attitudes toward cour tesy, cleanliness, the need for law and order, and the impor tance of education. There are certain points of reference; which are basic to American, democracy; for example, our> concept of justice, respect foi^' the dignity of human beings, and our belief in the wisdom oi! equality of opportunity. During the last school year, as you know, many college stu-i dents throughout the country engaged in what has becomei known as “sit-in demonstra-t tions.” In doing this they added; a new dimension to the concept of human rights. Their claim was that the Negro should be included when we arrange for the comfort and convenience of human beings. The justice of their cause was widely accepted as- evidenced by the many localities in which, the students won the rights on which they insisted. They did not win this respect wholly be cause there are people who be lieve that the principle of re spect is just and right, although there are many such p>eople. Neither did they win entirely, because business concerns were losing money by the economic' boycott; yet, the economic factor! was an important one. Much of their success - and I am sure of this because of my association with our local Committee on Human Relations - was due to the fact that the young people who participated in the move ment demonstrated that they deserved the respect whi,ch they sought. They were intelligent about what they did; they were peaceful and orderly; thej^j looked and spoke well. In short, they commanded by their own behavior the respect which they sought. Somehow, these young' people themselves linderstood that a powerful factor in gain-i ing the respect to which one is entitled is to demonstrate that one is worthy of that respect. The argument that legislation id extremely important in securing! human rights does not destroy! the validity and importance of readiness to engage in the hu man right that is sought with competence and understanding. The students deserve grea? praise for their achievement in this area of social action. What is next, shall we ask? A pro-i posal seems to be in order andj I should like to make one. It seems to me that we are now ready for a concerted demon stration in order to attain a new kind of respect. I have reference to a quality of respect which we at North Carolina College have a large share of the responsi-( bility for attaining. This respect to w;hich I refer is the respect for a person as a scholar. It should be said here because it is true that the Negro is ad mired and respected for many admirable qualities but unfor tunately scholarship is not one of these qualities. There are notable exceptions, of course, but it can be said without fear of contradiction that there has not been a mass movement on the part of Negro students as a group to demonstrate that they deserve high praise for their in tellectual effort and attainment. Let it be understood that re-i spect as a scholar is not some thing that can be gained by parades or public speeches. It is not something that can be legis lated and then be said from then on that it is so. This respect is| of the kind that must be won by students and by them alone. So my young friends, my sugges tion to those who are imbued with the idea of adding new dimensions to the concept of respect for human beings, is that no more fruitful demonstration can be engaged in and no morej promising activity can be under taken as a mass movement than that of establishing by intellec tual effort and achievement our worthiness of respect as scho lars. Freshmen and new students, would it not be wonderful to be able to say throughout your adult life: “I was there when it happened and I helped to make it happen”? You have my best wishes for your success and happiness. Serve Pepsi in the new sociable botte Salem refreshes your taste —§lr"Softens''every puff m Created by R. J. Beyoolds x»bacco Company • menthol fresh • rich tobacco taste • modern fitter, too Yes, the soft, cool smoke of Salem refreshes your taste and Salem’s special High Porosity paper “air- softens” every puff. Get acquainted with the spring time-fresh smoke of Salem and its rich tobacco taste. Smoke refreshed ... smoke Salem! Roving Reporter By ^arrlison Willonghby
North Carolina Central University Student Newspaper
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Sept. 30, 1960, edition 1
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