Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / March 25, 1965, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page Fouf THE TWIO March 25,1965 Challenge '65 Provokes Deep Thinking in Debates, Lectures, Movie By ANNE POOLE If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. John F, Kennedy Inaugural Address January 20, 1961 To begin with, this article is full of comments not of my own making but of the thrust of the key speak ers at tlie Challenge '65 at Wake Forest College held March 11-13. In order to present some of the most controversial points, it is neces sary to be selective; consequently, this report is one which focuses pri marily upon the ideas from the lec tures. Dr. Harold Rhodes, a professor of political science at Wake For est College, introduced the panel Thursday night. In a cursive his torical study he went to the re ligious equality of Roger Williams followed by the political equality of Thomas Jefferson (“all men are created equal."), When Henry George asked, “Doesn’t mankind have equal rights to the natural gifts of life?” Woodrow Wilson an swered, “No, mankind must be able and willing to work. Wc may have an equ;il start, but we must let natural endeavors proceed. The United Slates, according to Rhodes, has emphasized equality since its early I'ouiidation. He posed this question: How may our dream of equality become a reality? The panel then sought to focus upon sociological factors, communica tion’s role, academic processes, and law enforcement's value. Barriers to Equality Dr. Thomas Pettigrew, presently serving as an associate, professor of the Social Psychology Department of Social Relations, Harvard Uni versity, illustrated three structural barriers to equality in the social milieu of the United States. First, landlords who do not repair prop erty are exempted from property tax laws more than those landlords who do repair property. Second, the army provides extra educational programs for candidates who are most likely to succeed. Pettigrew suggests an educational program for those least likely to succeed in or der to help them to improve. Third, the veiled social barrier of the mini mum wage legislation hinders equal ity. The minimum wage legislation does not cover service workers, such as waitresses. Newspaper’s Role C. A. McKnight, editor in chief of the Charloiie Observer, made several observations about the news paper's role in the emerging Negro’s equality. In 1955 he observed two things about the newspaper medi um: 1. The newstory was usually bigger than the arlLcle showed. 2. The minimum coverage was usually unbalanced and distorted. Later he observed the following; 1. Editors failed to grasp the essence of the Brown Decision. 2. Few newspapers developed competent men to cover the stories. 3. Editors feared the reader’s reaction. His conclusion was, '‘Prejudice is the resuh of ig norance and fear, it won’t stand long against the facts.” ‘The trend of newspaper com- munication is more toward the un happy fact that newsmen and cameramen arc becoming partici pants," so McKnight stated. In a fiery eloquence he challenged the group lo “understand better why so many people are poorly equipped to compete in society.” Book Auction Is Successful Deun Pcacock auctions Imnks at Ihe an- nuul English (?lub buuk auctioii in his own unique niuancr. Who’ll give me 254 Who’ll raise it? Who’ll give me 50,^ These were familiar calls last week at the English Club book auction. Chief auctioneer. Dean Peacock, opened the event with such books as Rabbit Run and O Ye Jigs and Juleps. A copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy had an added attraction— Dr. Rose’s sophomore notes on the first page. Later in the evening, Eng lish Club members assisted in auc tioning the books. The book auction is the only profit-making project of the club. Profits go to the sponsorship of Suthi Joseph, a boy in India. Re ceipts this year totaled $63. Present at the auction was Doro thy Merritt, originator .of the book auction. Academic Role Dr. Daisy Balsey, chairman of the English Department of Winston- Salem State College, focused her attention upon the academic role in equality. Usually standard tests are the means to obtain an academic profile of an individual, (n studies of the correlation of the whites and Negroes taking standardized tests, the picture shows a sizable gap. Her questions prick: How can we close the gap? Why does the gap exist in the first place? Her answer pointed to the “quality of experience” as the key “that defines the man,” not the “condition of hair or color of skin.” She said that “any psychologist will tell you that the brain is the same grayish matter in all races.” Negro and Employment Dl George S. Pfaus, New Jersey State Director of the U. S. Employ ment Servicc, discussed the com plaints he receives in the employ ment service. In the past, the complaints focused primarily upon employment and public accommoda tion; however, the complaints of ’65 focus primarily upon housing. 'What does this imply?” he asks. Two observations were made by Dr. Pfaus. First, the Negro as a member of the minority group in New Jersey now has a job “which enables him and his family to seek better housing.” Second, the “psy chological change in the individual attitude shows he desires the kind of housing that his increased earn ings have made possible.” IVll‘rl^(litlI Kiris tind that liie auction is »n way lo build a entertaining experience and an inexpensive personal library. Negro in Missi.ssippi Part of the highlight of Thursday evening appeared as Hodding Car ter 111, editor of the Democratic Times, spoke of Mississippi and the emerging Negro there. He empha sized the following: 1. The Civil Rights Bill has had its effect in Mississippi. 2. The victory of Lyndon John son told Mississippi the United States’ attitude. Some 61 per cent of the nation voted for Johnson while 87 per ccnt of Mississippian votes were for Goldwater. 3. There are fewer economic forces now in Mississippi. Carter, however, in contrast lo favorable development in Missis sippi, illusirated some alarming con cerns in Mississippian development: 1. A Freedom School was burned to the ground. 2. There are some 42 per cent Negro population in Mississippi but only 5 per cent of the Negroes are voting. 3. There is a rising Klu Klux Klan which is violent and danger ous. 4. The White Citizens Council, known as the "responsible racists,” arc applying economic pressure. Civil Rights Bill The concluding lecture of Thurs day evening was led by the witty Ned Kcnworthy, Washington corre- •ipondent lor the New York Times. His dramatic discussion of the Civil Rights Bill inckided such ditties as follows: 1. Mrs. Humphrey to husband before he begins to speak, “Now re member, Daddy, the speech doesn’t have to be eternal to be immortal.” 2. Senator Dierkson to his secre tary: “Every day this office is filled with preachers, rabbis, priests.” 3. Judge Howard Smith spoke of the Civil Rights Bill as “this nefari ous bill.” 4. Dierkson to Senate regarding the Civil Rights Bill: “They are re making America and you won’t like it.” 5. Hubert Humphrey said of Dierkson when Dierkson supported the Civil Rights Bill, “He got re ligion.” 6. Kenworthy ended his address in his usual poetic way. He spoke of the time in history when it may be that “justice rolls down like water and righteousness becomes a mighty stream,” Negro and Ghetto The Friday morning session opened with Dr. Thomas Pettigrew speaking on “The Negro and the Ghetto.” His description of the Negro ghetto included such qualities as under employment, lower I.Q.s, lower incomes, and inferior schools. In describing the plight of the Negro ghetto, Pettigrew included educa tional problems, social psychologi cal problems, and economic prob lems. The educational problems focus upon the disadvantages of the unbalanced schools. “The value of public education is to achieve the dream of equality,” said Dr. Petti grew. Ever since the Gary, Indiana, and Kansas Cily, Missouri, District Court ruling supporting the local school boards’ apathy toward pub lic integration, the American dream of equality has not been realistic in education, so Dr. Pettigrew staled. Dr. Pettigrew also mentioned three social psychological considerations: I . Negroes need to be taught in a kind of society in which we ex pect them to later be performing. 2. The standards of the Negro schools do not meet the standards of the white schools; consequently, the Negro faces a dilemma in higher education. 3. The double voice of society splits the Negro’s intention. He hears on one hand, “Work hard to be a success” and on the other hand, “Know your place.” Pettigrew also elaborated upon the higher process of creativity in education. He emphasized the im portance of “openness to experi ence” of “recognition of personal differences,” of “willingness to be obedient,” and of the “desire for diversity.” His point was this: Segre gated schools are not good psy chologically. Being separate de notes inequality. Following Pettigrew, Nat Hentoff, an expert on jazz, spoke of some of the stereotypes of Negro ghettos. His focus was upon New York. The following facts may be of interest: 1. 01 the 290,000 Negro families in New York, 27 per cent earn less than $3,000 a year and 70 per cent earn less than $6,000 a year. 2. The stereotype idea of “no hope” in the Ghetto is wrong. The Negroes are not a wasteland of peo ple, but a people with a subcuhure — love of jazz, blues, rhythms, hu mor. 3. Some $300,000 is being spent in Harlem to make over one street while only whites are given the jobs on this construction project. Of course, there is a bad school on the corner. Hentoff sees the solution lo the ghetto dilemma in the Negro vote. He recommends “black" political blocks to break the ghetto.” On the immediate scene some ten cities have “community unions” in which people meet and seek to solve im mediate needs and concerns. One problem which faces people is seen in Hcntoff’s statement: “If people are comfortable, they don’t feel what poor people feel.” Unemployment Friday afternoon’s session pre sented statistics on unemployment. Mr, Hobart Taylor, Jr,, a member on the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, introduced the following question: Since automation has increased de mands for skills and decreased jobs available and since the labor force has increased, what are we going to do with the increasing labor force when technology calls for less jobs? Mr. R. A. Whitehorne, the I.B.M.’s representative to the Na tional Urban League, presented a different twist to the assumed “auto mation dilemma.” He said that “lit erally thousands of jobs have been created from computers.” He said that “most people who go into the computer field are college gradu ates.” The job market is expanding, but the requirements are also ex panding. Traditionally few Negroes are entering the hard sciences — physics, engineering, mathematics. Whitethorne concluded his ad dress by describing the function of the computer, “The computer is the tool of man. It may do a job fast, but as a tool it is a follower, not a leader. With the computer we are able to attack jobs we were not able to attack before.” **A Raisin in (he Sun” The session closed Saturday night with the movie, “A Raisin in the Sun.” Such comments as the fol lowing occurred in the movie: “Don’t believe this little plant gets more than a speck of sunlight all day.” “Say after me — In my mother’s house there is still God.” “One for whom food is not enough.” “I see stars I can’t re«ch out and get.” MARS HILL CONFERENCE {Continued from page I) Miss Carolyn Barrington, Mrs. Carolyn Happer, Dr. T. C. Parra- more, and Dr. Frank Grubbs from the history department; and Dr. Leslie Syron and Mr. Vergean Birkin from the sociology department. Several papers were read at the conference, including “The Rela tionship of Geography to Ancient Egyptian Art” by Dr. Lemmon and “An Evaluation of Samuel Gom- pers as a War-Time Labor Leader” by Dr. Grubbs. Dr. Lemmon was also the chairman of a panel titled “The Freshman Survey Course: Problems and Suggestions for Im provements.” KAPPA SIGMA NU (Continued from page I) On several occasions. Dr. Riley has served the U. S. Government. She was a member of the Commis sion of Government Security which was authorized by the 61st Con gress to prepare a survey of se curity practices in this country. She also served on a Civil Defense Ad visory Committee. Dr. Riley is a member of the College English Association, Kappa Delta Pi, a national education hon or society, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Tennessee Folklore Society, and Ihe South At lantic Modern Language Associa tion. The following statement about her chosen profession reveals some thing of the sensitive personality of this distinguished educator: “Teach ing provides a way in which one’s own personality might continue to live, even in the half-recollection of the student. This provides the teacher with an escape from the obliteration that comes for many with death.” On a more personal note. Dr. Riley’s hobbies include keeping house, cooking, and music. She has studied voice, and she has sung in several amateur choral productions in Nashville. At the Kappa Nu Sigma pro gram, Dr. Riley will present a lec ture entitled “The Paradoxical Edu cation of Aphrodite, Ceres, and Minerva.” During the program, ihe old members of Kappa Nu Sigma will tap new associate members from the junior class and recognize Ihe sophomores with the highest scho lastic averages.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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March 25, 1965, edition 1
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