Newspapers / Johnson C. Smith University … / Feb. 1, 1929, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page Four THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A COL LEGE MAN AND HIS ALMA MATER. I detest a shallow grumbler who con tinually finds fault, and through lack of manhood, fears to present the facts to the administration. That type of student is one who either does not know the ori gin of the property id’fe or has allowed facts to glide away, thereby forgetting to weigh matters in the light of their truest values. Our instincts lead us to fight for that which is ours. The property idea arises out of the protective instinct of the spe cies. The college man has property rights in his Alma Mater. He has the class room where he may excel, debating teams. Lit erary Societies, Fraternities, his good name prestige, and mainly the welfare of the plant. While he gives time to debat ing, his strength to foot ball an dthe va rious other activities with certain joy and satisfaction, his Alma Mater loves him, and point to him with pride; he is a favorite son. But suppose tnat on some intellect ual morn he finds that a bad taste lingers in his mouth over some college or campus irregularity. Is he no less a favorite son? Has this temporary mis-alliance severed all bonds of parental affiliation? Now what are the rights of the college to the student and vice versa? The college has the right to deal with the embryonic mind in its pursuit of intel lectual understanding, and to lead the stu dent to a sympathe'ic acknowledgement of the repellant situation, or it must correct causes of the dissatisfaction. The student should not take the atti tude that a change is the only alternative. He should consider that his love for the school exceeds that of the Professor or any other individual; that if the school grows he also advances. He should give all matters careful consideration and present them to the President with the re quest that they be didved into. With such a plan the student would at least realize that he can be of indispensable value to himself and to his Alma Mater. We need sincerity of purpose. Smith enjoys an enviable position among the colleges of North Carolina, but we can make this “Old Hill” more ideal. \ The Pan-Hellenic Council has a great task It is the duty of every Fraternity man to give his aid to this group. It is *n the making and we must devise ways id means so that the endeavors of these n will bear fruit. We must be assets THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT February, 1929. The University Student (Lux et Veritas.) Published Monthly by the Students of Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N. C. Printed at The University Press. Subscription price: $1.00 per school year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Staff of The University Student: A E. MANLEY, Editor. T. A. LaSaine, Associate Editor and Pub lisher. E. W. JONES, ’31, Business Manager. C. C. DeVANE, ’30, Circulation Manager. T. Jeffers, ’31, Assistant Circulation Man ager. E. E. JONES, ’30, Secretary. PROF. T. S. JACKSON, Treasurer. Reportorial Staff A J. Clement, Jr., ’00, Feature Editor. 0. L. Wilson, ’30, News Editor. L. Summersett, ’30, Sport Editor. Entered as second class matter, December 22, 1926, at the post office at Charlotte, North Carolina, under the Act of March 3, 1879. EDITORIAL COMMENT IVHAT’S WRONG? During the past foot ball season the school spirit as exemplified by the Smith student body was such as would gladden the hearts of the most loyal sons of Smith. And that spirit was not the result of having a team that did not lose a game, was born of having a team which we always believed was fighting every second of every game. That team, our wonder team, lost its first game to Nortn Carolina State, score 13-3. • We said, “We know you can do it, boys; go get ’em.” We talked and sang up spirit and sent our team to beat How ard University. Again the game was lost, score 19-6. The newspapers gave a thrilling account of a fighting team which that time happened to be on the short end of the score. The students read and were happy and satisfied, believing in our team. There followed in rapid order, wins over Shaw and Fayetteville State Normal, a loss to South Carolina State, score 6-0, then a severe beating to Paine, and then the Morehoues game. With the spirit at its highest that day we presented a cheering section that could not be beat en anywhere. We lost a hectic battle, score 19-13. A fighting team lost and we were satisfied. With things going in this fashion we whipped Livingstone College on Thanksgiving Day to enable us to be named the North Carolina Cham pions for the season 1928. Now basket ball is upon the stage. Where is that wonderful spirit which should be its natural heritage from the foot ball season? Why do students give the basket ball players the merry ha! ha! when the team loses to quints showing better form, and with admittedly more experience, and possibly superior coach ing ? Of course, no one raves over a losing team, but our is not a losing team. We have played some of the best teams in the country and have piled up a record, which, is, indeed, a credit to a first year team. Why, then, this backwardness in student support of our team ? One student re marked during a “bull session” that “when the team wins it wins listlessly; when it loses it loses listlessly; it does not seem to care whether we lose or not.” (And I liked his “we lose.’’) The idea seems to be not to perfect the game but to play well enough to be among those who make that trip. The players are not taking the game at all seriously. They do not train; you know they don’t; I know they don’t; and the sad part about it is that the coach knows it and is evidently not enough of a positive factor to enforce rigorous training rules. That is. whv. when I see one of our knights of the cage drop a perfectly good pass and let the ball roll, or after five minutes of play, stand flat-footed and watch an opponent recover one from the back- board for two points. I may be heard to call Chesterfield. I just can not help but “crack.” I have no sympathy for the in dividual who is inclined to be nonchalant when he is representing his school and mine in a basket ball game or any other kind of sport or endeavor of any sort.” Quite a severe arraignment, isn’t it- Somebody looks “tough in there.” Well, we wonder if they do train, if they care; we wonder if they would rather win one game than make that trip so much dis cussed in players’ “bull sessions.” Your writer believes that the attitude of the team toward the sport determines the attitude of the student body toward the game and the team playing that game. Your writer would be very glad to read in the Open Forum some answers' to th“ questions here asked. WHENCE, WHEREFORE, AND WHITHER EXCHANGE The creative work 'of our former “Stu dent Staff” has caused quite a bit of fa vorable comment. The retiring officers exemplified courag':', plus a determination which placed our publication another notch up the rung. These men came up out of the rank and file of some 300 stu dents to put the jcb over. Too much praise can not be given this singular group, who, in spite of the small support given them by the student body, did not become weary during their long term of office. BY WAY OF EXPLANATION Queries have come to members of the staff concerning certain changes in the make-up of the paper. For the re maining issues in this scholastic year there will be no appreciable difference in the form. Beginning next year the staff hopes to make certain changes which will add more glamour to the publication. H. L. Barksdale Life?—What is it? An enigma, a puz zle, a mere existence, a definite purpose, a succession of correlated events, situa tions and activities ? Is it a skein con- controlled by Clotho, guided by one of the muses and subjected to the vagaries of some goddess ? Shakespeare said that life is a stage where each must play his part, and some men in their time play many parts. And men, are they but puppets on a string, a heterogeneous as similation of chessmen, “but” moving shadows that come and go, controlled by the master of the show?” Wherefore man’s existence, his raison d’etre ? For the glorification of a Supreme Being, or to enjoy a lackadaisacal exist ence ? Is he to accept comos and credo as they are, going “like a quarry slave at night scourged to his dungeon?” If each man is master of his fate, should he not question, ponder and try to understand? And understanding, endeavor to justify his existence. Man is a personality, an enti ty, an ego, having “an atmosphere” into which even his Creator does not venture. Being a free, moral agent, he has his op portunity to work out his destiny unmo lested. Yet every thinker recognizes and heeds inhibitions. Should not man justify his creation by seeking the “Summum Bonum” of Life? What is the “Summum Bonum” of Lite? Plato once sought the answer from Soc rates. Socrates’ ansrver may be summed up as unselfish service. But was Socra tes’ answer complete ? Is not each per sonality, each ego to find his own Sum mum Bonum? To one man success; to an other greatness; another, riches. Do these bring happiness ? Is success necessary to greatness ? Croesus, fabulously rich, lamented a sad existence; Hannibal, a, suicide, ranks among the greatest generals; while Alex ander, world conqueror, died unhappy. Is success, then, a myth and happiness its chemical progeny? How then is man to justify his existence ? To find the Sum mum Bonum? Service? Self-emulation ? Then, it is man's duty to serve his fellow- man and with a view to the betterment of posterity. Is he to tolerate the whims of fickle fortune, to be left weary and old with service to the mercy of the I’ude stream; to watch the thingi; lie lirs a lif^’- time to obtain swept ruthlessly away and to rebuild them even wit’.i woia-oiit tcoh’, knowing the end of it all is a hole in the ground and a scratch on a crumbling stone ? Those of us who have read the Febru ary issue of the Crisis have seen Dr. Du Bois’ article on Negro colleges in general and a few of them in particular. Any body who has read the article has made some reaction to it, and either agreed, disagreed, or both agreed and disagreed with the opinions arm conclusions which were so openly expressed. Since it Was the writer’s wish that he might hear of any mistakes that he had made, I would say that the whole article seems to me to be one big mistake, showing a very gross, lack of consideration, tact and diplomacy, There can be no doubt about the fact that everyone has a right to his opinion;, but whether or not he has the right to ex press that opinion is another matter en tirely. Before one openly expresses an opinion of any sort, he should consider whether he is justified in holding that opinion, and whether its expression will be for the best. It was doubtless a great shock to many, to say the least a big sur prise, that such an illustrious person and one who is an acknowledged leader could fail to take these things into considera tion and make a rude blunder that one would expect only from the less cultivat ed. I can only criticise the writer’s opinion in those instances where I know he is un justified and was hasty and illogical in drawing conclusions. He admits that the basis for his conclusions is the brief visits that he paid each of the colleges on his lecture tour. I, for one, keenly resent be ing described as sluggish, lax, and com-^- ' paratively unintelligent merely because I do not give loud applause and undue cred it to an incoherent and ill-delivered lec ture upon some .ague subject that was most distantly connected with the sub ject on which the kcuire was supposed to be. I criticise the writer for being so thoughtless and for showing such lack of tact in offering destructive criticism to very deserving institutions which are making the most of every available re source to educate Negro youth in the best- way possible. No institution has reached the point where no further improvement is possible. To complacently stand by and condemn them for wliat they have not in stead of offering a helping hand toward their advancement is. to me a sure sign ef simpiicily on the part of the- writer. As I have said before, the whole article cccais to me to be one big mistake that with a little thought, could very well have been left unmade. —Myron B. Townes, ’30, in ,'Vtlanta University Scroll. Following a long established custom at Smith the class of ’32 has negotiated with one of the larger Eastern firms to pur chase caps for the incoming Freshmen next year. From a very large and varied numbei' of different styles a committee, composed of Mr. Blue, President of the Freshmen class, and several others made the choice last week and a contract was signed to have the caps here and on sale the first day of registration. The most attractive colors were se lected, the committee choosing a deep green cap with a red bill and a red and white button on the top. A white P with the numerals ’33 will appear on the. front of the top pieces for the unfortunates of next year.
Johnson C. Smith University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 1, 1929, edition 1
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