Equality Ut Admissions
Favored In 24-0 Vote
BY MARTHA JESTER
Record Correspondent
Without a dissenting vote, the Student Legislature at
Woman's College last night adopted a resolution "favoring equality in admission policies and use of facilities to
all students, regardless of race."
Frances Turner, chairman of the^~
body, emphasized that the resolution reflected the opinion of the
legislature and not of the campus
The resolution was presented by
the campus Political Affairs Committee. The spokesman for that
group, Pat Hammond of Charlotte,
said the statement was submitted
for three reasons:
"First, it is legally overdue. Second, it is, in the development of the
Negro, the proper time for integration in our colleges and universities. Third, it is morally right."
The resolution was adopted by a
vote of 24 favoring and none opposing. There were five absten-
Text of the resolution follows:
I -Fact: The 1954-55 rulings of the
| Supreme Court have declared segregation in the public schools unconstitutional.
"Principle: It is believed that desegregation will and should be accomplished, and because it is also
believed that the aim of equal opportunity for all cannot be achieved
under the existing educational sys-
, "Be it resolved that the Legislature of the Woman's College, University of North Carolina go on record as favoring equality in admission policies and use of facilities to
all students, regardless of race."
In a speech supporting the resolution Miss Hammond stated, "This,
is a moderate resolution, and one[|umty ls to fen,y
long overdue. It is not a bill for 1"~" .—*-»-•
immediate integration throughout
the society. It is not a law, legalizing mixed marriage, nor a request
that the students mix socially with
the Negroes. It is simply a statement of the Political Affairs Committee telling the Governor, the
General Assembly, the board of
trustees, the administration and the
faculty that this is where we, the
most directly concerned, stand on
the issue. It is not radical, but
neither is it equivocating."
In expanding her remarks, she
cited the obligations of the students
as citizens to uphold the Supreme
Court decision of May 17, 1954, the
National Students' Association summer resolution advocating integration, the Greensboro District Federal Court fall ruling *hat applications for undergraduate work by
qualified Negroes be processed by
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, and the recent State
Student Legislature's adoption of a
resolution favoring desegregation.
'Time Is Ripe'
"Socially, the time for integration is ripe. Our Tar Heel forefathers were wise in their decision
to adopt a paternalistic policy toward the newly-freed slaves. It
would have been impossible and
cruel to do otherwise. That was almost 100 years, five generations ago.
And today the Negro is ready to
accept his full share of the rights
and responsibilities as members of
the society to which he was long
ago brought in chains." '
Miss Hammond further stated
that "integration is morally right.
Although we today qualify Jefferson's statement that all men are
created equal, we do believe that all
men are created with equal oppor-
'To deny this right to oppor-
dignity of a
large segment of the human race,"
she claimed. "The ruling of the Supreme Court reads like a page of a
sociology textbook. It does not declare segregation unconstitutional
because the physical facilities are
not equal, but because the separation itself is discriminatory. Inferiority is implicit in the refusal
of whites to share their educational
facilities with the Negroes."
In the group discussion which |
followed Miss Hammond cited the
actions of the NAACP as indicative
of the adequate preparation of the
["Negroes to accept equality, and in
answer to a statement that the
NAACP represents an educationally I
qualified minority she replied that |
the Woman's College, if ad"
should be taken, would accept
be concerned with only those -\
were qualified.
Says Colleges First
She also stated the opinion of the
Political Affairs Committee that
colleges should be the first places
of integration because the educated
students would be best able to accept the innovation rationally. This
was in opposition to the opinion that I
integration should begin . in the |
grade schools. "This is an experi-,
ence which the parents should have
before their children are made to I
face it," she stated.
In response to a question about
the social problems which would
develop it was contended that the
resolution under debate was not a
law or definite action, and that
there was no law concerning social acceptance. The position of the
Negro student with regard to sharing the same dormitories with white
students was also considered.
A Senior Class member of the
legislature cited the moral obligation of the students to accept the
ruling, stating that "we hnve no
right to run from a problem whic'u
must be faced."
"As the^Teprescntative body of
the campus we have the responsibility of leading the other students
rather than following the drift of
irrational thinking," stated a junior
representative. A freshman observed that "personal prejudice
seems to be the only consideration,"
and a junior commented that this
was the time to "transcend personal feelings," moving to accept the
le legislature voted to send
copies of the resolution to the college faculty, the North Carolina
General Assembly, and the Board
of Trustees of the University, the
college administration receiving the
resolution according to regular
There were 65 students present
at the regular meeting of the -jrouD.
Of these only 29 voting members
?re present. There are approx-
iately 35 voting members on the
roll. |
Cre<
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