Newspaper Page Text
DECEMBER 3, 1971
Letters To The Editor
Ommission
Daer Editor,
The West Georgia College
Concert Choir with orchestra and
soloists performed Handel’s
Messiah Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 7:30
p.m. at Tabernacle Baptist
Church. In the Nov. 19 issue of the
West Georgian, the calendar of
events did refer to the per
formance in slightly over one line
after the West Georgian was
contacted three times and sup
plied with a printed news release.
Why did the Carroll County
Georgian and even the Atlanta
Journal print articles on a West
Georgia event when the West
Georgian failed to do so?
Performing the Messiah was a
mammoth undertaking. In ad
dition to utilizing a portion of the
much-maligned sls student
activity fee (student money spent
without students being informed
by their student newspaper), the
Fine Arts Department received a
trust fund from the American
Federation of Musicians for the
hiring of a professional or
chestra, which consisted of
members of the Atlanta Sin
fonietta and West Georgia faculty
and students. Guest vocal soloists
for the Messiah have performed
as far away as Italy and with
important groups such as the
New York Metropolitan Opera
Also, the Messiah was performed
in its entirety, a rarity in per
formance and uncommon even
for recordings (the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir omitted por
tions of it.) The Messiah per
formance was the culmination of
several months of direct
preparation (rehearsal and going
through the multitude of
necessary channels to arrange
proper setting up of everything
concerned), and we feel that it
was a significant cultural event
in the life of West Georgia. It is
regrettable that students ap
parently do not share the desire
to change campus life “from the
carnival to the cultural,” as Dean
Stallings said several weeks ago.
After the recent furor over ad
ministrative censorship of the
West Georgian, is it possible that
we are experiencing student
censorship?
Felton Dunn
Stage Manager
West Georgia College Concert
Choir
Editor’s Note There was no
intention not to print the story.
We offer our apologies.
We Have Hope
Dear Editor,
(Responding to Cathy
Crosson’s column in the last issue
of the WEST GEORGIAN)
I shudder to think that
“America’s last best hope” is
gone. God forbid. Is the United
States doomed simply because
Richard Nixon is not as great an
orator or showman as was Robert
Kennedy; because he does not
display his emotions over a
hungry child with as much finess
as did Kennedy?
To state that the hope of an
entire nation rests within the
short life span of one man is an
absurdity. The hope of this
nation, and of any nation, lies in
the hearts and minds of its
people, and in their belief in their
own system of government. A
nation cannot be made great or
built upon the charisma of one
man.
A nation becomes great
through hard work, through the
sweat and tears of many un
noticed men and women, and
through the firm belief that
constructive change can and will
occur within that nation. One
man may gain the spotlight for a
brief time, but glory is fleeting
and shallow where it has not been
substantiated by hard, sincere
work.
I do not mean to imply that
Kennedy was not a good man. I
believe that he was. He offered
this country a fresh look at its
assets and inspired many, many
people through his moving
eloquence. He said a lot and
maybe, given time, he would
have done a lot.
This is not the issue, however.
The issue is Robert Kennedy was
a man who inspired people, not
the “last best hope” of an entire
nation.
To assume that the hope of a
nation, indeed, the last and best
hope, can perish with any single
individual is simply an excuse for
giving up that hope.
I pray that we have not all
given up.
Kathy Ginn
Pafford’s 'OK'
Dear Editor,
I wish to express somewhat
belatedly my sincere personal
thanks for the excellent
responsible coverage of the
inauguration activities on Oct. 29
afforded by your publication in
the issue of Nov. 1. I am grateful
for the reporting, the editorial,
and the pictorial representation
of a significant event of West
Georgia College.
Permit me to add a word of
thanks as well to the very large
number of students who helped in
so many ways to make the
inauguration a success.
Ward Pafford
President
The Review
Dear Editor,
This letter is to take issue with
the review presented last week in
The WEST GEORGIAN on the
production of ‘The Merry Wives
of Windsor.” I saw, what I think,
was the same play on two oc
casions, as an impartial spec
tator. I can’t help but feeling
Cathy Crosson spent more time
thinking up scathing remarks for
her review than enjoying the play
itself.
Granted, there were several
flaws, but on the whole, I was
quite impressed that the players
pulled it off as well as they did. I
would guess Shakespeare is a
rather difficult playwright to do
justice, if in the case (as our
reviewer seems to think) it is an
inferior work because it is not
“Hamlet” or “King Lear.” When
speaking of “inferior” in regard
to Shakespeare, one must ask
“inferior to what?” which brings
us to the question of relevancy.
The purpose of this letter
however is not to argue the
merits of the production, but
rather to question the reviewer’s
standards for the suitability of
certain comedy, or humor for the
so-called “sophisticated” college
audience. Our reviewer seems to
feel that Shakespeare’s humor is
degrading and moronic. In that
case I recommend that she read
the plays of the 17th and 18th
century French and German
classicists who also thought as
she and worked to purge all such
elements and abide by the three
unities. These are always good
for a hearty knee-slap and belly
laugh.
Also to say that by virtue of the
fact that a work is 400 years old
THE WEST GEORGIAN
means that the humor is lost, is,
in a way, forsaking all ideas,
feelings, and emotions of history
except for here and now. Besides,
what kind of humor is relevant to
today anyway? Relevancy begins
with an individual as the focal
point.
Too bad the level of
sophistication of the college
audience is beyond their en
joyment !
Dory Wessinger
R-16 Party
Dear Editor,
A Christmas party in a dorm.
Doesn’t sound very exciting, does
it? Yet someone with a little bit of
sense decided to abandon the old
“cookies and Coke" bit and give
the people what they wanted,
namely a live rock band.
I hope the party at R-16 last
Tuesday night is the start of
something new at West Georgia.
Why can’t this outburst of
goodwill happen more often?
David Wright
Regent's Policy Neglects
Rights Of Prior Defense
BY SUZANNE 8188
The recent suspension of
students by Tracy Stallings, dean
of student affairs, has brought up
questions concerning a student’s
right to due process. Perhaps a
comparison of the present
execution of due process at West
Georgia College and the Harvard
Law Review study of a student’s
rights to due process in the
March, 1968 issue will help clarify
some of these questions.
The Board of Regent’s policy
on the discipline of students
states: “A student in any unit of
the University System of Georgia
who is charged with the violation
of any state or federal law, or
who is indicted for any such of
fense, shall be subject to
suspension pending the outcome
of his trial. Upon conviction,
appropriate disciplinary action
will be taken by the president and
faculty of the institution.”
Dean Stallings said that, in
accordance with this statement,
a student is given written
notification of his suspension and
rights of appeal to the president
of the college. If the action is
appealed the student is im
mediately reinstated and the
president calls a panel of faculty
members who review the case
and send recommendations to the
president. The president then
acts on these recommendations.
If the student is still dissatisfied,
he has the right to appeal directly
to the Board of Regents.
PRIOR DEFENSE
The basic problem with this
type of due process is that the
student is judged by the ad
All material to be
printed as editorials,
columns, or letters to the
editor must be submitted
by 6 p.m. TUESDAY.
Articles may be sent to
Box 5, or put in the box
outside our office.
FRANKLY SPEAKING fay Phil ftonk
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ministration without having a
chance to offer any defense prior
to suspension. The Harvard Law
Review states “The most fund
amental procedure that
students regularly demand is the
right to be forewarned and to be
heard. The necessity for this
right is most obvious where a
factual dispute exists, but even if
the facts are undisputed and the
determination issue is whether
the student’s actions warrant his
expulsion under existing policy or
rules, the student should have
some opportunity to justify his
behavior so that the decision
making tribunal has available
the arguments on both sides and
can form a balanced
judgment.”
The study goes on to state that
“the student’s rights comprehend
notice of the fact that his conduct
can subject him to the sanctions
of suspension and expulsion, a
specification of the charges
against him, an opportunity to
present his case, including
favorable witnesses, and under
some holdings, an opportunity to
confront and cross-examine the
witnesses against him.”
LETTERS POUCY
Hie WEST GEORGIAN welcomes letters from students,
faculty, administraton, alumni, and other interested readers
on topics of general and campus interest.
We ususally receive a large number of letters. We would Uke
to print all letters, but we simply cannot do so because of
space limitations.
Therefore, letters which exceed 14 column inches in length
(500 words of regular type or 700 words of small type) may
not be printed due to lack of space or may need to be edited.
All letters should be typed and double-spaced. The editor
reserves the right to edit to meet space and taste requirements
and to guard against libel.
Letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on
request. Under no circumstances will the identity of the
writer-student, faculty, or administrator be revealed without
the expressed consent of the writer.
PAGE FIVE
PERMANENT RECORD
Probably the most distressing
factor of our college’s non
compliance to this study is that
the suspension of a student, even
if it is later revoked through
appeal, appears on the student’s
permanent record. The record
would, of course, also state that
the suspension was revoked, but
the student’s reputation might
still suffer in future years. If the
college held hearings, this
possible impairment of
reputation would not exist.
The idea that one should be
innocent until proven guilty is
obviously not new. The concept
has merely been doctored
because administrators do not
have the time or facilities
necessary to carry out true due
process. The Student Govern
ment Association and the Student
Judiciary Committee should take
steps to aid aministr*tors in
protecting student rights to due
process by providing a
framework through which a
student can defend himself
before suspension not after.