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ALLEN GUNTER
Editor
Forum
Charles Smith, assistant dean of student services, who
has often been taken to task for his handling of outdoor
concert policy, is making plans now for a different, and
better, approach to student problems and perspectives.
Mr. Smith is forming what he calls a “forum of campus
organizations.” The idea is to bring together represen
tatives and leaders from campus organizations in a com
mon-ground meeting with campus administrators.
The first forum meetingTias already been arranged with
President Pafford, Vice President Martin, and other ad
ministrators agreeing to meet with students. The ad
ministrative turnout should be impressive. We urge an
equally impressive showing by students.
We have to discount fears that such a meeting will bring
trouble. In fact, a forum like this should alleviate a lot of the
trouble and ill will that is often experienced.
This time, Mr. Smith’s idea deserves credit as a very
positive step toward student and administrative dialogue.
We see it as a better approach by administrators. And a
better chance for students.
Search Committee
Dr. Donald Wells, chairman of the advisory search
committee which will locate anew president for West
Georgia, has expressed his desire to receive student input in
the selection.
He wants students to submit suggestions for the com
mittee to consider. He has said simply that any suggestion
can be made to him in the form of a letter, preferably ac
companied by a reason for the recommendation.
This is a good idea.
Dr. Wells said he and the committee are going to study
each candidate, and give each thoughtful consideration. He
sounds like he has an open mind, something that is going to
be needed by all committee members in the months to
come.
We think the committee has gotten off to a good start by
making the fact publicly known, that anyone can recom
mend a candidate, and anyone’s recommendation will be
considered.
Charles Autrey
Real Trouble With ‘Tahiti’
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Campus events of the past two
weeks indicate that even though
the school is funded by the state
and the student body for the
education and nurture of its
students, it is often those same
students whom the ad
ministration places at the
bottom of its priorities.
At the performance of
“Godspell” and the second
presentation of “Trouble in
Tahiti.” students found out how
little control they have over
events funded by their activitiy
fees.
At “Godspell,” students were
turned away from the door
while residents of the outside
community were allowed to
watch free of charge. This
opening up of campus per
formances was obviously a
well-intented move to involve
the community in college ac
tivities, but it left many
students angry and frustrated.
(m
At the Thursday night per
formance of “Trouble in
Tahiti,” the situaton was
considerably uglier. Students
who had shown up as much as
an hour and a half before show
time were told they would not be
seated until all the card
carrying members of the
Georgia Music Teachers
Association had been seated.
Most of the members were
seated approximately five
minutes before show time, but
three students locked arms at
the door and refused to let any
more GMTA members pass
when they realized that the
teachers were going to occupy
most, if not all, of the seats.
The situation got quite tense,
and several of the stranded
GMTA members threatened to
call the police. The per
formance was delayed until
President Pafford and his en
tourage arrived and told the
LARKY SMITH
Managing
Editor
WASHINGTON - Our
White House sources tell us
regretfully that President
Ford is mismanaging the
economy worse than former
President Nixon did during
the Watergate crisis. There is
confusion in the White House,
they say, over how to cope
with economic problems.
The President is still insist
ing that inflation is the na
tion’s number one problem
The measures he has adopted
to fight inflation, meanwhile.
Carey Smith
Jftj
Gobbled up by the steel in
dustry, and by electrical power
plants across the country at
phenomenal rates, coal is an
essential commodity to the
prosperity of the United States.
Our country depends on steel. It was built by
steel. Look around and notice everything that is
made of the mixture of iron and carbon. Your
kitchen utensils, your automobile, buildings; the
list is endless. Think what a halt in the produc
tion of automobiles would do to millions of
workers involved in their manufacturing, sales
and servicing.
Suddenly, the unemployment rate would be
staggering. And it would be because steel
workers couldn’t manufacture that commodity
due to a coal miners’ strike.
Yes, the steel industry is a very important
business. But perhaps even more important, is
the production of electricity.
An essential part of the American way of life,
electricity has been taken for granted.
This nation depends on electricity to type it’s
letters, can it’s food, and open those cans.
Business is obviously dependent on electrical
power. In a normal day of business, lights are
constantly turned on and off, electric typewriters
type countless letters, and Xerox machines
make mass reproductions of forms and papers
possible. They rely on electric power, and if this
power is stopped, can America weather this
electrical storm, already weakened by inflation
and recession? Business activities would come to
a standstill, along with it, the stock market.
%
students to step aside. They did.
After the Pafford group and
the GMTA people were seated,
students were allowed to fill the
few remaining seats. There was
the inevitable, senseless crush
at the door and those who were
nearest the entrance got
knocked over, bruised and
battered. While it was a bad
scene for ail concerned, the
cast of “Tahiti” should be
applauded for putting on a fine
performance in spite of the
circumstances.
Both of these incidences could
have been avoided if the ad
ministration had remembered
who paid the bills for these
performances. “Godspell” and
“Trouble in Tahiti” were
financed by student acvitity
fees. Therefore, no matter what
President Pafford may think of
the student body, they are the
people who should be allowed
first admission to events
financed by their own money.
A No Coal Economy?
Jack Anderson
Ford Men Botch Economy
are pushing the nation into a
recession, and this, many
economists believe, has
become the number-one
problem
There is now evidence that
the President got his eco
nomic wires crossed. White
House insiders say his eco
nomic advisers delivered a
confidential forecast to him
several weeks ago that
unemployment would hit 7
per cent next year. This
would be a sure sign of a
recession.
But their confidential pre
diction never reached the
Economic Policy Board
while it was working out the
President’s economic pro
gram.
This board is the nation s
top economic policymaking
group. Yet its members went
ahead with a plan to fight in
flation unaware that the
President's economic ad
visers, in effect, expected a
recession.
Thus, an increasing num
ber of economists believe the
President is fighting the
wrong economic war with
the wrong weapons at the
w rong time.
War Drums: Once again,
the Middle East tinderbox is
threatening to explode into
flames.
The Arab nations have
formally- designated the
Palestinian Liberation
Organization as the bargain
ing body for all Palestinians.
But the Israelis, who regard
the PLO as a terrorist group,
swear they won’t negotiate
with them. The only alterna
tive. it appears, is war.
Already, the two sides are
preparing for battle; Russia is
pouring armaments into
Syria. The Israelis are
clamoring for rush deliveries
So, the coal miners’ strike should be taken
very seriously. And not just by those 120,0u0
miners out of work.
Somehow a contract settlemeni must be
reached. But still, the ratification process for a
new contract or an amended contract will take at
least 10 days.
In those 10 days, railworkers will be idle.
Already Penn Central Railroad has dismissed
1500 workers. Other railroads are expected to
follow suit in the next few days.
U.S. Steel is expected to lay off 13,700 em
ployees Not only will the miners’ families have a
depressing Christmas, the strike means many
steel workers and railroad employees will be
faced with holiday debts too, or else they will
have to celebrate later.
How much later is the question. How long can
the hundreds of thousands out of work with no
other source of income survive the high cost of
living? How long can this nation, so dependent on
coal and increasingly expensive imported oil,
continue to guarantee some source of livelihood
for its citizens?
The coal strike is indeed very serious. I have
read that government action to control miners
and their powerful union would be the key.
I just hope that somehow a settlement can be
reached, and soon. Christmas may be dark for
everyone; not only miners, railroad men, and
steel workers.
of U.S. arms, including
sophisticated missiles.
This has led intelligence
analysts to believe the
Israelis may even be plan
ning a preemptive strike
against the Arabs. The
Israelis reportedly expect
Egypt and Syria to launch
long-range, ground-to
ground missiles at cities. To
prevent this, they may decide
to launch their missiles first.
Intelligence experts fear
this would be the first step
toward a nuclear exchange.
As we reported several years
ago. the Israelis already
possess nuclear weapons. And
the Egyptians have been pro
mised a nuclear reactor from
the United States.
The CIA has also picked up
hints that India may provide
the Syrians with a nuclear
reactor The deal was struck,
according to intelligence re
ports. when the Indian
defense minister visited
Damascus in late September.
The Middle East, clearly,
has become the most danger
ous spot on the map.
Ford to Quit?: Sources
close to Gerald Ford now
believe he will not try to stay
in the White House after 1976.
The reasons are both per
sonal and political. The pri
mary reason, of course, is his
wife’s poor health. Betty
Ford, even before her breast
surgery, had been urging her
husband to retire from
politics.
Friends say that Ford de
pends heavily on his wife for
advice. He has
sorely missed her views dur
ing her illness. If she now'
asks him to step down, he
probably would do so.