Newspaper Page Text
Page Two
THE MERCER CLUSTER
May 18, 1956
Chapel Program System
Calls For Consideration
Three tines a week, every week, Mer
cer students are required to attend a half-
hour chapel program. On Tuesday the pro
gram runs much the same, announcements,
eh d-chat, and sometimes, student pro
grams. Wednesday’s program’s are the
longest and are usually geared around
religious motives. Finally Friday comes
and the students trudge again to their
thirty minute prison for a guest speaker.
'Many times the speaker has made an ap
pearance in MU’s chapel before, and many
times he has spoken on the same subject.
After each chapel the students pile out
grumbling, “Where did they dig up that
one?”, “When are we going to have a good
chapel program?” The fact that chapel is
disliked is brought out even more clearly
by the absence of the faculty throughout
the week and by the impatient and some
times churlish behavior of the students
themselves. In almost every chapel speak
ers are forced to endure th embarrassment
of looking out into an audience that is
reading newspapers, studying, talking to
their neighbors, passing out food, throwing
airplanes, trying to slip out early, sleeping,
shuffling feet, picking up books, etc. The-*tt
speakers see everything but attentive list
eners. Most of this is of course our fault.
Even though the speakers and programs
are, at times, long and boring we should
act like college students and bear it. But
the chapel situation cannot be blamed en
tirely on the student body. Neither can it
be biamed on the administration or speak
ers. It must be blamed on the program it
self. It is a program that is not wanted
by the students of Mercer. If they were
given a chance they would probably reduce
chapel to one session a week. This may or
may not be the answer but the Cluster
sincerly hopes that the new student-faculty
committee on chapel programs chooses to
recognize the chanel problem as a problem
and will act accordingly.
The answer may be more variety, more
student talent, more preparation on the
speaker’s part, or less chapel programs.
The Cluster does not know the answer and
the Cluster does not offer an answer but
we feel that any part of life at Mercer that
is met with discourtesy, sulleness and rest
lessness must be recognized as a problem
and treated as such.
B. S.
Keep Our Campus Clean
We of the student body at Mercer are
failing in one of our fundamental duties,
that of keeping the campus clean. Many of
us fail to look around for a trash can; we
just throw the trash onto the campus.
Mercer is fortunate in that she is en
dowed with a beautiful campus, and this
year it is even more beautiful. Spring
greenery has covered our campus, but we
are hiding its beauty beneath an ugly scat
tering of litter.
It is up to us, the students, to keep the
campus free of trash. True, it is easier for
a person to just drop a candy paper, crack
er paper, note paper, or even newspaper
instead of walking to the trash can, but this
habit we are developing creates another
job on our campus—a job we should do
ourselves.
Let’s make use of our new trash cans
which are sitting in all the buildings; the
campus is ours and only we can keep it
beautiful.
S. L.
Crossing Street at MEP
Presents Real Danger
“HONK!" “Beep! Beep!” “Screech!”
You dash madly across College Street
in an atmosphere of danger as you risk
your life to make your 8:00 o’clock class.
You wipe .he cold sweat from your fore
head and smile weakly as the cars screech
to a half-stop or plunge onward. You take
a deep breath and rush on to class, leaving
your roommate on the other side of the
steady flow of traffic waiting for a half
safe opportunity to risk her life.
On and on they come—the cars and
trucks and buses. You know that something
needs to be done. No where should such a
menace to the lives of so many people be
allowed to remain without even a stab at
correction. As you stand and wait and
wait, somewhere in the vagueness of your
subconsciousness, enters the idea of dying
a martyr’s death in the traffic, hoping that
by so doing people’s eyes will be opened
to the need.
But is there not some better way? Can
not this hazard be corrected?
Grammar schools have policemen locat
ed in front of the schools to stop the cars
and to help the children across. Junior high
schools have schoolboy patrols. Most high
schools have traffic lights. Some schools
even have speedbreakers in the form of a
raised portion of pavement which causes
th cars to slow down. Others blockade the
street at each end of the school block and
direct traffic around the school. The least
form of protection that any school seems
to offer is a “School Zone—Slow” sign.
Maybe there cannot be a policeman al
ways on duty in front of MEP and maybe
none of these other solutions is the exact
one for Mercer; 1 >ut YOUR life is in danger
and this problen must be corrected.
J. W.
STEED'S
Cluster
Comments
This week’s issue might be called a chapel issue. We are digging
down into the mysteries of Mercer’s chapel program. We want to
know why they are disliked and what can be done to improve them.
I had originally planned to run a poem here but the poem is in a book
and I loaned the book to our Montezuma correspondent, Tina Moore.
Tina is supposed to be writing her column today so naturally she is
playing tennis. The name of the poem is The Chapel Hero and I can’t
remember all of it but the last part goes
“Oh he’s a prince of speakers,
Oh he’s a king of men,
For they gave him thirty minutes
And he finished up in ten.’’
This poem should be very popular with MU students. The speakers
we enjoy the most are the speakers that “finish up in ten.’’ And friend,
you can’t hardly find that kind no more.
Our main problem in chapel is lack of originality. Year after year
we have the same programs, topics, and speakers. A little variety
would help a lot. Cutting the number of chapel programs would help
quite a bit too.
The student response to the program presented by Ben and Sid
Johnson Friday before last indicates that more Mercer talent would be
good material for the chapel sessions.
The faculty realizes the problem and their answer to it is not
attending chapel. The students, because of University regulations,
cannot give the same answer but if the new student-faculty chapel
committee will try to see the problem from the student’s side we will
have better and perhaps fewer chapel programs next year.
• • • •
A wide variety of mail is received by an editor of a campus news
paper. Most of it is thrown away but some of it is very, very important.
Just last week I received, from a Mr. William R. Sullivan of Los Angeles
California, a letter bearing just this message, “Unless something is done
soon to stop the rising Chinese birth rate, in a few years we are going
to be engaged in a war trying to stop them from overrunning all of
Europe.’’ Now as anybody can plainly see this is a problem. I don’t
know just exactly what I can do to stop the rising Chinese birth rate
but I’m going to try. Will you?? I am going to send Mr. Sullivan a
letter and ask just what he suggests that we do.
HERE 'N THERE
WITH
KRISTINA MOORE
Can’t Beat
This Heat
Qfye Mtreer Cluster
MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON! GEORGIA
Hew* Editor -
Aaftoriate Editor
Feature Editor -.
„Jobn Kaufman
Jackie Walters
-Beearly Irrin
Booety Editor — —
Cotutnniat Kristina Moore
Editorialist—Bill Naah, Sarah Lewis
Sports writer*—Alice Porter and Martha Am Abbott
New. writer. Ch.rle» Byrd. Norm,n Burner, Dan Cook, Morton Boyette, utd Marty
Feature writer*- Betty Langford sad Emily
■octet* writer—Mu Willie ■«
This is the time of year when:
You wake up in the morning and say to yourself, “I don’t know
how in the world I’m going to make it through another day of school."
Then somehow you manage to gather your courage, empty the scorpions
out of your sandals and trudge off to first period class. The thermometer
reads 99 at 8:15 in the morning. You have to wear a kerchief to keep
the part in your hair from blistering.
By 9:00 the temperature is still in the hundreds. You stagger down
fourteen flights of circular staircase (with 2-inch steps) and run to the
nearest water fountain. The fountain that through the winter was called
“Old Facefull” now emits little more than a sickly dribble. You squeeze
out a few drops, run them on your burning forehead, and trot out to the
Physical Ed. field for an hour of invigoratin exercise in the fresh air.
After they lower your stretcher in the co-op, you begin to feel a
little more human. Perhaps, you think, you will make it through the
day after all. If only your camel won’t give out again. (They are suppos
ed to be guaranteed for 40 days by Good Housekeeping^aren’t they?)
Then off to class again. The mercury is now soaring well above
boiling point. You Freshmen who don’t think the temperature gets
that high around here juet haven’t been to Mercer summer school. (Or
Spring School fot^hatynatter.j
Luckily, jus^Kou^Bstinj think you’re going to perish from
the heat, a ines around passing out free fans.
(Heaven giey lose that way.)
ir when Seniors start getting feet
iere breakfast, Juna 5th, is going
le slightest turn toward invention
Georgia, please take my advice
me on the project of harnessing
be the best place for a laboratory.
to mova the lab to Gray but Sivana just wouldn’t
who Is or ever has been a member of the Ludowici
Marching Society, the Howdy Doody Club of history
Dr. Glover need apply. (Especially those In History
me up to this.^-
K. M.
Aaaoclata Sport* Ed!
Associate Sport*
Circulation and Excl
Financial Secretary
Jneter Is published weekly, except daring holiday and
periods, by the stndent body of Mercer University,
—-***. nnder the authority of the Stndent Government
w. H la written, edited and pnblished by the nnder-
■todat body of Mercer University. All nncreditod opin-
— the opinions ef theatndent editors, and net neceenarily
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hejaager than M words. Address all letters to: Editor,
Cinstor, Box R. Mercer University, Mason. Georgia.