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October 13, 1987
THE MERCER CLUSTER
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Who Pays The Difference?
Leal week we aaked the question:
who is going to pay the difference
in the cost of total private financ
ing of the Science Center, as op
posed to financing approximately
one-third by means of a federal
loan. We wanted to know if the stu
dent would be required to finance
through increased tuition a higher
interest rate from a non-public
source in order to maintain the tra
ditional Baptist conception of sep
aration of Church and State.
The answer has been provided. A
federal loan, available at three per
cent interest, would be paid off in
1979 with total interest charges of
$115,164. A private loan of six per
cent interest would be paid off in
1985 with total interest charges of
$409,426. Indeed, a portion of this
difference will be paid by the stu
dent As a part of the projected
plan of repayment of the loan,
whether obtained from public or
private sources, ten dollars of each
student tuition check since Sep
tember, 1966 is being tagged for this
purpose. If a federal loan were ob
tained the obligation would end in
1979, but with a private loan it will
continue through 1985. This means
that the students attending Mercer
between 1979 and 1985 will be com
mitted to pay an additional $294,271
in interest charges, if the loan is ob
tained from private sources.
The price of education must be
paid, no matter how high, and un
doubtedly an “extra ten dollars”
will be added to tuition costs sev
eral times by 1979. We are not par
ticularly concerned with an isolated
instance of “ten dollars” but rather
with the fact that it could be better
spent for other things. The idea
of total separation becomes debat
able when one realizes that it is in
the common interest of both Church
and State to nourish the growth of
knowledge and ideas to a full level
of excellence, for the harvest will
be reaped by the non-believer as
well as the Christian, by the State
just as surely as the Church. Edu
cation is a primary key to the very
survival of both, hence an area
where an interrelation between
Church and State cannot be dis
claimed. In recent years Govern
ment has recognized and acknowl
edged that an unprecedented crisis
in education is upon us; it is time
for the Church to do the same, and
to realize that it is possible to meet
this crisis by a joint effort in which
the identity of neither Church nor
State is lost or blemished.
The demands on education that
are inevitably approaching will re
quire a rising expenditure of oper
ating and capital funds. The burden
cannot be borne entirely by the
Baptist constituency and the stu
dent. The importance of this mis
sion warrants—and will necessitate
—support from many and diverse
sources.
We add our endorsement to an
official Baptist approach to the
problem, an approach that may
prove to be a significant step to
ward solution. The Education Com
mission of the Southern Baptist
Convention has recently completed
a two-year study of various prob
lems confronting Baptist colleges.
In the area of finances it was as
serted that if Baptists do not pro
vide through the churches, adequate
financing for the colleges, the con
ventions ot their trustees will be
faced with the alternatives of clos
ing certain colleges, finding new
revenue sources, imposing limita
tions on curriculum and enroll
ment, effecting consolidation or
functional affiliation with other
colleges, or “release certain colleges
from denominational affiliation
with freedom to seek other sources
of financial support and sponsor
ship.”
Some of these choices may seem
drastic; but then the problems are
drastic, and indifference will only
give them time to multiply. Now
that the possible solutions have
been delineated work must begin.
The student of the 1980’s will be
busy with other things; we must
consider the problem our own.
STEVE WRIGHT ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■^
Computerized Scholarships
Each year over 1% million college students seek financial assistance in the form of scholar
ships. Although many new areas of aid develop yearly, thousands of qualified students are
overlooked. Usually because they don’t know for which grants they should apply, whether
certain grants exist, or they possibly can’t apply for the millions of grants available. And until
recently, no central listing of financial aid has been available to the student. This has left him
with a costly and time-consuming task of researching huge amounts of material for the type of
aid that would suit him best.
Exchange Corner
BY RUSS DRUMMOND
Auburn Univarsity May Consider Fall Registration
By Mail (from The AUBURN PLAINSMAN)
(from The AUBURN PLAINSMAN)
. An Auburn offcial said recently that the posaibility of
future mail-out registration for Fall quarter will be “explored
fully.” Other University officials termed this year’s registration
as “pathetic and deplorable.” If the mail-out system were put
into effect, the students would receive schedules of their
ASSIGNED courses and would need only to verify by mail if
they were planning to return to school.
(from GRAMMA, official organ of the central committee of the
communist party of Cuba.)
In CUBA: 70,000 youths will be working in agriculture
and construction by the end of the year. These youths are
Mobilized (DRAFTED) into the youth armies as a labor force.
The draftees serve for a required period of two years. Their
futures have already been planned. They are not free to set up
a business or run for a political office. The state has already
designated their futures. THIS IS COMMUNISM!
UF Students Took Drugs
(from The FLORIDA ALLIGATOR)
UF campus police reported that three UF students caught
possessing marijuana are now undergoing psychiatric treat
ment.
While reading The FLORIDA ALLIGATOR this past
weak, I ran across a series of four cartoons concerning “peace
nik” signs. Hie first read, “1965, Mr. President: Get out of
Viet Nam;” the second read, “1975, End War Pull U. S. Troops
out of Phillipines;” the third reed, “1985, Shame! Why are our
GX’s Dying in Hawaii?;” and the last read, “1995, Peace Get
out of California.”
/ have been told that I must cease parking on the gress
beside the Freshmen Women’s Derm. It is illegal.
Now, North American Educa
tional Computer Services, Inc. of
Princeton, N. J. has developed a
unique system, which will help an
individual student choose the best
scholarship program. ECS has pro
grammed a high-speed digital com
puter with detailed facts about more
than 700,000 scholarships grant, and
aid services that are located around
the country.
“According to Mr. David Christ
man, President of ECS, the com
puter's memory bank has over $600
million in scholarships, grants-in-
aid, and fellowships available from
colleges, universities, foundations,
professional, business, social, civic,
trade and labor organizations, cor
porations, religious organizations,
and federal, state and local govern
ments all over the country. Not all
items are dependent on high scho
lastic standing or on financial need,
but upon various other qualifica
tions established by the donors.”
It has the names and addresses
of these services as well as specific
requirements for obtaining their
aid. The student fills out a profile
questionnaire that has necessary in
formation about his background
and future plana. This card is fed
to the computer, which, in a matter
of seconds, checks the applicant's
qualifications against the 700,000
financial services open to h««» Af
ter selecting the best possible pro
grams for the individual, it types
him a confidential letter, giving the
name, address, details, and re
quirements, of the aid for which he
is qualified. The entire cost to the
student for the service is $16.
“The ECS service,” Mr. Chriet-
man added, “which is baig mads
available nationally, represents
mors than two years of study and
research by experts in the sdnca-
tional-guidance and date-process
ing fields”
LARRY FINKELSTEIN
The Trouble With Parties
The modern Mercerian was first
plunged into political chaos in 1966.
At that time, the newly elected
S.G.A president, Bev Bates, de
clared the abolition of political par
ties for the purpose of instilling a
more competitive spirit into student
elections. The purported justifi
cation of such action was the sup
posed limitation of the number of
candidates per office imposed by
the competing political parties. It
was further argued that both exist
ing political parties were largely
controlled by various fratemitiss.
Now, it should be obvious to even
the most casual observer, that that
which was meant to be destroyed,
has flourished beyond reason. For
rather than instill a more competi
tive spirit into student elections, it
has destroyed the very machinery
with which student interest had for
merly been maintained; and rather
than destroy the enormous influ
ence previously enjoyed by frater
nal organizations, it has served to
reward those very fratemitiss by
consecrating them as the only exist
ing formal organizations capable of
providing campaign funds and sup
port to prospective candidates from
within their own ranks. Let us ex
amine the situation more closely.
Under the present system of po
litical chaos, any student may en
ter an election by paying the regis
tration fee of one dollar. He must
then independently form an ad hoc
committee to forward his campaign
to the student body through costly
and exhausting methods which must
be reformulated for each candidate
in every election. So immediately
we recognize two outstanding prob
lems faced by each individual cat
didate in an election. First, he mu
establish an immediate organix
tion through which be may coma
a desired image; and secondly,
must independently finance
entire campaign. Practically sped
ing, therefore, it now becomes o|
vious why a politician must fkx
to a fraternity or sorority.
It provides a well establish)
committee capable of supports
a politics lcandidate both manual
and financially. Hence, rath
than a two party system, we no
have a fifteen party system,
eluding a large portion of the ft
dent body not affiliated with f>
ternal organizations. And parhq
even more significant, we no long
have two wel qualified opponea
competing for a single position, l
now have fifteen opponents wi
varying qualifications comped]
for the opportunity to compete I
one position. In other words, nth
than a heated battle for a fhial p
sition, there exists a mildly chaot
primary in which most of the at
dent body’s energies and intern
are burned out, thus leaving the
al combatants amidst a rather apt
the tic electorate, whereas, under
two party system the energies
enthusiasm of die electorate won
have been applied strictly to
decisive battle rather than to an
necessary engagement or aUimid
In summary, then, we have aa
that the abolition of political js
ties for teh supposed increase
student enthusiasm end decrease
fraternal organisational influaa
has furthered the very evils wbk
it set out to destroy.
tEJje (JHarcer Cluster
October 13, 1987
Volume XL IX, No. 4
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Tom (keens
BUSINESS MANAGER
Bob Lanier
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Wright Davis
MANAGING EDITOR
Stone Wright
_ Becky Sims, Ed Beckwith
Christy Tjdn
BB1 Dayton, Bobby
Art
Karen Rivers, MUtoo Moore, Clyde
Jndy White, Steve Darby, Reger Ball. Raid
Wmnflya MBs. Deri Ripley, CM* CM*
Qhmy
BIO Wahnnt, Ed
Opao For
Prof- Anthony WtseriiM, J. Ot