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January 30. 1988 • THE MERCER CLUSTER • 2 Cclitoziatd Journalism Department... ? The nia-d for a stronger depart ment of Journalism cannot be over stated. The Cluster wonders how many students have wanted to en rich their liberul arts backgrounds by taking practical courses in the journalistic arts when upon investi gating what Mercer has to offer have been Bhunned away in disil lusionment. Three courses in basic journalism plus a varied assortment of politi cal science, psychology, economics, and history courses is supposed to give the Meridian a minor in Journalism. An internship in jour nalism, whereby the student gains practical journalistic experience by actually working on a newspaper, is hst(“d in the Mercer catalogue like so many others are; but the course is never taught. Students are told that they can come back during the summer and take the internship program. Why is it not possible to take the journal ism internship during the regular academic year? Granted that future journalists need a broad liberal arts back ground in as many fields as possi ble, we feel that the present minor now offered in journalism leaves much to be desired. More courses in journalism should be offered and full-time instructors should be hired in order to provide the stu dent inten*sted in a journalism ca reer a "real” foundation in this much needed area. Wonderful would be the day when Mercer had a strong journal ism department whereby Mercer’s publications could be run on a full time basis. One might even see the day when our professors could pub Iish their books under the title of MERCER UNIVERSITY PRESS instead of some other university press. The Draft; Defects and Alternatives Who will be drafted . . . . ? Who will serve . . . . ? By Steve Darby The first obvious defect in the present day draft system is that all those desirable for the draft are not going to be drafted. Young men who are not in college and are be- twen the ages of 19 and 20 are turn ed away from jobs because the own er fears that the army may draft him making the time he spent train ing the youth u complete waste. They then spend the rest of their time going from one job to the next until they arc drafted. The second defect is over the question of who will serve. The ma jor pressure has fallen on the low er middle class. This is due to the fact that although they are not in a position to go to college and be de ferred because of their economic background, they have had enough previous education to pass the qualifying test. Attempts have been made to correct this. Graduate school deferments are becoming limited and undergraduate stu dents will be placed in the prime group for induction upon gradua tion. There are a number of alterna tives to the present day draft sys tem. First is the lottery system which although still based on the draft system would make all men of draft age equally available. It al so contains defects common to the present system; poorly trained per sonnel and disavowal of personal freedom. Next is the national service which would give a person the opportuni ty to serve his country in a civilian or military capacity. One could serve his two years for example in the Peace Corps, Project Head start, or, if he chooses, the military. The last alternative is a volun teer army. Through the use of in creased incentives, enlistment would be enticed. The draft would be nec essary only in times of national crisis upon the request of Congress. A volunteer army would allow for a larger amount of personal freedom and while leaving others free from responsibility would not place any pressure specifically on any one group. There are probably many other choices or propositions to the pres ent draft system, but the fact re mains that there are inadequacies in it, und reform or a complete overhaul is imperative. A change must be made to insure against the discrimination of the system and the fear that the draft holds on many young men’s present and fu ture plans. Waver ley Conference Physical Appearance of Campus Will Change In Fall of 1968 (Continued from Page One) Dr. Harris commended the students in their behavior during the Otto incident last spring. He said that there was a great tension across the state, but that tension has abated and the Baptist atti tude has greatly improved in that those across the state are not as suspicious as they used to be. Dr. Harris, further elaborating on the improved cafeteria, said that students should not let things get to the boiling point. It should be caught in its incipient stage. He said, “As I see it, I think that it is a vastly different picture now.” Dr. Harris said that the picture on campus will be different next fall in that the present Physics building will be converted into Math and Eco nomics, Economics Building to Education, Chemis try to Sociology and Psychology and Biology to Music. When asked what changes to expect in the curriculum Dean Garland Taylor stated: “The greatest changes in the curriculum will be in the existing patterns.” The new departments which are now being suggested by some are unrealistic and impractical at tne present time. These departments include a school of medicine, a school of business administration, and a school of domestic sciences. Taylor stated that a four year school of medicine is an unrealistic and reckless proposal which would take as a conservative estimate an endowment of $25 million. The school of business administration is impossible at this time because of Mercer’s em phasis on liberal arts. Dean Taylor responded when asked about a stronger journalism department at Mercer, “The curriculum committee has spent no less than 36 hours discussing this problem. It is unlikely that a major in journalism will be offered in the near future, but there are definite plans for strengthen ing the present minor.” Students at the conference expressed concern over Mercer losing several of its faculty members. Dean Taylor responded by saying, “We are inter viewing people every week.” When asked about the loss of the speech and drama department, Dean Taylor said, “There has been progress made in acquiring people.” Ok, 1 dunrie. X flunk lls jus! t*r<e4fit.r clouJbursi. Letters to the Editor Letten to the Editon arm wet. corned from all interested partial. They should be limited to 20| words and are subject to standard editing procedures. Unsigned letter) will not be printed. Dear Editor, At the Wavejjy Conference lad June there were many question raiaed about the possibility of food service at Mercer. Three com- paniee had aurveyed Mercer’s prob lem and made tentative bida. Then seined to be one major problem, however, in securing the services of a caterer—there was no way, under the existing policy of student meal ticket buying, to guarantee a suffi cient number of consumers. There fore, notices were sent last July- under a great many impression that we were to have a catering ser vice by September—stating tiiai meal tickets must be bought Fall Quarter. Alleluia! Look at the carpets, the striking mural, decorous walls, cam- ouflaged conveyer belt—no com plaints here! Even the food is of a much better and varied nature. The attraction are many; the represen tation of them seems to be a facade. Why was it necessary for us to buy meal tickets when the school de cided to refuse the catering service? Walllll . . . It’d be too late to send more and contradicting notices to tell students they wouldn’t have to buy meal tickets fall quarter. Why just think of the confusion. Poor, helpless, so easily bewildered stu dents. Anyway, we bought them Winter Quarter and it seems as though we mandatorily will in ths Spring. If the product is good enough to sell itself, why make reg- ulations to force it upon the stu dents? Rick Davison Editor The Cluster Mercer University Macon, Georgia Dear Editor: I was shocked to hear that a re- I quest for admission of a Negro] student to the Mercer Indepen dent Men's Association had I cannot imagine how this hap pened, as I understand that ] MIMA's charter states that it open to any male student not member of a fraternity, and lu thermore that MIMA claims to lie ■ | Christian organization. One of my young friends told me, I I'm confident that in another two | years MIMA will be integrated.’’ ANOTHER TWO YEARS? ...II should hope that in another two] years the most tradition-bound fra ternity and sorority on this campta would be integrated, and I should j have thought that the very first] day a Negro student set foot on t campus he would have received as] open invitation to MIMA. I am truly disappointed. Sincerely yours, William L. Easterling Acting Chairman, Department] of Modern Foreign Languages ©je JHercer Cluster EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tom Csuthorn Wright Deris Cartoons , Roger Poston. Haywood Turner Photographer Bob Johnson News Editor Dianne Downer Staff Wardlyn Mills, Dari Ripley, Gary Johnson, Ginny Scherer, Mary Riddle, Carolyn Braun. Anna Dixon Special Correspondent Ed Bacon Faculty Advisors Prof. Anthony Stanafeld. J. O. Paine COPYEDITOR BUSINESS MANAGER MANAGING EDITOR Paul Kirk Bob Lanisr Steve Darby Contributing Editon Becky Sima, Ed Beckwith Bueinees Specialist Christy Tyler Exchange Editor Karen Riven Executive Editor __ Bobby Phillips Sport* Claudia Young. John Kidd, Art Hapner Feature Editor Du Newell Fenton Staff Chris Onto. David Sibley, Don Van Bmkiit Social Editon Lnnsrd Bona, Garni Brace • : - . ■ • ' .- Cadet of the Week James M. Corbitt, son of Mr-1 and Mrs. Newsome Corbitt of con, is cadet of the week in the] Mercer ROTC Jgtallion. Ff Corbitt represent) thd first plab of B Company. He is a Sop ho mo and a graduate of Lanie: School in Macon, where he the rank of first lieutenant and post of platoon leader. SUPPORT THE BEARS