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February 20 IMS
THE MERCER CLUSTER
3*
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Exchange Corner
SUPERDRUNK CONTEST
(From the Florida Alligator:)
by Gene Williams
The originality and genius of the American college student
has triumphed once again, and this tiraj the University of Fla.
takes credit for the victory. In co-operation with Superarunk
magazine, tthe University is sponsoring its first Alcoholic Man
Contest. Representatives are to be chosen from each dormitory
and social organization, and these lucky drunks will be judged
on the basis of-tastes and degree of saturation. Other factors to
be considered are types of liquor used, frequency of drunkeness,
and history of heart trouble.
The alcoholics will be judged by a panel of bartenders, with
the biggest sot attending the national contest and really trying
one on! Winners will receive a fifth of bourbon and an all-ex
pense paid trip to New York, where they will see who can
chug. . . .
■Mercer's Academic Problem
SYNDICATE AT WORK ON FURMAN CAMPUS?
(From the Furman Paladin.)
During the past two weeks, there has been a mysterious
outbreak of cheating, petty larceny, and vandalism at Furman.
Dean Ernest E. Harrill can’t yet decide whether there has been
more cheating or simply greater awareness of it, but the acts
of vandalism nave attained criminal proportions. Three masked
culprits were seen in the office of classical languages before an
exam last week, but these crafty vagrants eluded the relentless
pursuit of several faculty members. The next night, mysterious
events took place in the biology building. It seems that an evil
scheme had been plotted in order to steal tests for the following
day. A most wicked device was discovered at the scene of the
crime — a coathanger, leather strap, and cord designed to open
doors from the inside. Truly the work of a diabolical mind!
Meanwhile, the Honor Council waits in eager anticipation.
Thera is little doubt that we hen
at Meroer at this particular time
are aet apart from all the preceding
part of tine Institution. But if we
are to be aet distinctly in perepec
tive with the other students of “Col
legiate Americana” then we must
be heir to the same academic of
quality which they receive.
Now perhaps we are not experts
on the operation of a university or
on the hundreds of monetary mat
ters and other details that.make it
up, but we are experts on what we
know to be true and whatwe know
to be untrue. If we see our univer
sity continually diasagate for any
reason then we know that “. . .
something is rotten in the state of
Denmark."
We may not be particularly im
pressed with our daily fare of in
tellectual consumption. Some days
this consumption draws to a grind
ing halt When it halts we usually
vegetate and pass the tedious vac
uum without noticing. But after
several quarters of grinding halts
we become very aware of the emp
tiness of a broadening intellectual
experience.
This emptiness does not have to
take place in everyone’s schedule
but it does in many, and seems,
will continue for the bulk of the
students. This emptiness is not a
product of medocre instruction but
is the product of a mediocre atmos-
Letters to the
Editor
Dear Editor:
Gone are the days of yelling,
cheering and school spirit at Mer
cer. Speaking as front row specta
tors of the student body, we have
found that though most Mercerians
profess to love, honor, and cherish
dear old Mercer, they are not will
ing to sacrifice a little of their
sophistocated airs at basketball
games and render a little pep and
enthusiasm that would probably
give the Mercer team more confi
dance.
jt was disgusting to see the at
tendance at the one and only pep
rally a few weeks ago. In the front
ofthe Co-op were the cheerleaders.
Qn one side were most of the Negro
students and the other side was
sparsely scattered with a few cu
riosity seeking whites.
And who are they that display
almost the only enthusiasm and
real at the games? Why they are
the unaffiliates, the outcasts, and
the minority. In other words, they
are the Negroes. Why should they
cheer, only to be stared at and
■nickered at by the rest of those
present? It is because they feel a
certain obligation to, a certain pride
in. and a particular love for Mercer
University.
At most colleges the Homecom
ing Activities are centered around
the basketball or football games
and whether they win or lose. Here
at Mercer we tend to concentrate
on the things which should only add
to the spirit of Homecoming—the
dance and concert. Though the so
rorities and fraternities present dis
plays, there seems to be a prevail
ing attitude of grasping at prestige
for these organizations and not for
the prestige of the whole school.
Though things really did look
dim during the Homecoming Week
end, credit must be given to the
cheerleaders who, though they
seemed to try as hard as they could,
only managed (o exdte the crowd
to the point of one minor chant
during the entire game.
Sincerely,
Mary A. Buckner
urn
The Place of Dissent
in the Modern Society
By Steve Darby
Because of numerous social ills
and international situations, the
place of dissent in our country b««
been questioned. Is it constitutional
or is it seditious? And what about
the participants themselves: what
level of society do they represent?
What is their aim? These are the
questions that must be answered in
order to understand the “why” and
“wherefores” of the protest move
ment.
Freedom of speech was insured to
us by the writers of the Constitu
tion and set forth in the First
Amendment. But the question is to
what bounds does this extend? In
our present state of affairs this has
been defined as to mean anything
pro- or con- that does not breach
the legalities of the law and does
not lend moral aid to the “enemy**.
This means that one can not be a
picketer and a trespasser at the
same time and expect to be free
from arrest. This also means that
they need not be threatened by a
bureau of the government whose
job is to draft young men, not judge
them. It is over this very question
of the interpretation of the first
amendment that Dr. Spock and his
colleagues are being tried. Ware
they within the limits of the consti
tution when they counseled young
men in defying the draft or wm it
treason? It is a matter for the courts
and for the conscience.
“. . . Of the undergraduates ar
rested nearly half (47%) had bet
ter than 3.0 averages; 71% of the
graduate students had averages
above 3.6. Twenty were Phi Beta
Kappa; eight were Woodrow Wil
son fellows; twenty have published
articles in scholarly journals; fifty-
three were National Merit Schol
arship winners; and 280 have re
ceived other academic awards."
This was a report prepared by A
Fact-Finding Committee of Grad
uate Political Scientist on the Free
Speech Movement at Berkeley.
The students were not the only ones
involved. Two hundred faculty
members called a strike in rapport
of the students. Just this past week
a number of students and faculty
at the University of Florida were
arrested for picketing Dow Chemi
cal, the producer of napalm. To the
contrary of the common belief, it is
not always the illiterate and the un
kempt that hold placards.
What is their aim? To Father
Groppi it is equality, to Dr. Spock
it is tranquility and to the student
at college it is maturity. To Fulton
Sheen it is a “new” church and to
the parent it is a “failure to com
municate”. Dissent and the want
for change is a part of every gen
eration, but it depends on how this
voice of discordance is applied and
expressed aa to the final outcome
of an issue.
SUPPORT
THE BEARS
pbew produced by a faculty that is
disturbed to Hs vary roots because
of the lack of positive progress in
academic improvement
The best qualified student possi
ble can be brought to Mercer but
these minds will wither and die if
not nourished by an atxSbsphere
that encqprage more than rote
memorisation.
If the average Mercer student is
asked about this problem, and ha
has been, he will answer that the
problem seems to be money. Now
money teems to be here, in fact the
campue is so well lighted now that
we cannot help but see all the
money. It seems that the budget
could be rearranged so as to ac
commodate more faculty than ex
ternal physical adornments for a
campus that may became ebeurd
if not stocked with the biggest end
best instructors.
As for the atmosphere, it will
improve if the intellectuals are al
lowed to pursue their intellectual
paths rather than worry about
passing up better offers elsewhere
or fretting about problems that are
essentially managerial and not aca
demic. If we could see some pro
gress n the intellectual and of the
university then we Would under
stand the necessity of seeing bright
lights and adornments on esmpus
at night
Now any skilled statistician may
write a reply to this article and
prove that Mercer is moving intel
lectually ahead, that she raised her
faculty salaries more last year per
centage wise than ever before, or
that we /ue not audience to thi
Secret Fpcta, but the fact will stiD
glare through that there is an aca
demic problem at Mercer and
that this problem, at present, is not
being solved. The problem is hsrq
the money may be here, the man
agerial expertise is here: Why an
the intellectual improvements not
here?
We may pat ourselves on
back for our swift pace but wo may
be going at a much slower pent*
than the rest of the academic uni
verse. May we pat ourselves on tbs_
beck, become loquacious and cover ^
the problem or actually build a bet *
ter Mercer? The problem is an aca- ,v
demic one but the question whether *
there is or is not a problem is not
academic but pitifully real.
fcaaigg
ISSNQIM citiiiMBH
"BSK
tElje Jftenrr Cluster
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
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