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Dear Mereerites,
April 16 marked the silver anniversary of Dr. Hoffman’s
first L. S. D. “trip.” It was also the day of Mercer’s drug abuse
seminar. The seminar itself was nice and clean, and even some
what informative. Yet, some of the speakers would have left
a more favorable impression if they had shut their mouths
after they had finished reading their lectures. Maybe this sem
inar would be appreciated more if it was given at a Rotary
luncheon.
To continue the discussion on drug use and abuse, I would
like to reprint an editorial from Colorado State’s Collegian.
In Love and Peace,
Frumious
Drugs and the Middle Class
Hippies catch a lot of crap from
tfie Establishment because some
of them use drugs. The middle
daaa really gets upaet when a flo
wer-child artist or poet usee LSD
or 8TP to sharpen hia sensitivity,
or eecapes from the harth realitieo
of a trying situation with mari
juana or hashish. Occasionally,
someone reputed to be under the
influence of some sort of drug
will knock off his neighbor, drive
his car into a cement truck, or try
to fly to Tarmania without a plane.
Immediately the call goes out to
state legislatures to prescribe the
death penalty for possession of
“dangerous drugs” and movements
■rise to have all the hippies de
ported.
Parents, the Establishment press,
ministers, and college administra
tors are quick to recommend Mo
ral Rearmament, hayrides, prayer,
and the YMCA as more acceptable
forms of consciousness expansion.
“I don’t understand the younger
feneration (read hippies) and their
dependence on drugs," says a mid
dle-class advertising executive as
he washes down a Compoz with his
third luncheon martini.
“We need some stronger laws
to keep those horrible hippies from
■sing marijuana and LSD and all
the rest of that junk. Just think
«f what those drugs are doing to
tieir minds,” says the housewife
from suburbia as she swallows two
Tlrend (“the activity booster—no,
it's not a vitamin tablet!”).
No-Dox, one of the more in-
aocent of the socially acceptable
tnd commercially available mind
tenders, has launched an advertis
bg campaign claiming its product
•ill not only keep you awake, but
will sharpen your mind if taken
knmediately before the big exam.
(Increase your sensitivity with n
drug?) No-Dos implies that their
Ittle whits tablets will help keep
your grades up, enable you to re
tain your draft status and stay out
tl the army. That may sound con
tusing, but read their ads in the
COLLEGIAN. Of course, they
don’t really promise all these
thing*, but the reader is led to
believe that No-Dos will do every
thing except keep his girl friend
from getting pregnant
Compos, on the other hand,
promises a state of euphoria, which
will enable nervous brides to get
through the wedding (and presum
sbly the honeymoon). Executives
take Compos so they can get
tiraugh a busy day at the office
ttd still retain the sunny coun
ts nance necessary for raises, pto-
taotaon, and a Christmas bonus.
Husbands tate it to get over the
■hock of the wife’s new mink.
(. . ', escape the harsh realities
if a trying situation?).
Tlrend is advertised as the thing
b take when you’re just too tired
b go rbcppif with the girls or
bowling with the boys. (How’s that
for disassociating your mind and
your body?).
And then there’s sleeping pills.
“Take Sominex and sleep—safe
and restful." I haven’t heard of too
many hippies who need sleeping
pills, but a lot of people over 25
use them. Probably to come down
from Tirend.
Or antihistamine cold tablets,
like Dristan or Contac. All anti
histamines cloud your judgment.
Have you ever read the fine print
on the box which warns against
driving or operating heavy machin
ery? Ever dropped a couple of
Dristan before you drove to work?
Ob, yeah? People like you should
n’t be allowed on the highway, en
dangering your lives and property,
with your mind all boggled by
drugs.
So much for the drugs the mid
dle class can buy over the counter.
(I could mention alcohol, which is
readily available to everyone over
12 and is so socially acceptable
it's repulsive, but the advertising
campaigns for booze concentrate
on its snob appeal rather than what
it does to your head.)
Now let's move on to the stuff
you can get a prescription for if
you’re respectable. First, there’s
a diet pill called Dexamyl that's
used by thousands of fairly straight
housewives across the country. The
pills contain Dexedrine, a strong
stimulant of the central nervous
system. Dexedrine is known as
“sped” to those who don’t get it
in diet pills. To keep the chubby
housewife from freaking out on
Dexedrine, the Dexamyls also con
tain sodium amobarbital. Sodium
nmobarbitnl has a strong tranquil-
izing effect and is in the same
family of drugs as phenobarbital.
You may have seen the term “goof-
ball” in a Kerry Drake comic
strip. That's phenobarbital, baby.
Anyhow Dexamyl is medically des
cribed as an "apetite depressant”
. . . But I wonder.
I also wonder how many mem
bers of the CSU administration
stop by the drug store every cou
ple of weeks to get their tranquil
izer prescription refilled. (Escap
ing the harsh reality of a difficult
situation?). The doctor and the
administrator probably don’t see it
that way.
So what’s the point? Are we
progressing towards the soma-so
ciety of BRAVE NEW WORLD?
Probably. Should we therefore leg
alize marijuana, hashish, LSD.
8TP, peyote, cocaine, heroin, and
birth control pills? Probably not
Whatever the advocates of these
presently illegal drugs may say,
there has been little research into
the possible effects of prolonged
usage. And in spite of the question
able morality of a Great Society
stoned on Compos and diet pills,
these drug? at least have been ap
proved, presumably after exten
sive testisg by the Food and Drug
April 23, 1968 •
THE MERCER CLUSTER
Why Wait?-Why Not Now?
by Gary
During the past several weeks,
the phrases, “I have a dream!”,
and “We shall overcome!” have
been echoed throughout this na
tion. And in reply the phrases
echoed back have been, “Give us
time to adjust!’’, “You can’t hurry
this thing!”, and "Wait!” Another
question posed now is “Why must
the Negro wait for something that
he should already have?
Also during the past several
weeks I have sought to make a
careful and meditative study of
the campus race relation in respect
to the situation in the nation. My
thoughts were reflected in the fol
lowing memories:
Several years ago, a Young Neg
ro minister in Montgomery, Ala.,
came to national spotlight after be
had come to the rescue of a situa
tion that developed when a Negro
woman was not allowed to sit on
the front seat of a city bus. His
name—Martin Luther King Jr.
Later this same young minister
became the recognised leader of his
people and thus began protest dem
onstrations for the equality of the
Negro with a non-violent attitude
approach. He was met (in Birming
ham, Selma, SL Augustine, Jack-
son, Albany and other cities) with
dogs, bricks, bullets, and even
twice his house was bombed. How
much could one man take? The
answer was delivered April 4, 1968
at 8:06 P.M. in Memphis, Tenn.
on the balcony of a motel by a bul
let in the neck. He had given his
life for the cause. Thus the nation
erupted in violence, fear, and cha
os. National guards were called
to the scene. There were pleas by
the President to halt the disturb
ances. There were pleas by the
businessmen for the safety and
self-interest of their establishments.
Pending civil rights legislation in
Congress was passed. There were
some Americans for a short period
Johnson
of time really concerned. Then
there were other Americans who
didn't give a damn, and were glad
that another “Nigger was dead.”
Now two weeks later, the nation is
safe and everything is under con
trol. Ha!! Where now do we go?
Where are the ones who were so
vitally concerned. Nothing has
changed. The peak of a crisis and
tragedy is over. The Negro still
doesn't have equality.
Looking back to the campus, the
situation is of a similar nature
and destiny. The Negro students
are demanding equality and are
now doing so with a non-violent
attitude. In contrast they are met
with phrases such as “Wait!”, “You
can't do that!”, and “Nigger you
can’t sit there!” In turn many
Negro students are becoming em
bittered with hate and anger be
cause of the prejudices, preten
tions, and the hypocrisy that pre
vail. From a realistic and not an
idealistic viewpoint, the Negro is
living in Pure “Hell". He can’t
join a fraternity or sorority. He is
restricted to activities. He is bick
ered with by his fellow white stu
dents and in fact has only been
able to enjoy a small portion of
college life. Now, what then are
his alternatives?—Violence?
Then his fellow white Mercerians
say, “Violence? This can never
happen at Mercer. We have a nice
paradise." We do? How long can
this situation prevail as it is, in
a tight neat bundle? Will the Neg
ro keep being content (that is
keep his cool) with the present
so-called paradise? The answer is
simply and emphatically No! It
has thus become upon this holy
campus that nothing is being done
or will be done until something
happens. The White Mercerians
have begun to react rather than
to act. The result can only be di
sastrous. The Negro can’t wait!
Coeds . . .
(Continued from Pagel)
tried for several yean to change
the rules through regular channels
Nothing changed. Now we are go
ing to press our demands.
Students who have been sitting
in terminated demonstrations Fri
day afternoon after holding a Good
Friday Service. Spokesman David
Simpson said, “We are demonstra
ting our good faith by this act We
now call on the university admin
istration to reciprocate by offering
a similar act of good faith. We be
lieve that a change in any single
significant rule would be such an
act" Several hours later, Simp
son and 400 others were served with
a temporary restraining order. At
2 P.M. Monday, April 16, Judge
James Barrow of Clark Co. Su
perior Court heard arguments on
a permanent injunction.
Obscene . . .
(Continued from page 6)
A new voice joined in. “As you
can read in my Georgia Noitet, the
first one took place sixty-nine yean
ago at Emory University.
I must confess that by this time
completely engulfed in the conver
sation and it was very painful to
hear the words of Dr. Sotto as he
said, “Let us Depart now.” With
this the whole group made a hasty
exit and I made a swift entrance
into a state of transcendental medi
tation, trying desperately to get
drunk. Ignorance is Bliss, I thought
k JOMTHE
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4— SHARES
Mercer R.O.T.C. Visits Fort Benning
by David Sibley
Fifteen sophomore cadets turned out for Mercer Univer
sity’s R.O.T.C. orientations tour of Fort Benning April 11
and 12.
Accompanied by Captain Guth
rie of the R.O.T.C department and
Dr. J. L. Crenshaw, of the Christ
ianity department, the cadets trav
eled to Columbus, Georgia, on a
chartered Greyhound Bus. Arriv
ing on the [lost at 6:45 p.m. they
were greeted by ther tour co-ordin-
ator, Lt. Bain, who immediately di
rected them to their first army
meal. After dinner the cadets were
escorted to their rooms located in
the bachelor officer quarters.
At 6:30 Friday morning the ca
det* were roused from their sleep
by the thundering footsteps and
singing of thousands of airborne
trainee* conducting their morning
exercise. The tour began at 8:30
a.m. when the cadets were wel
comed to the base by the Com
manding General, and watched a
dramatic presentation of “1 Am the
Infantry” in Marshall Auditorium
From the auditorium, the tour
moved to Eubanks field where an
Administration. (Known as the
Feds to those who don’t get their
sped in diet pills). While these
drugs may screw your head around,
they aren’t likely to deform vour
children.
So this editorial isn’t to attack
the pot heads or the speed freaks
or the day trippers, but to ques
tion the rationality of the middle
class minds muddled by an over
dose of Tirend, antihistamines, riv
et pills, and No-Dox.
Those middle class minds would
probably be better off if they
passed a joint around.
-GREEN
P.8. The pew “Seed” is out for
all you hippies, degenerates and
pealed potatoes.
airborne demonstration was held.
Included in this program was an
introduction to parachute training
techniques, and a sky-diving ex
hibition by three army parachut
ists. Quite an impression was made
when the parachutists made pin
point landings after jumping from
a height of 8,000 feet
The next program consisted of a
scout dog demonstration. Here the
cadets observed the training meth
ods used on army dogs. These dogs
are used solely for alerting troops
of any enemy in an area, and for
seeking out Viet Cong booby traps.
The dogs are extremely vicious and
will attack anyone except their own
handler.
Unfortunately, due to the pres
ent war. the next program had to
be recorded on video-tape. Across
the television screens rolled every
vehicle available to an infantry
commander. As this program drew
to a close the cadets realized they
were hungry enough to venture an
other army meal.
With lunch completed the group
was whisked away to Watson field
where a Ranger demonstration was
held Rangers are the army 's tough
est soldiers, and the cadets soon
learned why. Every conceivable
emergency is simulated for Ranger
trainees to encounter. The major
part of their trainng consists of
confidence and physical stamina
building When a soldier graduates
from Ranger school there is no
doubt concerning his military capa
bilities
Perhaps the most interesting
program on the tour was the Quick
Kill demonstration in which the
cadets had the opportunity to ac
tively participate. Quick kill is a
relatively new military innovation,
and involves firing a rifle without
the use of sighta. Much like bird
hunting with a shotgun, the object
is to co-ordinate the weapon as an
extension of the arm. Interestingly
enough, initial training is carried
out with a Daisy B-B rifle.
The final program in the tour
was an aviation display of aircraft
currently in use in Viet Nam. Al
though the cadets did not get a
chance to actually fly, they were
allowed to explore the interiors of
the helicopters and planes. After
dinner that evening, the group re
turned to Mercer .
The orientation tour was both
impressive and educational. Every
cadet was inwardly pleased that he
had chosen to be an offioer rather
(ban a draftee in the United States
Army.
Can a young gfrf
college graduate
from the
Middle West find
happiness in The
Peace Corps?
Tuna in here