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6 MERCER CLUSTER OCT. 31, 1968
Your Stake In '68
By Jeffrey L. Salter
Ever notice the signs posted in
the lobby of the Student Center?
Nobody knows why they’re there,
but I've decided that it can't be
for decoration.
Last week there were several
signs advertising the visiting speak
er. Mr. Jim Shell, from the Chamb
er of Commerce, who spoke last
Monday night here at Mercer. He
gave a slide presentation designed
to discourage political apathy by
showing how disastrous apathy can
be.
Guess how many people were
in the audience. Think now: Room
314, right above the CO-OP, in the
main building on campus, a dis
cussion on topics of major concern
for all students of pre-voting and
voting ages. Guess how many peo
ple showed up? Give up? Okay,
SEVEN ! Seven people!
Sitting there with six other hu
man beings, 1 found it unbelievably
embarrassing that Mr. Shell
glimpsed such a dim picture of
Mercer's students. 1 wanted to
scream out, “This isn't the way it
is!"
Ah, but this is the way it is—we
truly don't care enough about vital
issues until they touch each of us
personally and pick us out indi
vidually. Then we find them only
too true, and then we cringe at the
ever-growing unconcern around us
Maybe you're tired of hearing
about unconcern, but I'm tired of
witnessing it! Mr. Shell brought to
focus some of the most pertinent
issues that affect our lives today:
the foreign policy, inflation, riots,
crime, taxes, strikes, air and water
pollution, and urban blight.
Then he pointed out that they
are all inter related. For instance,
maybe taxes are necessary for an
effective approach to other prob
lems Shell further pointed out that
the less citizen involvement means
the more decision-making by the
elected officials, whose decisions
are not necessarily beneficial to
the citizens. And why? Because
the citizens wouldn't become in
volved.
“Out of one hundred persons of
voting age," Shell illustrated, “Six
ty will go to the polls to vote, thirty
of these will vote for the winning
candidate, eighteen of these will
vote for the runner-up, and the
remaining twelve will scatter their
votes.”
“In the primaries", he went on,
“eight of one hundred vote. In
other words, eight percent of the
peo|>le oould swing the general
election, and five out of that eight
could swing the vote." So the point
of this is that the individual can
have influence, and that leaves no
excuses at all for any type of po
litical unconcern.
"Your stake in ’68" depends on
your involvement now, and no ex
cuse will do.
Truman Capote and Michael Kearney, bearing a striking
resemblance to each other, visit together on location in Ala
bama, during the filming of Capote’s “The Thanksgiving Vis
itor”. Kearney portrays a character based on Capote as a young
boy in the Xerox Special Event, which airs Thanksgiving night,
Nov. 28, 7:30-8:30 p.m. NYT on ABC-TV. In this sequel to
“A Christmas Memory,” Geraldine Page again portrays the
role of Miss Sook for which she won an Emmy Award.
Provost Calls For Balanced
Approach to "Student Power”
Springfield, Ohio — (I P ) —
The legitimate roles students have
in participating in decision making
have been ignored for too long, ac
cording to Provoet Allan O. Pfnist-
er of Wittenberg
In his report to the University's
hoard of directors, Dr Pfnister
made a Call for a balanced ap
proach to demands for “student
power."
"On the one hand, students are
those for whom the educational
program is primarily designed and
they should have an opportunity to
react to the nature of the program
and to suggest ways of improving
it
"Moreover," Dr. Pfnister said,
“there ia much substance in the ar
gument that students need to parti
cipate in deliberations about the
college in order to gain the kinds of
experiences that lead to maturing
their own understanding of the
larger society of which they are a
part"
On the other hand, he said, a
student is one who is continuing to
learn and is in college because he
has much to learn. In addition the
student is not associated with a col
lege long enough to assume contin
Uing responsibility for the decisons
in which he may wish to partici
pate. Dr Pfnister continued.
Provost Pfnister said that some
intermediate position must be
found between the two situations
“The student has a legitimate
part to play on deciding the struc
ture of the society and program of
which he is a part but he is still a
junior members of this society by
virtue of the level of command of
the material he is studying and by
virtue of his milited experience
“Growth and maturity do not
happen simply by having experi
ence," he added. “Some direction
and guidance is necessary. The new
breed of student seems to be argu
ing that he has instant maturity,
but to me this is a contradiction in
terms."
Afghan Football
Sometimes Fatal
An Afghan tribesman, viewing
the most rough-and tumble game of
football or hockey, might find the
contest scarcely more excitong than
tiddlodywinks.
Afghanistan's own national sport,
buz kashi, ranks among the world’s
rouhest i>astimes.
Buz kashi. a roughshod ancestor
of |x>lo, ia always punishing and
sometime* fatal. National Geo
graphic writer Thomas J Aber
crombie learned.
As many as 100 ridcre astride
fighting stallions compete in buz
kashi. which means “goat-drag.”
Turbaned riders, sweating and
shouting, hack away with short
whips at men and beasts alike as
they strugglo for the “ball" — a
beheaded goat or calf — on the
ground.
Snatches Prize
Finally, a rider breaks through
and, hanging from one stirrup amid
the flying hoofs, snatches the prize
from the bloody melee and flings
the carcass into the scoring circle.
Almost no holds are barred. “Re
cently knives and chains have been
outlawed, but sudden death on the
playing field is not uncommon,"
Mr. Abercrombie says.
“It's no game for the timid —
but a fitting sport for Afghanistan
It reflects the boldness, the te
nacity, the fighting spirit of the
Afghans themselves, dwellers in a
rugged land where only men of iron
and leather could survive at all."
Mr Ahercombie tried his hand at
the sport during u three-month
long, 20,000-mile journey through
the ancient land. He was taught
some of the game’s finer points by
a friend, Mohammed Alj Hussein,
who knows its hazards well.
"I’ve broken both arms at this
garni', and once a leg," he told the
writer. “I've lost count of the ribs
Still, I can’t wait for the cool sea
son and the games every Friday.”
Forebears Fought Invaders
The perilous sport befits the
tough tribesmen whose foreliears
rode against ceaseless waves of in
vaders.
Alexander the Great founded
cities in that central Asian region,
and Genghis Khan destroyed them.
Between the two, Parthians, Kush
an Buddhists, Persiaas, Arabs, and
Seljuk Turks had reigned — then
waned
The British, alarmed when ex
pending Tsarist Russia supported
Persian claims to Herat, invaded
Afghanistan from India in 1839
The Afghans foced the British gar
ison to abandon Kabul, the capital,
in 1842, but the British again in
vaded in 1878 .
Finally .in 1919, after still an
other Anglo-Afghan war, Britain
recognized the nation's indepen
dence. In Kabul, the crowds cele
brated for days. Afghanistan lives
in peace today, but maintains a
fierce independence
“For the Afghan, tureh — brav
ery — is a prime uality," Mr. Aber
crombie writes.
As an ancient Afghan songs puts
it, perhaps with buz kashi in mind:
"Better come home stained with
blood / Than safe ami sound as a
coward.”
W fo
Do your share
for freedom
f mn up pom
U.S. BA VINOS BONDS
NSW PRC BOOM SHAMS
New Coins Dated 5729
The official specimen aet of the
Government of Israel’s 1969 coins,
scheduled for issue early in De
cember, 1968 will feature the 21st
anniversary of the founding of
Israel.
For the first time in the history
of the issuance of Israel’s specimen
sets, the coin will be made available
before the holiday season.
The 6-coin specimen set will in
clude newly minted 1 Lira (1
pound), the Va Lira, 25 Agorot, 10
Agorot, 5 Agorot and 1 Agora
coins. Each bears the date 6729 in
Hebew with undent and traditional
Hebrew themes interpreted by Is
raeli artists for the basic coin de
signs.
The coins are being minted from
highly polished dies to provide
handsome, clearly defined repro
duction with all coins in the sets
protected in a special 21st Anni
versary commemorative die - cut
presentation holder.
Joseph Milo, Assistant Trade
Commissioner of tho Government
of Ismel, announced that more than
3,000 hanking offices in nearly 200
cities across the United States and
Canada are accepting advance ord
era for these specimen sets to satis
f.v the demands of coin collectors
and friends of Israel.
A special one week international
sale will be conducted simultane.
ouslv in all banking offices for their
customers ami the general publ
in early December, 1968, as scha
uled by the Israel Goveraira
Coins and Medals Corporation, tl
only official organization for wori
wide distribution of Israel coins i
State medals. The official Isrs
specimen set of six coins will
through banks for $3.50 per
which include 50< per set for ham
ling, excluding local sales tax.
Advance orders may be placx
with many local banks and by mi
with the First Israel Bank ai
Trust Co. of New York, 60 W|
Street, New York, N.Y. 10004:
Israel Discount Bank Limited.
O. Box 1655, Grand Central St
tion, New York, N.Y. 10017; and I
the American Bank & Trust Co
pany. P O Box 233, Wall Str
Station, New York, New Ya
10005 through October 20, 196
“Since the official week of is*
procedes the holiday season, im
chasers will be granted a speci
privilege of obtaining up to 10 up
cimen sets instead of 5 sets as |
previous years," stated Mr. Mils
Information about the Isrs
1969 specimen set and other offic
coins and State medals offeru
may be obtained from the office <
the Assistant Trade Commiaaioi
Government of Israel, 850 Tin
Avenue, New Y’ork, New Yq
10022.
Technical Education Studied
An effort to develop educational
programs that will help young peo
ple and adults qualify for highly
skilled jobs in a new technical fields
was anounced by the U.S. Office
of Education.
The Office's Bureau of Research
said it was supporting four projects
to produce postsecondary and jun
ior college courses to train subpro
fessional nides for careers in bio
medical, nuclear medical, electro
mechanical, and electro-optical
technologies.
Dr. Norman J. Bovan, Acting
Associate Commissioner for Re
search, said these rapidly expand
ing fields “urgently need techni
cians to support physicians,
engineers, and scientists in operat
ing, maintaining, and developing
the complex devices being used in
medicine, communications, and the
missile, computer, and aerospace
industries."
sicians of up to 90 percent of I)
time required for typical nude
medical procedures.
"Presently, there is a wide
between available jobs and
great numbers of young people i
adults, including many of the di
advantage'll, who are unprepared
cross this gap, though many of tl
waiting jobs are within their lew
of aspiration and ability and n(l
excellent means for economic ■
social advancement," Dr. Boyi
said.
He noted that there is evida
that the current lack of train*
programs and qualified technics *
is having an adverse affect on
application and growth of ths
increasingly sophisticated teehncl
giea in areas of national coftcM
such as health, defense, devi l
ment of space, and conservation.
In general, the projects
nounced today involve a study
Examples of these devices are. ,he manpower needs and job
artificial organs, heart-lung ma
chines, optical welding instruments,
laser communications equipment,
missile control systems, and radio
isotope equipment used in nuclear
medicine. It is estimated that
trained technicians can relieve phy-
Open All Day Wad.
Friday NHa ’Til 9!
“South’s Finost Cancellation Shoo Sal*’
DAVID'S
SHOES
43t CHERRY ST.
required in the new teehnoloi
ami the preparation of a plan
technical education programs th
are general enough to encourl
schools throughout the country
adapt them to specific kvl si
atinns.
The final stage will include I
velopment, testing, and evaluad
of courses and instructional prod
urea in cooperating pilot or exp^
mental schools.
The Technical Education
search Center, Inc., Cwnbrid
Mass., is administering the projs
with funds provided under a
thm of the Vocational Educed
Act of 1963 which authorises
search, training, and experimeO
programs to meet special needs
vocational and technical sducatx