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Dear Editor:
A* evidenced by the written
comment on the draft
counseling course sign in the
lobby, aod alio by other vocal
comments, there is confusion in
the minds of many students as
,J» whether the Commonweal is
offering a course in draft
counseling or in “draft
dodging.” Perhaps some of the
males at Mercer are convinced
that it IS un-American to know
what their legal rights are, but if
this is so, this belief may yet be
used to their disadvantage.
For example, one Mercer
freshman is being harassed by his
local draft board for not having
completed one-fourth of his
academic requirements by
September, 1969. This freshman
did not come to Mercer until last
winter quarter and cannot afford
to come to summer school.
According to the law, this
student has 12 months to
complete one-fourth of his
academic requirements, which
means that this local draft board
cannot draft him next
September on these grounds. He
has next fall quarter to get these
hours.
Draft counseling and the draft
counseling course are to help
students work out these types of
things, not to encourage
avoiding the draft. Many draft
boards, when under pressure to
fulfill their quotas, do try
sneaky things. The Commonweal
hopes that Jo Clifton can help
students recognize these by
being better informed.
Sincerely,
(s) Peggy Gough
Commonweal
To the Editor, The Cluster
Dear Editor:
May I use your publication to
comment on the reference in
another Mercer publication to
secretaries “cluttering up the
snack bar”?
Mercer secretaries get a
morning and afternoon break,
and some of them are just as
sorry to spend it in the snack bar
u tome students may be to have
them there. The fact, however, »
that there is no other place for
them to go, though such as been
been requested. Many of us
would Ukc to skip the noise and
mesa, and some have even said
they would like to get away
from the students for a while
(this may surprise you), though I
do not fed that way myself.
The thinking behind the
above quotation is an example
of the incredible and largely
unjustified arrogance of a few (I
hope) of our students.
Sjgn me,
(l) OVER THIRTY AND GLAD
AT TIMES (SUCH AS THIS ONE
i v*. j.
I- ;■ .-f •«•••; S 7$'*, .. t .
Dear Editor:
Since Wonderful Wednesday is
Kill in the experimental stage
has at Mercer, perhaps it is a
good idea to evaluate the
amount of progress made so for.
In order to do so, we are going
to enumerate soma, of the
npininna held by various
Letters to the Editor
members of the student body
(Christianity 100-1 1),
concerning this new institution.
The question of. Free
University is one point that was
up constantly by students in our
sections. The consensus seems to
be that students are beginning to
feel obligated to attend these
free university courses. Students
feel that these courses should be,
and were originally intended to
be, strictly optional. This is not
to say that students dislike the
concept of Free University; on
the contrary, they like and
appreciate the benefits of such a
concept. However, students do
not want to feel that they arc
obligated to attend.
Several students brought up
the various good points
concerning private study. One of
the points that was made was
the fact that Wonderful
Wednesday makes possible
uninterrupted study. This is
particularly beneficial for those
students who live off campus.
However, uninterrupted study
also benefits resident students.
Another aspect of Wonderful
Wednesday which students seem
to believe is beneficial is the
ability to spend time on
extracurricular, but
intellectually stimulating,
activities. This might include
reading novels, attending
concerts and art shows, learning
to play a musical instrument,
etc.
In today’s pressure-filled
academic community, the
psychological relief obtained on
Wednesdays can hardly be
overlooked. With a day free
from the hustle and bustle of
classes and formalized study, we,
as students, can get away from
the campus and “blow off a
little steam.” Students seem to
agree that this psychological
relief is a very real and beneficial
aspect of Wonderful Wednesday.
One major problem in the
Wonderful Wednesday concept,
according to students, is the
attitude of the faculty. The
students apparently fed the
faculty has been unreasonably
and prematurely harsh in their
cvlauation of the system.
Students, realizing the part that
the faculty played in getting
Wonderful Wednesday, fed that
they should give the system time
and use careful judgment before
evaluating the system Along the
same lines, a very real problem
Wonderful Wednesday faces is
die fact that teachers give work
overloads for the free day-and
even hold "optional class” which
is not as "optional” as it should
be. One question asked is ”Is the
faculty keeping within the spirit
of Wonderful Wednesday?”
In general, the students fed
tkat Wonderful Wednesday ia a
good idea, if handled correctly
add gives enough time.
m to
pro# and cons of Wonderful
Wednesday studies before any
decision is rendered.
atiht Maffeo
Dear Editor
Mercer women hive always
been forced to return to die
dormitories at night, but with
the coming of spring, this
deprivation becomes all the
more painful. Recreational
facilities of the type many of us
seek outside are conspicuously
absent in the dorms. For the
first time, this spring the
Keepers of the House have
recognized the necessity of
providing fun and games for the
girls, and have placed lovely
alarm bells on all the doors.
What could be more delightful in
the middle of the night than
being treated to loud noises and
the sight of droves of funny
people running about, playfully
seeking the Ringer of the Bell? O
wonderful Toy! O marvelous
Game! O generous Keepers! It is
hoped, of course, that no one
would take advantage of the new
Game to leave the dorm after
Kinging the Bell. As I
understand the rules of
the Game, one carefully
approaches the door with the
Toy on it, pushes it open far
enough to Ring the Bdl v then
quickly repairs to one’s room.
Simple At first, there will
probably be much confusion,
and general mayhem will break
out with each Ringing of the
Bell. In time, however, people
will grow accustomed to the
Game and it will come to be
accepted as just another
convenience of dormitory living.
As delightful as the Game is, and
as readily as it lends itself to
variations on the main theme of
A p proach-Ring-Retreat-Observe,
it is possible that in time the
Game may lose its savor. Some
people may object to being
waked up at odd hours to play
hide-and-seek, while others may
just view die game as trivial and
superficial. It could be objected
that the Keepers should have
settled upon a more
sophisticated Game, inasmuch as
the unfortunates who live in the
House are grown women hut
we ought not let the simplicity
of the Game foot us. It is
undoubtedly the case that the
Keeper* have noticed a
connection (one anight even say,
a causal connection) between
restlessness and Late Night Door
Opening. With the new alarms
on the doors, it becomes
possible to guage, by the number
of Ringings per week, die
restlessness of the women.
Perhaps if we were all quite
readme, and the new Toy proved
inadequate to keep the great
fed that some members of the numbers of us amused and
faculty am prematurely judging aatkried, we would all he turned
.and unduly hanh on Wonderful looac to seek our own
Wednmday. If ia our opinion daemons
tkat a careful study rimuld be
made of the attitudes of both
students and faculty and the Mary Jane Bunnysiutch
Celumaitt Ran Childs
FREEDOM? NO, CAPTAIN!
Recently screws the country there have been
sporadic demonstrations and protests seething
from different Army bases and camps. Sometimes
this can be very unprofitable, to say the least. A
group of fourteen soldiers recently received
sentences up to sixteen yean for singing "We Shall
Overcome" in protest of stockade conditions. At
Fort Hamilton one man commented that the
Constitution had been abandoned. He said that the
rights guaranteed by the Founding Fathers were
being forgotten when it came to soldiers This is
the question that I bring to the Students of Mercer
University: Do the rules and laws of the
Constitution apply to Gl’s as well as civilians?
To begin my analysis of this question, I would
first point out that this question has very recently
become very controversial. Some of the
organizations involved in this controversy are Gl’s
United Against the War In Vietnam. Gl Civil
Liberties Defense Committee, American
Servicemen’s Union, and small clubs where
Servicemen gather off base to discuss the war in
Vietnam Another factor in this picture is the
underground newspaper. One base found the
papers stuffed between copies of the New York
Times, while one paper boasts of a circulation of
■20,000 to 25,000 copies read from Vietnam to
Australia.
In presenting this editorial, I must here insert
the opinion of the Army on this question. The
Army answers this by saying that the swift
moving, effective fighting machine of the U. S.
Army would not be effective if men were allowed
to run around without any type of organization or
discipline, for they stress the concept of blind
obedience. Soldiers must be ready to respond and
respond quickly to the commands of their ruling
officer. Another view promulgated by the Army is
that a person who is in the Army must give up
certain rights for the defense of his country; here
one sees sacrifice for protection of the homeland
and tor an efficient war machine. Furthermore,
the Constitution is s contract where the Army is
obligated to protect the country through the
national government, yet the ruled are obligated to
military service through the protection given by
the government, along with the many other things
that the govenment does for the ruled.
In a legalistic view, on the surface it appears
that the Army has the trump, yet I believe that the
question here involves more than legalistic
answers. I sincerely doubt that Hamilton,
Jefferson, Madison, or Adams were thinking of a
war nearly half the way around the world when
they gave the powers of war and conscription in
the Constitution. Another aspect of this is just
how far does the Army need to condemn and
severely punish anyone who objects to the army
procedures? In the past any act of disobedience
has been punished to the highest degree. Is it
impossible for the army to bend just a little, or
would its militaristic reputation be tarnished?
No matter what the army decides to do about
these “radical”-dissenters, I would like to remind
the brass that certain basic freedoms must be
curtailed to prepare a good defense, but one of
these is certainly not freedom of opinion. What
person would not rise to defend his home or his
wife or his children, yet to die for a war where
thousands have died because they were caught
between two political powers’ war games seems to
differ from defense of one’s own private personal
property. The army must not try to force one to
think like the army, for this is denying a man of
his natural rights. What a man thinks is his
business. To show how the army looks at this, a
Fort Jackson several men are awaiting court
martial where a secret agent was working for the
army to feel out “politically dissident draftees ”
We conclude this article with a warning for a
Mercer’s proud Second Lt. graduates: “Watch out
boys; the brass bolt may bust your but.”
Spiritually Spaaking
Thoughts
And Meditations
By WUUam Young Jr.
Before Jesus was Wrested be told
His disciples that when He suffered
they would desert Him. Peter replies
in confidence that he will not desert
or deny Jesus. Then Jesus shocks
Peter by telling him that in that very
evening Peter would deny Him three
times.
After Jesus was arrested the
disciples deserted Him as He said
they would, all but Peter. Jesus was
taken to die high priest and Peter
followed Peter even went so far as to
enter the court of the high priest.
There once in the court and then
twice on the porch Peter was
questioned as to his association with
Jesus. Three times he was asked if he
was not one of the men with Jesus,
and three times he denied the fact.
I believe that Peter knew Jesus,
but did (he people around him know
that? There are many of us who
cisim to know Jesus- we are classed
as Christians-but do the people who
know us know that?
Peter denied Jesus three rimes in
ooe evening. How many rimes in one
day do we deny Jesus? 1 do not
restrict this to a verbal denial as Peter
made, but I broaden it to an action
dental also. How many rimes do we
as Christians in not only our words
but also in our actions day, “I know
not this man of whom ye speak. ’
(Mmh 14,71 KJV)
duster office. Room 326, Council
j miser Cancer. Hours 9,00-11,00
A.M.; 1,00 5 00 PM.; Monday
throup Friday, Phone 743-1311,
Bon 291 ,,p ■
f£5) Faculty
i4 Forum
Memorandum to:
D##n002 Wilfred C. Platt, Jr.
From:
01936-026-036
1 have become quite concerned
about tha performance of Miss
039-026-034 in my course No.
014383-01688. I have tried a
personal approach and have not
gotten very far. I talked to our
chairman. Dr. 01861-01863 and to
my collcgucs. Dr. 01789-018-13 and
Dr. 01832-0000. They had no
mggeirioni except that I check with
Mis. 0133-0021, we decided to refer
the case to Dr. 0012-003$ in the
Department of Phychology Dr
0012-0033 had had peat aucess with
students who have felt estranged in
the past and it is my hope that she
can be of help to Miss 039-026-036.
If you have no suggestions perhaps
you can take the matter up with
Dean 001 or Dean 004, or if you
deem the perosna) implications
serious enough with Mr 1
Should you want to talk to me
personally, I can be reached at
743-1511, Ext. 225 between 10 02
and 10,52 daily
Cordially.
Prof 01936-01966
(Dr. William Platt)
QtLODg'u’BE
Lyndon Mayra Adrertblng Editor..
Angle Harm Advert bint Staff _
Jaaialar Dawson. Paula Ro
Managing Editor .
Nr— ■ Editor
New* luff
Fentutr Editor ,
Erasure Staff Ernie Robtn—i. Copy Ed
Terry Ursrey, Willina Yoaag. Andrea Glenda Tulty
CoMmaba^“ tt V^Thfl*. Jan HobU PwBcTfclma'
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Emit Robhwon. Copy Editors Tylar Hinnm.
An
■b Johnson
John Kidd. Barbara Owen
XT;
THE MERCER CLUSTER • Tuesday, April 29. 1969 • 5