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"The South ’» Mott Independent Collegiate Newspaper”
GARY JOHNSON JOHNNY TURNER
member Editor associate Editor
CARL BROWN / Business Manager
(Ur>s*gn*d vditorialv art the opinion ot tne editors end should not be confuted with newa
stories. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the authors and not the
editors.)
Columnist Larry Ftnlralstain
SDS Arouses
Rebel Tradition
In Mercerians
"A little rebellion every now and then is a good
thing." - Thomas Jefferson.
Mercer was recently chosen as the next target for
. the SDS. For their advance men they sent three of
the organization's most trusted lackeys: the
National Secretary and the two stooges charged
with his protection. Their mission was to invade the
campus and arouse the students to rebellion against
the Administration. - ***
The first place they visited on their arrival on
campus was the office of the Committee for Student
Rebellion (on the fourth floor of the
Administration Building), inactive since 1865,
where they placed a wreath on the floor in the
middle of the room and sat around smoking it the
rest of the afternoon.
Later that day, as they were “floating” down the
stairs of the Administration Building they
encountered Dr. King, the distinguished chairman
of our History Department, and thought to
themselves how easy it would be to amuse
themselves at the gentleman’s expense."When was
the last time Mercer *ver did anything to encourage
rebellion?" demanded the three agitators. “I'll bet
this place hasn’t housed a rebel since the day it was
founded!” charged the SDS National Secretary. But
Dr. King knew better than to blow his cool. Instead
he bade the three slovenly characters to follow him
into his office, mistaking them for the campus’
hippy population, and proceeded to correct them
historically. “You gentleman," he explained calmly,
"are in obvious need of correction. I would suggest
that you read the chapter in my book, Georgia
Voices, dealing with Reconstruction and you will
find that in the post-Civil War period, Mercer
housed its fair share of rebels." And more out of
curiosity than respect, one of the stooges grabbed a
copy off the professor’s desk and turned to page 308
and began reading aloud.. “Any soldier of the late
Confederate army," be read, “who is disabled from
manual labor by reason of wounds, and who is
unable to pay the expenses of education, is welcome
to Mercer University as a student, and shall recieve
Tuition Gratis,- -Mercer University, Catalogue,
1868-1809. p. 27." All the SDS people were
impressed by this obvious receptiveness toward
rebels and wen t off optimistically to their scheduled
meeting in the Connell Student Center, where they
hoped to found a Mercer chapter of their
communist-anarchrist rebellion preaching and
practicing society.
The meeting room was full and the audience
applauded politely as the speaker was introduced.
After a few welcoming remarks, the SDS speaker
announced that he was pleased with the rebel
tradition at Mercer and wished to see it revived in
the immediate future. Several KA’s went wild over
the idea. Then the speaker announced that we must
discover the roots of our dissatisfaction so that we
may actively rebel against the establishment.
“How’s the food situation around this place?” he
asked. And Frank Troom stood up and explained all
about the cafeteria and our meal tickets and
everything. And then the speaker looked really
stunned. “You mean to tell me,” he asked, “that all
of you actually pay for those meals and then allow
yourselves to be locked out of the cafeteria half the
time because you missed the “established” serving
hours?” And then he launched into an attack on the
dirty capitalist who were exploiting us mercilessly.
And so on. And then he left and that was the end of
it. Or so I thought until the other day when I
overheard a conversation in which a couple of
sophomores were complaining bitterly about the
cafeteria’s ridiculously short serving periods on days
with no classes. . . and the cafeteria's ridiculously
short and early breakfast hours on classless days.
And I thought to myself that maybe the SDS has
aroused some healthy Thomas Jefferson in us after
all.
From the Editor
Delay of Involvement
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Mercer '69 lives in an era
when student student voice in
' the adminstrativc affairs of a
university is within arm's reach.
At most universities, although
the ers is present, the
administration is
non-cooperative and
unresponsive to student
demands. Students have thus
resorted to violent protests,
demonstrstion marches, and
sit-ins. But at Mercer this need
not be for we have an
administration that will at least
listen to our pleas and demands.
At a recent SGA meeting
(April 21) I observed a rather
conservative body refute the
opportunity for increased
student involvement in
administrative affairs. Begged
down was a report (poodon
paper) from the Student
Steering Committee which
recommended t6 alter the
present student-administration
set-up and to take new approach
with a new philoaopy of the
school of Liberal Arts. The
theme of the report called for
students to have more of a voice
in the decision making process.
Specifically this entails students
on all faculty-administrative
committees. Although in
actuality the report was referred
to another newly formed
committee, the report and its
ideas may eventually die. The
former committee had put more
than two months had work into
term and thus we Mercerians
must suffer another year with
administrative domination and
control over our lives-Such as
building a swimming pool
without asking the students who
wants one and at the same time
negciecting an increase in salary
and recruitment of top grade
faculty.-Raising school tuition
and cam and sending the student
of the raise two months
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- •-* •. . ••
In view of the late controversy
on chapel and in view of the many
complaints I have beard about
chapel, this week I have decided
to address chapel in thecontextof
whether or not it violates a
person’s rights. Does the tight
involved in tradition and
institutionalism over-aide the
concept of a person's inalienable
rights?
To begin, I must first insert
here my great admiration for Dr.
Otto. He appears to me to be a
man who is deeply involved in his
religious beliefs, a man who loves
goodness and kindness, and a man
who stands up for what he
believes. I have cried with Dr.
Otto as he led the mourning for
John, Martin, and Bobby. What
man can better express one's
feelings at the death of such great
men? Yet in one other area 1
really do like Dr. Otto, and I do
mean he gets my whole hearted
approval. Dr. Otto is the only
preacher I have ever heard that
really looks at religion in the
pulpit as I like to see it. Please let
me qualify this. In my infamous
career in Moultrie I did, contrary
to popular beliefs, go to church.
However, 1 never beard the word
black man mentioned in my
church, and I would not doubt
that if a black man tried to join
the church, well, anything could
happen. My preacher never told
me of the poor people, the dirtily
dressed people across the tracks,
or the black man, for all I ever
heard was a story about Johah
and the whale and somebody
vomiting or something like that.
He was afraid to face the issues of
modern society through the eyes
of an outdated religion. As for Dr.
Otto, he lays the cards on the
table, for I feel that he is as
realistic about the Christian
religion as one can get. Dr. Otto
knows and speaks out when a
group, such as T-Square Church,
denies a man the right to be a
church-member because he is
black. He knows this isn't real
Christianity, but yet he speaks
out on the issue as so many
Baptist preachers are afraid to do,
or don’t know any better. For
showing some guts in this day and
age over religion, again 1 salute
you, Dr. Otto.
Yet on the other hand, I would
like to raise this question'Should
religion, good or bad, be forced
upon people? There are tome
people at Mercer who I agree
should be forced to go to chapel,
yet these people should also be
fed by a harness to a trough to eat
dinner. But, what of the sound
intellectual person who is
mentally mature, and who has
developed and matured his ideas
of religion.
Why should this type of
person be forced to listen to any
religion, good or bad? And
another thine, if a person wants
to go to hell, is it not his right to
decide? Cannot a person decide
whetner or not he wants to nave
religion or not? I agree that Dr.
Otto had it right by tradition of
Mercer University to hold chapel,
but yet I believe a man hat a
higher right, a more scared
natural right of choice concerning
religion, and to force a man to
listen to one man’s view on
religion is wrong. I cannot help
but draw a parallel between
Mercer's Chapel and the Army
which marches men in order to
listen to the good chaplain: here
one obeys higher commands
regardless of one's own personal
opinion. Oh yes, another little
factor, have you looked around in
chapel and noticed how everyone
is paying attention, how everyone
is worshipping, or do you notice
peofe sleeping, reading, studying,
talking, and laughing? It is
inherent in human nature not to
be as close and involved in
something that is required or
forced as one is to a service that is
attended vouhintarily. Ivan if
chapel were to be discontinued
of lick of Attendance,
this would, if tkc iy«m were
voluntary, sdll allow people their
freedom of religion. Dr. Otto,
why arc we denied our freedom
of religion?
I must odd here in my
conclusion that even though I am
not in favor at required chapel
because it takes from one’s
religious freedom, I spent time in
prayer and deep deliberation nuer
this article. I say thie breaper
what Dr. Otto says a good, I
believe he speaks the words of
God, and some people whom I
have already referred to as pips
need to be in contact with
thoughts that Dr. Otto throws
out. Yet even in light of this I
cannot justify no matter how
hard I try to in my mind, that it is
right to take away a person's
natural right of freedom of
religion.
Walloon's Collaoo
Relevancy
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For various reasons I have in
the past few months found
myself embroiled in numerous
discussions, many of which
degenerated into simple
contention. This has not been
unrewarding, however, for I have
discovered a method to end
almost all arguements, especially
those which I begin losing.
It is really quite simple. When
your “opponent” makes a
particularly decisive point,
simply ask (slowly and carefully
stressing each word): “Perhaps.
But is that really relevant?”(It is
all but essential to draw out the
word “really”.) If you opponent
is sharp, he will not permit
himself to be placed on the
defensive-but will ask you:
“Relevant to what?" Now you
have him. Reply very
matter-of-factly and rather
pedantically: 'To the whole of
our existence." Even if you have
not “won,” you have at feast
clouded the issue beyond
recognition.
Those students who have had
Mrs. Wilder for English II might
contend that this approach is
fallacious and illegitimate. They
would pro badly be right, but I
would have to ask them if their
point were really relevant.
As an English major I find it
distressing that people use words
as if they were going out of
style. Certain words arc used so
often and under such differing
circumstances that all denotative
meaning has been lost, and what
is left has meaning only to the
individual using the word. The
concrete method of operation.
And in those instances where be
does offer suggestions, they too
are often couched in vague or
idcalsitically meaningless
varbage. Take, for example, the
person who says “By relevancy
I mean recognizing the necessity
of a meaningful and teleological
approach to our existence such
that life can be purposeful,
directional, and fraught
withundetstanding.” He can now
be content to lean back in hit'
chair and say: “Okay, now that
you know what I mean, give me
a relevant education.'' If this
offered to him on a silver
platter, he cries loudly to the
world that no. due in the
Establishment cares about him
instantly to everyone’s mind;
use it with equal aplomb. When
a person demiusdi rcfevancy, he
is able ta «ad safe and secure
behthd tbit nebulous
terminology. He refuses to
accept the resporoMhey of
coming to grips with dm
Lest t be
perhaps I should make it dear
that I am not against the
concept of 'relevancy' per se; it
is using the word itself as a flag
around which to rally that I
dislike. !*am cognizant of the
fact that there are persona who
are responsibly studying the
wtuatioas with which we are
faced and are seeking ways to
improve them. They arc the
people who understand that
re levancy does hot thean
immediate appttcabfftyi they an
critical, but analytically so; they
vikdcfiiiiid thit idttaWm rmm
be tempered with mUn. It ii
only by striving toward some
workable solution that l
problem can be alleviated t not
solved; clouding the iasue with
verbose rhetoric should never be
confused with discussing a.
problem in an intelligent’
-
It is often vary difficult an
express an Man in
terms. So if you
what I have said in this <
don't he concerned; it is
prabahjy t rather irrelevant
anyouy.
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