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itr years doth* old accuracy. In Ngh sch iwy laugninc and usuaMy tha student whp I May tha wnJf collafa, If* more oft an ttM somewhere. But If cornu ou t I n pawl** rathar than actlva aaara*- Mon. Thay'ra unaxptalnabty Wick wlttao and niBfarf to fraqoanl ■dll of lailnaaa. They misread ample qu act loro, may spend thalr night* mechanically outlining history eh apt an whlla mattcutousty falling to comprehend a word of •lur* In front of tham. Tha **dda*t ca*a* among botfi Mack (lavas and (tudant (lava* ara tha on** who have *o thoroughly Introfactad thalr masters' values that thalr angar I* all tumad Inward. At Cal Stat* thaaa ara tlw kid* for whom ovary low grad* h torture, who itammar and <haka whan they ipaak to a professor, who go through an amotlonal crisis ovary tkn* thay'ra called upon during elate You can racognUa tham aadly at final* time. Thalr lac** ara faatoonad with fr**h pimples: thalr bowel* bod audibly aero** tha room. If there ready u a Lett Judg- iSSSSkm coat pap 8, eoL 6 burn In hall. • So itudant* ara ntgoarv If* tkn* to find out why, andlo do this, w* have to taka a long look at Mr. Chart la ■ The taachart I know boat ara coll**a profawor*. Outtlda the classroom and taken at a group, thalr mod ttrlklng characteristic It timidity. Thay'ra Wort on ball*. Just look at thalr working con dition*.. At a time whan avan migrant'worker* have begun to fight and win, coll*** profawor* ara (tfil afraid to make more than a token effort to Improve on thalr pitiful economic status, in Califor nia tut* col lag** the facuttla* arc screwed regularly and vigorously by the Governor and Laglslatura and yat they ttut won’t offer any solid resistance. They II* flat on thalr stomach* with thalr pant* down, mumbling catch phratat Ilk* “pro fessional dignity* and “meaningful A Year Of Promise 'u’DOS Uffl GtLQDgTFBOS "The South i Most Independent Collegiate Sempuper" GARY JOHNSON 4, JOHNNY TURNER member Editor associate Editor ‘hi 'J* .-fjk-h • «.t w* *t. v - * Nigger CARL BROWN, Businega Manapr ' ’ - v Executive Editors: Tom Can thorn, Wright Davis, Bobby Phillip* (Unsigned editorials art the opinion of tna editor* and should not bo confumd with now* stories Signed columns and cartoon* art tha opinion* of the author* and not tha editor*.) From thm Editor Up From Waverly Unlike past years, the fifth annual Waverly Conference produced and presented a new per spective for the future of the University. Also unlike past, years, the participants were few and select and issues were specific and restricted. The conference produced thirty-nine resolu tions — some very meaningful and important. From the start, participants sensed that the con ference was not to be a meeting for the presenta tion of gripes, but its true purpose was for con centrated thinking, long ranged planning and development. The University could really sparkle this year if recommendations are fulfilled. This is not guaranteed, however, in view of the past when resolutions have been forgotten, over looked, or simply ignored and then excuses are made and approved. Although the conference had many bright points of hope, there were a number of inade quacies and failures. The conference lacked the bill impact of confrontation that had been forth coming all year between the administration — faculty and students. The meeting was a pretty one with not many blemishes coming to the fore ground. No one really became upset it seems, but Johnny Turner Rehashing Old Problems Another year is staring us in the face. Doubt lessly it will brii)g its own special problems and challenges, plus a few left-overs from last year. It should be an interesting year. For an example let us look at a random sample of questions waiting for answers. Federal Aid is now a reality more or less, but an even more important question lies beyond it. How will all of those hard earned Federal dollars be spent? Will the Mercer campus suddenly sprout forth shiny new buildings to impress alumni and if so, where will they be placed? Or, will the money go where it will most bene fit the students; that is, will it be applied for new professors and stronger departments? If you do not believe in this need, ask a Political Science major or Economics or Math major about it and then make yourself comfortable. It will be a long answer. Another perennial thorn in the aide of stu dents and the administration is the chapel issue. The question here seems to' center around whether chapel can be made interesting enough to overcome the natural distrust of the students toward required attendance. The program was at one time interesting and stimulating. A problem which has lain relatively dormant for a year Is now threatening to explod*. This concerns our good Mend Mayor Ronnie Thorap- son’* decision to block Mercer’s expansion plans by re Curing to permit the uw of Urban RentwaL Avid newspaper fans might have followed the running battle between Mercer officials and Mayor Thompson. It endad with the good mayor pronouncing a plague upon our collective heads Unfortunately that was only one more round of what promiaea to be a treated debate in- tlw future. , And that tl mates* question of separation church and riate still twitches occarionaUy. Governor Lester Maddox and Major Thompson providad avidanca far thl* whan aariy in the sum mar they both officially Masted Mercer THE MERCER CLUSTER • September 21,1969 « 2 ivA-AlfcSt-El ‘ • accepting Federal Aid; thereby violating the very principle they sought to uphold. Another annual problem is that of Freshman retention. Look in the 1967 and 1968 Cauldrons and see how many Freshmen faces are miming now if you need evidence. This problem is very complex and very serious. One of the solutions to the retention problem can be found in the concept of a comuniversity. Mercer is small enough to sxrit as both a com munity and university rather than a collection of small groups aB squabbling among themsehrea. At least it is according to tire theory. It should be bitereating to observe the pro gram of the S.G.A. this year under the new con stitution. Its members have a host of problems to tackle that range* from student apathy to paifc- •u* wigBaiwi. This short survey is by no mams complete but it indicates what may be waiting for us Thorn who still ft — * OA o®pi. iV. Students ate nttears. Whan you gat that straight, our school* begin to make Sanaa. It'* more Important, though, to untf * nlggar*. If wa ■ — seriously enough. It i ■ —are or acre u) Into tha nitty-grkty of human sad* and hangups And from ■at* w* can so an to conildar I was disappointed. One reason was that debate was mostly philosophical and idealistic and not practical; mostly long ranged and no immediate plan of action; situations of inadequacies and in justices prevailing over half a century were left intact; and the inadequacies that had thrived dur ing the academic year were usually trounced and concealed with excuses which were accepted by the body. An overriding tragedy of the confer ence was the over creation of investigating com mittees to study the feasibility of recommenda tions — thus delaying issues a year and finding at the next conference the same situation in the same state again. This year I urge SGA to act on each recom mendation to assure the student body of their fulfillment. SGA cannot let these recommenda tions die because of administrative manuevering, bad memory, or a simple case of oversight. I feel very confident of SGA President Potter and the Senate this year. It is a potentially important year of transition and the active functioning of this body is most essential. This promises to be a great year. .. It might avar b* poMM* tor rtudant* to com* up from ■apery- Ftr*t, tat'* tea what** Happening now. Let'* look at ttia role (tudant* play in what w* Ilk* to call educa tion. At Cal Stat* L.A., where I teach, tha >tudant*. have separata and unequal oinks* facilities. It I taka them Into tha faculty dining room, my colleague* gat uncomfor table, a* though theta war* a bad •mall. It I eat In tha (tudant cafeteria, I become known a* the educational equivalent of a nlggar lover, in at least on* building mar* are avan ran room* which itudant* may not u*a. At Cal Stat a, ai*o, thorn l* an unvwlttan law barring ■udant-facutty love-making. For tunately, thh antt-ml*c*g«natlon law. Ilka It* Southern counterpart. I* not 100 par cant affect tv*. Student* at Cal Stata ara politi cally disenfranchised. They ara In an academic Lownda* County. Most qf tham can vot* In national •taction* — thalr average aga la about 26 — but they have no Vole* In the dacMonc which affect thalr academic live*. Tha itudant* ara It I* true, allowed to have a toy government of thalr own. It I* a government run for tha mott part by Uncle Tom* and concerned prin cipally with trivia. Tha faculty and administrators dacld* what couraa* will b* offered I tha itudant* aat to choo*a thalr own Homacomlng Quran. Occasionally, whan itudant laadan gat uppity and rebellious, thay'ra either ignored, put off with trivial concessions, or maneuvered •xpartly out of position. Student at Cat Stat* I* expected to know hi* ptaca. H* call* a faculty mam bar "Sir' or “Doctor* or “Pro fessor" — and h* imlle* and (hufflas tom* at ha (tand* outside tha pro fessor's office waiting for permis sion to an tar. The faculty tall him what couraa* to taka (In my depart ment, English, avan atactfva* have to b* approved by a faculty mam- bar): they tab him what to read, what to writ*. where to sat tlx typewriter. They .... true and what Isn't Soma teachers must that they encourage dissent but thay'ra almost always living and •vary student knows It. Tall tha man what ha want* to hear or ha'll fall your ass out of tha course. Whan • taachar says, “tump," (tudant* lump. I know of ona pro fessor who refused to taka up etas* tlma for exams and required stu dents to show up for tests at 6:30 In tha morning And they dkf, by Qodl Another, at ax am tlma, pro vides answer cards to be filled out - each ona enclosed in a paper baa with a note cut in tha top to *•• through. Students stick thalr writing hands In tha bags whlla taking tha tart. Tha taachar Isn't a provo: I wish ha war*. Ha does It to prevent cheating Another cot league once caught a student reading dur ing ona of his lecture* and throw bar book against tha watt. Still an other lectures his students Into stupor and than screams at tham In a rag# whan they tall eslaap. Just last weak, during tha first maatlng of a class, ona girl got up to taava after about tan minutes had gone by. Tha taachar rushed over, grabbed bar by tha arm, say ing “This class is NOT dismissed I and lad bar back to bar seat. On tha same day another taachar began by informing his class that ha doat not Ilka beards, mustaches, long hah on boys, or capri pants on girls, and will not tolarata any of that In his class. Tha class, inddaotally, con sist ad mostly of high school taach ar*. Evan more discouraging than thl* Auschwitz approach to educa tion is tha fact that tha students taka It. They haven't oona through twelve years of public school for nothing. Thay'va learned ona thing ips only ona thing during i nim wnai so raao, ita. and frequently, tha margin* on his hay tall film what's all mantary true bacauaa tha i re true. At a vary team to accept . , did certain mad lav at , ... _ haven't gore t waive years of public school for nothin*. Thay'va warned ona thtn* and par haps only ona thing during twfv Y** r * Thty'vt foroot ttn th«lr algebra. They're hop«l«w ty vagua about chemistry and physics. Thay'va grown to faor and rasant literature. They writ* Ilka thay*«n baan lobotomlzad. But. Jasus. can they follow ordarsl Freshman coma up to ma with an assay and ask If I want R folded and whether thalr name should ba In tha upper right hand corner. And • want to cry and kiss tham and caress thalr poor tortured heads. Students don't ask that orders make Sanaa. They give up expecting things to make sans* Ion* before yisy taava alamantary school. s^nTYhaYi Professors ware no different whan I was an undergraduate at UCLA during the McCarthy arai It was Ilka a cattta stamped* as they rushed to cop out. And In more recant years. I found that my being arrested In sit-ins brought from my cotlaafuas not so much approval or condemnation as open-mouthed astonishment. “You could losa *Wof couraa, there's tha viat- namasa war. It gats soma opposi tion from a faw teachers. Soma sup port K. But a vast number of pro fessors who know perfectly wall what's happening, ara copping out •gain. And In tha high schools, you can io r gat IL Stillness rsigns. I'm not sure why taachars are so chlckanshlt. It could ba that academic training Itsalf forces a split bet wan thought and action. It might also ba that tha tenured security of a teaching Job attracts timid parsons and, furthermore, that teaching. Ilka police work, putts in parsons who are unsure of thamtalvas and naad weapons snd the other external trappings of authority. At any rata taachar* ARE short on balls. And. as Judy Elsanstaln has aloquantly pointed out, tha classroom offers an artificial snd protected anvironmant In which they can ax arc Isa thalr wMI to power. Your neighbors may drive a battar car. gas station attendants may Intimidate you: your wife may domlnata you; tha Stata Legislature may shit on you: but In tha class room, by Ood, students do .what you say — or atsa. Tha wad* M a hail of a weapon, it may not rest on your hip, potent and rigid Hka a Cop’s gun, but In the long run It's mar* powerful. At your personal whim — any tlma you chdosa — you can kaap 39 students up for nights and have tha pies sure of sa» Ing tham walk Into tha claseroom Tha ganarat timidity which causes taachars to make niggars of thrtr students usually Include* a more (pacific fear — faar of tha stu dents them salves. After all, students are different. )uat Hka Marti people. You stand exposed In front of tham. knowing that thalr interests, thalr values and thalr language ara different from yours. To make matters worse, you may suspect i youreatf ara not tha moat way. Mbs Wlsoamayar tails you a noun Is a parson, ptaca or thm*. So tat It ba. You don’t gkre a rat's aro sha doesn’t *tva a rat's ass. Tha Important thine I* to pi**** her. Back In kbidaroartan, you found out that taachars only (ova chHdsan who stand In nlea straight lines. And that 1 * what* it's baan how to ba Havas. net snd parsds a usndsr laarn P" 9 You might also wan: to ksap in mind that hs was a niggsi ones htnv laif and has nava. realty gotten ovar It And there ars more cauiav soma of which ara battar described In roclolo o/cal than pr reboiogteal farms, work tham out. It's not hard But in tha meant ima what wa'va got on our hands is a wigjjg lot Of nljfwr. And wh.t m.kas ■■MM KIHSs In i fraabman cleat/ T mMtMKyi 'reSwTu Instda class, things are true by roa- son of authority. And that’s just fin* because you don’t — Once again Macon opaaa Ut arms for the Mnrcar Ma—i to ratum to College Street for an other year of Chicheatar and the paper mill. Than were times this wmmer whan It teemed that the Unlverrity might move from its pleasant setting to Atlanta. However, at least for this year, we’ll remain with Mr. Thompson. There have been several changes within the Univerrity during the summer Including the faculty, curriculum, and housing. There were also several resolutions from the Waverly conference that will affect every student, la order that the student body be aw— of tbeaa changes there will be a convocation early fell quarter, in which we wiU discuss the university and ita present state. The student senate, eeriy last spring quarter, Joined the United States National Student Association (NBA). Through this organisation, we wBl be provided membership services including a record dub and travel opportunltiM.' Also, early la November, will start a book dub handling mostly textbooks - which could save scarnf Respect for Authority. That's wtvat. It's tha poMc*ma£s RalmeP SoySu haunt ‘thSTaJtlw- Ity. You wither rrfilspsrart with a murderous stance. You cruet oMac- tors with anidftSpn and heavy Irony. And went of *N. you make your own attain manta seam not — but awesomely remote. opportunities trill also be db- caarod at the convocation. Students wll he throughout the of educational