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GARY JOHNSON
MEMBER Ed.tor
JOHNNY TURNER
associate Editor
CARL BROWN, Business Manager
Executive Editors: Tom Cauthorn, Bobby Phillips
(Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Clutter and should not tie confuted with
news stpries. Signed columns and cartoons ere the opinions of the authors and not the
Cluster.I
jltsnt n
•Johnny Turner•
How Should The
Campus Be Run ?
Ron Childs
Uncle Sam Continues
To Police The World
Laird Plans Future
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird has recent
ly come out with a statement concerning the
outcome of the war that has the potential of
becoming another trouble spot for President
Nixon. The Nixon administration is under great
■pressure to end the war and es
tablish peace, and Laird's state-
Imerit definitely shows a trend to
lend the war, but his methods call
'for continual U.S. involvement.
Secretary Laird said that the
U.S. intends to maintain a “resi
dual force” of several thousand
men in Vietnam as trainers and
advisors after the fighting has
Childi come to an end. To make a state
ment to this effect indicates that the govern
ment is at least making plans for a peaceful set
tlement in Vietnam. This statement has implica
tions of a settlement and an end of war in Viet
nam, yet to examine this statement one notices
the continuous aspect of American troop in
volvement in the government and domestic
affairs of a foreign country.
If this plan is to be in effect after a settle
ment, one must ignore the terms presented by
the Viet Cong delegatin in Paris, 'rireir statement
was that there could be no hope for peace until
all American forces were pulled out of South
Vietnam. In view of Laird’s statement and the
view of the Vietcong, a peaceful settlement still
seems far in the future.
President Nixon wants peace in Vietnam, as
does ail of America, but does the involvement of
U. S. troops around the world still remain nec
essary? The mood of the country is one that is
complex and hard to understand, but for Nixon
to continously involve American troops around
the world in foreign countries’ affairs is a policy
that is sure to bring Nixon extreme criticism. It
is hard to understand President Nixon, It seems
that he has a natural knack for getting himself
into difficult situations.
Within the past five yean or so there has
been a tremendous amount of debate on the
subject of operating a university. Just bow
should a university be run? Think of the discus
sion that this question has caused. And the ques-
I lion Is no longer confined to col
lege presidents. Today students
and faculty claim that they have
a right to share in the forming of
decisions which have a bearing
upon their affairs. This was not
the case at many schools a few
yean ago.
The change in student and
, r K V .faculty actions has been caused
Turner by a change In the baric concept
of what students and teachers are. A student Is
no longer merely a customer sent to college to
receive a certificate of eligibilty for a good job.
He is more than that. He is a member of a
special community and he is usually searching
for a little bit more than a diploma.
Likewise, the modem college professor con
siders himself more than an employee of the
university. He is also a member of a unique com
munity and he desires a voice in it.
This accounts for the increase of student and
faculty interest sharing the responsibilities of
running a university. Many Student Govern
ments now possess quite a bit of power, and
faculties have a stronger voice in campus affairs.
Considering all this new interest in governing
the univerrity, it is not surprising that the tradi
tional office of president Is being viewed In a
new light.
Now the idea has been proposed that univer
sity presidents hoM their office for specified
terms such as three or six years. The proponents
of this idea have not suggested what would
happen when a president's term expired but It Is
not difficult to Imagine the next logical step in
this progression. That step is regular election of
univerrity presidents by the campus community.
Think of the radical change this action Would
bring about If college students had such power
they would actually assume control of their
campus. Such a shift in power would doubt
lessly alter the face of the University. Here at
Mercer for example the students could demand
a solution to such problems as the bad quality
food in the cafeteria, woPnass of some depart
ments, and the deficiency in the athletic pro
gram. .;>*
A shift in power of this kind would definitely
bring about a high degree of student involve
ment, and that seems to be the magic word on
college campuses these days. Some people
believe that as long as students are involved
things are going fine. One thing that Is often
forgotten is that involvement takes time. The
whole issue of student power boils down to one
question. Is the main purpose of a student aca
demic or campus Involvement? Some people
need to think about this question before they
propose to elect university presidents and take
over the everyday business of running a school
For A Free Press
Tired of The
From The Editor
Same Old....? What A Moratorium!
The Constitution of the United States
guarantees to all citizens the right to freedom of
the press. It makes no distinction between this
and all the other freedoms which we hold to be
very cornerstone of our American way of life.
Yet, it has come to light of
recent that for some reason or
other the University Press is not
to be allowed this freedom which
is basic to its very existence, but
must knuckle under to persons in
administrative positions.
This obsequiousness concerns
not only the material which is
considered for publication, but
also the material which is dis
played on the walls of the newspaper office.
Anyone who read the October 7 issue of The
Cluster with any degree of scrutiny could not
help but notice that several articles lo6t their
continuity of thought. This was because por
tions of the articles had been censored. How
ever, this censorship was not done by anyone on
The Cluster staff, and, in fact, occurred after the
paper had been released to the printers. The
staff of The Cluster was not even aware of this
action until the paper had been returned for dis
tribution.
It appears to be general policy with whoever
the censor is that it is a crime to publish a four
letter word. Perhaps this was true and still is on
those papers whose majority of readers would
be offended by the use of such language. How
ever, the majority of readers of The Cluster are
students and it is for students that The Cluster Is
printed, not the trustees or the general public.
by Chuck Jackson
Most students don’t make it through the day
without hearing at least one four letter wortT,
and often times this is from the mouth of their
professor. Four letter words are part of the
language of today’s student. In many cases one
four letter word can convey an idea which
otherwise might take an entire paragraph.
Interference with material being published is
not the only area which has been tampered
with. On occasion the paper has received
material from the administration with the
admonishment that it will be published.
Whether or not the material violates Cluster
policy seems of no consequence.
The latest piece of policy which seems to be
imposing itself on The Cluster concerns a certain
poster which adorns the wall of the Cluster
office. The conjecture is that the poster must
come down. While this poster may offend some
(it contains a four letter word) it only concerns
the Cluster staff; it does not offend any of
them, and sums up a feeling which each of us
hold.
A student newspaper should be just that, a
student newspaper. It should reflect the views of
its readers and be printed in the langu<e that
they use and understand. If It is to be or any
value to the students it cannot allow its policies
to be dictated by persons whose only concern is
that it not offend a minority of its readers, or
raise questions of a serious nature In their mind.
Futhermore, interference with the Univerrity
Press is also a violation of our Constitutional
rights. Who gave the administration the right to
a higher authority than the highest law of the
land.
by Gory Johnson
Moratorium A Success?
The Viet Nam Moratorium was quite a wide
spread success. Although the formal participa
tion in the activities at Mercer reached only
about 200, the success and the results of the
Moratorium was quite effective and evident.
For once in Mercer’s sleepy,
inactive history of the 60’s, it re
acted. The purpose of the Mora
torium was purely informational,
it was a day not for denouncing
it Nixon, former Presi
dent Johnson, “patriots”, and
United States Government. It
i a day of aeif examination
r jand confrontation of the fact
Johasoa that we are all guilty. If the
American people had acted rather than reacted
before now, the present war situation would not
be in existence.
However, on campus, there were many ‘pat
riotic,’ uninformed, and pro-American* who
took the issue by the tail, and really missed the
purpose. The campaign “Vietnam Affirmative'’
was imply ridiculous. Its leaders were as irra
tional and as stupid as their signs and campaigns.
The Press here in Macon with alms to make the
Moratorium appear as an Anti-American and as
a tar left movement caused the Macon com
munity to miss the true meaning of the Mora
torium.
The Moratorium was quite American and
moderate. It is really a funny situation at Mercer
and Macon is that one is only American when
you are patriotic and agree. But when one dis
sents and looks at the United States not as the
great white saint, but as a land of many moral
injustices; then one to a Communist and a
traitor. Yet our country was created out of dis
sent. It was Voltaire who said, “Though I may
disagree with what you say, I will fight to the
death to defend your right to say It"
Yes, the Moratorium was a success; there
were few schools in the South who even at
tempted to start a Moratorium or who even
stirred. But here at Mercer, although there were
students who Adn’t participate, they were con
fronted with the issue.
How? They reacted. Some by laughing, some
by whispering, some by talking, some by taking
counter actions. And even the prominent, illus
trious, sleepy beaded, 19th Century, isolated
Walter F. George School of Law reacted- They
voted 93-13 not to support the Moratorium and
to disassociate themselves with It. Wall, them an
not many times that this old great Institution
comes out of its deep sleep to sse and confront
world issues. But they Ad; they voiced their
opinion and thus supported the Moratorium any
way. The Moratorium was a period of expoeure,
debate, action, and dUcusrion. This happened
regardless of who you am, how you looked at it,
or how you liked It-the Moratorium was Indeed
Cluster P
For. Your Information
People
Still Starve
(This column is an attempt at Informing ClusUr
rsaden about various areas of national and Inter
national concern. - Editors)
By the year 2000 (only 80 years horn now),
there will be ahnoat 4 billion people In Asia (a
THE MERCER CLUSTER • October 28,1969 • 2
billion of these in China), a half-billion In
Africa, and another half-billion In Latin
America. In other words, there wfll be four
Asians for every European. But what of those
living in the "Third World” now? What tacts
characterise life In undsrdsveioped countries to
day?
.... 14 billion people ore forever hungry.
... Every ten seconds, four people dte of
malnutrition.
... Tin mutton Americans are under
nourished.
... Sixty per-cent of the people in the
“Third Workr am vltaiuln deficient Two-
thirds don't receive the minimum caloric
tuinit ijttt uprtinry la tbm countsits It
only half that of dmlopad owntriw.
... Seventy percent of Latin American
children am malnourished five to six percent
acutely so.
... Over 2 million Biaftans died of sterva-
Uoo between 1967 and March, 1969. Forty
percent of ad Biafran children between the
agre of two and four have died.
... In America, we eat 4.66 tee. of food a
day par person, and throw away enough
pitregs to feed a family of six in Indte. The
average dog tg America hm a higher protein
dtet man most children in Calcutta.
(Sources: Natural History Digest, New Re
public, Psychology Today, Reader's Digest, To
day's Health, M. Rood, The Third World; U.S.
Dept, of Gemmate*, V8A. Pocket Data Book,