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WE DfflBUKgBK etLDDSTTBK I In smith \ Mml lini< i/riitjcnt Lullfguitv \cu s/mi/ht" 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,