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Letters To The Editor
D«u Editor:
We rocognbe the concern
(or pence on the pert of collefe
■tudenU throughout the no
tion. We ere awere of the dedi
cation of the youth movement
ee eeen in the recent mobiliza
tion of the October lb Mora
torium for Pence.
Them is one problem of par
ticular concern to the Ameri
can Red Croae that we hope
will be brought to the atten
tion of the etudenta on your
campus Involved in this move
ment as well as other students
and faculty. Recent figures
show some 413 men are known
to be prisoners of war in North
Vietnam. There are another
918 missing and believed cap
tured. These men are not there
by choice. All Americans of
good wftl should Insist on their
receiving the humane treat
ment called for by the Conven
tions.
Although North Vietnam is
a signs tor to the 1949 Geneva
Conventions, which coven the
treatment of prisoners of war,
it has refused to allow dele
gates of the International Com
mittee of Red Cross to visit
prison camps where Americans
are being held. The Hanoi
government has also refused to
provide the International Com
mittee with the names of
American prisoners they hold
or to permit the regular flow of
mall between prisoners and
their families In this country.
The American Red Cross is
intensifying its efforts to open
channels of communication in
accordance with the Conven
tions. Our responsibility as an
organization and our humane
concern for the welfare of
these men is our only motiva
tion.
This effort can be even
more effective if we have the
support of students in recog
nizing this Red Cross mission.
Thank you for your atten
tion.
Sincerely,
Pete Upton
National Director
Office of Public Relations
Dear Editor
I am interested in measuring
the effectiveness of our liberal
arts program at Mercer. Since
the “in" method of evaluation
seems to be to conduct a poll
and the efficient method of
reaching the students is
through the Cluster, I would
appreciate your printing my
letter.
All interested students are
requested to fill out the follow
ing questionalre and return it
toP.O. Box #2:
Answer yes or no.
Did you think before coming
to Mercer? _j,
If so, did you think about
(1) water pollution
(2) personal maladjustment
(3) sex
(4) pot
(5) draft card burning
Have you been thinking rince
you’ve been at Mercer?
If so, have you been thinking
about
(1) filling out surveys 4
(2) water pollution
(3) personal maladjustment
(4) sex
(5) pot
(6) draft card burning
(Note: If you cannot answer
yes or no but must quibble
with a maybe, sometimes, or
almost never, then don’t
bother to answer. Your opin
ion would not count in a poll
anyway.)
Sincerely yours.
Dr. May F. McMillan
Professor of English
Dear Editor:
It Is with regret that I feel
such a letter Is necessary to
write, but with the present atti
tudes of the Blacks & Whites I
feel it should be done. Only in
the past few years have Blacks
and White# had the teal oppor
tunity of living together and
therefore hopefully gaining
mutual respect and equality
and harmony. How are the
Blacks using this time?
in the 1960’s, Mercer be
came integrated and a chance
for obtaining true interracial
relations began. Unfortunately
Blacks have misused this op
portunity dreadfully. Instead
of using friendliness to gain ad-
miration, brotherhood, and
respect from Whites, they
Segregate themselves from snd
show hatred to Whites and
then wonder why they are not
fully accepted on campus.
Then they are heard demand
ing respect.
Statements like those of
Otis Bail and Will King (“Don t
worry about the white man ...
let’s Uve and think black!” Oct.
14 Clutter) serve only to
polarize the two races. One
cannot demand respect; one
must prove first that he is
respectable. A belligerent per
son will never prove respect
able.
Often in the cafeteria, on
the sidewalk, or in the class
room I will acknowledge a
Black with a “hello” or “how
are you” only to be ignored or
answered with an unfriendly
grunt — never a smile. I’m tired
of trying to force friendships
with what appears to be un
friendly Blacks.
White will never “accept”
the Blacks if they continue
down their present path of
“Black Power” slogans written
on the cafeteria tables. Black
militant statements given front
page coverage in the Mercer
Cluster, etc., etc. It's time the
Black students and certain
members of the administration
realize this fact
IT TAKES BEING A
FRIEND TO GAIN TO
FRIEND.
So you had your Moratoriun ?
I had mine, too.
I had mine for a man named
Terry,
Who died in a delay of Birds,
Who actually died in a war not
fought with words,
A war not won with massive
packs and discordance so
merry.
Don’t you know? “Telling it
like it is,” just won’t do.
So you had your moratorium!
I had one the other day.
Held over the family of a vil
lage chief
In a vil called An Bang (2).
1 man-48, 1 wife-39, 4 kids,
the V.C. slew
What’s the prob. back there?
No other way to express
your grief?
There’s a better way than back
ing an enemy at bay.
So you had your Moratorium.
I paused that day in thought
There’s something to win here
if it hasn’t been lost.
Empty Wine Bottles 1
Beckett Continues
To Look For A Refund
by Ron Childs
Samuel Beckett was re
cently awarded the Nobel Prize
for literature for his achieve
raent in the off-Broadway
musical “Oh! Calcutta!” In this
production Beckett wrote the
stage directions for “Prologue'’
in which he gives his views on
life.
1) Faint light on stage Ut
tered with ralecellaneous
rubbish. Including naked
people. Hold about five
seconds 2) Faint brief cry
and immediately inspiration
and slow in era see of light
seeching maximum together
in about ten seconds
Silence and hold about five
mmnik
Them Mage directions “ex
posed the mtaery of man in our
time through new dramatic and
literary forms.” “His poetic
authorship rises over the
wasteland of destruction as a
miserere for all mankind, and
its muted tone holds liberation
for the oppressed and comfort
for the distremed,” said an aca
demy official.
Although there has been
much criticism of Beckett, he
is unconcerned about what
people think of his writing and
he refuses to talk about his
work. His main concern seems
to be privacy, to get sway, to
retreat. Beckett has boarded a
train of despair and disiDus
ion ment and his ticket to for
solitude, a security In se
clusion.
From this gray, dismal out
look on Ufe one may become
frustrated, confused, or even
disgusted at Beckett, yet
thanks be for Mr. Beckett.
There rue too many people, in
cluding a great number at Mer
cer University, who are riding a
ferrto-wheel of unconcern and
unaware ness In a world that
soothes with trash cans and
empty wine bottles.
Too often our economic
and social insulation only tends
to imprison us in a sterile pod
of sanctity and shield us of
swollen bellies and battered
bodioa. Yes, flee us for after
dinner drinks and extra mild
dgan. However, Mr. Beckett
got off that fetrio-wheel and
continues to search for a re
fund on hie ticket.
Can’t you back something
that’s really there,
Something that seems a little
bit square,
Something in which a country,
not a group, has to count
the cost?
How can you fight a war you
haven't fought?
So I had a Moratorium, and 1
had the right.
Meier '68
C. 0. Charlie Co.
1st Bn. 6th Reg.
1st Mar. Div.
Viet Nam
Dear Class of ’73,
Although I was pot elected
to the SGA as I had hoped, I,
none the less, was gratified to
see the concern that the fresh
man class expressed in their
political future by having
turned out in large numbers to
elect our leadership for the cur
rent academic year. With this
notable exception, I feel we
chose wisely. I wish to express
my particular thanks to those
70 wise men and women who
cast their votes for Sam Hal-
pert.
To these people and to the
entire freshman dass, I say
this: In my campaign I spoke
of my desire to serve my class
and my university. The out
come of this election has not
diminished my commitment to
this goal. I shall continue to
serve my class and my school
to the utmost of my ability.
To the new elected officials
of SGA, my most sincere con
gratulations and best wishes for
a prosperous and meaningful
year. To the freshman class,
my thanks and dedication.
Sincerely,
Samuel Halpert
Hoa Quentin Burdick
Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C.
We share and recommend to
you, the views concerning the
value of the ABA Judiciary
Committee’s endorsement of
Judge Haynsworth nomination
to the Supreme Court express
ed by Professor Vem Country
man in his letter to the editor
of the New York Times,
October 21, 1969.
Dean Robert S. Rushing.
Professor Ross C. Tisdale,
Professor Robert E. Beck,
Associate Professor Alan
Karabus, Associate Profes
sor William Fisch, Assistant
Professor Lee Teitelbaum,
Assistant Professor Leland
Bull, Jr.. Awistant Professor
Joseph Goldberg, and Assis
tant Professor Richard
Kuhns, University of North
Dakota School of Law.
A majority of the American
Bar Anociation's Committee
on the Federal Judiciary has
approved President Nixon’s
nomination of Judge Clement
Haynsworth to the Supreme
Court of the United States de
spite the evidence that Judge
Haynsworth participated in the
decision of a number of cases
in which he had a conflict of
interest
The fact that the chairman
of the A.B-A. Committee, Law
rence E. Walsh, himself holds
his appointment from Presi
dent Nixon as special deputy
to the Paris peace talks suggests
that a majority of the commit
tee does not recognize conflict
of interest when it sees one.
Vem Countryman
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, Mass.,
October 15, 1969
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
For Your Information
What A Waste!
(This column is an attempt at
informing Cluster readers
about various areas of national
and international concern.
—Editors.)
The American society is a
consumer society. This is true
for both raw materials and
commodities, although the
GNP approaches a trillion dol
lars ($924.8 billion for the
second quarter of 1969).
This country is the destina
tion for most of the world’s
raw materials. We consume
each year more than half of all
the petroleum, rubber, iron
ore, manganese, and zinc (we
produce only about 25% of the
world’s petroleum, 14% of its
iron ore, 22% of its zinc).
What do Americans spend
their money on in terms of
services and commodity goods?
This year they will spend
over $83 billion for leisure ac
tivities. This includes, for
example, participation in over
10.000 golf courses, and
13,500 theatres (gross receipts:
about $1 billion).
Automobile sales also rank
high in priority. Over 28,000
car dealers sell over $30 billion
worth of cars per year.
Even more money is spent
on fashion goods — $36 billion
this year (a 40% increase in
four years, a rise equal to the
last 15 years put together). The
18-24 year-olds spend more
money per person for clothing
than any other age group in the
country. Males show a prefer
ence for coats, sport coats,
shirts and jewelry, outspending
all other age groups for these
items.
Men and boys’ clothing
store sales for 1969 are esti
mated at $4.3 billion; women’s
apparel and accessories store
sales: an estimated $7.7 billion
this year. Men will spend $60
million this year for aftershave
lotions slope; beauty shop re
ceipts for 1969 are estimated
at $2.3 billion. (In 1967, al
most $75 million in wigs, hair
pieces, and toupees were im
ported into the U.S.)
Other luxury items include
expenditures on cosmetics
($3.3 billion this year), tobac
co products ($4.8 billion),
jewelry ($1 billion), and air
conditioning and refrigeration
equipment ($4.25 billion). .
To encourage all this spend
ing (kids from ages 10 to 19
spend more than $30 billior
every year), almost $19 trillion
will be spent this year in adver
tising. To take the television
medium as one example, the
cosmetics industries spent over
$400 million advertising their
products (a sum exceeded only
by that of the food products
industry).
This advertising, incident
ally, was received by the 6 mil
lion color TV sets and 5'i mil
lion monochrome sets in the
U.S. (where 96% of all homes
have TV.)
A necessary aspect of a con
sumer society is waste One
measure of this is that there are
3.5 billion tons of solid waste
per year in the United States
(5.3 pounds per person, per
day).
Stated in ether terms that’s
48 billion cans, 26 billion bot
ties, 30 million tons of paper. 4
million tons of plastics and l'OO
million tires.
MERCER CLUSTER STAFF 1969 70
Managing Fdltor . Lyndon Mayes
New* Editor . . Don Nottingham
News Staff . F. Lightfoot.
K. Shaw, K. Bryant, M. Wein
atein, G. Copeland, J. Parker, M.
Swent, D. Wood, E. Vance, L.
High note
Feature Editor . . . . Chuck Jackaon
Feature Staff E. Robinson
B. Davies, D. Brown, T. Kand
ler. Alice Burns, Judy Wright.
Vivian Southwell, Marsha Mat
thews, Gene Williams
Columnists Ron Childs
Joe Hobbs, Larry Finklestein,
Allen Wallace. Rbcky Wade
Sports Editor Lou lohnaon
Sports Staff B Owens
B. Nottingham
Artists G. Middleton
B. Stanley, E. Hammonds, P.
^Campbell
Advert hung Mgr: % . . James Boykins
Advertising Staff . . Anne Gulley.
Susan Plum ley
Aaat. Buaineas Mgr Mary A. Buckner
Typists . . . I . Pless
Y St. Denis, E. Poole. B J
Bandlow, T. Drsery
Editors Tyler Hammett
lends Tully
Photography . . . Bob Johnson
Pubbc Relations Mgr . Renata
Williams. Jamie Dawson. Nadine
Sherman
Layout J.Cainp
A. Cooper. J. Hatten, K Kron
quist, A Stanton, B. Stmnton,
Ed Fisher
Political Editor . . Larry Firklestein
Advisors J. Paine
A. Stansfield
The Mercer Cluster is a weekly stu
dent publication published by the
students of Mercer University The
phone number is 74i-| 51 I, extern
sion 221 The address is Box 29,
Mercer University, Office room 326
and 32 $ CSC. Office hours are
9:00-5:00, Monday through Friday.
Subscriptions arc 15.00
THE MERCER CLUSTER • November 11, 1969 . 5