Newspaper Page Text
p
To The Editor
Daw Editor,
I had baan hoping for tome
algniricant raactioa to my
opan latter conoarning the
attributes of Wonderful Wed
oeeday, hot haring waited for
am three weeks to no avail.
I’ve decided to goak opt once
Dean Trimble mally has a
point In mying that aorae of
the acthritias on Tuaaday night
at Mercer hare become unde
rirobte. Unfortunately the stu
dents haven’t even made a
point — defensive or other
wise. Where are the non-
apathetic students? When will
Interaction replace (auction?
The time to act is now -
form a student committee, re
juvenate the Fisa University,
or cieate a worthwhile substi
tute.
The throe abstract ideas for
action, which I mentioned
above, lead me to mentioning
one fallacy in Dean Trimble's
thinking: "Participation in
free uni vanity dames end
other forums seems to have
decreased.” So what! As a stu
dent, it seams to me that
appreciable students am engag
ing in worthwhile activities on
Wonderful Wednesday. How
ever, many of those activities
are not formally registered as
free university courses - some
of them could be, but what
difference should it make if a
student attends a certified free
university course or a non
registered dtecuarion group.
Moreover, what difference
does it make if the students
involved in non-registered dis
cussion groups study Sunday
afternoons and discuss on
Wednesdays or if they reverse
the order and study on Wed
nsadays and dlscuas on Sun
days?
Students concerned with
keeping Wonderful Wednesday
and maintaining their freedom
to either take or leave the
regietered free university
coureee must stand up nowl I,
personally, am willing to join
intonated persons in taking
tha proper measures, but I
cant do it alone. Fleam stop
being apathetic kid start inter-
Claudia I. Bicht
CONCERNED?
As a freshman in colltfs I
had eoneem for the injua-
tiem of one race sgaJnet an
other and I asked meekly,
“What can I do?”
SORROW?
Yes, I even felt sorry for the
minority and even a little
guilty, but this was the po
pular thing to do, and as a •
sophomore it wm easy to get
‘caught up’ In popular
things.
EXPERIENCE?
I thought at last them will
be an opportunity to hfee
“common experience” with
members of the black race
and to work togsthar in tha
process of obtaining our edu
cation. I soon learned that
the blacks had no dadre to
‘share’ their experiences with
me, unless I abandoned ipy
own race. As a junior I felt
unwanted.
BDUCATED!
Yea, m a senior I've been
educated. 1 am now that all
men regardless of race still
have the same weak names;
even the black man is pre
judiced. When I me a raised
black fist, I think of Hitler.
When I look at my son, I
cry. When I read the Clutter,
I laugh, just as I did when
Maddox was elected. Neither
is hinny, but “What can I
do?”
“WHAT CAN I DO?”
I can offer advice to the
concerned student: “LIBER
ALISM IS NOT A SUB
STITUTE FOR EDUCA
TION.”
Editor of THE SHAFT
Upon reading in the past
two papers the two editorials
discussing two views on the
same subject, that is, the
Greek system, I would like to
express a third view that no
one seems to have thought
about.
Granted the Greek system
is not perfect; as a Greek I
will be the first to admit it.
But looking at other institu
tions with Greek systems, I
have found that no Greek
system is perfect. Fraternities
and sororities realize that
changes need to be made but
Spiro And The Cluster
■ L.. m l_r taj I
"I'd rather Uve in e coun
try with newtpapert and no
government, then in e country
With e government and no
newepapen."
Thomas Jefferson
Recestiy, Urn mmthiart wm
chonpd at the lop of this
newspaper. The things wm
small - tha ward “tadepen-
dsnt” wm altered to “contro-
verstsl" — and yst this act Is
• ■noticeable in
the recent furor
over the Mercer
Chuter and its
new image
There is a long
line between
being the most
Ws*i controversial
paper In thk area. And the
question many Marrartens are
addag Is If this la tha purpose
of their school paper to ha
■■ and if so why?
Agnew’s Mistering
Spiro
«tt*ck on i
some dear overtones to tha
situation at Mercer. He related
the fact that the TV news
media should represent the
populous rather than their
own editors) policy since they
held almost a monopoly on
tha rows that is presented to
the viewers. At Mercer pre
sently the Clutter is the only
paper and therefore, should
represent the editorial view
point of the majority of Mar-
cerians. This is not to deny in
dividual editorialists their own
my, but rather to question the
basic context and philosophy
that surrounds the paper.
The television news media
may have a way out for they
are owned by private busi
nesses and regulated for a pro
fit, therefore they have to my
tome thin* and get into con
troversy to sell their products.
The Mercer Clutter is totally
different - the paper it paid
for by atudabta m a non profit
service. There is no real need
for it to be cootrorarstaL
As Judge Byron White re-
caotiy ruled it is paramount
by Rocky Wcxlo
that the news media represent
the majority sector of the
populous that it coven. I feel
that this should ho the course
for the Clutter. Thera would
be no need for a aocond paper
for our achooi if the present
paper apoke for bmm Mu-
dents.
Tha Berron't profile of
Mercer University shows that
tha avaraga Marcsrian ie coo-
re rvative and fraternity-mind
ed. Yet, peraonaly 1 fast that
our paper ideology Is br from
that.
Tha oo|y way to correct
this problem la to work
through tha eetabltehed sys
tem. Tha paraou meat at feult
for tha dtesmt oyer tha Clu
tter la the
gripe at hot haw
ad on tha paper. I
CAPITOL HILL (from |
>2)
these have to ha effected
within aach organization and
the overall aystem. Students
who an not attainted cannot
change Greeks. With this in
mind tha unaffWated students
condemn tha Greeks for all
they stand for with most of
there dissenters condemning
something they know Httte or
nothing about.
I have ooe approach to the
system which people seem to
l*K>re. In the first place the
terms unaffUiate, black and in
dependent are all different
ways of tiring a term which
people seem to ignore, that is,
the term non-Greek. However,
I would Mke to addrem myself
to the unafTUUtes and in using
this term I include Macks be
cause they are students and
also unaffiliates and should
not bs ae para ted
Many unaffiliatea, although
not all, who do not gat in a
fraternity or sorority in a
sense give up and satisfy
themaaivas with condemning
Greeks using pointtere argu
ments. Than am non-Greeks
who view Greeks and them
seivee objectively and present
good arguments and sugges
tions. Them are the people to
whom the Greeks listen. Con
structive criticism it the beat
kind. I can q»eak for all
Greeks when I say that we
will listen to any non-Greeks
who wish to prerent valid
arguments and opinions. In
return we expect thorn same
students to listen to us.
Mercer is a small achooi
and there are not many ireuea
on which one may take a
stand. The Greek system
teems to be the eariest and
moat fun to condemn; there
fore, it is the moat popular.
Thare is room for change
throughout this campus. The
Greeks are working on their
problems. If the non-Greeks
want to take a stand I believe
that they should focus their
energies on something that
they can do something about;
that is, on something in which
they can take an active part. I
urge non-Greeks to look at
themselves first, and then look
etmwharo.
Bob Stanton
cai juncture, both si dm turnsd
their bee toward peace rather
than toward conflict and wm.
SI ncerely,
Richard Nixon
Hanoi,
Augiut 26, 1969
(Received in Paris August 30.)
His Excellency
Richard Mlhout Nixon,
Pretident of the United Statet,
Washington.
Mr. Pyaridsnt: I have the
honor to acknowledge receipt
of your tetter.
The war of aggression of
the United States against our
people, violating our funda
mental national rights, still
continues in South Vietnam.
The United States continues
to intensify military opera
tions, the B-52 bom bin 0i and
the use of toxic chemical pro
ducts multiply the crimes
against the Vietnamese people.
The longer the war goes on,
the more it accumulates the
mourning and burdens of the
American people. I am ex
tremely indignant at the loans
and destructions caused by
tht American troops to our
paopie and our country. I am
ateo dmply touched at the ris
ing taH at death of young
Americans who have fallen in
Vietnam by reason of the
policy of American governing
circles.
Our Vietnamese people are
deeply devoted to peace, a
real peace with independence
and real freedom. They tie
determined to fight to the
end, without fearing the sacri
fices and difficulties in order
to defend their country and
their sacred national rights.
The overall solution in 10
points of the National Libera
tion Front of South Vietnam
and of the Provisional Revolu
tionary Government of the
RepuMic of South Vietnam is
a logical and reasonable basis
for the settlement of the Viet
namese problem. It has earned
the sympathy and support of
the peoples of the world.
In your letter you have ex
pressed the desire to act for a
just peace. For this the United
States must cease the war of
aggression and withdraw their
troops from South Vietnam,
respect the right of the popu
lation of the South and of the
.1 >*
Vietnamese nation to dispore
of themselves, without foreign
Influence. This is the correct
manner of solving the Viet
namese problem in conformity
with the national rights of the
Vietnamese people, the inter
ests of the United States and
the hopes for peace of the
peoples of the world. This Is
the path that will allow the
United States to get out of
the war with honor.
With good will on both
aides we might arrive at com
mon efforts in view of finding
a correct solution of the Viet
namese problem.
Sincerely,
Ho Chi Minh.
The Need For Action
Too often, an editorialist is
prone to point out the fact
that a problem exists, merely
for the purpose of filling his
column. Such an ap
proach fails to
remit in either
progress or cor
rection in any
university func
tions. For this
reason, I have
Chosen to
change the for
mat of my column from one
of commentary to one of ac
complishment Though never
much at an established musi
cian, I aha!) now learn to
specialize on the harp; I will
continue to harp on a single
subject — week after week
after week, if necereary — un
til the cause of my harping
has been believed.
This university suffers from
a remarkable lack of recrea
tion facilities - facilities that
would require only a modest
expenditure, yet would result
in immeamrabte enjoyment to
the whole campus community.
Futhermore, in'the two years
that I have resided at this uni
versity, I have seen no mean
ingful steps taken to provide
recreation facilities intended
for campus wide enjoyment.
What steps do I suggest to
the immediate alleviation of
this growing problem? (1). the
immediate purchase of 6 ping
pong tables and accompanying
equipment (2). the placement
of said equipment in that area
of the student center immedi
ately adjacent to the cafeteria,
with the respondbility for ad-
mintstering tha accompanying
equipment vetted in the
operator of the switchboard.
I firmly believe that the
adoption of this proposal is in
the best interests of the uni
versity in that it will provide
desperately needed facilities to
the entire campus community
— facilities of a minimal ex
pense that will accrue the fol
iowing advantages:
(1) . Provide recreational
facilities open to ail university
students - particularly thore
now lacking access to frater
nity facilities.
(2) . Provide a rationale for
calling the Student Center a
student center by providing
facilities normally associated
with student centers as de
fined by such facilities at
other universities.
(3) . Improve the atmo
sphere of the university
through making it a more
complete entity: then we can
to lend credence to the
•f the university being a
for all of its students.
In the forthcoming week I
riMB seek the definite commit-
amt of key members of the
A 4 Ministration and Student
Govfrnment Association to
tha 'accomplishment of this
program by opening day,
winter quarter 1970. The ra-
spooses that I receive, and the
progress that I make will be
the aibject of my next report.
Until then, i remain dedicated
to the proposition that much
remains to be done, and it re
mains our job to see that it
gets done!
Broth or Wode
Housemothers
Superfluous!
With the recent investiga- keeper being around. There
tion initiated by the SGA into are the disturbances that have
the relevancy of house- been reported at one time or
mothers, it is time for the other
~3QA to go one step further to American flags being re-
question the relevancy of the moved from windows without
Oho art
a new
Ficklo Finkl* Finglor
Suppository Award
This week’s Fickle Finkle
Fldgler Suppoeitory Award
gaaa out again to the Mercer
cafeteria for their outstanding
job oi bringing to the seven
ths ’«• mast and keeping the
utsig Tha starv
ing staff of fea Maroar Ouster
paper to pt focal andptlp
vohrad to trap rote the ritae-
Uan. It’s time toe tha
to roll
zaln roUfeg. Tha starv- an not Mqand to gua
Y of the Mnrcar Qester . self and four root
thaM the* moat *n- enmity of a house
healthy teihltaHnm. hot all
wo cat add k kata and soma
aka MltMr. flfe ak that you
wear tkfe award proudly.
poaition of housekeepers
There has recently arisen on
this campus, a genuine con
cern over the rights aqd privi
leges of students in th^ seem
ingly snug atmosphere of their
dorm room. Some question
has also arisen as to the viola
tion of the rights to privacy in
your dorm first off by the
mere appearance and necessity
of such a monitor ax a hous
keeper and aecondly. by cer
tain acts that may hinge on
legal sanctions.
A college student is sup
posedly a maturing adult who
is learning to accept responsi
Mil ties, yet how can one ma
ture when he has a house
mother who runs around rant
ing “woman on the hall" and
leering into rooms like a
hovering hen hunting far evil.
And who knows what a curi
ous woman with entrance to
your roon^wM do when you
guard your-
room? The
„ tar
Medic atesthat you an a child
not aooUsgs student.
But Ohm fe toore to this
problem than jurt the houar-
permission.
Threats of slicing locks (c
investigate an overhead closet.
Appearances in showers
which should be private, es
pecially to male students.
Looking into briefcases
inside students' rooms.
There appears to be no
need for the housekeeper We
have our individual initiative
to urge students to keep their
rooms dean, we have the jani
tors to keep the internal areas
of the dorm dean, and we
have the garden crew to keep
the exterior of the dorm
dean. There seems to be no-
thing left for the housekeeper
to do. The SGA needs to find
out and relate their findings
to the students what are the
actual duties of the Nttle miss.
I have reviewed the posi
tion of the housekeeper and 1
feel that it tun no benefits
and much potential for harm.
I fad that the position of
bouremothers is detrimental
and should be eliminated. Fur
thermore, I urge the SGIA-to
investigate thk
act on what
about thk i
JanuaryU^ W«"3