Newspaper Page Text
Volume LI ’ MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON. GEORGIA. FEB 10. 1970 Number U
Cluster
Dedicates
Paper
This issue marks 50 years
of publication of the Mercer
Cluster. A half century of
growth has produced a wealth
of styles, formats, opinions
and controversies; the paper
has at times suffered neglect
and lack of interest; and it has
often sparkled under brilliant
leadership. The many yellow
ing, framed documents hang
ing up in the office attest to
the former periods of glory.
Not many college news
papers can thumb back
through as many distinguished
pages as ours and the fact that
our history spans 50 yean is a
tribute both to the school and
the long list of names of stu
dents and faculty who have
contributed to the Cluster. To
attempt to single out any out
standing individuals in this
lengthy list would be to
necessarily omit far too many
vital names.
It is to ail these persons
that we dedicate this anniver
sary issue. Their energy,
dedication and thought has
quite literally made this issue
possible.
It is only by chance that
the present Cluster staff has
the honor and responsibility
of creating this special issue.
We feel especially fortunate to
be able to bring out a paper
which we believe to be both a
reminder of our tradition and
a preview of the future. If w.e
have accomplished only a frac
tion of what we set as our
goal, then we have fulfilled
our. obligation to the past, and
prepared for the coming
decade.
ihe Mercer University
Alumni Association Executive
Committee held its quarterly
meeting on January 30. 1970
and for the first time students
were in attendance. Mr. Gary
Johnson. Mr. Ron Childs, and
Mr. Robert Potter were in
vited to the luncheon and
business session attended by
Cluster refute to print fraternity
if it is not presented, because that
of the Cluster is to tend out to each
• newt release form each weak, in hope
tend in aome newt of Ha activities for
ooe rent In has been printed, but
do not tend in any news at all. The
■ social organisation send in news, ai-
release forms, the responsibility Ilea
print article of Jimmy
id prints the
1m-
nd
at
sipiemlin hie opinion, aa any Itu
the student’s nempaper.
pries for tickets for Homecoming at
l.D. cards or dates of Mar
in the book stem
the entire Home-
allowed to inter
to each
a, , - »-*«
flUDtcnpuon
Man of
Stone’s
more than 25 alumni. The big
event of the meeting was the
proposal to change Trustee
selection policy to include
student representation.
Of the following committee
reports, the Alumni Trustee
nominees report held par
ticular interest for the stu
dents present. Mr. B. Carl
Bince presented the report
and nominated twelve persons
for the Board of Trustees, as
stipulated by the Constitution.
He pointed out that these
twelve nominees will be pre
sented to the Board of Trust
ees, who select six. The list of
six will then be presented to
the Georgia Baptist Conven
tion, who will approve two.
Mr. Bince stated that this rule
was quite antiquated and
recommended from the com
mittee that it be changed The
committee proposal, which
would be sent to the Trustees
upon approval, was that six
persons be nominated by the
Executive committee and that
the Board of Trustees select
.two from the six nominees.
This proposal, bypassing the
Georgia Baptist Convention,
Was approved unanimously.
However, a word of caution
was added that implementa
tion of the proposal might
necessarily be a slow process.
Next, Bince recommended
that the student body elect a
student trustee to be a regular
member of the Board of
Trustees. This proposal, also
to be sent to the Trustees for
consideration, was passed
unanimously by tbe executive
committee. This step, initiated
by the alumni, is certainly a
major move for student parti
Faculty Rejects
Senate Proposal
As Vaidilie's Day approaches, Nancy Toothman. Mi* Freshman and Charles Witzleben, senior,
survey the campus from the belfry of the administration building. Homecoming spirits are high as
they enjoy Macon’s sunny, but unpredictable weather.
Executive Committee
Recommends Student Trustee
cipation in the setting of uni
versity policy.
President Rufus C. Harris
welcomed the group immedi
ately after the luncheon and
outlined a few university
problems and how they were
being handled. He told of the
recent Administrative Council
meeting which cleared the air
for future progress in many
areas and mentioned the parti
cipation of students, adminis
trators, and faculty in these
problems.
After a short recess. Dr.
Ralph A. Phelps, newly
appointed Vice-President for
Development and Public Rela
tions. addressed the. com
mittee. He discussed the
problems involved in establish
ing a sound development pre
gram, but offered hope for
progress in establishing a
long-range program at Mercer
University. The committee
was quite receptive to Dr
Phelps comments and offered
Several questions concerning
the overall plan and the pre
sent relationship between Mer
cer and Hit community and
Mercer and her alumni.
The presiding officer. Mr.
Lennie F. Davis, as well as
others, emphasized that stu
dent participation in. alumni
functions is needed and
appreciated. Several students
will help plan for Alumni
Day, set for May 1, ih the
hope of coordinating the
event with some student activ
ities. Mr. Archie Moore, chair
man of Alumni Day, has al
ready contacted one campus
Organization in coordinating
events and will work with
others as time permits.
in their February' 3 meet
ing the faculty rejected by
more than a two to one
margin a proposal by the SGA
Senate that six students par
ticipate in that body as full
voting members. However, a
subsequent proposal to sup
port the principle of student
participation in faculty meet
ings was defeated by only a
narrow margin of 4 votes.
The action came after a
month of correspondence, dis
cussion, and red tape. At the
beginning of winter quarter
SGA President Bobby Potter
wrote a letter to Dean Taylor,
the Chairman of the Executive
Committee of the faculty, ask
ing that the faculty change
their policy of closed faculty
meetings. Dean Taylor sug
gested tha. a concrete
proposal be made to the
executive committee in this
regard.
On January 28. Potter met
with the executive committee
and proposed the following:
1) that three permanent stu
dent members be invited tc
Ihe faculty meetings (these
would be tbe Cluster Editor,
the Chief Justice of the Honor
Council, and SGA Vice-
President) 2) that as many as
three additional members to
be selected by the SGA Presi
dent be invited These stu
dents would most likely rotate
from week to week 3) that all
six of these students would
have a voice as regular voting
members. Discussion on this
motion followed
On January 30 Potter re
ceived a reply from Dean
Taylor to the effect “that it
was not the recorded vote of
the committee that formal
student representation should
yet be approved”. However,
the executive committee
would recommend to the.
faculty that efforts be made
to establish Student liason
committees to parallel all
regular standing committees of
the faculty.
The SGA Senate on
February 2 discussed at length
the general idea of student
representation in the faculty
meetings They responded to
the suggestion of the execu
tive Committee as well as to
the previous proposal of
Bobby Potter. A motion was
passed that the proposal
w hich had originally been pre
sented to the executive com
mittee be presented to the
faculty at large in the meeting
of February 3.
This proposal was to be
sponsored by the SGA Senate
The SGA President attended
the February 3 faculty meet:
ing to present the proposal
and discuss the thinking of
the SGA Senate as to the
reasons behind it.
Potter said that students all
over the country are now
taking an active part not only
in their education but also in
deciding what their education
is to be. He pointed out that
in the past students have been
used as resource persons and
have been valuable in this
position. Because many of the
policy-making decisions such
as those affecting curriculum
changes directly affect the
students, many students
would like to participate not
only in the discussions, but
also in the decisions.
After making his presents
tion, Potter left and Dr.
Gallegos made a motion that
the SGA proposal be adopted
by the faculty. The motion
was defeated by more than a
two to one margin.
Some of the objections
voiced by the faculty were
that six is too large a figure,
that the idea of appointment
instead of direct election was
bad. and that the Editor of
the Cluster already has an
organ to voice his opinion and
therefore should not be
allowed another voice.
Dr McManus then pro
posed a substitute motion to
support student participation
in principle This motion was
also defeated, but only by a
narrow margin of four \otes
(42-38).
The matter, however, is not
closed, for it can ilow be re
ferred back to the executive
committee in the form of
modified proposals.
Inside
Cluster.
•Cluster Forum
( luster Profile
Editorials
ifnmei-ilining Jii
Tetters to Edilo
Social News'
Sports
The Community Center is on the move. On Wednesday from
3:30 to 4:30 and Saturday from 2:00 to 3:30, the girl’s gym Is
the scene of basketball games.