Newspaper Page Text
The Mercer Cluster
“Part Of The News That’s Fit To Print’’
Volume LIV
Mercer University, Macon, Georgia
March 30, 1973
No. 18
SGASlatesElections
And Qualifications
by Weyman Johnson, Jr.
Pictured here is the Flint in its undisturbed beauty. Curreut plans call for this natural stream to be
dammed for electrical power. Photo by J. Gdrdy
Part II
Flint River Project Continues
Should one have justification
for what one does, or should he
go ahead and do it, then make up
reasons for what he does?
The right answer is obvious
enough; just as obvious is the
alternative answer, as the
members of the Flint River AFP
Project were to learn in their
visit with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in Mobile, Alabama.
In other words: there is no sound
justification in building the
Spewrell Bluff Dam on the Flint
River in Talbot-Upson Counties,
and the reason that have been
gathered for the justification are
as full of holes as swiss cheese.
The above statement com
promises. the task that the Flint
River group has been about this
quater—to find the holes in the
cheese. As a Task thesis, the
group has examined the goals of
the Spewrell Bluff Project as set
forth by the Corps. The research
has not only proved extensive .
but vastly rewarding.
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
In attempts to examine the
Corps’ claim that hydroelectric
power is very needed in the
Georgia grid and that Spewrell
Bluff is a necessary factor in
meeting such demands, a sub
group specifically set up for
research has made contact with
the Federal Power Commission,
the Georgia Power Company, the
Public Service Commission, and
the Duke Power Company in
South Carolina.
There is no doubt that power of
any type is desperately sought for
today; the energy crisis has been
coming for a long time, but its
relevance in recent months has
played a great role in the power
sub-group work. Revealed in
many sources, including a series
of articles in the Atlanta Journal,
is the blunt fact: the Spewrell
Bluff project will provide 1.6 per
cent of the peaking energy
(“peaks” being high points in
by Diane Wood
demand during the day for
energy and peaki:ig being the
prime purpose for hydro plants),
and only .6 per cent of the total
power capacity!
Further investigation reveals
that hydro plants are outdated
(neither Georgia Power nor Duke
Power have plans for further
implementation of t hydro plants),
and that future peak-total
demands will be met by such
sources as pumped storage and
nuclear power.
And yet the Corps plans to pour
5150 million into the Spewrell
Bluff dam, attributing 46 per cent
to power in their cost-benefit
ratio breakdown! Investigation
has revealed a terrific
beauracratic entanglement, with
the Corps sending millions in tax
The 1972-73 Student Govern
ment Association has scheduled
qualifications and elections for
the 73-74 SGA during the next
week. Qualifications for Editors
of the publications were held
during a screening meeting of the
Student Publications Board on
Wednesday March 28.
Qualifications for the SGA
positions and the five positions on
the Student Union Activities
Board were held Thursday
March 29 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
in the Student Government
Association Office. The elections
for all SGA positions, the Student
Union Activities Board and the
Editorships of all Student
publications will be held one
week from the qualification date
on April 5 in the lobby of the
highest visitation figures in the Connell Student Center,
nation last year; 2) Within a 50- The editorship of every student
mile radius of the proposed publication is at stake in next
Editors in Chief of The Cauldron.
Hitchcock and Gaither have
served as Photography Editor
and Business Manager of the 72-
73 Cauldron respectively.
Though a complete list of the
candidates for the Student
Government Association elec
tions was not available for this
printing, the candidates for the
major positions are known.
Prospective candidates for the
office of SGA President are Brian
Carney, incumbent Vice-
President; Mike Streetman.
Junior senator; and Ken Bryant,
Chairman of the Steering
Committee of the Black Students
Alliance. Senators Joe Davis and
Doug Hardy, are vying for the
position of VicePresident of the
SGA.
The other available positions
are Secretary-Treasurer of the
SGA, five senators from each
Spewrell Bluff are contained week’s election. Editors will be class, five senators-at-large, four
seven lakes already,
which are presently
visitation-development
capacities; 3) Wien the radii of
close lakes are also drawn in,
including Allatoona, Lanier,
Sinclair, Worth, George, and
none of chosen for The Cluster, the
meeting weekly student newspaper; The
Plucked Dulcimer, the quar
terly literary magazine; and The
Cauldron, the student yearbook.
During the screening on Wed
nesday, only one candidate (or
Blackshear, the Spewrell Bluff set of candidates) qualified for
drawing engulfed, many times each editorship. Jan Suffolk,
over. What is seen is a tremen- Mercer junior and incumbent Co-
dous case of overkill! Editor in Chief of The Cluster,
In further work, the group was the lone qualifier for the
investigating recreation has cited position of Editor in Chief of The
several apparent facts; 1) In- Cluster for 73-74. As Editor of the
deed, another recreational lake is Plucked Dulcimer, the sole
neither needed nor feasible in the candidate qualifying in Wed-
area; 2) Attention should be nesday's screening meeting was
focused, not only by citizens, but junior Karen Murphey. It was
money for a practically nil ^by private and state agencies, on though that another applicant
developing present lakes to meet
recreational potential; 3) the
fallacy of placing the value of one
sort of recreation and aesthetic
appreciation, -uch as motor-
Continued On Page 8
cause, while yet the Federal
Power Commission thwarts
Georgia Power’s dam-building
projects, including a pumped
storage project which is a
feasible answer to energy
demand. As Dick Gregory said,
*‘Something wrong
somewhere...".
RECREATION
In a further analysis of the
Corps cost-benefit figures
(simply-will the project be
worth the money-what are the
returns?), a 41 per cent figure is
attributed to recreation . Does
Georgia need another Mercer University’s tuition
recreational lake? policies came under close
The AFP group has gone at this scrutiny by the Georgia
challenge full force; a detailed Legislature as a result of her
map with acetate overlays was attempts to receive funding for
prepared, with an accompanying the proposed Medical School,
chart of figures. Another set was Representative W.W. Larsens of
drawn up and presented to the Dublin called into question the
Department of Natural commuter tuition policies which
Resources, which has worked are extended to some Georgia
closely with the group. Just by a counties surrounding Macon but
simple scan of the eye, one can not to others. Larsens even
readily see three things: 1) requested that the appropriated
Georgia has an abundance of five million dollars be withheld
recreational lakes, including until the policies Were changed.
Lanier, which recorded the Larsen state!; “As long as
X
would be considered in a special
meeting (the outcome of that
meeting was not known for this
deadline). Duncan Hitchcock
and Ed Gaither, both Mercer
sophomores qualified as Co
faculty observors (elected
students enabled to witness and
advise but not vote in faculty
meetings), two elected members
of the faculty’s Wonderful
Wednesday Committee and five
elected members of the Student
Union Activities Board.
Also on Wednesday screenings
were held for prospective can
didates f cr the position of Fresh
man Advisor, an upperclassman
charged with the responsibility of
organizing Freshman orientation
and acting as advisor to fresh
man throughout the academic
year. The qualifying candidates
are Eddie Meeks and Tim Estes
The election officials note that
seniors are eligible to vote in all
elections except those for
senators, and students of the
Walter F. George School of Law
are eligible to vote in elections
for the editorships.
Tuition Policies Under Fire
Legislature Discusses Issue
by Jan Suffolk
Mercer is a private school no
complaint can be made, but it is a
different situation when the
university begins receiving state
subsidies."
As the policy surrently stands,
students from Houston, Peach.
Crawford, Monroe. Jones,
Twiggs and Bib counties pay a
reduced tuition fee of 5423.00.
This is contrasted to the regular
freshman tuition of 5668.00.
A Macon Telegraph editorial
from March 11, suggested that a
radius might be more equitable
means of determining the
eligibility for commuter tuition.
The editorial also quoted Larsen
as stating that the present policy
was clearly discriminatory. He
cited as evidence that students
from Gordon are forced to pay
the full tuition while those from
Perry which is geographically
further from the campus are
given the lower rate . Larsen also
asked that the Board of Trustees
review the current policy or else
the legislature consider revoking
the five million for next year.
