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OPINIONS OPINIONS
From The
President’s Desk
MERCER CLUSTER
ill
i'll
NEVER.
.SB - .
I3CTENTE
MAY 7. IS78
OPINIONS OPINIONS
By Bill MareU
people. 1 can see no reason to
One of the perennial topics of continue that policy. We simply
discussion on the Mercer
campus is the topic of Student
cannot compete with Atlanta.
Jacksonville, or the Coliseum on
Activities. There is always concerts.
debate on what type of activity The saving of the $20,000
or what kind of entertainment would result in there being
should be provided the student money tvailble to provide a
by the school. The only point of decent crafts house — game
agreement is that nobody is room complex for the students
satisfied. The question then We could upgrade and expand
becomes, how do we provide the outdoor recreation program,
activities for all students that at with more canoes, camping
the same time will be entertain- equipment, etc. In edition,
mg as well as educational? 1 Julian has suggested enclosing
believe that Student Activities
Director. Julian Gordy. may
have a solution.
Julian's idea stems from
several years of experience in
experimenting with different
combinations of concerts, mov
ies. dances, and speakers, all on
a limited budget. Each attempt
the back section of the Co-op.
which opens onto the patio, and
creating a coffee house to be
used for professional coffee
house acts like Peter Lang and
Jericho Harp. This coffee-house
would also provide an area for
student* to talk and study,
without being bothered by the
has been commendable, yet has jukebox. In short, with the
failed to gain support of the money saved the elimination
ILL
NEVER.
Ronald
Reagan
of Rock Coocerts. we can
provide for students faculities to
entertain themselves all year
long.
I whole heartily support Jul
ian's proposal. Mr. Gordy has
worked long and hard to provide
the entertainment that is
needed by college students, yet
be has received no appreciation
for his work. 1 hope that all
students will realise that Mer
cer is in the education business,
not the entertainment business,
and" that this proposal is
designed to allow the mature
student to learn while providing
him with lasting opportunities
ones like if 1 * year: when we( to entertain himself, and let us
• spend that sort of money on two know about it. I not. let us hear
hours of entertainment for 300 how you would do it.
student body Based on the
response to past attempts and
the cold, hard facts of skyrock
eting entertainment costs cou
pled with s static budget. Julian
has decided to approach Mercer
Student Activities from s radical
new perspective.
The new approach calls for
the abolition of the Rock
Concert Series. There is no
sense in spending over $20,000
on concerts that nobody at
tends No matter where the
coocerl is. m the Chapel or in
Warner Robins, or bow many
we have, three large ones as we
did this year, or sixteen
The Pros And Cons
Of The Coupon Food System
r
The Cluster Needs •
Wtotogriplwrs and Raportirs
Coma by the Office Monday through
Friday 10.M am
juuijunuuumnummiiimimnil
^ % (JHerar Cluster Tin!
Editor m-Chief Linda E. few
MaDoginii Editors Yvette Miller and Jane Fusion
Sports Editor.. BUI Burgm
Photograph? Editor .Paul Parsells
Bum nr xa Manager Mary Jane Flanagan
Staff: James Dawson. Sharon Sovis. Linda Winter. Michelle
Flowers. Corey Comstock. Bruce Turkel. Victor
Jackson. WUtie Jenkins. Joe Moms, Charles Thomas.
Paul Clements Frank Rosser Mike Guercin
Advisors Dr Stephen Bluestone. Steven Causey, Russ
Powell
The Ouster is published weekly (eXh the exception of
holidays and exam periodsl by the students of Mercer
University for the Mercer community Printed by Keen and
Judd Publishers, lac.
By Kenneth K. Krakow
The SGA Food Committee
has recently been discussing
the merits of the coupon plan as
compared with the present
closed cafeteria or the eet-sil-
you-want system. Committee
chairman Tracy Ward request
ed that I outline the advantages
and disadvantages expected
using the coupon system. We
also discussed the merits of the
hand imprint system that is now
successfully being used by the
University of Georgia. This
system appears to'have merit
but could only be considered by
us if ere decided to continue
with the present plan, so it
might be confusing to discuss it
at this time.
Briefly the coupon plan would
involve the issuance to each
student a number of
books with a total
redemption value equal to the
quarterly board rat# The
coupons will be valued at .01,
.06, .10 and .26 each to total
perhaps $10 to $20 per book. At
meal time, the board student
will enter the serving Une of the
cafeteria and select any quanti
ty of whatever selections are
desired. Each item of food and
beverage will be priced indivi
dually At the exit of the serving
line, s cashier will add the value
of the £*ms on the.tray and
b the appropriate number
of coupons from the coupon
book presented by the student
It eras also mentioned in the
food committee meeting that
there may be s vote of the board
students to And out bow many
favor going to • coupon food
plan.
My personal concern is that
there is such a great amount of
food that we see being wasted
at present. I know that America
iful
■- 5
nation on earth .\but we can’t go
on like this forever. You have to
start conserving some place. It
would be easier for all con
cerned to just continue as at
present with another substan
tial board rate increase in the
Fall to pay for the waste.
However. 1 serve at the
pleasure of the Mercer Univer
sity administration and its
students and will abide by the
wishes of both to the best of my
ability. Advantages of the
Coupon Plan
1. Eliminates food wagt*. Under
the present plan when
' students have unlimited sec
onds and- can take all they
want, many will lake more
than they can eat and
therefore large amn^nts. of
the uneaten food are returned
to the conveyor belt to be put
in the garbage But arith each
•tudenl having a limited
number of coupons, they will
think twice before taking
execaaive amounts on their
traye. Furthermore the kit
chen will have lees waste in
preparation because more
•election will be prepared but
in smeller batches for better
control.
2. The new system would
permit a greater variety of
selections at each meal so all
students with so many
varying tastes will be more
likely to find foods that they
enjoy ai every meal. Such
favorites as fried chicken,
fried shrimp, roast ieef. real
steak and barbeqpe tparenbs
will then be available more
frequently.
3 The coupon system will save
the student lor their parental
money Wherever the system
has been used the board rate
was reduced by something
like $60 to $00 per year The
substantial reduction of food
waste is thereby passed on to
the customers.
Students will no longer feel
that they are paying for meals
that they don't get. such as
those who never eat breakfast
or those who leave campus on
the weekend.
The dining room will be open
Board students can be joined
at the table by their off
campus friends — and can
even share their food if they
so desire. Or non boarders
can purchase food in the
snack bar and carry it into the
dining room to eat with their
friends.
Board students can "buy"
meals for out of town friends
or relatives visiting campus
using the coupons.
This would be s more fair
system, especially beneficial
to the tight eaters who now
are forced to pay the same as
those with gargantuan appe
tites. On campuses now using
the -coupon plan, the light
eaters are permitted to sell
their extra coupon books tot
he big eaters — usually at a
reduced rate. With a lower
board rate and the availabili
ty of discounted coupon
books > many of the big eaters
may still survive at about the
same cost as at present, or
even better if a petite girl
friend js found who will share
some of her extra coupon
books.
Students will be healthier
Over eating • is a senous
problem for many Ameri
cans, and this would be
discouraged with a coupon
plan Besides causing .weight
problems, overeating puts s
strain on the digestive system
See COUPON, page 3
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