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Letters To The Editor
able visual distinction of the
Dear Editor:
Laai Thursday and Friday
evenings John McKuen, an
excellent musician and come
dian, and member of The Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band, played to
relatively large groups (with
emphasis on the word “rela
tively”) in the Co-op. He
seemed appreciative of his
audiences, and they responded
to him with sustained applause
several times during each set.
However, we were lucky that he
was so tolerant of the place he
had to play in. Thursday night
the Co-op was open, and both
McKuen and the audience had
to put up with the distractions of
hamburgers sizzling, the cash
register ringing, the radios of
the security guards suddenly
blaring out, and the intermin-
place your entertainers to per-
saw Jericho Harp, VaJdy, or
Is This The NBA Or What?
The climate that surrounds
intramural sports is kind of
amazing. The people in charge
have taken command and
enforced rules so strict, that I
doubt if they abide by their own
constitution. Our viewpoint was
that intramural activities add to
the life of the boring college
atmosphere (on Mercer’s cam
pus anyway). To offer competi
tive situations to people who
Tfce Mercer Chuter, Jutury SI, 1OT7 — P«g„ J
the ruler (intramural Chairman)
playing for a team there has to
be some conflict, especially
when keys to the gym seem to
Continued from page 1
coming and going of people at
the right of the stage. Friday
night the Co-op was closed, but
there was still the bothersome
entering and exiting going pn;
and at one point, just as
McKuen had begun a song, a
security guard abruptly inter
rupted him by turning on some
lights that * ‘had’ ’ to be on. John
McKuen took all these things in
stride, but many performers
would have refused to play
under such outrageous condi
tions.
1 am not attacking the Co-op;
it is one of the last places of
refuge for students on this
campus. However, I am appall
ed that the “powers that be”
have not provided a suitable
pop up for their team, and
everyone else sneaks in what
they get a chance. Of course, he
would say you have to ask this
coach or that coach, but that’s
no problem for them they have
baseball players who know the
co act. Pennon ally, after several
encounters with the coach, we
find his approach to the whole
situation distasteful.
previous years people could be
added as long as they were
qualified dues paying members
form, especially those of the
caliber of John McKuen. Many
times while at a concert in the
Co-op, I have heard a group
performing some musically
delicate number, only to have
its effect ruined by the sound of
a cash register or the clanging
of dishes and pots being
washed. Some people suggest
that we put entertainers in the
Chapel, but we are not able to
afford names that are "big”
enough to draw a crowd
sufficiently large to justify the
use of a room with such an
ample seating capacity. Others
say “ho one goes to the
concerts, an way"; but if cue
were dunking objectively would
they believe that anyone who
was going to play in Mercer’s
Snack Bar would be any good?
Probably not. Yet the entertain
ment this year has been
excellent, just ask anyone who
of a fraternity. It was a slight
oversight but, the king (intra
mural chairman) was quick to
point it out and put a loss in our
column. We are not asking for
any favors only that some
people begin to be for real. The
solid whopping we put on the
other team was all we needed If
they need a victory that bad
give it to them, they know and
we know who played the better
game. When it all comes down 1
hope the championship team
have their agents ready for the
N.B.A. teams because we know
somebody has got to go Pro.
Yours truly.
Brothers of Omega
Omega Pai Phi Fraternity Inc.
John McKuen (and here Julian
Gordy, Director of Student
Activities, deserves a great deal
of credit; he is the one
responsible for scouting out
sue* xl talent). Why, then.
i~ust these people play in the
Co-op? Why. haven’t the “high
er-ups” provided, or at least
made some visible attempts to
provide, a decent, real place for
our entertainment?
Having to have concerts in
the Co-op is only part of a larger
problem. It ia my intuition that
. the interests of the students are
not as high a priority with parts
of the administration as they
should be. There are very few
lounges on campus (not a single
one in Sherwood); and many of
them are unattractive visually
and in other ways. The Game
Room has been done away with;
there are now a few games in a
couple of the dorms. But at least
one of these smaller game
rooms, in Freshmen Men’s
Dorm, is in unspeakable condi
tion. A week ago there was one
cue stick (no chalk) for two pool
tables. There were no balls for
the foosball machine; instead
two students were playing with
, a cue ball from an unused and
unsuable poo! table. Perhaps
some would say such issues are
superfluous, but of the several
colleges and universities I have
visited, some large and some
small, none have regarded
students recreation as an
’extra.” Mercer is unusual in its
lack of services, comforts, and
irioor recreational areas and
equipment.
We are not immune to
second-rate treatment in an
academic sense, either. A
number of students would like
to study during weekends, but
have no place to go. The library
closes at five on Fridays and
Saturdays, and the next logical
place to study ia in your room.
Yet, there ia usually at least one
room close by whose stereo ia on
too loud to allow you to
concentrate. Then you move to
the Co-op or Duncan Lounge
and try to study amid the noise
of pinball machines, the juke
box, or the television. During
finals Mercer students flood
Denny's to study late at night
because both the library and
student center are dosed. After
eleven o’clock at night, and five
o'clock on weekends, there are
very few places on the campus
which ar. conducive to study
ing.
I have the impression that the
most important thing to some of
those who run this school is that
it functions smoothly, like a
well-oiled money-making ma
chine*, and that if student
interests coincide with the
meshing of ttKrt* pecuniary
gears, then fine; but if they
clon’t, they must be done away
with like an irritating bit of
trash between a cog and a
wheel. Did others feel that the
closing of the third floor 'of
Roberts' Hall in order to save
money was unethical and unfair
to many of those who had to
forfeit their private rooms? Why
not put three to a room in
Sherwood, most of the rooms
are big enough. Think of the
money that would .be saved!
The idea, of course, is ridicu
lous, but so are many of the
things that actually take place.
Though I thought students w^re
the most important element in a
university, Mercer seems to be
an exception to the rule.
Sincerely yours,
Joe Morris
have a desire to run off that
bear gut. However it has turned
info a power play for the people
fa command. Anytime you have
Now we come to the central
problem, a game waa taken
away from us because we forgot
to put two players down on the
roster for the first game. In
1977 EMPLOYMENT
percent increase in the demand
for service workers such as
building clearners, police offi
cers, nurses and health aides
between 1974 and 1986. Total
U.S. employment is expected to
rise 20 percent with job
prospects in particular occupa
tions ranging from bountiful to
dismal. Here's the specific job
outlook according to a study by
economist Max L. Carey of the
Labor Department:
• 29 percent growth in
demand for professional and
technical workers (dvil engi
neers and geologists, up 36
percent; actuaries and mathe
maticians, 46 percent; surve
yors, 69 percent; dental hygien
ists, 168 percent; computer
specialists/66 percent; lawyers.
42 percent; and social workers,
43 percent);
• A 2 percent drop ia
projected for college and
university jobs;
*A strong demand for bank
officers and financial managers;
• Funeral directors' jobs will
decline 6 percent and postmas
ter and mail superintendents’
jobs will drop 16 percent);
• A 60 percent increase in
jobs for secretaries;
• A 20 percent increase in
jobs for draft and industrial
workers;
• More mechanics will be
needed to repair industrial and
consumer machinery;
• Jobs for textile workers will
fall 16 percent;
• A 23 percent gain for bus
drivers.
Last year, 36 recruiters
visited Cornell's campus in
upstate New York while this
year the school was swarmed
with over a hundred corporate
employee-seekers by January.
The largest demands were for
engineers, accountants and
business administration majors.
.The outlook for education
majors was the. poorest. Of
course, the liberal arts gradu
ates can again expect slender
pickings for the job offers. Only
an eight percent increese in jobs
for Liberal arts students is
expected.
in case any liberal arts
students are thinking of chang
ing their, concentration to
engineering or economics, here
are some of the predicted
starting salaries and they are
real mind-changers. Starting
engineers with bachelor's de
gress can expect a monthly
salary of f^.242. Graduating
accountants could take home
monthly salaries of $1,067 while
chemists can budget their
montiy expenses to the tune of
$1,108. Economics and finance
graduates can expect $943 a
mohth. Then there Is the liberal
arts student’s monthly pay-
check. $966.
The job situation may indeed
appear to be improving when
seen through a national looking
glass, but the immediate
situation will depend on which
field one decides to concentrate
in and the mood of the corporate
recruiter. Headlines will be
deceiving and one's best bet.
according to one college place
ment officer, is self-confidence
in the days ahead.
Thanks, Mrs. Neal
Dear Cluster Eidtor.
It has come to my attention
that Mrs. Connie Neal has
indeed merited the praise and
thanks of the entire Mercer
student body for keeping the
library open under icey condi
tions last Tuesday and Wed
nesday Mrs. Neal kept 'the"
'library by herself because the
other staff were snowbound.
She maintained open hours
from 8 a m. until 5 p.m. both
days so students cduld use the
Stetson facility.
The type of dedication and
tireless effort Connie Neal has
, exhibited should serve as a goal
for all the faculty and staff to
strive for in order that they
might constantly act with the
best interest of the students at
heart. Some of the staff here at
Mercer sometime allow pure
financial considerations to rank
before student wellbeing.. In
deed money is important', but
first of all Mercer should value
the students' faith in God,
academic pusuits, and general
physical welfare. In other
words, students’ interests
should not be sacrificed to put
I bigger, rosier dollar signs in Dr.
Haywood’s bifocals and lege*#-
Once again, on behalf .of
Mercer students. Thank You”
Connie Neal for the superior
attitude and effort you have
shown the Mercer community.
On Behalf of the
Student Body,
Sincerely,
A. Mercer Student, Jr.