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VOLUME 60, 1SUMBEK 16 MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON, GA. KEBHUAHV 2, 1979
Dialogue Series Proves To Be Big Success
by Cindy Morris
n The first meeting of the
dialogue series on life at Mercer
was held on Wednesday,
January 24 in the co-op. The
purpose of the series is, as Dean
Schroeder said, "to acknow
ledge the fact that in any
community, we have differenc
es." The topic for the first
meeting was "What is the
future of the Greek system?"
Dr. Mike Cass, moderator,
began by saying that no one was
trying to get rid of the Greek
system a* Mercer. Then he
posed four questions to be
considered in thinking about the
Greek System: 1) Does the
Greek system enhance or hinder
the pursuit of knowledge? 2)
Does it promote fellowship
among students or does it
separate them? 3) How can
Greeks and independents com
municate better? 4) Can rush be
done in a more beneficial way?
The eight panelists were
Yvette Johnson, Roni Boyd.
Dean Trimble, Jean Kenlan,
Paul Hatchet, Joanna Watson,
John Crowell, Lindy Russell,
Jimmy Samuels, and Skip
Fulton, the panelists did their
job well as they got the
discussion started and then let
the students take over.
Joanna Watson led off the
speeches by the panelists by
saying, "anything which pro
motes growth in any way should
be applauded." She went on to
say that some people need the
Greek system to grow while
others did not, but still, there is
a place for the Greek System.
lindy Russell followed by
saying that on^ reason for the
gap between independents and
Greeks is stereotypes. To
improve relations, she suggest
ed that people dispose of
stereotypes and have more
consideration for other people.
Jimmy Samuels brought up
the topic that proved to be of
major concern during the
meeting: rush. He was concern
ed about the difficult situation
freshmen are put in at the
beginning of school. After
Jimmy spoke, the audience
began to take part in the
Taking Time To Thank
Krakow For Advances
by Pam Byrd
It is human nature to
complain about the things one is
not pleased with and to then sit
back and offer no comments
graduated from Michigan State
with a degree in hotel and
restaurant management."
In addition to the require
ment of spending each of his
when improvements are made.
Such is the case with the
recent additions and improve
ments made in' the cafeteria
under the direction of Mr
Kenneth Krakow, director of
food services.
When asked what the title
"director of food services"
Mr. Krakow says, "I
undergraduate summers work
ing in the food management
field. Mr. Krakow also took
management and marketing
courses combined with instruc
tions in die tics.
Some improvements that Mr.
Krakow is responsible for
include the following: a more
extensive salad bar with a
greater variety of ingredients,
new tables, a new dishwasher,
and the replacement of all ovens
and friers.
Mr. Krakow says that in
addition to the "suggestion'
box" and those suggestions
offered at the town meeting at
the beginning of fall quarter, he
is always looking for input as to
how to improve the cafeteria; he
looks at the food programs on
other campuses and at area
restaurants, and subscribes to
several food publications. In
fact, Mr. Krakow says that he
has talked to visitors from other
colleges who say that Mercer's
food is good in comparison to
their own.
He then added that most
students are simply tired of the
routine and that "if they ate at
Wendy’s or Burger King every
day of the week, they would
J aoon be tired of that, too."
Mr. Krakow offers another
viable poeaibility for students’
I complaints^—ip the form of
<5 misplaced frustrations. He be-
I lieves that students who have
C problems with professors or
with their grades, use him and
the cafeteria, as a short of
scapegoat since he is not in a
position to "grtde" them.
Often students do not take
into, account that the cafeteria,
just as everything else does,
must work within a budget,
which is submitted first to Mr.
Skelton before going on to be
approved by the board of
Continued on page 4
discussion.
K. C. Stevens Udked about
the effect' of rush on freshmen-
about the confusion and the
rejection. Mark VanLanding-
ham added that the Greek
decision was one of "fitting in
or not fitting in”. He said
freshmen were bombarded by
all this too fast to make a good
decision and suggested . that
maybe they should sit out a year
before pledging.
Dr. Cass then asked if rush •
was deferred for a year, would
that mean a year-round rush?
Rob Wilder said the first of
the year rush was just preying
on the insecurity of new
students. «
Mickey Kicklighter addres
sed the problem of freshmen,
rush, and classes by saying
that. "Rush parties are only two
nights a weekthe kid can’t »
study the other six days, heck,
he’s outta luck anyway."
Another student added that
the Greek women were in favor
of rush before school. It was
pointed out that delaying rush
would separate the Greeks. She
emphasized her point by saying,
' ’ Everyone knows how cut-throat
we are during rush."
Another Greek woman sug
gested that maybe the Greeks
were afraid of the delayed rush.
She said. "Once people gel to
know us. they don’t want us."
Ron Akerman said he would
like to see rush put off a year
because one of the Greeks' big
selling points is that "there is
nothing to do at Mercer and .
nothing to do in Macon. " He
said freshmen don't really get a
chance to find out all there is to
do. <
Paul Hatchet addressed him
self to the "independents in the’
Greek system." He asked how •
individuals dealt with what their
fraternity did and who dared
enough to be different.
Rick Thompson, speaking to
what Paul said, said that you
must stand up and say what you
think is right. Rick said that, as
• a Kappa Sigma, he loves the
Greek system, but he was
warning them that there was no
democracy in the Greek system.
K. C. Stevens said that any
fraternity member should be
honest with himself, that if you
believe differently, you will be
ostracized.
Tim Monors spoke up and
said that Greeks get special
, privileges, and most noticeable
being the consumption of
alcohol on campus. He pointed
out that there is no place for
independents to meet and drink
on campus.
The subject then changed to
racism in the Greek system as
Jimmy Samuels mentioned that
there is a history of segregation
-"fn the Greeks. Time more or
less ran out on this segment of
the discussion and, as the
meeting drew to a close,
Samuels said, "The fact that
we’re talking is important."
Finally. Dean Schroeder said
that he had learned a lot about
different perceptions and values
and he felt strongly that the
university would listen to what
had been said.
Upcoming Dialogue
On Wednesday. February 7. 1979. the Division of Student
Life and the Student Government Association will sponsor
the second panel presentation in the Dialogue Series. This
session will deal with the general topic. "What Shobid You
Gel for Your $4500 in University Fees?" Students will be
provided with information on how the University revenues
are generated and expended More importantly, students
will hpve an opportunity to interact with key University
administrators for the purpose of dealing with questions
and concerns related to the 1979-80 Liberal Arts College
budget. Selected SGA officers are developing * list of key
questions and concerns pertaining to all facets of th<*
University's operation. These will be addressed in a candid
fashion by a panel of students, faculty and administrators.
Included in these issues will be such questions as: How can
programs and services be improved? How are student
activities fees spent? Will there be increases in University
fees for 1979-80? Where does all the money go in the first
place? Don’t miss this unique opportunity to share your
concerns with administrators and key student leaders. You
plight be pjeasantly surprised.