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THE MERCER CLUSTER-FEBRUARY 25.198J-PAGK3
COMMENTS
ROCKY MTM HEW&- NBA
Column
From My Open Window:
By Craig R. Higgins
We live in a world filled with noise.
We drive on crowded streets, filled
with noisy engines and blaring horns.
We eat in crowded cafeterias, filled with
noisy voices and clanking silver. Even
when we return to our homes we find
noise and, if perchance the house is
silent and empty. We reach immediately
for the television or the radio. We do not
want silence. We do not like to be alone.
Perhaps we do not like ourselves.
Quietness has an unsettling effect on
us. It causes us to listen to ourselves.
And often we do not like what we hear.
We hear the noise of our own hearts as
they devise harmful and prideful
schemes. We hear the noise of our own
minds as they remind us of things we
have chosen to ignore. We hear who we
really are. And sometimes, perhaps.'we
hear the still, small noise of God.
The Bible says, "It is good to wait
quietly for the salvation of the Lord"
(Lam. 3:26). Yet, even those of us who
are Christians often flee from silence and
solitude. Churches begin looking more
like corporations, and thus sponsor more
and more seminars on "How to Cope
With Stress." Our worship services
become filled "With noise and frivolity,
rather than the quiet, reverent joyful
ness which seems to draw us into the
presence of God. His presence is to be
avoided.
Our noise is a symbol of our fearful
flight from God and His revealed for us.
All of us - Christian at times and
non-Christian consistently -"Tun head
long from the presence of God. To see
God is also to see ourselves as we really
are. When Isaiah caught his glimpse of
the glory of God (ch. 6), he cried out,
‘Woe is me, for I am sinful and
undone." This is what we fear. To
quench the outer noise reveals the inner
turmoil.
The only solution is for us to submit to
silence. The presence of God becomes
comforting, but only after Christ has
purified us of all the noise which
separates us from Him. And then we will
fear silence and solitude no more, for we
shall finally know not only God. but also
ourselves. "It is certain that man never
achieves a clear knowledge of himself
unless he has first looked upon God's
face." (John Calvin)
“Be still and know that I am God. I
will be exalted among the nations. I will
be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10).
That’s the view from my open window.
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Letter To The Editor
Greeks At Mercer
Road Tripped
The Cluster staff has dealt the Greeks
of Mercer another heavy blow as they
published a biased, anti-Greek article
worthy of lining the litter box of any
house cat. The author of the article used
extreme examples of boisterous fraternal
organizations scattered across the
United States. The article probably made
headlines for such sensationalistic
papers such as the "National Enquirer”
or "Star" or similar waste displayed at
grocery store checkout lines nation-wide.
It misled the reader to believe that all
fraternities are as crude and crass as the
Delta Frat in the movie "Animal
House." Not only should this article
have remained unpublished due to its
partial slander against Greeks as a whole
- it should have never been written.
Mercer is not a "football school,"'so
what aspect of campus life are innocent
prospectives bribed with by our eager
admissions staff? If you correctly
guessed the "Fraternal System," then
you win one hundred free tours of Frat
Row. Abolish the Greeks at Mercer and
watch a sesquicentennial, old. Baptist
college fold overnight. Perhaps if some
enterprising Cluster staff member could
contact Jan Berry, then he or she would
learn of the previous results of taking a
stand against Mercer's Greeks (I wonder
if Jan were offered an alcoholic beverage
loday. would she accept?)
Anyway, of the initiation rituals on
this campus, none to my knowledge
involve alcohol, paddling, or general
consortiums with the devil. The
underlying element here is brotherhood -
an exclusive group of men bonded
together with a secret ritual. Hazing of
any sort has been excluded from my own
fraternity on the local and national
levels. Any paddles one might notice
being carried around by the pledges of
certain fraternities are purely symbolic
of a bygone era. A recent re-run article
in the Cluster described how each
freshman class used to be subjected to
ridicule and hazing by the upperclass
men. A few issues later, the Cluster runs
an article that explains how fraternity
members today are beaten, thrown off
cliffs, and degrading to the American
college campus as a unit. There is no
comparison: the fraternity has evolved
too, and dominate sports, clubs, ROTC,
fund raisers, blood drives, service
projects, and leadership positions
throughout campus life.
My conclusion is simple: The fraternal
experience is genuine and the Cluster
staff has taken a personal vengeance
against our Greeks by submitting a toilet
article rather than a newspaper article.
Fred E. Luchs, a pastor in the First
Christian Church and an alumnus of
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, describes
brotherhood in these terms: "Four years
of living with his fellowmen. four years
of meals, bull sessions, meetings,
dances, projects and parties ought to fit
a man to Uve with people. Fraternity
men live together not as robots (as they
frequently do in rooming houses and in
the dormitories) but as brothers. They
have knelt at the same altar and in the
fraternity ritual paid obedience to the
same God/Each man is brothered’ to
tho other with holy ties. He who would
fall .s lifted by his brethren. The
fdiiUhearted with loving and firm hands:
the show-off is taught humility: the
wallflower is lured into the arena: the
hot-tempered is cooled with charity: the
bigot is enveloped in brotherhood.
Brothers helping brothers.
Stuart D. Kent
Kappa Sigma
As a point of information, the article
entitled "Fearing Lawsuits. Colleges
Nationwide Crack Down On Fraterni
ties, " was published with no intention of
personal vengeance. The staff itself has
no ill will toward the fraternal system,
(u?e proudly boast of an Alpha Gam and a
Pi Kapp\. The article was published as
an informative piece of interest not as an
insult to Greeks. The jtoff would
however like to go on record as being a
supporter of the Greek system of our
University. This system has given
Mercer many of its best workers for
scholastic and student good. The article
itself was published to inform and as a
follow-up to the seminar held with the
founder of CHUCK Spring. 1982. The
CLUSTER will continue publish
articles we feel mqrit student interest or
r ,C’form the intention of information,
regardless of personal views.
CLUSTER Staff
Open Letter
Campus Safety Supported
Fellow Students:
Yes. Campus Safety is carrying guns
This year. We personally would not feel
safe if they did not. Since the 1982-83
school year has begun there have been
two separate occasions where gun shots
have been Fired, on campus. These shots
have been fired by non-students who
"wander” onto campus. We all should
realize that Mercer is not exactly
situated in the best part of Macon.
Therefore, alf the locals have access to
our campus at all times.
We also feel that it is important to
have young able-bodied men protecting
our lives and our^campus. All of these
men have had experience in police
training and in actual police work.
Hence, they know how to handle
themselves in any given situation, while
remembering the safety of students as
well as their own.
Keeping all of this in mind we believe
that Campus Safety has good reason and
is justifiably capable of carrying guns.
Pam Beming
Kathy Mills