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VOLUME LXVIII, NUMBER 2
MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON, GEORGIA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18. 1987
Prom note option,
Wonderful Wednesday
to be eliminated
By KAREN JACOBS
Editor-In-Chief
The elimination of promissory
notes and changes to make
Wednesday a class day were among
the issues discussed at a luncheon
meeting with members of the Stu
dent Government Association
(SGA) executive committee
Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting was hosted by Dean
of Student Affairs Barry Jenkins
and the academic deans of the
Macon undergraduate schools.
Douglas Skelton, provost and
dean of the medical school, an
nounced 'that ' jginning winter
quarter, students will no longer be
permitted to sign promissory notes.
He said that the promissory note
option was not created with the in
tention of being used as much as it
has come to be used and that the
option is being discontinued
because of the large amounts of
money owed to the university by
students who have not paid off
debts.
Skelton explained that a revolv
ing credit charge would be offered
to students who might need to make
financial arrangements during
registration. He said that students
who are unable to pay at registra
tion bdCiUse of late financial aid
assistance would not be penalized.
Sammye Greer, dean of the Col
lege of Liberal Arts, announced
that a major change in the 1988-89
academic year will be the schedul
ing of classes on Wednesday.
Greer said that the faculty was
considering moving to a three/two
class schedule in which some
classes would take place on Mon
day. Wednesday, and Friday while
others met on Tuesday and Thurs
day. In this way. different classes
could be scheduled on different
days at different times. Greer also
mentioned that a proposal to move
from a 50 to 60 minute class period
was being considered.
Greer said that although students
can have input on the matter
through the SGA and conversations
with their teachers and advisers, the
final decision will be made by the
faculty.
Also mentioned in the meeting
was the change in the tuition
overload policy. Dean Skelton said
that after much consideration, the
administration decided to begin
charging students extra money for
course loads over 20 hours. The
original policy stated that students
taking courseloads over 18 hours
would be charged more money per
credit hour. He cited negative
response from the student body as
being the reason for the change.
Editor's Note: An article detail
ing the change in the promissory
note procedure will appear in next
week’s edition of The Mercer
Cluster.
New Mercerians.
Freshman class is big and smart
Mercer took in over 625
freshmen during orientation,
according to David Luckie, direc
tor of admissions.
The class of 1991 includes 12
National Merit Scholars and 27
Academic All-Americans.
Forty members graduated
valedictorian from high school and
15 were salutatorians. Sixty percent
placed in the upper one-third of
their high school class and 123
students were in the top ten
percent.
The average Scholastic Aptitude
Test (SAT) score was over 1000,
and the average grade point
average was 3.2.
Luckie estimated that around 25
percent of the freshmen arc from
states other than Georgia and
Florida. He said ethnic minorities
constitute about ten percent iff the
new freshmen.
Mercer ranks 100th in U.S. college endowments
A recent report by the National
Association of College and Univer
sity Business Officers (NACUBO)
reveals that Mercer University
ranks 100th nationally in the
market value of college en
dowments. There are 3,300 col
leges and universities m the U.S.
Mercer's current endowment
stands at $67 million, a significant
increase from $16 million in 1979.
Griffin Bell, former U.S. at
torney general and chairman of the
university's Sesquicentennial Com
mittee, commented on the impor
tance of the increase in a letter to
trustees, alumni, and faculty: “En
dowment growth is a significant in
dication, not only of the fiscal well
being of an institution,but of the
continued assurance of the ability
to offer quality education in the
decades ahead.”
Bell noted that the NACUBO
report did not include three recent
gifts to the endowment: the Grif
fin Bell Chair in Law which has
currently raised over $500,000; a
Liberal Arts College Chair with p
$500,000 from an anonymous _\
donor, and the Kaolin Chair irtl
Engineering, established at
$750,000.
Gaddy & Skelton speak against Playboy
By KAREN JACOBS
Editor-in-chief
Welton Gaddy, senior minister to
the university, and Douglas
Skelton, provost, said that Playboy
magazine devaluates human beings
and exploits women for commer
cial gain at a press conference held
September 2 on the campus.
The news briefing was prompted
by the publication of Playboy's Oc
tober issue, in which it shows
photos of women in its Top Ten
Party Schools.
Skelton said that Mercer's ninth
place ranking in the Playboy poll
was “undeserved and undesired,”
and stated that the magazine’s “ex
ploitative nature” is incompatible
with the goals and aspirations of
women. He added that Playboy
magazine lied in its October issue
about the presence of its
photographer on the campus:
"Playboy’s deceit and deception
arc evident in the current issue
where it is stated that one of the
pictures was taken in a Mercer
dorm. Not true!"
Gaddy attacked the philosophy of
sex espoused by the-magazine: “In
Playboy sexuality is reduced to
biology and then biology is exalted
almost to the status of a deity.. .Ac
cording to the Playboy philosophy,
decisions about interpersonal rela
tionships arc made more dependent
upon glandular drives than intui
tions of conscience of principles of
reason."
Gaddy said that Playboy's
publication of nude photos should
anger morally rcsporsible persons.
"I wish for all of our students a
healthy view ot sexuality in which
sex is seen as a blessing from God
to be enjoyed in a covenant rela
tionship between people not only as
a source of personal pleasure but as
a means of continuing the human
race," he said.
When asked if the administration
would take measures against the
students who posed. Skelton
replied that no actions would be
taken. “We hope that all of our*
students arc ready to put the
Playboy matter to rest and to focus
on the important business at hand,
which is getting an education." he
said.
Dr. Gaddy expounds on his vieh' of
the matter in a letter printed on
page 7.
Meet
U.S. Senator
WYCHE
FOWLER
Saturday,
7:30 p.m. at the
ROSEWOOD
TEA HOUSE
