Newspaper Page Text
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MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON. GEORGIA FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1988
Collins: No need to be scared
Administration holds forum on campus safety
By EDDIE L. SANFORD
Staff Writer
A forum on campus safety was
held Monday night in the co-op to
inform students of measures being
taken to insure their safety.
Speakers included: Jerry Collins.
Doug Skelton
University Director of Mercer
Police Department; Doug Skelton.
Acting Provost in Macon; Joe
Claxton. Executive Assistant to
President R. Kirby Godscy; Barry
Jenkins. Dean of Student Affairs,
and Robert Alexander Skelton.
Vice President for Finance and
Treasure.
The forum was primarily spark
ed by the fatal shooting of a Macon
teen, which occurcd on Mercer’s
campus May I
Accordiing to Collins, the inci
dent was an isolated one and wjs
"something that was going to hap
pen sometime, somewhere because
of the growing feud between the
people involved." He also said that
the District Attorney had looked in
to the case, and found that Mercer
and Macon police did respond im
mediately to the shooting.
"1 don't feel there is any real
need to be scared." he said,
"since, as I've said, it was an
isolated incident."
The closing of the Penfield Gym
nasium to fraternity dances and the
presence of officers at such func
tions arc steps that have been taken
to prevent further incidents from
happening. In addition, policemen
are try ing to keep persons who do
not have a purpose for being on
Mercer’s campus from walking
through the campus
Doug Skelton said that President
Godsey had requested that the
police look into the matter. Godscy
eter Brown's Great Books I student perform at the Gnat Books festival.
Aldridge: Days of ‘smashing heads’ are gone
By DONNA M. ITZOE
Managing Editor
Violence among the races has
been predominant particularly in
these past few decades, but the days
of "smashing heads" over racial
tensions are gone or at least Dr.
Delores Aldridge says they need be
gone.
Director of African-American
Studies at Emory University. Dr.
Aldridge said. "We need to be sit
ting at tables working on common
grounds."
Aldridge spoke to several Mercer
students and faculty members
Tuesday. The lecture. "Maintain
ing Identity and Diversity on a col
lege campus," focused on the need
for multicultural education and
strategies involved in planning an
informed public.
White males, Aldridge quickly
pointed out, are not in jeopardy of
losing their current power posi
tions. She insists that these males
can only benefit from sharing w ith
the different genders, races and
cultures
"It can be lonely out there runn
ing things by yourself.' she added
The thrust of her speech was how
the individual can make a dit
fcrcnce in educating the world
about these cultures and in trying
to negate some of the stereotypical
opinions about these different
groups of people.
Speaking to a large multicultural
group herself. Aldridge also sug
gested ideas for implementing plans
to raise consciences through
education.
Aldridge said she believes forc
ing the racial, gender and religious
questions intb the open classroom
would inevitably force people to
resolve the tense situations.
She also explained that institu
tions need to incorporate
multicultural policies in the work
force The administrations of both
Temple University and the Univer
sity of Georgia have already hired
numerous people of various races
and genders to fill fop-lcvcl
positions.
Promoting classroom discussions
about ethnocultural similarities and
differences is another suggestion
Aldridge makes. She. again, secs
this idea as a step to destroying
vime of the generalizations about
different cultural groups.
"Education that teaches us to
celebrate rather than condemn
cultural diversity ... may not be
enough to preserve our precarious
place on tho favorable side of
history ," she concluded but added
that it is the place to start.
also asked that the administration
speak with city officials and facul
ty and student leaders.
"Dr. Godscy desires to hear
from students," Doug Skelton said.
"He is very anxious to ensure the
high quality of life that all of us en
joy.”
Jenkins said that the organization
that sponsored the function. Alpha
Phi Alpha, will soon be appearing
before Judicial Council to present
their case.
Robert Skelton made known the
desire that College Street be
unavailable to city traffic because
of the danger to student’s lives that
such traffic encourages, especially
the emergency vehicles that arc
constantly using the street.
"We’ve been trying for four ci
ty administrations to get College
Street closed." he said. "Wc desire
for our students a beautiful college
campus."
Traffic would flow around the
university and not through the cam
pus, once the street is closed, ac
cording to Robert Skelton. There
would be only two or three en
trances onto the campus.
Actual mov ement to close off the
campus will begin in July, taking
an approximated-12 months to
complete.
See Administration.. Page 2
Black proposes new
SGA constitution
By PAUL ALEXANDER
Editor-in-chief
After a year of research and for
mation. Scan Black presented a
new Student Government Associa
tion Constitution to SGA Monday .
According to Black, he took the
current constitutions from the
SGA. Judicial Council. Honor
Council and Community Standards
Board, as well as the by-laws of the
senate, the administrations policies
in the Lair and the AAUP statement
^ on the rights of students and "put
- them all-togcther to form a uniform
£ Vystcm of government."
: "It will truly be a Student
i Government Constitution." Black
said. "It gets away from all the in
consistencies.
One of the inconsistencies that
Black sees as a problem is the lack
of uniformity between four ver
sions of the student conduct code.
He said that the different codes of
conduct, that of the Judicial Coun
cil. the Honor Council, the Com
munity Standards Board and the ad
ministrations policies from Student
Affairs, are often so vague that they
arc misleading.
Some changes that Black wishes
to.make involve some controversy.
One specific grievance is wanting
Honor Council appeals to go to
Judicial Council, as opposed to go
ing to a three member board made
up of the provost, the president of
SGA. and a faculty member of the
school in which the offense took
place, as it is currency done. Black
believes that thp/change would
give the accuycu student a belter
chance to be tried by his/her peers
rather than the administration.
Those who argue with Block dd
so for two reasons. The first is tnal
his plan seems to put Honor Coun
cil in a position where it must
answer to Judicial Council. The
other complaint is that Black was
not supposed to rework the judicial
branch of Mercer's government; he
was only supposed to work with the
current legislative branch, the SGA
Constitution Ron Light summed
up this second problem by saying.
"If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."
Also in Monday ’s meeting. Lee
Ann Fisch was elected as the new
SGA secretary, and final faculty
nominations for the Spencer King
Award were made. Added to last
week’s nominees. Dr. Richard
Metzger. Paul Oppy. Dr. Philip
Bean and Dr. Rollin Armour were
Joseph Hendricks. Dr. Raymond
Gigucre. Dr. James Cox. Dr. Mary
Wilder and Dr. Thomas Huber.