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PAGE 4-THE CLUSTER. APRIL 7, 1!
Features/Entertainment
Collins: protection is aim of MU police
By DONNA M. 1TZOE
Mercer Police Chief Gary Col
lins has started a new collection.
He has about 30 to 40 various
knives and drug paraphernalia,
most of which were found on peo-
|ple walking
t around this
axnpus
Some of these
items belonged
to Mercer
students, but
most of them
were
GmnCtmm discovered on
the many trespassers who enter this
according to Collins. He
said safeguarding students from
these trespassers is this police
department's primary goal.
"Our main responatbtlity is the
protection of life and property."
said Collins
He said that the police officers
find many people who are on pro
sed thoae are the ones he sard often
foremen the property and lives of
Mercer uurtrnrs.
He added when police officers do
find nee of these " probationers,"
the police department will rootart
Macon officers will often provide
the same courtesy when a Mercer
student is picked up for some minor
crime. He quickly noted that
Macoa officers «re not always able
to notify the Mercer Police Depart
ment -about such cases but that
every coasideratsoo is taken.
Collins also said that when
students are arrested on canqxis.
the Mercer police officers try to
keep the incident within the
university.
"A lot of the times when a stu
dent is involved in something, we
like to keep it in house according
to the seriousness of the arrest."
said Collins
Examples of crimes the depart
ment tries to handle in house are
thefts, assaults and drugs. When in
urea has been made, the police
will-typically notify the Dean of
Students who decades which court
(Community Standards or Judicial
Council) should hear the case.
Mercer police officers' duties are
nor limned to this campus, though,
as five officers arc assigiird to
patrol the Wesleyan College cam
pus. Mercer is paid far that service
because Wesleyan has no security
force.
Six officers I
assigned to the
while Macon has seventeen of
ficers. There are two female of
ficers in Macon and one in Atlanta.
Fwh of these officers is certified
by the state and undergoes six
weeks of the Peace Officer Stan
dards and Training. Collins said
hese 240 bouts is equal to the
Macon Police Officers’ training.
While officers' duties do include
arrests and investigations for body
the Mercer and Macon police
departments, the officers also pro
vide other services for students on
the campus.
Some of those services are lock
ing and unlocking buildings, jump-
starting stalled cars, pumping flat
tires and retrieving keys locked in
automobiles. Officers will also help
students who have been locked out
of their dorm rooms or apartments
and work as security guards at
fraternity and sorority parties off
campus.
Several students indicated that
these particular services arc ap
preciated, and both students and of
ficers generally agree that the ser
vices are used frequently
One student said that her car had
stalled off campus, and the police
came to “rescue her." Another stu
dent said that Mercer police of
ficers have jumpstarted her car
many times.
Collins added. "We really uy to
look out for our students. This is
a college, and we want a college at
mosphere. We warn students to
have a good time while they' re here
without infringing on the rights of
other students."
Jazz and Poetry comes to Macon
During four days next week in
April a variety of events will take
place which focus on the effect that
jazz has had oo American poetry.
These events, which are coor
dinated by the Georgia Poetry Cir
cuit, are sponsored by Mercer
University. Macon College and
Jazz Association of Macon, and
will take place on both college cam
puses and at the Harriet Tubman
Jan and Peotry is funded in pnrt
by the Southern Arts Federation,
the Macon Arts Alliance, the
Geotgu Humanities Council, the
National Endowment for the
Humanitiea, the Georgia Council
for the Arts, the National Endow
ment for the Arts wd through
dtesa. by appropriations from the
Georgia General Assembly
Tto
consists of Dwikr Machdl,
aad Wabe Ruff,
btaaplayer. who have played
The duo's Macon visit feffl coo-
•m of » public performance at
Macon College on Wcdnraday.
Aped 12. at 8:00 p.m.. and an
rduralinnal activity at Mercer on
Thursday. April 13 at 11:00 a.m.
Lowell Marshall. Thompson
professor of Music and chair of the
Music Department at Mercer
University's College of Liberal
Arts. Dr. Marshall will give a lec
ture on composer Scott Joplin at
Mercer on Thursday. April 13. at
300 p.m.
WUham Matthews, poet, a
graduate of Yale and the Universi
ty of North Carolina, has twice
received fellowships from the Na-
tsonal Endowment for the Arts.
Mathews visaed Macon in 1986 as
the first touring poet for the
Geotgia Poetry Circuit. Matthews
Will give a reading at Mercer on
Thursday. April 13. at 7:30 p.m.
and will participate in a panel
discussam at Macon College oo
Friday. April 14. a 11:00 a m.
Robert Earl Price, one of this
year's Georgia Poetry Circurt tour-
tag Georgia poos, is a writer,
director, film maker and poet. Cur-
reudy. be II an Artistic Aaaociae
with Atlanta's Seven Stages
Theatre, where tso of his plays.
"Black Or Bones for Seven Sons"
"Can's Theme." were pro-
duccd last year.
Michael Cass, professor of
English and former Director of
Mercer University’s Great Book
Program, is a graduate Of Suwanee
and has a Ph D. from Emory
University. Cass will lecture on
Jean Toomer at Harriet Tubman
Museum oo Friday. Apnl 14. at
7:00 p.m.
Yusef Komunyakaa. whose
Master of Fine Arts in writing
work was done st University of
California. Irvine, is now Assocute
Professor of English at Indiana
University, Bloomington He is
author of six books of poetry, in
cluding Dun Cai Dan. a collection
of poems oo the author's ex
perience in Vietnam, and I
Apologia for dir Eya in My Head.
Kotnunyakaa will read his poetry
at the Harriet Tubman Museum on
Friday. April 14. at 8:00 p.m. and
panicipafe in a panel discussion ai
Macon College on Friday. Apnl
14. at 11:00 a m.
Dr. Robsrt EcRy. associate pro
fessor of English at Macon Col
lege, received his Ph D from
Stale University with s
pa* 5
