FAGEt-T
t CLUSTEE, AFHL 28, 1M»
—Editorial/Opinion
The totality of trustee logic
t —-• iutiu>K SAif rh/» C
Aa I dunk buck on the events of die last two yean, which
culminated las Friday in the uusee'i ckaing of (he Col
lege of Am and Sca-aces in Atlanta, [ am filled with i feel
ing of hdpica* disgust. "Ourratirai of Swine." the title of
Hunter S. Thompson's loea book, roUs ova again and again
in my making brain.
The rviniah insensitivity which haa been exhibited by the
leadership of the university, aa well at the tniseet. since
all dnt began and dm piggnh apadiy ran^ant among tudentt
over this isaac, causes me to pause and wonder whether "1
am Mercer Proud." If Mercer a the majority of the undent!,
the i«<Gnhip of the central administration or moat of the
remaining trustees, then 1 am secure in the knowledge that
I am not proud of being a student here. Still, s is loo easy
for am—I am gening out. 1 will not be here much longer
and there is no reason why 1 would need to or wish to stay.
Not so for most of the faculty. staff and students in the now
frozen north near the A riant a perimeter.
According to our not-so-funny humoris-anotney-king
maViw-rhairman of the Board of Trustees. Boh Steed (smile
when you say that). "The trustees make the decisions and
they shouldn't be swayed by emotional opinions—they 're the
ones that have the total picture." (Macon Telegraph and
.Vrwr, 4/21(89 p. 8A)
There you have it feilow students. The votes made by the
faculties and governing boards of the CLA. CAS, Stetson
School of Business, and Law School (not to mention the
faculty House of Delegates which is the representative body
for the faculty of all of Mercer's schools) calling for Dr.
Godsey 's resignation were all "emotional opinions" It
would seem that Mr Steed feels that our teachers are not
capable of the presumably dear, unemotional and right-
thinking logic which is evidenced in the decisions of the
trustees. Excuse me a moment, my eyes are turning brown.
Perhaps the reason Mr. Steed is not subject to such emo-
“t
Ron
Light
boos about hit alma mater is hemute he does not £eu>
be here all the time No, our dear Chairman, like many
members of the Board, is excluded bran the emotional in
fluence of spending every day on campus leaching classes.
fUtmg with administrators and keeping the place going on
a day to day basis. Chairman Steed has a nice office in
downtown Atlanta where be can look down at the world of
opinion »nd emotion, illuminated aa he is way up there by
the light of reason.
Chairman Steed, like many of the trustees connected with
King and Spalding, Coca-Cola, Trust Company Bank and
Georgia Power, most likely has his own secretary, a large
salary, an unlimited xerox budget and the ability to make
all the long distance calls he cares to—this shields him from
the deprivations suffered by the faculty which certainly con
tribute to their emotionally burdened opinions, as he says,
the trustees are the ones with the “total picture.”
What is in this emotionless total picture? Well, for one
thing it includes the public fact that the trustees were totally
secure in their totally rational minds that the best way to han
dle the totally emotional, totally unaware of the total pic
ture, faculty and administrators in Atlanta was to totally ex
clude them from any hint that their College was being clos
ed. Totally.
Dr Karcher, the Acting Dean of the CAS, svas told that
crucial meetings, which other Deans anmrtrd before the Fri
day meeting, were canceled when they were really not Ad
ditionally. the seven Atlanta faculty members who had
previously been la go, were rehired the day before the col
lege was dan down. I am locally dugusted. Does due qualify
me to be a trustee?
As long as I’m on total pictures, David Hudson, chair
man of the trustee's Executive Committee, made this total
ly bizarre observation: "I don't think he (Dr. Godaey) has
lost the i-rmfirimw of the majority of the faculty and alum
ni.” (Ibid.)
Perhaps Mr. Hudson knows about some other MU cam
puses mid faculties that I had doc known existed. Maybe that
is where all the unemotional profesaon are that supply
trustees with the total picture. If this is not the case then even
an emotional humanities student can easily add and subtract
the votes made and not made by various faculties over this
issue and see the error in Mr. Hudson's analysis. Maybe Ex
ecutive Committee Chairman Hudson didn't do too well on
the math comps.
As for the alumni, no one can really tell how they feel,
except It seems for Chairman Hudson, because there has been
no great public outcry from their association. If any alumni
are reading this, it being alumni weekend and all, I wish you
would la your opinion be known while you are here.
Finally, there is “We. the students," who here in sate
house Macon don't talk too much about the Atlanta college
Like the majority members of a covertly racist society. most
of us see.no need in talking about these issues or asking man;,
questions. The CLA is now the undergraduate priority of
the University. Thank Jesse for that! Even with the emo
ttonal opinions of our professors, we are safe in the
knowledge that our Trustees will always look out for those
who want so badly to emulate their totally righteous way s
Ron Light is the Opinion Page Editor for the Cluster
The swimming lesson
It was a hot, humid day... No. U was a hot. stagnant day...
No. It was one of those days when the mercury zooms and
your underwear sticks lo your xkm. The atr hung heavy over
the campus and the young college student sal at his com
puter. typing away
Then she walked m... Wait. Then SHE walked in. she
walked with the sort of wiggle that said. "I’m a woman and
I can wiggle like this." ...No. She sauntered with the non
of swtsh that said. "Look ■ my hips." ...No. Anyhow, she
walked in. The mini nr she wafradTnTknew she had walk
ed in. I looked up from my tefrmnal and said. "Hi, what’s
up?"... No. I looked up and svas momentarily caught with
my jaw in my lap. I collected my wits and asked ha to tit
down. I offered a cigarette, but she pushed the box away.
- what can I do for you, toots?” I asked ha, licking slob
ber from my dun. No. I asked ha. putting my fra au my
desk and bringing my arms ova my head and twisting my
right foot ova the left one. Then putting one hand on my
rigbe knee and keeping time by lapping on foe hard mahogany
of my chair, jml ton of rhythmicalfy writhing there in a pas
sion dance. . No, No, No. “Wha can I do for you, loots?"
(
Roland
Ochoa
Ha foce twhtod m a horrified look dot brought foe phlegm
from the hack of my throat to the middle of my throat and
the phlegm in the middle of my throa to the from of my
throat and the phlegm from the from of my throa down my
chin to my shoes... No. She looked up and told me about
ha problem. “1 can't swim," foe said matter-of-foctly. She
then went on to explain how she had been trying for years
to learn bow to swim, always failing. She had tried books,
videotapes, even a meditation trick due a Buddhist monk
laughs ha. Finally, she had enrolled at the intensive "How
To Swim" program u the prestigious Cecil B. Day School
of Arts md Sciences. "But," foe went on. "you know about
wha happened next. Now I'm without help. Will you please
help me?"
1 thought for a moment. Then pushed my ha buck on my
head and lit a cigarette. "Sure babe. I'll help ya swim "
With that we headed for the critically acclaimed Mercer
University pool. We walked through the front gate only to
have our way blocked by a huge, ugly, burly tough-looking
man... No. We were stopped u the gate by the leader of
the evil road gang, the Trustees, who looked u us uodersun-
dingly and shook his head. "I'm afraid the pool is reserv ed
for a special occasion today, children." he told us.
I looked u my sew client and shook my head. She gave
me the moa pathetic basaa hound look I have ever seen
I had lo try something. I turned to the leader of the pack
and asked, "Well, uh, what's going on a the pool
His foce twisted into a sinister smile. "None of your
business, puny student," he said pushing me down on the
pavement, skinning my knees.
The girl was helping me up when we saw the limo pull
up. It was a long white stretch job with “Mercer Proud
bumper stickers plastered all ova it. The gang leader rush
ed to the limo door and helped HIM climb out. "Yes Mr
President, the pool is a the propa temperature, and your
grapes are all peeled and ready for you," he sard as they
walked passed us and shut the door in our faces.
Roland Ochoa is humorist for the Cluster
\
Students, Faculty, Staff
Next week is your last chance to say what you’ve got
to say, if you want to say it in the Cluster. So... say it!
