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PAGE Z-THE CLUSTER, NOVEMBER *, 1W -Editorials Letter To The Editor Dear Editor, Protest, protest, protest! What is it all about? Are students really that unconcerned about their education that they want a six week “party time?" Do Mercer Administrators understand how unique Mercer has striven to be or are some of them too “new” to the job to understand the traditions? Well, to be frank, the protests are not solely about the six week break. Instead, these protests are targeted at the implementation of the policies here at Mercer Universi ty. For the past few years, there has been a break-down in communica tion between the students, faculty and administration. Let me clarify, however, that this break-down does not include the Administration members whose offices sit where there is direct contact with students. No, the Administration that I speak of are those who never come out of the beautiful building, which most students haven't seen accept during orientation. These are the people who feel it is their duty to make the education process better through their ideas and policies. However, these same people have not sal in a classroom at Mercer for years. In my philosophy class, we discuss ed the difference between great ideas, like those of Carl Marx, and their actual implementation, like Marxism. The Administration needs to learn that their great ideas are good in theory, but may en counter problems in actual practice at Mercer. The problems that will occur with the six week break have been stated many times, but let me restate them and give a new insight. The first and most obvious is that most students work to pay for a portion of their education here at Mercer. Granted, the new schedule will give more time in the summer, but only two more weeks. The downfall is that not many students will be able to get a job during their two week Christmas break due to job competition. Considering that one of those weeks is broken up by Christmas in the middle (when most stores will be closed) students will have little more than a week to work. Another problem is in the admis sions department's attempt to get students from distant states to at tend Mercer. With the high price of air fare, to make one extra trip will mean that any money made during the break will go towards travel expenses. Aside from these obvious con cerns. I have many other questions that the Administration has ap parently not thought about the Thanksgiving break. Will the dorms be open during this Thanksgiving break? If so. will students need to move rooms around or will Mercer pay to keep all dorms open over the break? What about the R.A.s having to stay. Who will control the halls? For those who are unfamiliar with the reasons for this new policy, let me see if I can explain correctly the position of Bill Miller, V.P. of Enrollment and a major ad vocate of the new policy. Accor ding to the extensive (and expen- ' sive) studies that he has done on Mercer’s retention rate, students decide to leave Mercer during that six week break. Miller argues that the break allows too much time in which Mercer students can visit friends at other Georgia schools (which are in session during our break). He claims that when seeing how much fun their friends are hav ing. students decide*) transfer. So. Mr. Miller has decided instead of tackling why these other schools are more attractive or dealing with I Mercer’s many internal problems, he will propose a change in the calendar that will blind the Mercer students’ eyes of other schools. My argument to Mr. Miller is that with the present calendar, * Florida students stan at Mercer two weeks after University two weeks after University of Florida, Florida State and University of Miami. The proposed change in the calendar will allow a full month for Florida students to visit friends at these in stitutes and “see what they're miss ing." If his theory of the danger of the long break works for the j Christmas break, he must also I realize that it may allow incoming Freshmen to choose a Florida i school over Mercer to begin with. | Does this mean that Mr. Miller is compromising the Florida students for the Georgia students? Strange- since the average SAT score for Georgia students is lower than most ocher states, including Florida. The issue of the six week break | is a single issue and not entirely what the protests are about. In the words of a dose friend of mine, ‘Let this issue (the six week break) not be the place in which we stand, but let it be the straw that broke the camel's back.” When we look at two so the high Administration positions, we realize that the peo ple who are making the new policies have not been here as long as the sophomores. Although they may have a lot of data and ex perience. I would argue that the faculty and the older students have more expen knowledge about Mercer than they do. So. does it make sense to listen and blindly follow two "new guys on the block" or should the policies be made by the faculty and students? The protest is a demand for those who make the policies to listen to the students ideas. Let’s hope that the Administration does not become a "totalitarian party" that does what it believes is best for students and professors. Students and faculty are quite compliant in j making sound decisions regarding i their owd education and future X Maybe the Administration will for | once listen. Respectfully, j David Lee Rushton These squirrels get a birtbeye view of Mondays protest. 260-47-8205 By HEATHER KIMBLE How many of you came to Mercer because it is a relatively small school? This is a major consideration for me when I chose what college to attend. Why? Because, 1 like many other students have a phobia of becoming a nuxriber. The mere though of walking into a lecture hall with 499 other students at a large University gave me the “weebee geebees.” Somehow, I can’t see how such a situation can be conducive to learning. Much to my delight. I've never been faced with a problem like this at Mercer. Mercer, true to form, has provenS to be the small, personnal. Liberal Aits college that 1 hoped for. I don't walk around seeing hundreds of strange faces everyday. I don’t worry about getting lost on the way to my 8:30 class. Best of all, I don’t sit in classes being taught by professors who do not know, nor care to know, my name. Do I seem to be writing an essay for Admissions to use for recruiting students. Well, actually I’m not. Instead. 1 just want you to briefly consider some of the benefits of not being a number. For example, if you’re having trouble with a psychology project, what do you do? You walk straight Over to the psychology department and ask your professor for help, right? If you don’t you’ve got no one to blame but yourself. To the best of ray knowledge. this rule of accessible, personable professors holds true for most departments at Mercer. Also, being at a small school should ensure you of having a say in what goes on around campus. I feel that this atmosphere of individuality is a major part of Mercer, as well as a Liberal Arts Education, in general. Unfortunately, there seems to be an emerging trend that threatens Mercer’s dedication to individuality. This v ill tan is competition. I’m referring to the all out effort that are occ ruing to bnng Mercer into sync with other schools. At the beginning of the quarter, I sat through numerous presentations on how Mercer is updating its recruiting procedures. Although there is nothing wrong with wanting Mercer to be the best it can be, there is something drastically wrong with sacrificing the special aspects of Mercer for the sake of competing with Stetson. During these various presentations. 1 saw how perspective stduents were reduced to numbers on charts and reports. Although this attitude was a bit discomforting, 1 can accept, or at least understand this procedure as being the simplest way to organize students for recruiting tactics. However, what 1 adamantly refuse to accept is how a price is being put on education at Mercer. Throughout these same presentations, Mercer was made to sound like nothing more thgn a business investment. Sure, every student at Mercer ends up sinking $40,000 or so into their four years here. But, what about the four yean of your life that is invested. What about the knowledge and experience that you accumulate. Try as you may, that aspect of Mercer can’t be figured on any adding machine. 1 think that this attitude that students are merely investors is greatly respon sible for all of the conflict that is currently occuring at Mercer. Many of the students that 1 have talked to lately are outraged that they are quickly becom ing numbers. They argue, for example, that there is something wrong with the rationale behind changing Mercer's calendar for the sake of preventing students from transferring. What about the students that don't transfer and have no intention to transfer. Is it fair to manipulate a system that they've grown accustomed to for (he sake of keeping the number of students at Mercer constant? Well. I personally don't think so. Considering that this is a Liberal Arts College. I reserve the right to have my own individual opinion on the Mtrm Cluster Editor-In-Chief Umi her KimMt Managing Editor Aaaodote Editor •Spounr Prlf i Activities Pane Editor * —-*» NmI Features Editor f|—r—•— Fotartoltantni Editor Rich Benson Sports CM* Anthony Hooker Phi Khoyai . Gregg Franklin Gory Blackburn . David Tucker Staff Writers Bryant Chitwood, Gwen Pollock, Chuck Junkins. Jeff Bowers. Hcrsbeh ® nr ^* J°dB Evans, Tobtr Goat, Tanunt Robinson, Travis Graved, Wttfaun AteuEluA.Mra. OSorJaatedoo third fear efttaStodm Cater. 744-»7I. The Mercer OMv wHnmm letter* u> eta edfcar. Ttay should be caudar mad nadandtoai I ta a dfcyoe a The Martar Ctaata an ttaae at the editor ar tl at aaraaaarg) ttaae af tee mmhmnttj er mm Sate b