Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2-THE CLUSTER, MAY 24, 1990
Editorials
Censorship... In Macon
When the Constitution of the
United States granted us rights and
freedoms, both specified and im
plied. the purpose the framers of
the Constitution had in mind was
to protect us from oppressive
governments. The freedoms con
tained in the Bill of Rights (with the
exception of the Second Amend
ment) have survived over two hun
dred years, and have done their
job. As evidenced by judicial rul
ings against book banning, efforts
by governmental entities at censor
ship have been defeated.
Unfortunately, many of you will
soon have the opportunity to ex
perience censorship in your own
dorm room. Someone, somewhere
has decided that there are certain
songs a touch too naughty for your
stereo. The idea of record sticker-
tng was seen as a first move toward
censorship by many. The idea of a
record company executive try ing to
decide what an artist meant in a
song, then passing judgement on
the music's social worth is a touch
intimidating. If a record is
'‘sheltered'*. no ooe under eighteen
will be allowed to buy it. You
would be carded not only at the li
quor store, but at the record store
as well. In almost every state where
record stickering legislation has
been introduced, it has been voted
out of existence. This refusal to
cave in to special interest groups
(primarily religious fundamen
talists that can't decipher what Oz-
zy is saying, much less what he
means) is seen as a sign of courage
by our nation’s legislators.
Unfortunately, spineless in
dividuals do exist. The latest issue
of’‘Rolling Stone’’ listed several
record stores that had imposed not
only stickering. but total banning
of certain recordings. If you want
the new disc frotr ”2 Live Crew"
and go down to the Macon Mall to
pick it up, you’re S.O.L. Record
Bar. one of the Mali's two record
stores, has voluntarily started
restricting sales of some recor
dings. Came lot. the other Mail
record store, has pulled some
recordings from its slvUves and
Remember Appreciate Or Berate?
No. 1 haven’t forgotten about the-pertt Thar TNr Cforrrr ran regar
ding student satisfaction with University departments. Several peo
ple have asked what the results were, so after much anticipation-herc
they are!
Admissions ■ • ®
Book Star* - ®
Bursars' office C +
Cafeteria B
Check cashing service ... ®
Copy center *
Cooperative Education C
Financial Aid office C
Infirmary D+
Intramural office C
Learning Skills Center Bi-
Library c +
Mercer Police B
Physical plant B
Placement office C
Port Office '. D +
Regtstrar’s office C
Religious Activities B
c a,, B
Student Activities B
Student Development B
Although a relatively small number of people responded, I fell that
die grades they gave seemed well thought out. The infirmary and the
Post office term to leave much to be desued in the eyes of those who
responded. One student commented that he.'she found the staff in the
P.O. lobe very rude. Other commentsincluded that the book store
it too expensive, the check cashing service is not open long enough,
the COOP office is too slow, library workers are unfamiliar with the
library, and the placement office is so help.
The copy center ranked a the top wish an A avenge (only ooe per
son had used the center). This poB is not meant to anger anyone. but
so serve at a student outlet of constructive criticism. Thanks to
everyone who responded to this poll. I hope dm it will help to make
everyone a hole happier.
decided not to stock others.
Macon. Georgia, though accus
ed by some of being backward,
should at leap learn a lesson from
the past. No matter if the situation
is Nazis banning books in the for
ties or CEOs banning records in the
nineties, both arc examples of cen
sorship and should therefore be
considered dangerous. It should be
noted that the decision to restrict
your opportunity to purchase any
recording you choose is made at a
national headquarters. For exam
ple: Record Bar is based in North
Carolina. This should come as no
surprise. N.C. is the state in which
a judge* recently sentenced a con
victed murderer to five years; a
man accused of having oral sex
with his girlfriend was convicted on
a sodomy charge and given a ten
year sentence by the same judge on
the same day. But that’s another
editorial. The point is that your
patronage of businesses in Macon
whose executives promote censor
ship is your way of telling the
business's executives that censor
ship doesn't bother you; your first
amendment rights don’t mean that
much to you. Personally, I’ll go to
Turtle's.
Greg Alan Clark
23 May 90
Congratulations
Dr. Michael Cass
1989-’90 SGA Outstanding
Faculty Member
Mmtx fifl Cluster
Editor-In-Chief Heather Kimble
Associate Editor Marcus Durham
Activities Page Editor Jennifer Neal
Business/Advertising Manager Darcy Johason
Features Editor Chris Carroliton
Entertainment Editor Rich Beason
Sports Editor Anthony Hooker
Chief Photographer Michael Lake
Photographers Danielle Underferth
and Stephanie Nordenhaug
Advisor Gary Blackburn
Technical Consultant David Tucker
Staff Writers
Bryant Chitwood, Gwen Pollock, Chuck Junkins, Jodie Evans, Tobie Gass,
Travis Graveil, Rbett Thomas, Mark Rosen, Michelle Renn, Jarome Gautreaux.
Drew Nord, Trish Warrick, Terry Browning and Aviil Young.
Address: BA A, Mercer. Office located on third floor of the Student Center.
752-2871.
The Mercer Cluster welcomes letters to the editor. They should be concise and
typewritten. Letters must be signed and should be accompanied by a current
address and telephone number. Letters should be addressed to the
Editor-In-Chief.
Opinions expressed in The Mercer Cluster are those or the editor or the writer
of the article and are not necessarily those of the university or student body.
