PAGE TWO THE CLARION Febru ary 28, 19® EDITORIAL ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ A Sad Situation This year at Brevard College has been and is a year of transition. Many changes are taking place in our sampus operation. Students have, by show ing their maturity and willingness to cooperate, gain ed respect and responsibility toward making Bre vard a more liberal institution. This year could be one of the most productive in the school’s history, simply because some students have the interest and initiative to try to accomplish something. On the other hand, this year could turn out to be on eof the most destructive in Brevard’s history, simply because some students feel a need to show their immaturity. Unrest and general disa'pproval of some of Brevard’s regulations. These students seem to be looking for reform, but not through co operation. They don’t want to be ruled by any form >f administration. They want liberal rules, which to them means no rules at all. The sad thing is that these “children” could ruin through their immaturi ty and stupidit ywhat interested students are try ing to gain through cooperation and compromise. Saturday night’s escapde, the most recent epi sode of stuipidity, was one of destructive vandalism and deliberate infractions on college policy ! Win dows were broken in several dormitories resulting from the snowball fight that got so out of control that Brevard city policemen had to be summoned to restore order! Damage to college property was eon- isiderable. This isn’t the only incident of Cupidity, however. Someone else has slashed Taylor Hall fur niture with a knife. Taylor Hall’s director has had two windshields malicously shattered in her car. Furniture has been stolen from Taylor’s lobby. There has been also countless other such acts of deliberate destruction on campus. Some students are ready to protest, riot, or dem onstrate at the drop of a hat and will even throw their own down to have something to gripe about. It makes me wonder what some people are here for. To get an education? To learn to become an inte gral part of society? I shudder to think that tomor row’s world depends on someone low enough to com mit vandalism to protest against established, rea sonable policies. Brevard College is a unique institution. Grant ed, it isn’t prfect, but students are admitted here who would find it impossible to receive a quality ed ucation elsewhere. Brevard makes it possible for any student, who shows promise, the opportunity of obtaining an education. Financial situations are of little importance in the admission procedures of Bre vard students. So how do some people respond to the vote of trust placed in them by Brevard? They break windows, shatter windshields, steal, and yell their fool heads off about the unfairness of Brevard College! Uncle Sam could use some destruction experts in Viet Nam! I sure hope he gets them! Ronnie D. Smith The CLARION The VOICE of Brevard College Wayne Morton Editor-in-Chief Ronnie H. Smith Associate Editor Dorothy Bangs Biisiness Editor Kickey Nichols Feature Editor Ronnie D. Smith Sports Editor Sally Perkins, Linda Martin, Kenny Eaton News Staff John Lum, Tony Galvan Editorial Staiff Monte Sharpe, Bill Rankin Columnists Gloria Locklear, Pat Downing Feature Staff Bob Gray, Bonnie Brewbaker Sports Staff Loretta Sanders, Bill Robison Business Staff Robbie Tillotson Cartoonist Rory Blake, Bruce Laudig, Don Kirkendall, John Copes van Hasselt Photographers Mrs. Ena Kate Sigmon Advisor Published weekly during the college session, with the exception of holidays and examination periods, by stud ents of Brevard College. Printed by The Transylvania Times, North Broad St., Brevard, N. C. A Time To Praise By • Kenny Eaton Every once in a while a per son comes along and does some thing that is hard work, cour ageous, and unseKish. And sometimes this person gets absolutely no recognition. I witnessed such a happening on February 20. This is the way it happened, A bus was being taken to the Gardner - Weibb igame, and much work had gone into the preparation for the trip. The bus had mechanical problems in route to the game. During the game, certain people worked very hard to get the bus re paired. Approximately an hour after the game was over, the bus was finally fixed. So that’s the story. Doesn’t sound like anything special, does it? But let’s look into it a little deeper. Gaines Bowers worked very hard preparing for the bus trip, working on the reservation of tickets and many other things. We were dis cussing about how much work there was in getting up such a trip, but I rememlber especially one statement he made. “It’ll all be worth it when I get to see that game.” Gaines never did get to see it however. He worked all during the game and an hour afterwards to get the bus fixed. And he did, along with the help of other unsel fish individuals. And you know what that The RANKIN FILE BY BILL RANKIN How about this? I’m not griping this week. In fact, I feel very optimistic about Brevard for a change. Even that sounds good. Brevard For A Change Have you noticed all of the new things that are hap pening? The formation of the Concerned Student Activist Movement, an organization whose purpose is to inform and stimulate the students, was certain ly something new for us. If the formation of this grou:p was “out of line” as some seem to think it was also a step out of the rut of student non-involve- ment. A similar innnovation is the founding of The Concern, a student newspaper. Competition for the Clarion (the other student newspaper). There are “peaceniks” walking around hand ing out leaflets on peace, and “Veterans” putting up posters of the opposite view. There are even “Commie - hunters” stalking the camipus. Less spectacular, "perhaps, but just as indicative of the new interest in chanige is the work of the two committees set up by the Premdential Council to in vestigate and receive rules on social behavior and absences ^ and penaiities. So, Brevard is sprouting wings (lift wing and right wing?). I wonder how far the bird will fly? This is a question the bird’s new head might like to ponder. crazy guy told me at 1:00 p. m. in the morning when we final ly got back to the college? He said,” I’m glad that the rest of the students got to see the game and could enjoy it.” What a guy! I think we could use a few more like him. I take that back. We need a lot more. ‘‘The Economics Of Social Disorder” This is the first in a series of articles to appear in the weeks to follow outlining top ics and speech excerpts pre sented and dealt with at the United States Student Press Association conference held in Washington, D. €., February 13 - 16. The theme of the con ference was “The Economics of Social Disorder” and featur ed such speakers as Muham mad Ali, Walter Reuther, Ralph Nader, Roy Innis and others. The conference was attended by Wayne Morton and Ronnie H. Smith of the CLARION and Bill Payton and John Lum of the Student Government Associa tion. It is hoped that the students, ifaculty, administrators, andl trustees of Brevard College will be attentive to these articles, written with the intention of informing those who do not know exactly what is going on in America today as pictured at the conference. Michael Zweig, instructor of leconomics at The State Univer sity of New York at Stony Brook and former Students for a Democratic Society leader at the University of Michigan, was introduced as one of the key note speakers in the Shoreham Hotel'the evening of February 13. A buckskin and suede clad, beared man of twenty - nine approached the rostrum, his hair swaying from side to side and bouncing on his shoulders before about 900 students, net work cameras, and newspaper men from the Washington area. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” be began. “Would you believe that this world is ed up?” His interroga tive statement shocked the as sembly. “We are going to spend the next several days looking in a more or less concentrated way at ‘The Economics of Social Disorder.’ ” Zweig’s approach was defi nitely blunt and unceremoni ous, unique in overture. Many students (at least fifty) walk ed out. Others pulled a pen from a pocket or purse and be gan taking notes. He continued. “Work is done in terms of ‘society’ imposing burdens on people, ‘the economy’ acting sluggishly or smartly, ‘history’ sweeping up from behind, some- who beating us from the bush and controlling , our options, in league with ‘culture’; and everything hopefully works out in ‘the national interest.’ Now really. ‘Society’ does not exist as a functioning entity. “The economy’ is an utter fabrica tion. ‘Historical forces’ are illusory, except insofar as peo ple behave or believe in a way now because they themselves rememlber or have learned something about the past.” Zweig stopped momentarily rulbbed his bearded chin, scratched into his long hair, and continued. “The country is coming apart domestically, and wars of liib- eration and oppression are be ing fought around the world. because people h,ave deeply conflicting interests and can’t live together any more.” The speaker continued in say ing that the people in conflict are real and demand the at tention of everyone. He point ed to the campus struggles at San Francisco and Columbia and to the fact that the stud ents weise asking: “In whose in terests shall the university op erate?” And, as Zweig illustrat ed, they had not received a reasonable answer. ‘Teople have now caught on that the draft system is not in their interests, that the war in Viet Nam is not in their interests,” Zweig stated as he attempted to explain that such a problem of “in whose inter ests” is not restricted to the campuses. At this point, Zweig had on ly about three - fourths of his original audience while atoout twenty students were in terrupting his address almost at the conclusion of eacn thought he was attempting to convey. ‘‘Okay, since you are still here/’ he interjected, "take this and get out of here.” “Exposing the interests 0^ erating in America is a hig^ ly political act, however ^ jective” the inquiry may be- Freqviently powerful poilitica or economic people act to sm^ the investigation and pu®sn the investigator. But if ^ want to understand as one part of Noam —Turn To Page Three I

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