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The Clarion
Tuesday^Iovemb|^^8^9^
Cttitorialg
“Oops,
There Goes Boston
by P. Scott Corbett
He stands there tall and alert.
No emotion shows on his face.
Indeed the only thing that shows
on his face is the reflection of the
bright hues produced on the
screen before him. His left hand
rests on the buttons controlling
his three missile bases — one
finger lightly allocated to each.
His right hand cups the ball with
which he directs the directional
fire control system. The ball is
smooth and yet he has come to
know instinctively what the
slightest variation of so much as
a quarter inch does to the ac
curacy of his defensive launches.
Poised, calm, and concentrating
he awaits the next flurry of
enemy missiles. He is defending
cities.
A crowd watches intently. The
lights flash and the first bogies
appear on the screen. Calmly,
almost cavalierly, he awaits the
first wave. He knows by ex
perience that many of them will
cross their own paths thus
creating the possibility of
destroying more than one at once
with but one of his own missiles.
He directs his fire and smiles a
bit as he utterly destroys the
enemy barrage with but five
missiles. The first run is always
the easiest, he thinks to himself.
He takes a breath and increases
his concentration in preparation
of the second and successive
runs. Each gets progressively
harder to counter.
The fourth run has just been
made. It got a bit hairy over
Chicago, he thought, for he
almost didn’t get that smart
bomb as it threatened
obliterating the windy city. By
now the pace and the con
centration level has increased to
the level that the slightest, yet
perceptible, sweat has appeared
on his brow.
He knows that from the fourth
run on he can anticipate the loss
of some cities. The one to the
right of Omega base he thinks of
as Kansas City and the one to the
left of Omega base he thinks of as
Brevard. Both cities he tries to
preserve at all costs. At times he
is willing to sacrifice New
Orleans, closest to Alpha base, or
Detroit, closest to Delta base,to
preserve his two favorite cities. It
goes without saying that
Cleveland is entirely expendable.
He never liked the city in the first
place.
The fifth run comes and a few
cities are lost. However, he has
scored enough points in this
quarter consuming game at the
Student Union that one of them is
rebuilt. His first cover barrage on
the sixth run was unusually
successful/or it destroyed two of
the smart bombs initially. Lulled
into a false sense of security he is
quickly shocked into reality that
there is no beating the game as he
uses his last five missiles to
counter the third smart bomb and
it still slipped through and got
Brevard.
On the seventh run his nerve
cracked. For some unknown
reason the response time of his
index finger lagged for just a
second. Perhaps it was battle
fatigue. The others noticed that
by then he had become almost
glassy eyed. Frantically, he tried
to save at least one of the cities.
He was at 28,000 points and he
knew that if he saved that last
city he might receive a new lease
on life with the appearance of one
of the bonus cities that appear
with every 10,000 points scored.
Something happened. He had
them in his sights but the middle
missile launcher jammed for just
a fraction of a second. His
defensive strike was too high and
too slow. A common ordinary
enemy missile slipped through
and got his last city. As he turned,
slightly stunned, away from the
holder of the small fortune of his
and others he was heard to
merely comment, “Oops there
goes Boston.”
No one takes very seriously the
lessons that the Missile Com
mand is subtly teaching those
who play it with a passion. It in
some way simulates what a
thermonuclear war could be
like. Men standing at screens
manipulating sophisticated radar
fire control systems. Men
defending cities they have never
seen and cannot see while
defending them. Men and
women, frantically trying to
make the right decisions to save
the lives of millions of innocent
people yet knowing all the while
that statistically some of the
enemy missiles will' slip through.
If one played the game and ac
tively sought to think in terms of
participating in the real thing,
then the implications would be
staggering. And yet, probably too
in the real life situation should
the inevitable happen, one might
hear uttered with frightening
resignation, “Oops, there goes
Boston.”
He Does It All For Us
by Elliott Dugger
President Martinson plays a
very important role at Brevard
College. For example, his job
description includes such func
tions as having the last word on
hiring and firing administrators
and faculty. Furthermore,
Martinson presides at faculty
meetings unless he appoints
someone else to do so; he is
responsible for balancing the
budget; he authorizes all college
publications. In aadition
President Martinson sits on tne
Board of Trustees as the college’s
representative. In short,
President Martinson is the
manager of Brevard College. He
is held responsible by his em
ployer, (The Board of Trustees),
to accept not only the fame for
what good happens at Brevard
College but also the blame for
any mistakes.
What has President Martinson
done for the College and us the
students of the College? Mar
tinson’s first challenge when he
came to Brevard College four
years ago was to fill the dorms
within three years; they were
filled in one.
Since then. President Mar
tinson has created a brilliant
staff, both faculty and ad
ministration. He has worked with
the Board of Trustees and the
Letter
Dear Administrative Staff
Persons,
Your no alcohol on campus
rule is a mockery to the 18 and
older individuals who con
stitute this school’s student
body.
According to this nation, 18
year old persons are con
sidered responsible before the
law. I find it most disturbing
that a student faces drug
charges as an adult without
aid from Brevard College and
yet is treated like a child with
respect to alcohol. What are
we in the eyes of the ad
ministration, children or
adults?
Discipline cannot be taught
to 18 year olds by restricting
them. We are constantly told
We are adults and yet, at the
same time, we are treated like
children. This is the breeding
ground for anger, frustration
and rebellion.
A student appreciates the
few occasions a staff person is
lenient when finding alcohol or
an intoxicated student. I
realize that there are students
who become provocative in
his/her actions — this should
remain punishable. However,
this hostility is the result of a
game played by the ad
ministration. Again I ask, are
we adults or are we children?
Which game do you choose to
Each role has different rules
and guidelines so how do we
know which game to play.
Under present school policy
students who wish to drink
find themselves stuck between
points on their college record,
facing drunk driving charges,
or worse, ending up dead on
the side of a mountain.
A change is conceivable. A
possible plan:
*limit alcohol to the dorm
room
‘points for campus
drunkenness
Brevard College needs to
look at its policies. If other
Methodist institutions allow
alcohol and regard their
students as adults, isn’t it time
that our administration
redefined the rules to the
game? College is an ex
perience where ad
ministrators and faculty
provide guidance and
direction. What I seem to
experience is having another
set of parents.
Jonathan York
Reagar^
I Am For Linkage
by Richy Haymaker
President-elect Ronald Reagan
told Iran on Thursday, Nov. 6,
that it will not profit by waiting
for the United States’
presidential transition before
releasing the 52 American
hostages. Reagan said he is
willing to do all he can to help win
freedom for the hostages held in
Iran for more than a year, “But
we are not going to intrude” on
negotiations during the final
months of Carter’s ad
ministration. He said he wouldn’t
offer his own ideas on the
hostages.
Reagan received a telegram of
congratulations from the Soviet
leaders. He warned the Soviet
Union in no uncertain terms that
in negotiating arms control, he
would not ignore Soviet actions in
other areas of world relations.
Reagan said, “I don’t think you
simply sit down at a table with
the Soviet Union to discuss the
whole attitude, world attitude, as
to whether we’re going to have a
world of peace or whether we’re
simply going to talk about
weaponry and not bring up these
other subjects. In other words, I
am for Linkage.”
long term planning committee to
expand and better this institution
for the student. For example, the
renovation of the fine arts
building is already under con
struction. It is costing three-
quarters of a million dollars; it
will have the finest heating and
cooling system that money can
buy. In addition, there is a five
year plan in effect. It includes a
new art wing and several new
dorms, one of which will be open
for discussion by the Board of
Trustees in May of 1981.
In conclusion. President
Martinson serves to improve this
institution, and the education it
offers the young mind.
Mail, Mail, and More Mail
by Vicki Harmon
Did you know there are over 720
students here at B.C.? That
means a lot of mail comes in
everyday. Not only is there
United States mail, campus mail,
social mail and goodie packages
from Mom, there is also plenty of
work done at our B.C. post office.
Roughly 2,000 pieces of U.S. mail
come in each day, all of which
has to be sorted and put in each
person’s box.
Mail is measured in quantity of
feet. No, not by a cubic foot or the
size of your shoe, but form a tray
nearly 3 feet long where letters
are stacked one after another
Brevard College receives more
footage than Dupont, Olin, or
American Thread. About 38 feet
(12 and Vz trays) of mail comes in
a day. Last year in the Spring
Semester 33,000 non—U.S. Mail
items were put into student and
faculty boxes to inform them of
the happenings on and off
campus.