November 10, 1969
The N. C. Essay
Page 6
hy Kathleen Fitzgerald
My first reaction to this film
was, "I wonder if Arlo Guthrie and
his friends needed money or if they
just did this for the hell of it"?
It seemed to be one of those typical
Holl}TWood efforts to get to the heart
of some controversial problem that
the Establishment is currently prob
ing over cocktails and usually ends
in the production of something like
}Jild in the Streets,
Then I thought, "Well, perhaps
I'm just paranoid because I know most
people will see this film and walk
away assured that the hip world is
indeed, just as they thought, composed
o^se3^an^dr^^frea^^s^d^^jOuts|^^^
S.G.fl.
(Cont. from page I)
would eliminate this problem by
being a written standard upon which
the S.G.A. is based.
The S.G.A. should take a defi
nite stand on student opinion and
provide communication between vari
ous factions of the school. We
should be more than voices however,
that is, we should see that responsi
ble action is taken.
The S.G.A. must fulfill a need
to function. As said before, this
function should be to mediate be
tween the students and administration.
An organized representative body will
get more action than an arbitrary,
disorganized one, because authority
will listen to a representative
student body before it will listen to
a small, random group of students.
The administration is very interested
in students' following the chain of
command. For students, the S.G.A. is
the first link in this chain. If
students are aware that the only
voice they have is the S.G.A., they
will come to it and demand action.
Students at NCSA do need a voice
and a desire for one has been ex
pressed. The S.G.A. could and
should be that voice. At this point,
however, students are not aware of
the S.G.A. and its functions, and as
a result, they don't care about it.
The unawareness is unjustified, though,
because the S.G.A. and its officers
were introduced to students during
orientation.
There have been no questions
from students as to what the S.G.A.
is doing. In fact,, students have
been operating effectively without a
particular organization. Here we are
specifically referring to the
petitions drawn up in the college
dorms concerning campus drinking
privileges. These petitions were
presentated directly to Mr. Ward
and action was taken with no mediat
ing body.
So I took a look from another angle,
ie., how this film affected me as a
presentation of Arlo Guthrie's and *
Penn the director's view of this sub
culture in society and found that as
such it is valid and it is realistic.
Alice 's Restaurant is based on
the song, The Alice's Restaurant
Massaaree, by Arlo Guthrie and is al
most plotless. The film is concerned,
rather, with the relationships in a
commune between the young and the
young and between the young and the
older (maybe it's between the "hip"
and the "hep"), with what these peo
ple want and expect from other people,
with what they can give and what they
can take, with the definitions of
responsibility.
The story line, such as it is,
is this: Alice and Ray Broch have
bought a deconsecrated church in
Stockbridge which is a haven for the
homeless and the hip. The restau
rant of the song is set up to finance
the venture.
Among the refugees is one Arlo
Guthrie, they baby-faced, golden
voiced bon vivant through whose eyes
the story is told.
A constitution is not a ne
cessity. The S.G.A. functioned
without one last year. Also, the
absence of a constitution could
mean unlimited freedom for the or
ganization. Without a constitution,
however, the S.G.A. makes itself
a god. This should not be so. A
student government should be a
mediator, not a judge; a process,
not an end.
Each student has a represen
tative on the S.G.A., but the
question which is present in any dem
ocratic government was raised: Does
my representative really represent
me? Without a constitution, the
S.G.A. is not structured and people
do not have faith in an unstructured
organization. Unless we have a
constitution, we have no more power
than any other group of students.
Everyone involved with the school
should be aware of the S.G.A. and its
functions. Its basic function should
be that of being a mediator. If there
is no mediator, many students are left
out because they are not aware of
issues until they are past. Any issue
disc ussed by representatives would
have more impact because it would
represent a majority student opinion.
In the presentation of any issue and
any decision made concerning it, both
majority and minority opinions should
be heard.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL TO SPEAK AT
CONVOCATION WEDNESDAY
The Honorable Robert Morgan,
Attorney-General for the State of
North Carolina will address the stu
dent body at convocation on Wednes
day, November 12 at 1:30 in the Main
Auditorium.’ The Attorney-General
will be speaking on the relation of
his office to students at institu
tions of higher learning in North
Carolina and their relation to the
law.
Wednesday's convocation is
required of all students.
FEEDBACK -Job Sanders
A NEW EATING EXPERIENCE
BREAd CEREMONY AND SENSORY LUNCH
Why: Has eating become as per
functory as defecating?
Is it what you eat or how you eat?
Can eating be a loving experience?
When: Saturday, November 5th at noon.
Where: Basketbal f Court Between
Sandord and l^loore Dorms
What to Bring: Something comfortable
to sit on. A small quantity of some
thing you'd like others to tafete and
experience eg. 50(t worth of cheese
fruit, bread, etc.
Who: YOU! Students, faculty, cafe
teria staff, everyone —
From the legal aspect: Without
a constitution, the S.G.A. could at
any time be dissolved by Mr. Ward.
With an approved constitution, stu
dents are protected. If the ad
ministration refuses to listen to
us, we can take our case to court.
All present at the meeting
agreed that we should have a con
stitution. The constitution should
include an explanation of the purpose
of the S.G.A. and it should set
powers and restrictions. The role of
each officer and representative should
also be established in the constitution.
As the writing of a constitution
is a long process, we agreed to begin
organizing it immediately. It is im
portant that the constitution be
written with extreme care and that
the needs of the school and all legal
aspects should be considered in the
writing of it. A volunteer committee
was established for the purpose of
drawing up the constitution. The
final draft will be presented to the
administration and to the students
for approval.
Several issues unrelated to the
constitution were mentioned. These
will be discussed at a later date.
Note: S.G.A. meetings are held
at 1:00 on Wednesdays in Room 321.
All interested students are invited
to attend. „
CeI I a Sparger
(Cont. on page 7)