Newspapers / Mars Hill University Student … / May 7, 1976, edition 1 / Page 6
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PAGE SIX MARS HILL COLLEGE HILLTOP FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1976 FRIDAY, Mi Controversy Rages Over Editorship Controversy conti nues to swirl around Riddle were interview ed for the position the recent decision of the Board for Stu dent Commxonications concerning the edi torship of the HILL TOP for the upcoming year. Patti Mills, president of the Stu dent Govt. Associ ation and a member of the communications board, was presented a petition (signed by nearly 1/4 of the en tire college student/ body) Monday, calling for the board to re convene and reconsid er its unprecedented actions. The HILLTOP has received letters, articles, and com ments from student^ on this decision. This Controversy has arisen from the media board's selec tion of Jonathan Riddle and Rex Best as co-editors, rever sing the original sel ection of Jim Baker. As was reported in the HILLTOP last is sue, Baker, Best, and and Baker was select ed by the board to serve as next yearfe editor. After Baker was notified and the meeting was adjourneci Best and Riddle filed a written protest of the election. Their protest was based on their being the cur rent co-editors of the LAUREL, and election, because they were not present for the interviews held during the first meeting. In the eri- thus they should have had the right to vote in the election, even though they themselv es were candidates, since as co-editors they have a position on the board. A week later, the board re convened, decided their protest was in deed valid, and felt it was necessary to reconsider the elec tion of Jim Baker. Be fore another vote was taken, however, the board decided not to permit members Amy Snipes and Phil Weast to vote in the second suing secret ballot Rex Best and Jonathan Riddle were elected by a majority of the votes cast.Mr. Walter Smith, chair men, apologized to all concerned on be half of the commun ications board and the meeting was ad journed with the new co-editors being in formed of their elec tion. The petition handed to . President Mills cites alledged viola tions of the boards own groundrules con cerning the second el ection. Those on the other side maintain that the action taken by Best, Riddle and the board were legal, proper, and in order. At any rate, discus sions continue and it remains to be seen how the issue will be resolved. Boards Rebutal by John Campbell It would seem that the "controversy" surrounding the sel ection of the HILL TOP editors needs some clarification. The petition being circulated, which the HILLTOP has not seen, is presenting some points that have led to excess in the com ments being made by otherwise responsi- j ble people. It should be stated at the begining that no one urged Rex Best and Jonathan Riddle to protest the orig inal vote of the Board for Student Com munications No staff member, no board mem ber, no student urged or recommended that they protest. The Board would have re alized such a "power move" early on & would have no part of it. Rex and Jon act ed on their own. During the entire meeting of the board to reconsider the question, only one dissenting vote on two separate quest ions were cast. The entire board agreed and voted unanimously on all but these two questions. It is not the board's place to decide questions of ethics. It is the board's duty to de cide questions per taining to the valid ity of its own ac tions . In this part- cular case, it was de cided that Rex and Jon had a valid point and the question of the original vote should be reconsider ed. It was also decided that the board should not reinterview the candidates and there fore , the two board members who were vol untarily absent should not vote, as they had not heard the original inter views . However, both of those members voted on and partici pated in the reconsid eration questions. On each step that the board voted on,the re- suit was an overwhel ming majority or a uit* animous decision. The resulting reconsidera tion of the candida tes was a. secret bal lot and showed that Rex and Jon had won by a larger than ex pected margin. The secret vote means that the way a per son voted is not known, only the total numerical result. At no time has the HILLTOP presented a distorted view of the proceedings. The is sues at hand were as "clear-cut" as human ly possible, and pres ented in a manner that included consid ering all aspects of all the questions cov ered, and the HILLTOP by no means tried to present "its side of the question," as the HILLTOP did not "take sides." What the HILLTOP does not condone,how ever, is that the pet ition and much of the vehement statements against the board's actions were instig ated by a person out side the college com munity . This person is not a student and is not connected with the college in any capacity. If a pet ition is circulated or a protest raised; we feel that it should come from the students and not from someone not connected with the school. This person has no claim in the affairs of the college, aside from personal friendship of one of the candid ates, and should re frain from his invol vement . Play Review By Charlotte Dickey The Seagull, Anton Chekhov's comedy, was one of the finest pro ductions I have seen on any college cam pus. The acting abi lity and fine direc tion the the greatest by far. I am not a ciritc, but this play seems to reflect the problems that we face in today's society. Chekhov's themes are as relevant today as when they were writ ten. The cast was great. One could sense that the actors put their "all" into the play when they walked on the stage. I do not have a favorite, but the fine performances of the astounding Pam Smith as Irina Nikolayevna and Kim English as Boris Alexeyvich were bril liant and will not be forgotten. I must also mention the fine direction of C. Robert Jones; his hard work and pa tience turned The Seagull into a superb performance. He seemed to enjoy di recting the play more than seeing the fi nished product. Mr. Jones stated that he has always wanted to direct Chekhov's The Seagull. Well, he got his chance and both he and the cast deserve high praise. Photo from NEW BURLINGTON, The Life and Death of an American Village by John Baskin. (See ' story page four.) Four £ Mars Hi] receivec grants J Caroline Program, successi ing the elemento students County i of their The g by the allowed to purch erials jjicludin scenery, ing equi puppets The St Rochelle ive of Lucy P. Jacks on V. native; Vanderpo( City, N, all sophe tary educ and Johnson, Va., s€ major. The fc have be closely compton Un by Si Recent; Wood, bi structor and thre« attended Indostrl THis dia; sored by. Associat; facturer held at see Stat in Johnsc purpose log was dents g understar free ent tern in Ai was acce small gre in which conversec ral pr« officials from part of States; questions concernit
Mars Hill University Student Newspaper
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May 7, 1976, edition 1
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