Page Two, The Hilltop, October 1, 197 6
Editorial
An Invasion
Of Privacy
With the spectre of monthly room inspection continually
haunting students at Mars Hill one wonders what will come
next: twenty-mile hikes to the mess hall,precision drills on
the athletic field, taps and reverie? The health crusade ne
cessitated by typically absurd state laws and carried out by
Mary Jo Bjrrd, et. al. has reinforced the suspicion that some
administrators think of students here as socially irrespons
ible children. Of course those in charge deemed the search
for perpetrators of filth and corruption a resounding suc
cess; some people cleaned up their rooms for a change, and a
little money was made on the side from those who didn’t. We
wouldn't deny that the idea of cleaner rooms for better
health is a noble one. The search of individual rooms, how
ever, violates still other ideals, such as privacy—jus.t as
much a right for students as for other adults. Police do not
search individual homes or apartments for cleanliness; it is
logically assumed that people know how much trash they can
tolerate. Why should it be different for students? Granted,
the closeness of dorm life presents unique problems. Yet,ex
treme cases of uncleanliness which affect other rooms can
surely be handled without questioning the maturity or vio
lating the privacy of others.
Though the blame for the inconveniences caused by room in
spection can and should not be placed on a single individual
or group of individuals, the inequities it creates cannot be
Ignored. Students too are citizens with the same rights as
those outside college.lt is time that both the state and the
college acknowledge this fact.
The Hilltop
Rex Best, Co-editOT
Jonathan Riddle, Co-ed'ltov
Julia Storm, Assistant Editor
John Campbell, Advisor
Contributors: Sarah Aldrich, Joy Bridges, John
Gullick (Graphias), Michael
Johnston, Robert Kramer, Marc
Mullinax , Martha Kimsey
Staff: Jill Adams, Cheryl Aldridge, Debbie
Clary, Margaret Doutt, Mike Evans,
Trudie Goodrich, Beverly Hollar, Pat
Huckabee, Ninette Humber (Copy Editor),
Gus Jenkins, Scotty Miller (Sports
Editor), Debbie Queen, Janice Taylor
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Editors’ Note:
Reactions to the Carter-Ford
debate are being run in lieu
of our regular letters to the
editor column^ Feedback.
By election day on Novem
ber 2,all the talking will be
done. Either a southern pea
nut farmer will upset an in
cumbent or a less than agile
ex-football player will score
a 4-year touchdown in the
White House. But from now un
til the last ballots are cast,
political bickering will be
tossed back and forth between
the party camps like an un
wanted cannon ball. Recently,
the two major contenders for
the presidency, donned their
political mystiques and ap
peared in a debate on nation
wide television. Quite dif
ferent from the Nixon-Kennedy
debates of 1960, no clear
"winner" emerged from the
sparring match. Just as the
political experts differed in
their opinions as to who came
out on top after the t§te-^-
t^te, so,too were campus com
ments varied:
"I don’t see how anybody
could say that Gerald Ford
was more prepared than Cad^
I'm still going to vote
cratic in November."
"Carter's nervousness .
the beginning of the de'b^l
surprised me a little. If',
ways thought of him as pd^
arid confident." r
"The format of the ded,
was way too stilted and
not allow the debators eno^j
time to respond to issues-
"After watching the debd'
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I feel much more comfor'^l
with somebody like Ford
is eo:p>erienoed and knows
ropes in Washington." .
"I think the differer^^'^
between the candidates .
clear'. Jimmy Carter cares I
people." I
"Betty and Rosalynn
have been a lot more
"My reaction?Boringibof'^'^
boring. ..." f
"Ford was the better
er, but Carter was the be'^
thinker."
"The best part of the
bates to me was when .
audio portion went off
all you could see were ^
ridiculous mugs."
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