Page Two, THE. HILLTOP, Dec
1979
editorials^
Faculty Tenure:
Pro:
when an instructor spends so many years of his career at a particular institution,
most people feel that he should be rewarded. Tenure is such a way of giving some
job security to a teacher that has demonstrated a number of years of quality service
to the school. „ , . . , i u
But some feel that this is also a way of letting an instructor rack up enough
years to insure that he will not get fired, and then sit back and enjoy life until retire
ment. We talked to a professor at Mars Hill College who pointed out that teaching is
a profession that requires so much dedication that the instructor in question would
hardly go through so many years just to sit back when his time came. In fact, it was
noted that there are few, if any, examples of this type of behavior. Accusations ot
this type work good in theory, but fortunately, it rarely works out that way.
If a teacher proves his loyalty and ability by years of experience, it seems
fair to reward this person with tenure. This is expecially true today since teaching
is such a closed field and many qualified people find it hard to get a teaching posi
tion at all. „ . , „
David Bowerman
‘We*d. all very much like to see him buried, but he is
tenured, you know . . .
Save the Children
As we brace ourselves for the onslaught of holiday shopping, parties and the
annual ritual of over-indulgence, the faces of starving Cambodians stare vacantly
at us from the pages of daily newspapers. , . .
In what has been termed the Auschwitz of Asia, the condemned people of
Cambodia march slowly but certainly down the path to extinction. More than a
third of the population of this tranquil land has already perished from the ettects
of war, repression and disease. As many as two million more are on the verge of
'^^^*in^witnessing a tragedy of this magnitude, the individual often stands by help
less, unsure of what to do, unable to believe that he or she can really make a differ
ence. And meanwhile, the dying continues. ,
The fact is, of course, we can make a difference. Any contribution, no matter
how small, means something to those who have nothing. The price of dinner and a
movie could mean the difference between life and death for a Cambodian child.
The proceeds from a fund-raising event by a club or dorm could supply desperately
needed medical supplies to a refugee camp. ^ . i ■
But time is running out. The deathwatch has begun. Our help is needed now.
Let’s not be passive observers to a tragedy that may have no parallel in history.
Save the Children can now provide these desperate people with food, medi
cine and health care. But they need our help. Mail your contribution to Save the
Children, Cambodian Relief Fund, Dept. P, Westport. CT 06880 or call toll free 800-
^ This year, celebrate the holiday season with the best gift of all — a gift of life.
Con:
Too much security in anything will not only dull the sense of responsibility
has to others, but also to oneself. For example, if a person is assured that theP
practically no way he can lose his job, human nature being what it is (lazy),
natural tendency is for that person to become rather lax in the maintenance ot
standards of job performance. ,
This can be very clearly illustrated in the teaching profession. When a tear
is awarded tenure as a reward for service to an institution, he is more or
guaranteed his job, except in cases of moral indecency. I suppose it might be nid
say this is only fair, but it certainly isn’t reasonable. Tenure isn’t fair to the pro
1 • • • .1 _ii i_; ^ A. _ iC ^ + loooA Tin nPI
say mis is uniy laii, uul h ucnaniiy ion t icaowiicAi^Av.. r
sor who receives it and allows his skill to, if not get worse, at lease get no be Unless I
It’s not fair to his non-tenured colleagues who have to put up with his apathy W^ain lesso
they’re receiving less salary while doing twice the work; it’s not fair to the co if the eve^
1 i>r* . J A 1 U. ^ TArrtTtL' Kanaiico tonilFP rlnQPS SOnrl i
I
tney re receiving less saiciiy wuiic uumg me wwin, aac» aaa^a >
less qualified teachers who are unable to find work because tenure closes good
market; and it’s definietly not fair to the student who could possibly have leat Stories i
something from an instructor ten years ago when he was first tenured, but vvJOurpgg^
creativity has long since died from disuse. . . . • u aT"®
Teachers, like the members of any profession, should maintain their job on«t gg^g
basis of their performance and not on the basis of an imaginary debt owed thetf His nam
the college. The only debt owed to a teacher is settled at the first of each montn-Verand
Remember, nature works on the principal of survival of the fittest, not surV^s bujjt
of the oldest. Darryl Gossett to
^ nths of ii
to pa;
, To make
p^'^dstone
^Panned,
'» Hill c
^ 'de mom
■ douse of
.And now
'^omplet
, duilt, s(
and ,
ddd the fe
As a native of New England, I .^h no f
th,
Dear Editors:
I am writing this letter to all the stu
dents of Mars Hill College because it will
be helpful to them during times of
economic distress.
If you ever decide that you need, or
want, anything that belongs to another
person, just call the Department of In
security, tell them you used to have one
like it but it was stolen, and they will
send Mr. Michael Faires to your rescue.
“Mr. Fair” will ask the owner of the
object to turn it over to him, and he will
protect this object of your passions
until the owner can prove that he is the
owner. Mr. Faires is an upholder of the
American ideal that all persons are to
be assumed guilty until they can prove
themselves innocent.
Tammy Young
P.O. Box 1116
Dear Editors;
she
A.S a native ui ivcw uu
terested to read Ron Johnsons mU in the v
definitions of a “Yankee”. Amon? ntegggg^
6 New England states, there is an' ®'han tv\
tional definition with which Ron ™tely.
unfamiliar.
liamiiiar. . . '^®Ht pi
A true Yankee has a long henta! Joe spent
the United States generally begH^^eath. t1
in the 16th or 17th century. He ^ '’stitutic
original WASP, White Anglo »
Protestant. His ancestors contr^
commerce, industry, government «ountre
society in New England. The
who speak only to the Todges; an tician. ]
Todges who speak only to God are^
types of the classic New Ew
^^3nk00
Such a limited definition obvj|
excluded all post 1800 immigrant
eluding Irish Italians, French an^
mans. Catholics and Jews who
buted so much to the history of Ne''^ J
land and the United States.
most labels, the results of inclusin
0xclusion W0F0 both divisiv0
criminatory. I’m sure that few \
relatives ever forgot the words
need not apply” found at the end o
employment notices.
The era of Yankee omnipoten
New England has long passed. Ho
I have no doubt that if my Irish L
Grandmother, whose parents^
migrated from County Cork in
could hear me described as a >
she would be both distressed o'
mused at such an inconceivao*
tradiction.
800-243-5075
Save the
Children,
Westport, Connecticut
06880
I
(
Carolyn R. ThoWL
- — -dl
Social Work Pro^