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I • : •"*vn^if BBS Vol. xx x N o. 2 Erie. Pa. 16501 Friday, October 25, 1968 report: NSA convention happenings 1 The Mercy hurst Chapte r of AAUP requests this space so that |the Faculty may speak up. AAU P may disagree with what is 'said b ut endorseslthe idea of saying it. by Jerome J. Wood Mercyhurst is a Catholic college with the major emphasis on the word "college." Theology as part of thefacademic institution must feellfree to research and experiment. In this kind of dynamic at mosphere, theology can look forward to a rebirth. Theology must be responsible not only to the secular forces that have shaped the academic excellence of the college, but also must meet the legitimate aspirations of the students. It should not be necessary to prod the students to express their own academic freedom and responsibility. This year especially, the students should make known their opinions and criticisms. There should be no fear of such criticisms. The responsibility and maturity of the students is to be respected even in relation to religious matters. by Rosemary Blieszner The 21st National Student Con gress was a tremendous experi ence. It was two weeks of talking, listening, questioning, being ques tioned, learning, teaching, chal lenging, and being challenged. It was a dialogue with delegates from across the country, repre senting every type of school from the largest multiversity to the smallest liberal arts college. It was encountering real people with strong convictions, from the most radical to the most conserv ative. It was Facilitator, sensitiv ity training, "do your own thing." It was an atmosphere of trust and acceptance, regardless of your appearance or opinion. Most ly, it was a gathering of students wh o care—about their campus, about the world, about people — and who wanted to learn how to solve some of the problems. It was people committed to action, for as Sartre said, "There is no reality except in action." At the first plenary session there was a credentials challenge of the delegation from the Uni- versity of Alabama because all six of their delegates were white, and the black students felt they were not represented. The techni calities are not important—what matters is that, after much heat ed debate by the delegates at large and by the Congress Steer ing Committee, a black student was seated in that delegation. Op position cried "tokenism" and One of the prime interests of the students seems to be preparation for marriage. "Educate a woman, and you educate a family." As suming this, the values of marriage should be of prime concern. A public forum on marriage would be most acceptable. The faculty, who would be willing to cooperate, would not only bring their pe r- •sonalrview'S and experience, but also the discipline of their respec tive fields. Today, one of the major topics of discussion is birth control. The decision to have one, two , or six children is not to be ma de from the notes from any one classroom. All sides of the argument should be weighed and discussed before a decision is made. The students should want the views of their teachers on this subject. Since Pope Paul's Humanae Vitae proposed a stand on the means to be used in controlling the growth of a family, this, too, should be discussed. The large majority of public dissenters to the encycli cal do not face a practical moral decision. A family deciding not to have another child would surely want the safest means possible. This proposed dialogue between students and faculty would, of course, not force any student to maintain any one attitude. The goal would be that enough information would be accumulated to make an informed decision with more confidence and sincerity than before. Editor's N ote: As suggested by Mr. Wood, a public forum on mar riage and birth control has been organized. The dialogues have been scheduled for three consecutive Sunday evenings in the Stu dent Union. The forum opened last Sunday evening at 7:30. The theological aspect was discussed by Fr. James Peterson and Sr. Maria. Th is Sunday, October 27, the medical, legal, and historical aspec ts will be discussed by Dr. Joseph Sem ple, Atty . Pete r Schaaf, and Karen Schrenckengost respectively. A faculty panel will term inate the forum on Sunday, November 3. coming attractionAhe room # # THE ROOM Production Dates: Tuesday, November 5 Wednesday, November 6 Little Theatre no admission charged The Room is a one act play by Harold Pinter (author of T he Birthday Party, The Homecom ing, The Caretaker). Often de scribed as a "Comedy of Men ace," the play is absurd at its core, realistic in its expression. The first of Pinter's dramas, it contains many of his recurring themes and much of his personal style and idiom: the common place situation that is gradually invested with menace _and mys tery ; the deliberate omission of an explanation of a motivation for the action; and the cruel but comic accuracy of the reproduc tion of the infractions and ramb ling irrelevancy of everyday speech. The room itself is the re curring motif of Pinter's work, a poetic ima ge of undefined fear and expectation. Sue Radanovich (junior, Ele mentary Education) plays Rose, the frightened isolated woman for whom the room provides escape, security, and warmth. Her silent and brutal husband is portrayed by Brad'ey Kingston (senior, Psychology, Gannon). Three fac- ulty members will also appear in The Room : Mr. Igor Stalsky intersession british isles study-tour the harrassed land- vast and obscure This year, thirty-sevenjMercy- hurst students will spend their Intersession in the British Isles on a special twenty-six day study- tour fSister M. Anne Francis, Chairman of the English Depart ment, has planned the tour and will be the guide and chaperone of the group. Sister Anne Francis is very familiar with the coun tries to be visited because she re cently returned from a three-year doctoral study at the University of Dublin. Academic work for the course will be completed prior to their departure, so that the girls can spend their time touring the country-side and taking advant age of the cultural opportunities in the cities. The students will leave Erie on November 27, fly ing to New York and then on to Dublin aboard an Aer Lingus jet. The group will spend one week in Dublin, living at the ele gant Shelborne Hotel, and explor ing this fascinatin g city. They will then travel about the country of Irela nd, visiting Cork, jJKil- larney, Ennis, Galway, Westport and Sligo. The 11th of December will find them flying off to Lon don to begin their exciting stay in that magnificent city. Follow ing this, the group will move on to Oxford, then to Stratford where they will board and dine in Shakespearian elegance. The Lake District will be the last stop be fore they cross the border into Scotland and spend the remain ing days of their tour in Edin burgh. The students will fly to Dublin and begin their flight home on the 23rd of December, arriving back in the United States for Christmas, (French) a s lord of thel house which contains the room; M r. George Kovacs (Philosophy) as the mysterious envoy from the undefined darkness beyond the room; and Mr. Tom Wood (Politi cal Science) as Mr. Sands. He and Bonnie LaDuca (freshman, undecided) as Mrs. Sands create the hostile, bickering couple who profoundly threaten Rose's even darker life within the room. The play is directed by Chris tine Strong (senior, English) and will be presented on weekday eve nings to accommodate a campus audience. "self flagellation," but the results of the challenge were dramatic. Other students questioned their own personal attitudes and those at their schools, and then passed a resolution against Institutional ized Racism. (Mercyhurst voted affirmatively to seat the black tion). The resolution outlines specific measures to be taken on each campus "to assure that mi nority groups are represented on their delegations to the National Student Congress, and that a sub stantial effort has been made to combat racism." Some of the areas which each student govern ment is to promote include "pro grams which combat racist atti tudes . . . recruitment of students from ethnic minorities . .. a s suring that all ethnic minority groups have real access to every area of student government . . . initiation of special education programs for—members of minor ity groups to compensate for the educational privations imposed by racist secondary and primary edu cational systems." Another major piece of legis lation was the passage of the Dual Corporation proposal. Be fore, N. S. A. could not carry on any type of political lobbying be cause of their tax exempt states. Now, there are two divisions: the National Student Institute will remain a tax exempt educational organization, and the U.S.N.S.A. | will be a civic organization with political actcivity in five areas, to be determined by the Congress each year. As a result, N.S.A.'s legislation should become much more effective. Resolutions on lowering the vo ting age to 18; in sympathy with the students of Czechoslovakia; and to aid the children in Biafra also passed. (Mercyhust voted "yes" on all of these resolutions). This year, besides carrying out the mandates of the Congress, the N.S.A. Committee on campus plans discussions on the birth control statement signed by many of the Congress delegates; on what happened in Chicago; and with the international students in Erie, to mention a few. We are looking into a concentrated "resi dents learning" weekend, and we will continue to offer all the serv ices: travel discounts, record club, films, and informatio n serv ice. We want to expand horizons and blow minds—to make Mercy hurst students AWARE.
