The Cluster

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) appreciated the compliments Mr. Ellis outlined in the unfortunately titled opinion piece Academic Resource Center: poorly staffed, poorly funded.
As Mr. Ellis stated, the ARC is “always here to help” and we do indeed help boost the grades, cash flows, and resumes of Mercer students.
The ARC strives to support Mercer students academically through our Supplemental Instruction (SI) and tutoring programs.
We also take pride in supporting students professionally by providing jobs to many students through our lab assistant, tutor, and SI leader positions.
In this brief follow-up comment, we would like to offer some background information about some of the staffing issues Mr. Ellis raised.
The ARC operates on a budget that, like the budgets of many other campus departments, does often get stretched to its limits.
We prioritize our staffing based on factors such as outreach potential, demand, and historical trends.
Direct support for students at all levels of study and in each subject taught at Mercer might be an optimum solution, but the targeted support we provide leverages our resources so that we reach a broad audience as students embark on the University’s core academic programs.
When we are unable to accommodate specific tutoring requests, we connect students with useful web resources, meet with students individually to discuss their study skills, and hold workshops on how to study specific subjects.
As does any employer, the ARC first defines our positions and subsequently fills them according to established hiring procedures.
Our hiring managers respond to student and professor inquiries about ARC staffing through courteous and professional dialogue.
When students speak to supervisors about available positions, we ask them to complete an application that we will keep on file or we suggest a better time for them to look for available positions (beginning or end of each semester).
We do not coordinate or sponsor any volunteer tutoring.
The ARC deeply appreciates the amount of support we have received from Mercer students, faculty, and administration through the years.
Be assured, we will welcome and be happy to plan for opportunities that allow us to expand ARC offerings and our great student staff!
In the meantime, come find us in the breezeway of Connell Student Center or look us up at mercer.edu/arc.

Jenny Zimmerman,
Director
Stephanie Mooring,
Assistant Director
Emmilee Mercer,
Administrative Coordinator

Dear Mercer family,

In response to the announcement of Mr. Erick Erickson as this year’s Founders’ Day speaker, a few students and faculty have voiced concerns about his previous controversial statements that have resurfaced this week in light of his most recent career move. Many students and faculty have questioned his place among previous Founders’ Day speakers like the Honorable Judge Yvette Miller, Donald Baxter, Sam Oni, and the late Ferrol Sams.

While the Student Government Association does not endorse Mr. Erickson’s political beliefs or the manner in which he may have previously communicated his views, we stand by his selection as a Founders’ Day speaker. In keeping with tradition, this year’s event will be an opportunity for students to hear from a prominent alumnus about his experience at Mercer University and how that experience shaped his future. As in the past, the speaker was chosen because of his distinction as an alumnus and success in his chosen profession. Mr. Erickson’s political beliefs will not be the focus of the Founders’ Day event.

As Mercerians, we pride ourselves in upholding a community of respect on campus in which dialogue welcomes opposing and diverse views when expressed with professionalism and consideration for others. Let us not abandon these principles at the first sign of controversy. Regardless of Mr. Erickson’s political standpoint or candor, he should be welcomed back into this community as a Mercerian to be heard and respected by our faculty, staff, and students.

This Founders’ Day, our campus has a great opportunity to show that our principles at Mercer are more than rhetoric and Mercerians are a community regardless of race, beliefs, or religion. Founders’ Day is not a political forum, but a celebration of the uniqueness of our Mercer community and its impact on each of our lives when we allow our actions to be driven by our principles, not our emotions.

However, in light of the concerns several of our faculty and students have expressed, SGA is coordinating an additional event on February 13 with Mr. Erickson on “Civility in Politics.” We are pleased that Mr. Erickson has agreed to attend this event and field questions about his role in national politics. As a community of respect that embraces a diversity of opinions, we believe that it is our role to seek out and create environments where thoughtful and respectful dialogue can take place on a wide range of topics. This event will be held in Conference Room 1 of the Connell Student Center at 2 PM and we encourage all to attend.

Please join us in sharing with others the importance of our response to this event in maintaining a community of respect. If anyone has questions or concerns, please contact us directly so that we might hear your views and explain our own.

God bless and go Bears,

Mollie Davis and Joshua Lovett
Student Government Association President and Vice President
mercerusga@gmail.com

Dear Editors,

I took my 5-yr-old grandson Charlie Clark to Tarver Library on Saturday Oct. 6 for the Star Wars themed reading event. Charlie had told me a few days before this that his favorite Star Wars character was Chewbacca. When I took Charlie to have his photo made with the 6-ft-tall cardboard standup figure of Chewy, the Mercer students who had won him in the trivia contest decided the Wookiee belonged with my grandson! The students were Erin Griffin, Ian Brooks, Patrick Heise, Sarah Reid, and one other whose name I didn’t get. I just wanted to honor them and thank them for making my grandson’s day. It was truly a noble gesture. Charlie is a happy camper indeed. On the way back to his home Saturday afternoon with Chewy securely seated in the front seat of my car, Charlie said he would be taking him to “show and tell” at his kindergarten this week. Meanwhile, Chewy is guarding Charlie’s bedroom.
Thank you, Mercer students!

-John Marson Dunaway, Professor of French and Interdisciplinary Studies

Dear Editor,

Students of Mercer have been in uproar about the recent SGA article written by Gene Mitchell. It seems that even the SGA board themselves have felt appalled at the accusations Mitchell writes about. Mitchell’s article had quite a few arguments break out in the comments on the Cluster website. Many of those arguments harshly accused and attacked Mitchell in the same way he had named and accused certain SGA officers.
Mitchell wrote how a few freshmen SGA members seem unqualified for the job as leaders and organizers of the freshmen class. This may be true because as he says, even though a person may be nice, does not mean they will be the best leaders.
Mitchell’s mistake in his writing was that he actually named people in SGA. Yes, I know it could be argued as something to be expected; if you run for office, get ready to have people criticize you. The problem here though of naming SGA officers is that Mitchell would still have to cooperate and work with the members. It’s hard to continue to be cordial to someone who has you out to dry in the campus newspaper.
Another problem Mitchell points out is how little interest students seem to hold for SGA. This could mean a whole mess of entangled problems later on if we don’t change. Only five candidates are running for junior class senator and senator-at-large. It’s scary to see that only five candidates are running which means, they are each guaranteed the open five positions. From reading the article comments online, students only seemed to care about the insults Mitchell tossed throughout his writing. Somebody even made a meme about Mitchell eating other SGA members. No one wrote a comment about the actual problems with SGA.
I believe we are missing the big picture here. Instead of bashing Mitchell for his mistake, students need to focus in on why Mitchell would write such an article. SGA needs more support from Mercer students. It amazed me how passionately readers reacted to Mitchell’s writing. People definitely had no hesitation to defend their SGA officers. But, when I asked a few people to suggest ideas for how to improve SGA, or even what they currently approved of SGA, no one had much to say.
So, the problem I see is that Mercer students do not get involved enough with SGA. They pull out excuses such as, their vote doesn’t matter, or that they don’t have enough time for it, or even that SGA just flat out seems boring to them. Here’s the truth: each vote does count, students have to make time for it, and SGA is student organized, so it can become whatever the student body chooses.
Mercer students have shown through those comments that they have passion and energy. That passion just needs to be channeled toward improving SGA. If students can react to one article about SGA so intensely, than they definitely have the potential to be that passionate about SGA itself.

-Erica O’Neal
erica.j.oneal@live.mercer.edu

Dear Editor,

I received a copy of The Cluster, and I wanted to thank you.

I was very impressed with the quality of your paper and the articles therein.

It appears that you guys have a fine educational institution.

I was pleased to see how involved  your student body is in the community.

Obviously what your women’s basketball  team did here in High Point is just a reflection of what happens on your campus.

I don’t know if you are aware of the influence that young people have in this country, but any major positive changes normally is instigated by the younger generation.

It warms my heart to see the efforts put forth by Occupy Wall Street and I wish them well.  If they stay the course we will see the fruits of their efforts.

Keep up the fine work and may God bless all your endeavors.

Sincerely,

Thurman Hobbs
hobbs_thurman@yahoo.com

Dear Editor,

As a self-proclaimed “Princess Obsessed Princess” and the director of a Princess/girl power themed summer show, I was immediately drawn to the article entitled “Disney Princess Culture Harmful to Young Girls.” This is not an idea I am unfamiliar with, but one I will always disagree with. As noted in the article, the 90’s and modern princesses (Ariel through Rapunzel) have greatly improved upon the princess model set by the classic princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty). Disney is slow to change, but they have made a dramatic difference in the types of princesses they are presenting to young girls.

When criticizing the Princess line, you really should consider the historical context of the earliest princesses. The movies for Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were made between the 30’s and 50’s. Therefore these three princesses embody only the virtues valued most in women at that time: grace, beauty, charm, cheer and being an excellent housekeeper. I will grant you, this is not the message we want to give to young girls today: that they are limited to being pretty housewives. Created before the Civil Rights era, they are all also white. But even as products of their time, the characters of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella do have valuable characteristics that should not be dismissed. All three princesses maintain a steadfast hopefulness despite trying circumstances that one may deem a quiet bravery. Sure, I’d rather my (someday/hypothetical) daughter strive for the brains of Belle, the work ethic of Tiana, or the determination of Rapunzel, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want her to also cultivate the charm and cheer of the classic Disney Princesses.

And yet, all of that is beside the point. Disney has begun to develop stronger characters because that is what culture and society have demanded. Nothing is good enough unless it has a strong social message or hidden moral. But who decided a happy ending isn’t good enough? Don’t we want children to believe in the power of dreams and love? Sure, they have to learn as they grow that “wishing on a star will only get you part of the way, you gotta make the rest happen yourself” (Princess and the Frog), but that can and will come with time. Fairytales, even the most simplistic, “happily ever after” fairytales have their place in childhood. And if you think about it, the princesses are actually set up in a beautiful learning curve. With the classics, little girls will learn about the power of love and dreams and basic virtues of grace and kindness. With the 90’s princesses, they’ll begin to understand the power of independence and inner-strength tempered by bravery and a whole lot of heart. Then the modern princesses, Tiana and Rapunzel, and shortly Merida, will teach them self-determination, creativity, and teamwork. Where would Tiana be without Naveen or Rapunzel without Flynn/Eugene?

So should the Disney movies be locked up until kids are older? Heck no! Pessimism may come with time, but that is NOT a virtue to cultivate in a child. Let them dream big and love completely without limiting them to a pessimistic version of “reality.” Little girls in time will realize the value of a woman does not lie in Prince Charming or a tiara, but within herself. The full spectrum of Disney Princesses will show her that message realized in the many shades of woman that the Princesses represent.

Just a general note to the Cluster; I love the paper, but have been pretty frustrated recently by the way titles have been poorly matched to the actual content of articles. For an example, I would have been much more satisfied if this article had lived up to the convictions of its title rather than being so wishy-washy about whether or not the Princess movies were actually a bad influence for young girls.

-Sarah Stitt
Sarah.E.Stitt@live.mercer.edu