| Summary: | Page 8 Editorial January 14, 1972 Retreat offers hope Last weekend a long-range planning conference was held at the language camp near Bemidji. Over forty administrators, fac-ulty members and students gathered together to help map out Concordia's future. Although the fruits of this labor may not soon (or ever) be visible, in this writer's opinion, the conference was quite encouraging. To a surprising degree, the faculty and administration identi-fied assumptions, defined problems, and sought relative and foresighted solutions to benefit future Concordia students. They were quite concerned about student rights, problems and needs and recognized the fact that only a "living*' college could ever hope to fulfill these needs. If the same open concern shown by the faculty and adminis-tration at this retreat continues into the future, I have little doubt thta Concordia will become the community it hopes to be. R.H. Editorial Who s apathetic: I've heard it said so many times that Concordia students are apathetic, I almost began to believe it. The cry of apathy is shouted every time a speaker addresses an empty hall, a club dies an early death, or a basketball game fails to draw a crowd. Organizational failures are normally attributed to "apathy" rather than poor planning, unexciting programs, or irrelevancy. It isn't that all poorly attended events aren't well planned, exciting and relevant. But organizations might take another look at their programs. However, poor programming is not the only cause for the cry of "apathy". We are not apathetic. It's people who aren't interested in the things we're interested in who are apathetic. Societies, in-terest groups, service organizations, athletics, personal and other committments usurp everyone's free time. Since these commit-ments are individual and often go unnoticed by others, and no one is as committed to our favorite cause as we are, it's possible for us to classify others as apathetic. R. H. Editorial Graduation unchanged On April 30 of this year, approximately 375 students will be graduating from Concordia College. After four years of learning and growing in an institution known for its Christian community, these men and women will be sent out in the world, expected to mirror the ideals and fulfill the expectations of Concordia. Largely, these students have learned by example from the faculty and administrators, the good examples far outweighing the bad. However, unless a change in policy is effected soon, these four years will end as they began—in confusion and disen-chantment The now overdone issue of commencement ceremonies and caps and gowns is still causing the problems. Once again, the students have no voice in choosing the speaker to give the commencement address, already chosen by the Presi-dent without student consultation. Once again, a ten dollar fee was collected from every graduating senior under the pretense of paying for caps and gowns which are already owned by the college. Earlier in the week, a number of administrators met to discuss the problem, and after previously agreeing the fee should not be collected, decided not to refund the money because of the work involved. We are grateful for the concessions made, i.e. no fee to be col-lected in the future and an avenue of student representation in se-lecting commencement speakers, however we question the validity of keeping the ten dollar fee and, under these circumstances, the very wearing of caps and gowns. It has been suggested that the student not wear the caps and gowns and ask that the money be donated to some worthy cause such as the Pakistani Relief Fund. Others avenues must certainly be explored and more discourse between students and administra-tors must be undertaken immediately. Let us work to make grad-uation as meaningful as the past four years. T.T. from Northwest Passage AMERICA LEW Anathema! Anthem Editorial King's birthday is new holiday Is America ready for a new holiday? Oh sure, we have many holidays which supposedly lend emphasis to the contributions and memories of American men, but where is one for the people? The grass roots peoples, those of us whose contri-butions seem minute in the scheme of things. Our holidays have become so commercial, so wrapped up in cellophane packages, and gift-giving escapism, that most of the real messages have been lost. And the biggest holiday-farce of all has just passed us by again, leaving in its wake talking/walking dolls, a new Christmas card list based on who sent you one, along with most of the new Mattels and Marx fun-toys. But where's the message? And what of New Year's, people celebrating what? Another year of meaningless, empty lives, coupled with half-truths which we try vainly to hold on to. This Saturday, Jan. 15, will mark the fourth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's birth, after his untimely execution in '68. During those four years, people from many walks of life have called upon their country to make this day a holiday, a holiday to the mortal embodiment of peace. Has our wish been answered? Four years later, our dream (and his) is still deferred. Recently, the National Education Association proclaimed Jan. 15 "Human Relations Day" in honor of the ideals of Martin Luther King. Not just a day to remember the contributions of a great American, but a day to practice what he preached in life—brotherhood. In concluding their proclamation, they called upon the Presi-dent to declare Dr. King's birthday a national holiday. And so a new year begins, and already the political promises of office-seeking men swarm thick and sticky about us, our established holi-days beckon with store-wide sales and "one-chance- only" buys, while America continues to toss in its restless sleep, hoping that its bad dream is only a nightmare, which will fade with morning's light.—E.C. P.U.S.H. 72 Christmas day was full of surprise, excite-ment and wonder for many across the nation and the world, but it held particular promise to the thousands of people crammed into Chicago's southside Met Theater, to witness the birth of the newest rights organization in the country. Speaking to the multitude before him, Rev. Jesse Jackson said, "We are gathered here this morn-ing in the waiting room . . . " He spoke briefly of his resignation from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), after his forced leave of absence as demanded by SCLC President Rev. Ralph Abernathy. Jackson and his board of directors, who are all formerly of SCLC's Oper-ation Breadbasket, told the audience that they (the new organization) had been refused bedding at 10 or 12 places during the week, but that a better place would be found. The new organiza-tion, known as PUSH, People United to Save Remember to Vote in the MPIRG Local Board Election Humanity, is dedicated to bring about economic and social change. Rev. Jackson who is its leader, outlined a 12 point program to heal the effects of racism and human injustice, which included an alternative to the welfare system, an overhaul of our penal institutions, and automatic voter registration as a right of citizenship. The support of the people for his new organ-ization was overwhelming to say the least—for at the end of the meeting, the collection plates totaled $28,000. $5,000 came from George Johnson of Johnson Products Co., and $2,500 from singer Roberta Flack. Mrs. Coretta Scott King also pledged her sup-port to the new organization and its leadership and emphasized that organizational structure is superficial and should not be confused with the underlying goals and ideals. She asked that people try not to make a big thing out of Jack-son's resigning from SCLC, and that the two organizations are still working for the same goals. Rev. Jackson also took time to refute rumors about feuds between himself and Abernathy, by saying that, "P.U.S.H. is not a split, but a multipli-cation, an expansion." The new year shall see a change in civil rights, due to incorporation of this new body. One that may be a Godsend or may serve to further defer the reaching of a desired medium of humanity between men. But though it may seem as if it is up to us to judge the outcome, unless we our-selves participate and make strong these organiza-tions, our judgment will lack perception and depth, and most of all—validity. t All petitions for sophomore Senators |> must be in to Eric Carter, P. O. 267 or |; student government office by 8 pjn., Tues- !; day, January 8. «!
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