Merrimack College - Merrimackan Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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Last Class Pub Outlook Bleak by Tom Fleet Yes, there is still a pub on the campus of Merrimack College. But according to liscencee Rev. Marty Smith, it's future is bleak. The pub has not only been victimized by a substan- tial decrease in attendance, but is also losing money on the payroll, which increased to minimum wage this year. Two years ago, the pub was given in excess of 514,000 in gifts and loans to bring itself out of debt and firmly establish a self-sufficient operation. At that point, President Coughlin stated that the pub must remain self-suffi- cient from then on. When the drinking age was raised this spring, the on campus total of those who could legally consume alcohol dropped dramatically to 30 percent. With such a small portion of students who can legally drink in the pub, it has been impossible to meet the necessary S250 a night needed to cover the salary and main- tenance costs. The pub is losing money every time the doors open. Smith feels the pub used to be an ideal place to meet new people. But The Billy Joe Syndrome by Tom Fleet '7Believe I 've Pass This Age Of Consciousness mi: Righteous Rage I 've Found That Just Surviving Was A Noble Fight Times fades away. Amongst the whoop-de-do of Freshmen and the surviving Seniors, through the muddle of those in between, always be prepared for: Philosophical meanderings contrasted by comput- er read-outs. Where do you think the big bucks are? The search for self within the boundries of conform- ity. Out of bonds entitles you to a free course in Danger, Danger Here Cometh The Ranger. Knowledge stored on a sling shot with the back drop of reality always peering in through classroom win- dows, with arms folded and an expectant looking waiting for re- sults. Faces, anxious, bored, staged, content. You can see all of them. Just hold up a mirror. Idealism, Gynicism, Marxism, Liberalism, realism, Judaism. Yet, the correct answer will always be Democracy and Christianity and Underlying Conservatism. This is it Freshman, if you can survive four years, would do well to take some advise from Seniors. You might astill be awed by actually getting into the college scent. But 46 with the majority of freshman and sophomores and many juniors unable to enter the pub now because of the drinking age, those who can drink go elsewhere to meet new people. Of the 30 percent who can drink in the pub, less than six percent have actually been there this year. With no outside help expected, the pub could close as early as this semester. The pub is currently open on Wednesdays and weekends. Smith feels experimentation with the pub's current system is a must. Future plans are many. They include opening the pub in the afternoons, opening the pub to groups for functions, holding non- alcohol coffee houses, and changing the I.D. system. The current I.D. system is the acceptance of either a Massa- chusetts drivers liscence or an A.B.C. card, obtainable for five dollars. Smith states that the Alcohol Beverages Commission is cracking down on I.D. checks. Several thousand dollars were spent this summer for rennovations in the pub. A video-tape machine is in the works. If the pub continues its down- don't worry. It will soon become mechanical. The easiest way through is by becoming a wide-eyed yes man. Your facts in the middle will be screwed up until you're Seniors, so you might as well learn to live with it. If you don't have it together by the time you reach the final year, you'll find it helps to look like you know what's going on even if you don't. It's called maturity and Se- noirs ch ch ch ch ch ch change... Now there's a gate and big yellow lights to keep out those who aren't quite the type, and large hills erected across the roads and the pub's dwindling down so no one goes and tenor keeps some teachers on while a lot of new blood turned and are goneg The radio station is up in the air, now the canteen is clean but the prices aren't fair, a liberal arts look the school strives to achieve but most of the students now get business degrees. A lot of my friends have left unrewarded, they felt their view of life becoming distorted. Time Fades Away... I once believed in causes too I had my pointless point of view Ami life went on no matter who Was wrong or right ward trend, it will most likely be converted into a function room. Says Smith, Either the students begin to support it or it closes. 'Apocal se Now' 4Starsf-k-kit! by Kevin Flanagan Apocalypse Now - a film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen. Now playing at the Showcase Cinemas, Lawrence. Rated R. Apocalypse Now is devastating. It is the type of film which wears you down and leaves you physically and emotionally exhausted. It is perhaps the best film I have ever seen. Apocalypse is technically and artist- ically flawless. The visual picture of Vietnam it presents is frightening and nightmarish. It is this nightmare-like quality which gives the film its impact and sets it a cut above any previous war movie. Actually, Apocalypse is not simply a war movieg it is a complex study of the psychological and physical tor- ments of war. The plot of Apocalypse has Capt. Benjamin L. Willard lMartin Sheenl sent up to Cambodia to assass- inate renegade Col. Walter E. Kurtz lMarlon Brandol. Kurtz, a model officer, has seemingly gone mad and the army feels he must be eliminated. Willard's journey is frought with scenes of warfare so violent yet so typical of Vietnam that the soldiers of Willard's boat hardly notice them. As he begins he meets a gung-ho platoon commander lRobert Duvalll who bombs a village to the stereophonic strains of Wagner, mainly so two of his troops can go surfing. During the raid a T.V. film crew is yelling at the soldiers to look natural while they fight so as not to ruin the reality of their film. Scenes like these set this film apart from other films, like the Deer Hunter, due to the fact that they are so strange they are believ- able, unlike the latters fictional Russian roulette scenes. Though Apocalypse Now is pri- marily an action film it derives a great deal of its impact from the fine script and direction of Coppola as well as from the inpeccable acting of its cast. Coppola's view of Vietnam is so real and intimidating that it doesn't seem as if a war like that could have taken place on this planet. His view of Southeast Asia makes the war and the people involved seem totally inhuman and makes you wonder how human beings couls survive the experience. As Willard says of the allegations against Kurtz: Charging a man with murder here is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Whether or not Coppola's view of Vietnam is l000!o accurate it certainly shows the terror and alien atmosphere of the Vietnam experience. NA significant part of the movie is a character study of Willard and Kurtz. Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando are perfect in their respective roles. Sheen is brilliant as the possessed, almost manical All-American soldier sent to murder Kurtz. His intensity is re- strained in order to reveal his seething nature and his desire to do his duty, Brando, on the other hand, appears as a sort of deity both to his Cambodian worshippers and the film audience. He is truly a giant presence in this film and the question of whether he is a genius or a madman is one of the film's highlights. Brando is one of the world's finest actors and he is worth every penny he received for this picture. The use ofJoseph Conrad's Heart of Drakness for the plot of the film is a brilliant move on Coppola's part. His adaptation of the novella lends a deeper meaning to this picture. Under Coppola's hand this becomes a two sided film. First, there is the factual Vietnam War the characters are living through and then there is the private war of Col. Kurtz. His power and effectiveness as a soldier are fine with the army until he sets up his own fortress in Cambodia and follows only his own orders. His view of the war is summed up in the words scrawled across his journal, Drop the Bomb. Exterinate them,all. Kurtz is just another victim of the all encompassing war. He went too far in trying to get a good soldier and lost his life. That is the way it had to be in this film since in Vietnam there are no survivors, just those who died mentally as opposed to those who died physically. Je ly ie .r- or id at he ly so sly in nd fd .he iew xces heir ope 'ent c in me, ne's naps Lthy iing the llow will any the his 'rom turn reed ' the felt n or y all and ould the was and sling hich hort ould

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THE WARRIOR ASKS: Do you think Merrimack is a Liberal A rts College? Majorg Bus. No, I think it's primarily a business college. Business is more fun. Wendy Beeman Majorg Bio. Basically it is, but its emphasis is towards business. They're going away from Science and Engineering. Bill Elliot tud Majorg Pol. Sci. s'Yes, I do in a sense that it has a diverse cur- riculum, but there is not enough emphasis on the cultural aspects. Dave Reynolds Majorg Phil. I do consider it a L.A. college because of the re- quirements which give a sound basis. Dennis Killian Majorg Soc. No, because most- Majorg L.A. Ditto. ly business majors come here. Sue Perry lege, Cindy Zappa ents Take Over ampus Radio Station by Suzanne Feran On Thursday, October 11, Tom Fleet and Tom Burns barricaded themselves in the Campus radio station in an attempt to rouse Merrimack students from their apathy. Fleet explained that he and Burns hoped to get Merrimack students to listen to WMMC and to care about current issues, especially the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant controversy. Several weeks ago, Fleet and Burns did a special radio show on Seabrook using tapes they had made at the Seabrook demonstration in early October, which urged Merrimack students to call in and express their views of the controversy. According to Fleet, they received only a few calls and none were from Merrimack stu- dents. Fleet and Burns staged the on the air take-over, using the pseudo- nyms Enigma and Consensus, in hopes of finally getting the students' atten- tion. However, as soon as the takeover was discovered, their power was cut off. A crowd gathered in the hall outside the station: Dean O'Neil, Fr. Marty Smith, and Security vi ere called in to find out who had taken over the station and try to get them to come out. At first, Fleet and Burns refused to come out. But when some people on the roof of O'Reilly threatened to break through the window, Fleet and Burns came out on their own. Fleet has been suspended from the station for a month: after this period he is free to return to his duties at the sta- tion. He plans to turn his tapes and film on the Seabrook demonstration into a documentary to show at the next Coffee House. Majorg Soc Yes, I do because of the diverse majors There should be more expansion in the Soc. Sci depts Majorg B10 They don t have a well developed Fine Arts Dept which is essential for a L A col

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Showdown At Seabrook Article by John Parrotta Photos by Louise Crimmins On Saturday October 6, the attempted occupation of the con- struction site of the Seabrook nuclear power plant by 2500 dem- onstrators failed in its primary objective: to shut down the con- struction site. The events of that weekend did, however, write ano- ther chapter in the history of the anti-nuclear movement in this country. SEABROOK, October 6, 1979 - The day began like any other in this small working-class community in New Hampshire. As the first rays of sunlight cast long shadows across the salt marshes of this coastal town, coffee shops along US Route 1 were doing a brisk business. Hundreds of activists and media representatives had begun to arrive at the Seabrook nuclear power plant construction site. Both residents and visitors from throughout the US and Canada could sense tension in the air, an anticipation of the demon- strations which would last through the weekend. Seabrook, a national focal point of anti-nuclear sentiment, is no stranger to the nuclear debate. The Seabrook debate began in 1968 when the Public Service Com- pany of New Hampshire KPSCJ first proposed construction of the twin reactor facility. At the time pro- jected electricity use for the region was seen by PSC to increase at a rapid rate. The original price of lconstruction was estimated at S900 million. Ten years later, the situ- ation had changed. Electricity use had increased at a much slower rate than earlier predictions had indi- cated and the estimated construction costs of the plant had rise to S2.5 billion. PSC has been plagued by legal challenges and financial difficulties since the start of their Seabrook endeavor, from the plant's siting close to the Boston-Ottoa fault lines to the controversial system designed for the cooling of each of the 1150 megawatt reactors. As of May 1979, all legal obstacles to the plant's construction have been cleared, both on the state and federal level. Construction is well under way. Locally, opposition to the nuclear plant has been- strong. Before con- struction has began in 1976, the townsfolk of Seabrook voted on two occasions against the siting of the plant in their town. These senti- ments were overlooked both by the utility QPSCJ and by the state government lled first by Gov. Meldrim Thomson and currently by Gov. Hugh Gallenl. One resident living close to the site commented, He lGov. Gallenl don't care about us down here...we don't want it fthe nuclear plantl in our town. The attempted occupation by 2500 was organized by the Colition for Direct Action QCDAJ. The Coalition is a faction of the Clamshell Alliance, a grassroots organization which has been active since 1976 in public education on energy issues and in opposition to the Seabrook nuke. The CDA occupation was modelled on similar larger-scale direct actions in Europe, a few of which lmost notably at Wyhl, West Germanyj have succeeded in stop- ping construction of plants. Except for the use of wirecutters to gain access to the site, the occupation was to be realized without weapons or physical forceg the importance of non-violence was continually stressed in the action. Once inside, the demonstrators would establish a community, living on the site until construction was stopped. Those who sought access to the construction site faced an inhospi- table environment. Jutting into the marshland between Brown's River and Hunt's Island Creek, the reactor construction area is surrounded by chain-link and barbed wire fences. Inside looms an impressive mountain of rock and steel, including the huge rusted containment vessel for re- 'actor H1 tscheduled to go on line in 19833, steel towers and cranes. Two hundred and fifty state troopers from five New England states waited at the north- and south- facing fences as 200 National Guardsmen remained on the site as a backup force. Despite the months of preparation by the demonstrators lunarmed except for a few gas masks, Wire- cutters, flags and musical instru- mentsl, they proved to be no match for the teargas, mace, clubs, and water-cannons of the badgeless state troopers. After each attempt to cut the fences, the demonstrators were forced to back off in order to wash the mace and teargas from their eyes, to regroup and to plan their next move. In two days of action at the north and south fences, no demonstrators entered the site, although several were arrested on various charges and many suffered minor injuries in skirmishes with police. Meanwhile on Route 1, hundreds demonstrated outside the main entrances to the plant site through the three-day weekend. Though not necessarily supporting the occupa- tion attempt, these people of all ages lmost were New Englandersl expressed their opposition to the Seabrook plant and called for a future of conservation and renew- able energy resources. Carrying signs and parading before the heavily guarded gates, their chants told their story: 1,2,3,4 we don't want a nuclear war. 5,6,7,8 we don't want to radiate. 'No nukes, shut 'em down. Solar employs, Nuclear destroys. A State Trooper awaits confrontation with anti-nuclear demonstrators. Across the street, a smaller group called the Citizens for Non -Violence at Seabrook continued their vigil begun on Thursday morning. Neither supporting nor opposing the activities of the Clamshell Alliance and the Coalition for Direct Action, this group of religious and lay persons from Concord lNHl were there with one objective: to dem- onstrate for peace during the week- end protests. By Tuesday morning, most of the demonstrators had left Seabrook, returning to their homes in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and beyond. Home to reflect upon the events of the weekend and learn from them. The actions taken at Seabrook and the rationale behind TRIVI by Susan Danforth 1. What were the last names of the Three Stooges, Moe, Larry and Curly? 2. What group did Peter Frampton belong to before he went solo? 3. What was the name of the Robinson's spaceship in Lost in Space ? 4. What is the windiest city in the United States? 5. Whose picture appears on the Sl00,000 bill? them have raised a number of serious questions concerning the future of the anti-nculear movement and the fate of nuclear power as a viable energy source. In the final analysis, it is the citizens of this country who will have to weigh the risks and benefits of neclear energy, and will be called on to make decisions determining not only the fate of nuclear power, but the future energy policy of post- petroleum America. Whether the energy needs of this country are to be met through conservation and development of renewable energy sources, through coal and synthetic fuels, through nuclear technologies or through any combination of these energy sources, it is the public who will have to be involved in energy policy decisions. Since all of us land our childrenl will enjoy the benefits or suffer the consequences of the energy strategies we adopt, it behooves us to examine the op- tions, to discuss the issues, and to take part in the decision-making. 6. What was Eric Arthur Blair's pen name? 7. What was the top of the tower on the Empire State Building originally intended to be used for? 8. What is the longest bone in the human body? 9. What was Zorro's secret identity? 10. Who is the only person to speak aloud in Mel Brooks Silent Movie ? 47