April 2, 1971

THE SCARLET AND BLACK

Tutorials Receive Mixed Reviews

by Yvor Stookley

The only vestige of required
courses at Grinnell, the
“Freshman Tutorial", has
received a generally enthus-
iastic response from bothﬁac
ulty and student participants.
The tutorials, which will be
offered both semesters of the
freshman year, are designed
to accustom the new student
to independent study while
providing the guidance which
is needed for proper orienta'
tion of incoming students.
They will be limited to twelve
students per professor to as*
sure ample individual atten-
tion. Current plans call for
the freshman’s tutorial prtr
fessor to also serve as his
initial academic advisor.

Profs’ Comments

Professor Howard Burkle,
who is currently teaching a
tutorial entitled "Contempor-
ary Concepts of God"' says
that he is "very affirmative"
on the tutorial idea. "I' ve had
no great disappointments,"
noted Burkle, ”but I didn't
start with too detailed a plan.
I wanted as much independent
study as possible. I think it' s
a way to get into the whole
process of individual study."

Theodore Will, Professor of
Physics, who teaches another
of the six experimental tutor-
ials being offered this semes-
ter, says that he's “very exe
cited about the prospects for
tutorials in general.”

He says that he has some
reservations, however, as
concerns science tutorials and
the attachment of tutorials to
the guidance system. He sees
a number of the hang—ups in-
volved in the old general sci-
ence requirement manifesting
themselves in the tutorials“:
uation. "The students come
with a whole range of back-
ground interest in science,"
he says. “Some love it and
are anxious and enthusiastic
about getting to work. On the
other hand, some signed up
because they hatedscience but
consider the tutorial the ‘les-
ser of several evils’ "

Philip Kintner, chairman of
the history department, who
offers a tutorial in "European
Intellectual Thought", says
that he‘s found all of his stud-

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ents to interested and enthus-
iastic in their work.

"It's good," he adds. "Ihave
to scramble to keep up with
them on their bibliographies,
etc., but it's good."

He feels that the topics of
fered in the tutorials should
be broad so that theprofessor
is not always "pushing the
student back on the track.”
The professor should only aid
and support the student in his
research.

Student Reaction

Student reaction to the tutors
ials seems to separate into
two viewpoints, depending on
the amount of previous expo-
sure to independent study. Th-
ose who have had such exper-
ien ce before maintain that they
enjoy working at their own
pace and that all the pressure
is selfeimposed.

“I really like it," says Mike
Kump, a freshman enrolled
in Kintner’s tutorial and spee
cifically studying existential-
ism. “I’d done some indepen»
dent study before. You sort
of get the feeling that the prof
is learning along with you. He
doesn’t make any pretense to
be an expert on existentialism.
I turn in a paper noting my
reaction to what I‘ve been
reading a few days before my
conference and when we meet
we discuss it."

Others, however, who have
never attempted independent
study on their own before find
themselves groping forstruc-
ture and guidance.

"I was kind of at a loss to
know where to start," noted
Debby Sanden, one of Burkle’s
tutorees. "I didn't exactly
loiow whatto expect. I've never
done anything like this before,
and I’m still kind of fumbling
around.

"I do think, however, that
it's a good experience, that
I'm learning something.”

Advi sor System

The attachmentof the advisor
system to the tutorials is
viewed with a mixture of ens
thusiasm and reservation.
Kump, for one, is strongly in
favor of the tie.

“It would be a good idea to
attach the advisor system to
the tutorials," hesays. “Pre-
sently I see my advisormaybe
twice or three times a year.
This way I see Mr. Kintner at
least every two weeks."

"I’m very much in favor of
tying it with the advisor sys~
tern," notes Burkle. “Itseems
to be a natural. Ifyou’re going
to effectively advisea student,
you have to get to knowhimﬁv
spend some time with him."

Concern over the advisor

provision seems to centerar-
ound the facility with which a
student could select an ad-
visor, other than his tutorial
professor, should he so den
sire. Several of the profes-
sors have recommended that
the Committee on the Fresh-
man Year build-in such a
mechanism in its forthcoming
guidelines on the tutorialpro»
gram.

Next Year

The administration has pre-
pared a booklet being sent to
all prospective students de5‘
cribing freshmen tutorials,
including 29 course titles,
descriptions and tutors.

The tutorial description em-
phasizes 12 or fewerstudents,
individual attention, writing
and research methods, initia-
tion into independent research
and the advising system.

Science tutorials to be of-
fered include: Calculus, A
ManrMade World, Offered by
Arnold Adelberg; The Art of
ProblemrSolving, Charles
Jepsen; The Problems ofMan,
Kenneth Christiansen; Human
Engineering, Guillermo Men-
doza; Man and Science, Theo-
dore Will; Man, the Earth, and
the Universe, Beryl Clotfelt~
er; Water, Luther Erickson;
and Science’s Effect on Soon
iety, Keith Fisher.

Social studies, departments
will offer the following tutor-
ials: Revolution in Scientific
Thought, Peter Bowman; Ideas
of God, Howard Burkle; Relit
gion and Politics in the His-
tory of W. Europe, Don Smith;
European Intellectual Tradi-
tions, Philip Kintner; Utopia
and History, Alan Jones, and
Law and Society, William Van-
derpool .1:

Language and Literature tut'
orials will be: Coming of Age
in America, Linda Morrisand
Charles Cleaver; PoeticStyle,
Peter Connelly; Revolution in
Latin America, Richard Fera;
Old Wine in New Bottles,John
Kleinschmidt; Mythology and
Religion of Ancient Greece,
William McKibben; Theme of
Faust, Edward Moore, and
The Mind, Language, and Rear
lity, Dennis Whelan.

Fine arts, physical edudr
tion and behavioral science
tutorials include: Electronic
Music, Stephen Syverud; Pat-
rons and Critics of Music,
Richard Howe; Sociology of
Sport, John Pfitsch; The Lei-
sure Crisis,Sandra Hoth; Am-
erican Social Problems, Geo-
rge Furniss; Utopian Politi~
cal Novel, James Hottois; W.
Man in Search of the "Primi-
tive," Ronald Kurtz; and Myth
and Modern Am.: A Psych.
Perspective, john Morris.

 

 

PARENTS - Continue your son’s or daughter’s insurance

through the summer months. Some coverage as during

the school year.

Deta ch He re

Application Form

Please provide Accident & Hospital insurance for my son or

daughter during the summer period 1971. My check in the amount
of $6.00 is enclosed.

Student‘s Name
Parent’s Name

Pa rent’s Address

Ramsey-Weeks Insurance

Send to

717 51h Ave. Grinnell, la. 50112

|.\\ _\‘l Halli“
l‘\\ l ”H

Professor Howard Eurkle meets informally in his
study with three members of his freshman tutorial.

(Photo by Bob Bower)

Bookstore Morkups And losses

(continued from page 4)

the sales price of an item
must be chalked up to opera
ating expenses, and Mr. Lam-
bie accepted this figure as
legitimate. In terms of this
figure, textbooks, which have
a 20% mark-up, are all sold
at a 5% loss to the bookstore.
Here one must make a distin-
ction between “textbooks"and
"trade books." In the lang‘
uage of the book business,
certain books are classified
"textbook” which means pri-
marily that they carry only a
20% mark-up for the retailer.
Trade books, on die other
hand, may be marked up from
30 to 40%. CommErcial book
stores will frequently refuse
to handle any of the 20% or
"short discount" books. The
high cost of returns rapidly
eats away the profits on the
trade ' books. The ' bookstore
also sells magazines ,. 20%
margin -- and records -- 22~
23% margin--as a conven-
ience. Another area in which
the bookstore realizes noprcr
firs is that of special orders.
Cartons of cigarettes at an
8% levelwperhaps the lowest
margin in the store, and also
sold at the legal minimum
mark-up--are certainly no
money-making proposition.
Individual packages of cigar-
ettes, which were a major
target of theft before being
placed in the vendingmachine,
now realize an approximate
30% profit, balancing in part
the low margin on mrtons.
Candy at 20*30% profit is a
marginal proposition. The
standard margin on paper and
sweatshirts is around 40%.
Mr. McBee remarked, “The
front part of the store will
carry the book department,"
Both Mr. McBee and Mr. La-
mbie said that the bookstore
cannot compete in the supply
area with themerchants down
town. Because the bookstore

must buy in much smaller
quantity, it must frequently
pay more for an item than the
price at which Gibson’s can
sell the same item. Storage
space and the fact that large
purchases tie the money up
prohibits buying in bulk. With
Mr. McBee’s commitment to
building up the book depart'
ment and contributingthe most
to the college community, he
must have as much capitalat
his disposal at a given time
as possible. He is also be:
coming "aclimatized" to the
Grinnell envirOnment, and
he must find out what will and
what will not sell. At the same
time, he would like to see the
bookstore pay its own over-

head.
In commenting upon shoplift‘

ing, both the vice president
and the manager emphasized
the fact that students who help
themselves to items without
paying are only cheating their
fellow students. Withthe book-
store either contributing to
or subtracting from the gen-
eral operating budget of the
college, there certainly is no
money going to line the pock-
ets of outside tapitalists. As
the "High andMighty”pointed
out last fall, the bookstore is
not "ripping people off."

Mr. Lambie and Mr. McBee
both expressed a sincere de-
sire to serve the campus the
ough the bookstore. Both are
responsive to questions and
are eager to hear student and
faculty suggestions for im-
provement of the service. In
fact, Mr. McBee has already
asked faculty members for
lists ofsuggestions. Mr. Lam‘
bie summed up these feelings
in much the same way as Mr.
McBee. "Idon'tviewthebooke
store as a fixed operation. We
must remain responsive to
student requirements andde-
sires. The bookstore is here
to serve the college commun-
ity. It has failed ifitdoesn't."

 

In the
life of a HOLY
CROSS BROTHER all
of these pieces fit
together.

For information about
these Brothers, write to:

Brother Robert Fillmore, C.S.C.
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

 

