photo y Doug Hs sey

Jewish students construct Sukknh to celebrate the Iestlvnl oi‘ the

harvest. Sukkath.

by John M. Wylie II
News Dirt-cw . [(T-FM

Grinnell is in the middle of a big
controversy about a little strip at
land in Central Park,

A proposal from the Retail
Bureau of the Grinnell Chamber oi
Commerce would take a strip of
land 15 icet wide by 333 ieet long
and pave it.

Currently, 19 cars can be parallel
parked along the east edge or the
park ii paving project is com-
pleted tat an estimated cost oi
slightly over $13,000), 33 cars can
he angle parked there

But a number oi citizens and two
groups, the Grinnell League oi
Women Voters (LWV) and the
Poweshiek Association ior Con-
servation and Ecology (PACE).
have expressed strong opposition
to the plan,

. I I I I
Miller crifICIzes column

TO the Editor:

I would like to make clear, at the
outset, that I am neither a member
of the “Students for a Just Set-
tlement" committee, nor am I
active in the Grinnell gay com-
munity. I am speaking only as a
reader oi your miserable rag, and
more particularly about the last
two installments of the new feature
column “Vista," by Ted Price.

indeed, in a period which
benefits from so Very little student
activism and interest in issues
reaching outside of the academic
sphere, it is sad that two important
and obviously sincere efforts to
elevate the level of student and
community consciousness in
Grinnell have become the butt of
such degrading, cheap humor.

The only general sense I have
been able ’t cull from Mr. Price's

To the Editor:

articles concerning gay Con-
sciousness and the activities of the
“Just Settlement” group (if i am
correct in taking them seriously at
all) is that the writer finds the
activities oi these two groups 1)
unnecessary, and 2) only self-
serving ior those people involved
direCtly; consequently he has
deemed these groups worthy oi
public and (to me) uniunny
satirization.

The “Students for a Just Set-
tlement” did not “invent
something” to “protest;" they
were attempting to make known
their feeling oi solidarity with the
striking 8&6 workers, a situation
which has Certainly not been in-
vented by anyone. And the article
“Gay Perspectives: An In
troduction" in the 9-20-74 edition of
the 5&8 raised many valuable and

serious points which the gay
community understandably finds
oiiensive; many of the things
discussed in the article are in-
dicative of a lack of sensitivity and
consciousness towards gay people
in some quarters of the Grinnell
community.

Would I be within my rights to
request a weekly column in which I
could level inappropriate and
irresponsible ridicule at Ted Price
and his irrepressible sidekick,
“Irving Melnitz’l" I think not. It
would not be so bad it Mr, Price
had something iunny to say about
something worthy oi light
satirization, but these articles are
only oiiensive, and l implore the
35:8 to discontinue this
irresponsible and shameful waste
of space

Mark Miller

Price:Explains , VISTA perspective

oniortunately. it appears that
many people misunderstood the
intent oi my article (VISTA: Left-
handed perspective) in last week’s
Scarlet and Black. The purpose
was to criticize some of the
methods by which the Grinnell
College Gay Community was
trying to make several points. it
was not intended to criticize their
points or objectives,

There is no doubt in my mind
that the Gay Community is
seriously discriminated against,
However, i do ieel that there is
much more viable and valuable
evidence (that discrimination does
exist) than bathroom graffiti.
Another criticism 1 made was that
I think it is unrealistic (perhaps

.I’m overly cynical) oi the Gay

Community to expect everybody to
be sensi ve to the oppression ri-om
which they suiier. Thus, this was
the intent oi my article. I was not

mocking the Gay Community “1- .

‘Jp’s RES durum? ’
. COCKTAIL pounce

self, but I do disagree with some oi
the methods Which are being
employed in its attempt to gain
Campus acceptance.

I was quite dismayed at the
reaction my article wrought
(ultimately this was more
disappointing than my iailure as a
writer to get my point across).
Friday night two individuals came
to my room and said: ”Hey,, we
really liked your article. li
anybody gives you any shit, let us
know and We’ll come after them
with baseball bats." (No wonder I
am cynical), Needless to say, I was
not very ﬂattered by the attention I
received from these two Very sick

people. i hope that the rest of the
Grinnell College Community is not
in such sad shapel

I also received 2 letters from
people condemning my article,
while telling me throughout their
letter that they were not gay. (This
seemed very important to them.) 1
am not sure which is worse, covert
or overt discrimination,

in any respect the Grinnell
Community has a long way to go
before it can truly say it on-
courages “a sense of community
and a recognition of individual
diilcrences." (Page 117College
Catalog 1974-75)

Ted Price

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The Grinnell Scarlet and Black, Friday, Oct. 4, 1974~page 5

Iowa in focus

At Monday’s meeting oi the
Grinnell City Council, where two
bids on the paving projects were
opened, about so people showed up
to express their disapproval.

Many wore yellow paper badges
saying “Parks Arc For People".

According to Margaret Kicsel.
prestdent ol the va, that is the
central issue in the controversy:
“people versus the private auto."

She said [hat the current
petroleum crisis may mean lewer
Cars in downtown Grinnell in the
future, not more as the plan
assumes.

Mrs. Kiesel continued that
Central Park is [lie only athletic
field available to Junior High
studenB, and is also used for
recreation by young and old
citizens of Grinnell.

”We’ve found lots oi people irom
out oi town who’ve stopped in and
are using the Park, too,” she said.

Central Park is steeped in
history, When the town of Grinnell
was laid out, J. B, Grinnell gave
the city theland in the center of the
settlement to be used as a park.

That was in 1854. Today, ac
cording to the LWV and PACE, the
original purpose oi that deed is
being ignored.

Not so, according to Max A.
Smith. president of the Foweshiek
County National Bank and a
spokesman ior the Retail Bureau.

Actually, he said, Grinnell was

Vista
column
offensive

Last week’s issue of the 8&3
contained two articles on the gay
community at Grinnell, 1 iound the
first oi these, “Left-handed per
spective” by Ted Price, to be of-
iensive and a waste of print, Not
only did Price say nothing of any
interest, but what he did write was
without humor or wit, both ot
which he seemed to intend. His
article, instead. was stupid and, to
more people than myseli, it was
also insulting, I question why the
ssh needed to publish an article
with so little content, humor, or
originality. it the college
newspaper is going to consist of no
better than this, maybe there
should be no publication at all,

Names withheld
upon request

very tar-sighted when he allowed a
wide city rlghlohvay around the
park

Mrs. Kiesel agrees that the city
can legally take a strip as wide as
20 icet ior parking. “But is it
wise?" she asked,

She said no one has shown
conclusively that more parking is
needed for downtown Grinnell

Smilh disagrees “There is no
question as to the need ior ad
ditional parking space, The
businessmen have been both»
barded by customers That‘s why
we support this "

He added that there were only
two people in the Retail Bureau
who oppose the parking plan, The
iull Chamber, he said, has not
taken any stand on the proposal,

Smith is also afraid that, ii
Grinnell doesn't keep its downtown
area up to date, the town will at-
tract a shopping center.

“I feel that would be bad for the
community as a whole,” he said.
“They (shopping centers) have no
respect for grass or trees or
shrubs,”

Smith said three developers had
looked at Grinnell “with the idea of
putting in a shopping center” in the
past five years.

A 17»yearrold Grinnell High
School student is another principal
in the debate. Kim Mueller:
daughter of the viceprincipal at
Grinnell Junior High, got together
a few friends and collected $60
signatures opposing the paving
plan.

She said she isn't certain how
effective the petitions were, and
she’s not sure what’s going to
happen next. Her iather agrees
with her, she said, and has called
all the members of the city council
to oppose the Central Park parking
plan

Round twois Monday, when the
council meets at 7330. Mrs. Kiesel
promises that more citizens will be
there

At the League‘s oiiice, a con-
verted Sunday School classroom at
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, she
still ends many phone calls with,
“By the way, have you called your
councilman about the park thing
yet?"

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