bae - -

Phones repaired;
no Installations

by ilinrk Mayer

Minor problems have been
plaguing the college telephone
system, compounded by the 3er
strike, according to Mr Ralph
Pomerenk, director oi college
services. There are approximately
70 telephones yet to be installed on
campus as well as a smaller
number which are in need of
repair.

Orginally an agreement was
made between the strikers and
officials of the General Telephone
Company of the Midwest that
allowed workmen on campus to
make repairs on phones but no
installations. Even though
Pomerenk notices that “there
seems to be some reluctance now
to let these repairmen on campus,"
in of the 11 broken phones
have been fixed.

Legal Authority

Pomerenk was surprised that
striking union members actually
had the legal authority to prevent
workmen from entering the
campus. He acknowledged that if
the strike continues, “it is possible
that telephone workers could be

escorted on campus" to complete
the installation of the remaining
phones. As he put it, “The college
has the duty to provide as many
services as possible to its
students.”

Pomerenk also disclosed two
instances oi tampering with
equipment. in one instance a phone
had been dismantled and another
time a nail had been driven
through a number of telephone
wires. Although Pomerenk
declined to hold the strikers
responsible for these acts, he did
state that these were “not normal
occurrences.“

zuiournuty

At the present time the campus
switchboard is being manned by
various administrative personnel.
It is kept open 24 hours a day.

it does not look as though the
college will get complete telephone
service until the strike is resolved.
If a phone is out of order Pomerenk
suggests that the college operator
be contacted who will in turn notify
the telephone company. The
question remains whether or not
the strikers will permit the work
men on campus.

View‘Open Forum'

by Kyle Schauh

Herrick Chapel, the traditional college crisis center, hosted the
student-organized meeting meant to part the clouds of contusion
surrounding the prolonged Bare labor iorce strike. There was also a
reminiscent ray oi hope that somewhere at the end of the meeting, a
magical solution would be discovered and the strike would be settled,

However, the glimmer oi idealism iaded as soon as the represenr
taiives iirmly stated that no public negotiations would take place that
night. Consequently. the meeting served just its advertised purpose—
to iniorm the community about unresolved contract demands.

Both union negotiator Paul Neal and college lawyer John Phillips
took a big chance last Monday night when they agreed to participate in
the open torum. rree collective bargaining does not, by definition,
involve public contact, much less an audience. it the meeting in
Herrick had turned into an emotional battleground, any resulting
burned ieelings could have seriously endangered iuture contract
negotiations to the point where a deadlock would have been produced.
Aiter that point is reached, the last and linal step is binding ar-
bitration, a voluntary extreme used to settle only violentlyopposed
sides. it is also a method which leaves both parties in the dispute
discontented with contract terms decided by a third party instead at

between themselves

Despite the open forum’s success in providing many particulars
about the strike demands, many students leit the meeting as muddled

as when they entered. Neal and Ph'

ips discussed the strike using the

terms that they are most familiar with: costofrliving clause,
longevity, “language problems” (non-monetary items included in a
union contract), rights under the Tait-Hartly law, paid vacations and
holidays The range of the demands under deliberation by the two
negotiators made intelligent questioning by the audience about the
strike extremely diiricult. As a result, very iew questions were asked,
and the meeting ended on a calm note instead of the more typical
hysteria usually produced under Herrick Chapel’s rooi.

Facts and figures presented at the meeting were also diificult to
evaluate since many oi the necessary statistics simply do not exist tor
educational institutions. Attempts made by Neal and Phillips to
compare BdtG demands and the college’s offer to other settled Con»
tracts were the most confusing part of the evening. Several questions
asked by the audience members had to be answered with a simple, “I

don't know.”

Whatever is the ultimate outcome oi the Brit; strike, we will agree
with Mr. Neal that the workers are indeed “entitled to a iair living
wage,” as iseveryone else who is employed at the college.

The Grinnell Scarlet and Black

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%

EDITOR Kyle srnaub

MANAGING EDITOR Celia Gnldwag

GRAPHILS EDITOR Douglas Halsey
AilvERTisiMi MANAGER

John Loni

MANAGER nuin Rlsdon

r ITOR Dave calicri

PORTERS Rich Arnold.

ir Cure-y. .lonn loni,

loan Millirnn Max tlbrrmiiiei

linri sinethiii

('ll((ULATION MANAGER

chm Sodnnlrl

(”on Tobin

innn WleL‘.

Schi‘uur Elton wrictir

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS

nouriCAL REPORTER Matt cancii
sci/t REPORTER Laura Miller
FACULTY REPORTER Bob Handler
LAYOUT EDITORS' sreve Krlyial

REPORTERS Lucy landotnn

Janet Pope,
non. Schultz. Eva Hiur i
aunt Swanson. “"b“

_ Loni Robinson.
Toni niniakos. Anna Dcmlrlorr.
or... » cooper, rim Decoder.
Mark Mayer, Terry Won. Mike
winsisn Pally Hero
pnorocgkrdnpns c w doom.
avi 'ordslm i, a o
PROFESSIONAL n at) To

ADVISOR willium Demlnoit

Meow

cartoon by Carin DePrEe

S & B assaﬂed by Wright

The Aug. 23 unsigned 5&3
editorial was nearly as insipid as it
was incorrect and dangerous in
analysis. The attempt was made in
this article to defend the retreat to
”rosy, secure days oi the 50‘s" by
the present, “ ‘quiet’ students".
The rationale used was the naive
view that now that “the earlier,
iiery protests have served their
iuiiction as attention-getters” we
can sit back in jaded relieI, or
better, quietly lend a hand to the
“positive progress against social
justices made by the government
and other institutions".

It's hard to believe you're talking
about politics and institutions in
the good ole USA: the same ones
we all have known and hated for
what seems so long, too long,
Maybe those in control have
reformed, yes, symbolically
casting out the worst culprit or The
Old Ways. But why isn't George
McGovern, who first heeded
“basic problems (that) could no
longer be ignored", our president
rather than that racist Cons
servative, but “honorable man",
Ford? Can we see “positive
progress" in our current inflation.
energy troubles, rising unem-

ployment, declining relative Black
economic osition, mammoth
defense budget, the floundering
ERA, failure oi suiiicient support
(or mass transit, or the withdrawal
of iunds irom domestic programs
lincluding education)? Which
brings us to our own campus and
the dangerous implications of this
conservative, complacent attitude
and analysis.

Illillli

In the editorial of Aug, 30, the
point was made that workers are
greedily asking too much in
desiring such “mundane demands
such as better wages and
benefits". The blame was laid on
the workers for the inconvenience,
hardship, and money loss that they
have occasioned while “lounging in
their lawn chairs around the
campus". The insulting, old
bourgeois stereotypes oi the lazy
workers, the fuzzy-minded
romantic student militants, the
well~intentioned benevolent em-
ployer, and the steady progress of

Feelings expressed

Ed. note—the following short
story was rcceived by the Scarlet
and Black for publication as a
letter to the editor.

+++
TO THE EDITOR:

They are taking care of me. I
have a sterile little room where I
sleep and write my thoughts. In the
spring they will let me out. at
course it really doesn’t matter that
this committment was made for
me, and against my will. I know
they're right when they tell me that
everything’s changing how, things
are going to be rearranged now,
straightened out. Have a nice day
they say. Smile. Don’t you see.
This is a brand new day. The first
day. For all it matters. On the wall
is a calendar of events. This is the
iirst day. On the other wall are two
signs. One says THINK. The other
says RELAX, On the third wall is a
painting by a modern abstract
impressionist. He gets paid {or
doing that, because at the social
contract, and because it's his
thing. On the fourth wall there is
nothing, but up high there is a tiny
window which lets in light as it
looks out on the window well, There
is a lizard in there. I closed my
eyes and tried to sleep, Bciore
sleep came there was a picture of
roses dancing in my eyes. That is

as close as I came to capturing it.
When I tried to focus upon it the
vision dissappeared , . . In another
time, in the past, I remember that i
often thought I could not believe
anyone. Now I believe Whoever I’m
around, because company is such a
rare occurence. I am spacing
myself out through time, trying to
break into a rhythm. What more
can I say. Nothing you say. That's
enough tor today, and now today’s
session is over,

One step ahead of the game. One
day at a time. I am sinking in a
miserable pit. Help me. All right,
all right, I’ll be honest with you. I
won't hide any feelings and I won’t
pretend to be What I’m not. I will
keep thinking, Isn't any oi this at
all what you want to hear? Once
you have arrived perhaps you will
feel yourself again. You will hear
people. You will read between the
lines and no longer pretend to
understand, Perhaps you will
savour this single grain oi salt

Name Withheld

the capitalist system would seem
to warrant no more reply at
Grinnell than Carnegie’s Social
Darwinism found in the history
books, However, the total lack oi
critical writing in the paper irom
any other quarter and the virtual
absence of any positive social
action indicate a very deep
problem here that must be brought
to the attention of the college
community,

Asking students to spend lnoney
on selfrimprovemenl via
meditation, peprtalk by Dean T. to
clean up our act (a la 50bit, ex»
tended discussion of the pet policy,
and an article on The Resignation
(complete with “tearful iamiiy at
his side” when he “resigned in the
spirit he Conducted his office;
doing what he though was best for
the country"’!l) are not THAT
terrible. However, taken together
all these elements add up to a very
disturbing Whole, HAS GRINNELL
BECOME A SCHIZOPHRENIC
WASTELAND OF GRADE-
GRUBBING LIBRARY ADDICTS
AND MINDLESS PARTY-HRS?

The tirst step should be mass
meetings by either the students
andrnr the taculty with ad-
ministration and union
spokespersons present to supply
information and different
viewpoints. Voting and group
positions should be taken by both
the iaculty and the students. it
seems clear that no pos' 'on, no
action is, as usual, a position for
the administration.

Rather than upper-class cons
servativc ideology, the selrish
desire nut to be bothered, or 19th
century lines like “but we pay as
much as the other iaetory“
deciding the issuesistop and
think. Certainly it is not a simple
problem. But there is more to it
than the simple options of starving
the workers or closing the school
through raised tuition! With the
awareness that the true ugliness is
a national problem Still Here that
has caused this ugly situation with
ugly choices, act consciously,
decisively, and humanely. If this
student under taculty strike, so be
it. If this means aiding scabs, so be
it. But talk about it, write about it,
and please decide.

David Wright

Sodoma: Thanks helpers

TO THE EDITORS:

I would like lo thank Mark
Whilters, Tom Pantea, Carin
DePree, Patty Rose, :ianet Pope,
Eva Hierschbiel, Joe Spam and

Steve Krystal tor helping with
circulation of thc 8&8, These Sort
oi people make the Grinnell
”I’EIXpel‘iel'lceH really Worthwhile.

Chris Sorlonln

 

