Friday, November I7, I961

SCARLET AND BLACK

Pogo Thin

 

ONE DEGREE OUT OF
THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY
or
LIFE IS DERTAINLY
UNDEBTMN

EBY PAUL JONES

Alter two months at writing about creativity and rule philoso-
phy, i ﬁnd that now 1 have nothing more to say. As tar as I’m
concerned, 1 have asked all at the questions and given as raw of
the answers as I intended. This is the end.

But in all honesty, there is one more thing that has to be sald,
That is: [don’t know what‘l'm talking about, It's a iairly shocking
realization, but it’s true. i really don’t know anymore it I'm saying
what needs to be said. I suppose that l should explain. Sitting at
the Longhorn the other night, I realized that when 1 leave here, 1
will not leave with an education or “education” as such, but
rather with I Grinnell education, something radically different
from "education."

Granted, Grinnell is judged by external sources to be one of
the “best" liberal arts schools in the country, but merely by vir-
tue of its being a ”school", it is not education in general. What it
does present ls a fairly specific mode of a certain kind One con-
clusion to draw from this is that I don’t really know what “edu-
cation" as such is; I can not get outside of my conditioned way of
looking at things.

But another conclusion, and a far more devastating one in
terms of the purpose of my writing a column in the newspaper, in
that, having once considered creativity and rule philosophy to be
the most important and allrembracing concepts about which 1
could talk, 1 now don't know if that’s true anymore, What 1 don't
know is the answer to the question “What is there left to know?"
That is, what is there to know which I don‘t already know about
knowing?

Don't mistake this for a claim to omniscience, it is exactly
the contrary, a claim to ignorance, and an ignorance which
is, to a large extent, fostered upon me by many sources:
parents, teachers. Grinnell, language, everything. To speak meta-
phorically, how many degrees, out at the iull circle of the three
hundred and sixty degrees of what there is to know, do i now
recognize? Maybe one degree at the whole circumierence. Arid l
doirt really know how to get outside at that one degree.

The ontortunate thing is that 1 know that I will ﬁght this con-
ditioning for the rest oi my life, and i don't kllow why i should
have to. What i am getting at, and it's an old horse to beat, is
that, yeah baby, Grinnell is narrow. But not just in the sense that
it’s llity miles tram Des Moines, l.e nowhere, but that it is thou-
sands and thousands oi miles from being what it should be, a liba
eral education, miles irom a sense that a liberal education is not
an end in itseli, but merely a steppingrstone to the future search
for usable knowledge, not just the acceptance oi what is now call<
ed knowledge.

A prolessor told me that what this realization has done ior
me IS to liberate me, not libcralize me. ln one sense this is true;
it has given me the opportunity to ilght like hell to get as tar
away from the ‘idea' or Grinnell education But telling me that I’m
liberated doesn't tell me a damned thing, actually. What am 1 free
to do now? l don't want to spend die rest oi my lile ﬁghting
against an idea, but rather ior ideas it my mode oi conditioning
will ever let me see beyond what i am now conditioned to see.

So 1 ask: is creativity a Worthwhile problem in the “real
world”? is rule philosophy in its broadest sense, i.e., ethics, is real
problem? i don’t. know anymore. Who does?

 

TRUTH BEAUTY, CROSSETT .

, THUGYDIDES TAKES TIME

In four and a half years, John
Crossett (Classics) has suc-

serve as an example. Every
occurence of the word in Thu-
cydides was noted, its lorm and

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NEWS
BRlEFS

lllllllillllllilllllllllllllllllllillllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

APOSTLE PRIZE

The establishment of the H,
George Apostle prize in phys-
ics at Grinnell has been an-
nounced by President Leggett.

The $200 prize was estab-
lished by Dr. Apostle, Steele
professor of mathematics and
a member of the college faculty
Since 1948.

Awards at $50 will go to tour
phystcs majors who have
“demonstrated a superior pro-
iiciency ln mastery ol subject
as well as in independent abil-
ity for and interest in re-
search.”

The recipients, who will be
selected by the physics depart-
ment, will come from the grad
uating classes or 1968, 1969,
1970, and 1971,

r r

LENOX AT CARNEGIE

The Lenox Quartet will make
its New York City debut as a
piano quartet at a November
19 concert in Carnegie Hall.

The program consists oi the
Piano Quartet in G minor, Opus
25, by Brahms, String Quartet
in B-ilat, Opus 168, by Schu-
bert, and String Quartet No. 4,
by Bartok.

Firmly established as one of
the nation's finest quartets, the
Lenox is the only contemporary
group which functions as both
a string quartet and piano
quartet.

organized in lost, the Lenox
has been in residence at Grin-
nell since the fall of 1962 and
has played extensively in both
the United States and Europe
The group has presented nu-
merous other concerts ill New
York City, but will be making
its initial appearance at Car—
negie l-lall.

EMERITUSI DIES

Cyrus w. Perkins, 84, died at
his home in Houston, Tex., Oct.
25. He was a Griliilell professor
emeritus of German.

A native of Canada, Professor
Perkins studied at the Univer-
sity of Vienna (Austria) before
taking his B. A. and MA. de-
grees at McMaster University
in Toronto in 1910 and 1911,
respectively. In later years he
took further graduate work at
the Universities of Chicago,
Breslau (Germany) and lowa.

He taught at Coe College in
Cedar Rapids from 1911 to 1944
and at Grimell, where he was
also assistant to the president,
from 1944 to 1948, when he be
came proiessnr emeritus and
moved to Texas, where be con-
tinued to teach until full re-
tirement in 1960.

A STUDENT OPINION
SELF-IMPUSED SEDBEGATIDN?

NAME WlTHHELD BY REQUEST

Talking to Mr. Randall Morgan, Chicago Area Civil Rights
leader, at Encampment gave me some new insights. l preier to
remain anonymous because i want what i have to say to be judged
on its own merits, not on my personality. i am white.

I have noted increasing concern among both Negroes and
whites on campus over the increased membership in what 1 will
call the Negro subculture. This is a group of Negro students who
have “opted out” or the rest of Grillnell's society. They have
chosen to stay within their own group exclusively.

Wily is it distressing to the onlookers mentioned above that
this group prefers to eat together, walk together, talk together,
dance together, and generally spend time together exclusively?
This exclusion of the White world is self isolation with carelul
signs, rituals, slang, and other cultural elements. It is just as evil
a form of discrimination as that which these students probably
experience in reverse in their home towns.

Of Course, in saying all this, I realize that this Subculture is
not unique to Grinnell. It is the transplantation to this campus oi
the Negro subculture from which these people come. Neverthe-
less, its existence is not good, and there are several points which
were elucidated in encampment that we should remember.

We all recognize the background which is so important here.
The Negro in America is withdrawing into his group all over the
nation. This withdrawal is necessary partly tor the discovery ct
identity and self-respect. And, of course, we cannot expect a Negro
coming to Grinnell to drop out or what is probably the most im-
portant thing the American Negro is doing right now. We cannot
ask him to become white for eight semesters, Race betrayal is not
the answer.

Some people feel that the relatively Sudden growth of the Grin-
nell subculture (it has become an active force in the Negro com-
munity in less than a year) is due to the increased numbers of Nee
groes at Grinnell, 1 leel that it is more likely because oi the above
national movement.

There is some signiﬁcance in the greater number of Negroes
here. however The larger the number, the wider the variety nr
backgrounds. This variety makes it more likely a greater per-
centage ot Negroes here will come lrom highly prejudiced environ.
ments, will be persons careiully socialized in total segregation,
persons totally unpracticed in interacting with whites.

We must also keep in mind the courage it takes for a Negro
to come to a predominantly white school like Grinnell. There is
certainly less prejudice and discrimination here than in some
other parts of the nation, but the Negro knows he will encounter
prejudiced individuals here and will experience some discrimi-
nation. Aitending a Negro college is an emotionally easier way to
get a college degree. So, the white students here must remember
that Negroes, because of the nature of this country’s hypocrisy,
must enter Grinncll with apprehensions.

These apprehensions are not immediately dispelled by good
will. We operate on an artificial level here, and few of us quickly
reveal our true selves. When one drunk person reveals repressed
prejudice to a Negro, think tor a minute how quickly the Victim
would lorget all the many seemingly non-prejudiced contacts he
has had, One such incident suggests widespread repressions oi
the same kind to the person who is unsure how he will be treated
in the iirst place.

Such dISlllilsionment is possible because of the white commu-
nlty's failure to provide positive and concrete Ieaiiirmatlons or
our desire for a genuinely nah-prejudiced and non-racially-oriented
Grinnell society. Quiet acceptance or the nonrracial point oi view
leaves the unsure Negro, when conironted with very subtly-hidden
prejudice, manifested in situations when the barriers are down,
to assume this repressed prejudice is the dominant pattern,

It is not my purpose here to suggest how we, the white stu-
dents, can concretely reaffirm our commitment to an integrated
society at Grinnell. 1 leave suggestions to others. 1 reel, however,
that if we are aware that what we are doing now is not enough,
occasions to maniiest our feelings will arise, and this awareness
will lead to action.

 

Step Up To

Headquarters For:

ceeded in translating the open»
lng paragraph oi Thucydides'
work on the Peloponneslan War.
It he lives long enough, Cros-
sett hopes to translate the first
twenty-two chapters of the work
(about ten pages).

About titty people attended
Crossett’s report on his research
Monday night. Each word in
Thucydides' iirst paragraph was
painstakingly checked; its use
and implications carerully de
lineated, Cmssett's translation
ol the word “disturbance" may

use studied. Even the use made
of “disturbance" by claSSlcal
authors before and after Thu-
cydides was deciphered. Final-
ly (or perhaps primarily), Cros-
sett considered the moral im<
plications or the word,

Thucydides has been dropped
from tlle Humanities course in
what Crossett terms the “pious”
hope that Histories will pick it
up The work represents our
iirst example or an attempt at
“objective" history, said Cros-
sett. -

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:5 5i, mum. 1001b GR'NNELL

N EWTON

JD‘S RESTAURANT

VIZVI Main
TUESJSaL 5 to ID pm,
Sunday—Noun to lo p.m.

 

