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ﬂatter anti Iﬁlark

Grinnell, Iowa
GRXNNELL COLLEGE

a weekly newspaper published eat-h ruddy 0
Committee on Student
iuonal Amertls g Service,
n Ave.,
sccoiid class rnnltcr at inc Post office
ms. Sub‘criptiun mic stun rcr school

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Much Lei-inc

. Judr 'l'emzcr
George li‘uicst. Jim Ii. limp"
Judy I-Imid. sumo Conn

The Best Monsters
Come In Small Packages

Every year about this time Grinnelliails begin acting
like Texans. They Illalle blueprints and architects drawings
and think BIG. They tall: about floats which don’t actual-
ly float but sprawl themselves massively over MacEachroll
:eltl during homecoming weekend for the admiration of
traditionalists and otller float-crazy people.

We wouldn‘t take issue with these big high school ideas
if they were ingenious, rather than just expensive, but the
eyes of the builders are generally larger than their col~

[ective budgets.

The allocated $40 allowance is hardly enough nowadays
'to sucessfully produce a walking, talking, smelling and eat»

jug float.

Because of the massive and complicated mechanical
nature of these monsters, melt creep out at night like
young grave llobbel's ill Search of parts for their Franken-
steins. These parts unfortunately are often found in the
holnesites or property of ollr neighbors, rather than ac-
quired from more legal sources

This sort of illegal acquisition goes a step beyond just
picking up a few nails at the last minute because there
isn’t time to get them elsewhere, This kind of acquisition,
“kiddies,” is becoming blgvtillle. It is known as stealing, and

.lt is definitely otlt of order . , .

not nice; it is altogether

naughty and one of these days the townspeople and the

,police may spank.

Therefore, we would suggest that you desist from il-
legal acquisition and the desire for building the larger mane
ster,'and start a trend toward more clever bllt smaller
lless expensive monsters, Forty dollars ought to be enough
,to build something you have to burn down the next day, if
you use your heads. The important thing to remember, it
seems, is that there is obviously a place where tradition
ends and grand larceny begins.

 

by John Ward

Herc, recorded for posterit’
'e excerpts from some p
cards that were mailed from
Grinncll, Only the names have
been deleted to protect:

Dear Mom,

I Just can't get over how dif-
ferent college is. The people
here are not .
afraid to
ideas. If
want
round
they can and no
one Says ally-
lliing, except a
few scoﬁers
really enio
school and i
isn't too hard. Ward
yet. I've been studying a lot in
the library, and I had a date
too.

i Love.
1 J.
Dear Family,

Had all hourly today. It was
'a real rough test. I think I
passed though, It is what is
llcnown as a bear, I hopc I
lpassed. Yes, I am still dating
‘Li, she has a lot of other
boy friends, though, Thanks for
the cookies, but I could use
some money though. Smoking
about a pack a day. Sometimes
i] wonder whether I should be
'1] chemistry major after all.
There's plenty of time to make
a decision though. I don't have
to declare a major till I'm a
sophomore.

. Love,

J.
Dear Mom and bad,
Just a hasty note: Homecom-

| ‘Gilic ﬁanitg'nf Situues

mg starts tomorrow and some
of lhc upperclassmen are invit-

ing us to a party. I'll write
Sunday.
Love,
J.

Hi: ,
Boy clid I get drunk this
week. Some of the football
players had me up to their
apartment to have a drink, I
had two bourbon cakes, and I
could barely walk home We
sang all the way and tlicii set.
ﬁre to North Yolillker's ﬂoat.
One of the guys 1 was with got
fined because he u-icd to set fire
to his house president. What wc
need are some mcrc libcrals on
campus. We’re thinking of [cum
ing a group of liberals to pre-
serve the sanctity of thc indi-
\‘idual, We have nothing to lose
but our chains! I cut a class [or
day. Nobody goes to all the
classes all till: time.
Love,
1.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I madc lhc socccr tcaiiil It‘s
really great because all the
guys on the team are real lib-
eral and open minded. I've
started writing poetry in my
spare time, You don't really
have to study as much as I
thought \you would. I was liberal
many times today. I’VE JUST
WRITTEN THE MOST BEAU-
TIFUL POEM. IT'S ABOUT
LIFE AND DEATH AND HOW

THE TWO ARE REALLY THE
SANITY OF STONES
Com )1. 8, col. 3

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. October 6. |96|

THE FORUM for DISSEN T

by Gilry Hanson,
Bill Johnson.
Mike Moutross

One of C, P. Snow‘s primary
contentions in his recent book.
“Science and Government," is
that a deplorable gap exi. s be
tween the scientist and the hue
pianist, According to Snow, the
scientist has become hopelessly
entangled in the confining prob-
lems of research; the historian.
the man of lcttcrs, the artist,
vicw science as a more or less
tattered field of study, oltcn ii»
relevant to the great human
problems (show was placing
special emphasis in the non-
scicntifically oriented govern
nicnt administrator).

‘ Snow’s essay deals with the
particular area of mcdcrn polie
tics, and lie intentionally sets
up the two vcry . opposing
groups, the scientist and thc poll.
urinn. But in today's intellectual
climate wc scc divisions opcn-
ing up between all areas of
knowlcdgc; our age is the age
of the Specialist.

In this problem of academics
Grinnell is an improvement ovA
or many schools. The Engli i
major is not entirely ignorant
of history and mathematics,
the language major is not on-
tirely ignorant of history and
mathematics and the music
major is not entirely ignorant
of psychology.

But our situation is not ideal.
Grinnell’s noble attempt to unily
the ’arens of concentration at the
freshmairsoplionicrc level with
the llumanitieshistorical studies
requiremcnt, the science and
foreign language requirements,

and tlic fine arts and philosophy
requirements i mildly effective
until such requirements are ful-
Iillcd. Then, however, the mean-
ing 01 a liberal arts education
is often forgoltcn, and each stu-
dent pursues his own limited
field of study.

One would assume that the
responsibility for the proper in-
lelloctual unification of the stu-
dent body would [all on the
faculty and that their example
would create an atmosphere con-
ducive to a meaningfully com-
plete, well-rounded education,
To a certain extent the faculty
crcatcs this otmosphcrc.

Intel -departmental comniunico
lien is relatively Well developed
on campus. The groups of pro—
fessors which we notice walking
together or sitting in the Union
together do not necessarily be-
long to the same department and
thus would not necessarily have
thc same academic cllannelings.
But the faculty's relationship
with the general student body is

far from ideal.

Several
complaining about
faculty participation Because of
a lack of articulate conscrvative
professors on Campus, the liberal
thinking which uiiitcs this fault
ty has gone stale and soft. Pro-
fessors no longer feel compelled
to win the students to their
point of View because they in
fact have no opposition to corn
tend with.

We need articulate conservar
tires on this faculty, if only
to sharpen and clarify the in-
tellectual liberars position for
the student body, and the in—

studcnt organizations
are

lack of '

tellectual conscrvntivc’s posi-

tion, for that matter.

Most deplorable, however, is
the miserable tactllty rcprcsen
tction at our many coffee hot 5
at a time when the prolessols
from all the different depart-
ments could get together with
the students on problems of
common interest. "This Slluws a
definite apathy and gives the
appearance of a very distasteful
sort of parcchialrsm. Bcar In
mind that whether the faculty
is really parochial or not is in]—
material if they give this il‘ne
pression to the student body.

If this type of faculty per-
formance continues, it will crip-
ple the morale of the school. If
a scientist can find no basis for
interest in literature, if a psy-
chologist cares nothing for the
problems of history, than the
title of Doctor of Philosophy be-
comes a complete misnomer.

It seems to me that the sep-
al'ationsybetween different areas
01 study within the student cure
I‘iculum must be corrected now
if Grinnell plans to maintain

its reputation as one of Anicr.
leading liberal arts colleges.
There are signs that these divb
sions in the student body are
narrowing. .

One might cxpecf that the fa-
culty would flock to meeting:
if only to Seize the opportunity
of uniting the college. But less
than six professors took the time
to attend the coffee hours last
week. May I remind all of Grim
hell that most of the problems
discussed at. a liberal arts school
are traditionally relevant to all
departments.

Bill Johnson

Jumps [o [/12 aflil'ol'

To the Editor:

Tlle talk about this iiow fresh—
man class being the best that has
cvcr assembled on the grounds
of Grillllell is somewhat appall-
ing to me. From my vantage
point, which is confined to
Cowles hall. I scc freshmen
exercising their newlound free-
dom and individualism at the
cxpcnsc of their classmates. They
want to become part of the hell
without participating in hall‘
functions; they want hall m’cm—
bersllip Without carning it.

Surely one comes to Grinncll
to study and to learn, but oiic‘s
education goes tllrtller than
book-learnin’. It is nicc to know
all about the Iliad and the
Odyssey, but it is also nicc to
know those with whom you lirc,

The freshmen of Crlnnell to-

day believe that they can do
wliutcvci- they wish without the
least consideration o[ the “pre-
sumptuous" uppcrclussmen, who
at least try to get them into tllc
swing of the Grinllell commu—
nity.

Although lhc restrictions on
hall membership have been
cast aside on the. thesis that
fresh are mature and responsi—
ble enough to contribute to
their hall. they have failcrl
to demonstrate these qualities.
They can comply and go
through a modified prepping
program, or they can abstalu,
as most of them do, Then they
want the Ilpperclnssmen to
make them feel part of the
group without cxcrc iig any
of their own i itiativo.

With this feeling prevailing in
the Il'eshmall class, as I see it.
nothing but the dormitory sys
tcm will collie into effect with
the passing of a few more years
The only thing left [or the “Old
Regime“ of upperclassmen is for
them to move into their own
"dorm" and let the all-knowing,
freshmen jolly-well carry on
their book-leornin'.

So uppel‘classmen, let us look
to South campus for our inspirar
tion and put all freshmen in the
Norriscs where they will bc one
unhcd class carrying on as they
damn wcll please without any
thing barring them from their
studios, In this way, I believe
that neither uppel'r or under-
classmen‘s feelings will bc hurt
by not participating in any
“dorm" activities.

Jolln Pcclc
To the Editor:

Thc House UnrAmerican Ac-
tivitics Committee — ”To Abol-
islll" vcrsus ”To Acclaiml" Is
llicrc no middle ground? There
are those of us who agree that
even if we have only 5,000 Come
mullists who have been relegate
cd by mass defection to reading
a “otioand-a-half weekly" news
pnpc there may well be a
notcworthy Communist threat
from within the country.

At the samr time we
that the Committee iinqucstioir
ably has misinterpreted and mis-
informed: has Vlolated civil lib-
crtics which are basic to the
freedom the Young Americans
are organized to defend: has en-
goged in myopic flagrwaving and
demonstrations which are more
probably promoting than defeat-
ing internally corrosive Come
muism.

But is there a realistic nece5r
sity for the extreme? Psycho-
logically and emotionally we
long to be 100 per cent right,
Yet. is not the essence of much
of our current liberalism the in-
telligent willingness to admit
complexity, to deal with the
whole as composed of Varied ele-
mellts?

Why fight for abolition of a
potentially useful and ncccs-
sary organization? to why me

tionalize away the very scr-
iously dangerous and frighten
ing facets of this Committee?

Instead of reacting out of fear,

as we surely are with either al—

tei‘native,,ivhy not rationally and
creatively demand restriction
and Vision of the. House Unr
Ame can Activities Committee
to form from it a democratic and
effective tool of the govern-
ment?

In contrast to uncompromising
advocacy of abolition, 1,100 inr
formed, insistent letters allow-
ing and encouraging Congress—
men to take this politically prac-
ticable stand could have a sig~
niflcnnt effect!

Myrna Sumption

To the Editor:

What. struck me in the eve-
ning debate was the complete
integrity of both speakers and
especially Mr. Lewis’ calm, [ac
tional defense of HUAC’s pur—
porlcdly slanderous activities.
However, the crucial attitude in
the auditorium was that of the
elderly lady sitting next to mc.

Discreditlng even Mr. Harring-
ton's statistics. shc evidenced by
a sporadic zeal her irrational
faith that at least one worthy
response to any American di-
lemma was an emotional antic
Communist stand, As Mr. Hon
rington pointcd out, though, in»
lelligenf answers can’t lie in
an eiitrcncliment or paralyzing
paranoiac response to the ad-
mittcdly perplexing problems
America is now facing (even my
home church is now contem<
plating a bomb shelter for their

next large project).

I would hope that democracy
is not now so intellectually
bankrupt as to be forced to
take up such a useless, disabl-
ing banner cs emotional anil-
Communism Amcricn is now
facing, I feel, a challenge to
stand on basic civil rights and
exercise a flcxrbilily of approach
to tlle world situation inherent
in n free system and seemingly
lacking in Mr. Lewis' negative
conservative cthic.

Curt Lamb

 

