The

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Scarlet

& Black

Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa

3/4/77 Vol. 85 No. 19

 

e

by Toni Areubcrg

i Of Grinnell’s 1146 studenB, only

‘47 are black. Of 105 faculty

members, only 5 are black. in the

town. there are almost no blacks

who are not affiliated with the

college. What is it like to be black

in a predominantly white com-
munity like this?

Some blacks find the Grinnell
experience disenchanting, oiten,
oi course, the disappointment
arises from problems that can
trouble anyone, white or black,
such as Grinnell’s location or work
load. Said Julie Rogers, who is
black. “I know a lot of (black)

$shmen are leaving early this
' ear, A lot of them are interested
in things that only big schools can
offer.”

Still. some problems are unique
I; blacks. Most of these stem from
Grinnell's small black population.
Some blacks here now found the
small number of blacks at Grinnell
rather shocking when they first

& Black prospectives depart for home aiter a look at Grinnell last weekend. Forty

black exposure or news pertinent
to blacks.” he said. Alberta
Warfield. who is black, coma
merited. “A lot of blacks forget
where they come irom, You have
to remember where you come from
so you can know where you are
going"

Many of the social and cultural
problems lacing blacks at Grinnell
are eased by Concerned Black
Students (CBS). Most blacks
believe that through formal ace
tivities, such as bringing speakers
onto campus, and iniormal
gatherings. CBS facilitates social
interaction among blacks and
strengthens cultural identity.

The Black Cluster System (BCS)
was cited by several blacks as
serving a similar purpose. The
BCS allows black freshmen to
room near black upperclassmen,
The SGA Joint Boards recently
approved continuation oi the
system. an action strongly sup
ported by black students on

sense a dramatic improvement
since my ireshman year, There are
still problems for blacks here, but
it doesn't seem like blacks are as
uncomfortable as they once were.
Coming from an all-white coma
munity. as do many other Grinnell
students. I did not expect or un»
derstand the social tension that I
felt, With an open mind, however.f
think that whites can approach an
appreciation ior the situation
blacks at Grinnell face,”

Blacks. of course, find ad
vantages in attending Grinnell, not
just problems. Most blacks cited
good academic offerings and
personalized attentioni
advantages also enjoyed by
whitesias the best benefits, But
most blacks named few benefits
that are unique to Grinneli blacks.
Engram. when asked if there were
any. said. “Not as far as I can
tell,” However. Lee commented
that Grinnell “is a place where you

can study how the world at large,

students came to

campus for Black Prospectives Weekend The Weekend was set-up in an effort to Increase Grinnell's

black enrollment.

arrived. Freshman Vanessa Smith
stated. “When I first got here, it
scared me badly.” However,
Director of Admissions John
Hopkins said he thinks most in-
coming blacks know what to ex-
pect.

The low number of Grinnell
blacks also causes some social
difficulties. Said Smith. “The black

lation is so small that blacks
arely even see each other walking
around.” Gary Oden, who is black.
noted that a person feels “more
c mfortable with one of his own
% for social functions or
I easing tensions." However.
Greg Lee, a black. said. “If you
have what it takes to interact wiﬂi
people. you can do it anywhere . . .
I feel comfortable here."
For some. maintaining cultural

identity is another problem. Hosea-
Engram. a black, said he thinks-

Grinnell blacks are often ”nut of
touch” with black society.
“Grinnell doesn’t have a lot of

campus.
Many blacks think blackawhite
relationships on campus are not
What they should be, Warfield Said,
“X don't like the fact that blacks
here are not looked at as in-
dividuals. They're just looked at as
blacks. That’s one thing I disliked
when i came here as a ireshman.
X'm going out as a senior and I still
dislike it. It hasn't changed."
Lee said he thinks relationships
have improved in the {our years he
has been at Grinnell, but adds,
“Most white students are not
racially liberal , . . There are some
racists here and then there are the
bigots who don’t think they are."
Terri Tiddle. a black. said. “I
don’t think the white Community is
all that concerned . . . It’s not in
tune to the problems of the black
students and this fact causes
tension, although me tension is
really subﬂe.”
SGA President Ruth Monte
gomery. who is white. said. “1

photo by Steve Silherberg

which is white, is going to accept
you."

Despite whatever benefits
Grinnell has to offer blacks. the
black population is small, or at
least not what most blacks would
like it to be. Whereas there are 47
blacks on campus now. were were
70 in the fall of B73. That semester.
blacks made up 5,5 per cent of the
student body. This semester. they
make up 4.1 per cent.

Rogers sa id she would like to see
at least 100 black students at
Grinnell. Warfield said she would
like the number to increase
gradually, with 55 to so here next
year, She does not think Grinnell is
ready to accept a large, sudden
increase in the black population.

President A. Richard "Dimer
commented on Grinnell’s
recruitmentof blacks, saying. “We
do reasonably well for a School of
our kind—out in the country.” He
added that he feels strongly that
Grinnell should work for a

“racially diverse community" and
that this takes money and a
“concerted recruiting effort,”
Charles Davis. a black English
and Black Studies professor. said a
key question is not what Grinnell is
able to do to attract blacks but
what Grinnell wants to do, He said
he is looking for more than a
“verbal display of commitment "
Davis praised Provost and Dean of

The black Grinnell Experience

ieature to many blacks. Currently,
Davis is handling the load alone
and he admits thathe is very busy.

Last week's effort to attract
blacks, the Black Prospectives
Weekend. was praised by many
blacks on campus Under the
arrangements oi CBS. 46 black
prospectlvﬁ. mostly irom the
Chicago area. were brought on
campus. Turner said a visit to

 

“I don’t like the fact that blacks

here are not loo/zed at as

individuals. They’re just looked
at as blacks.”

 

the College Waldo Walker for his
efforts in attracting blacks but
noted that it takes more than one or
two people to make signiiicant
accomplishments.

There is general agreement that
an increase in the number of black
lacuity members would help to
attract black prospectives. That,
however. may be as difficult as
attracting black students and
entails many oi the same
problems, If more black proiessors
could be hired. this might lead to
an increase in the course offerings
of Black Studies. an attractive

Grinnell usually increases chances
that a student will apply, Warfield.
who headed the eiiort, stressed to
the prospectiva that because of
the many events coordinated with
the weekend, they were not
viewing a typical Grinnell
weekend However. an ciiort was
made to present Grinnell as it
really is

Generally, the concerns and
interests oi the prospectives were
no different than they might be for
a group oi white students,

icoiitiiinen on p. at

Yearbobk production

on schedule

iiy iiovc “oscllbaum

The yearbook will be published
this year and production is on
schedule. according to yearbook
staff members.

This year Taylor Publishing Co.
of Dallas, Texas Was contracted to
print a color hardcover book
consisting of 200 pages, nine by
twelve inches in size. This
represents more than double the
size of last year's Grinnell Book.

Innovations for the book include
a central sixteen page
photographic essay with color
photographs concerned with
representing the college at»
mosphere. artwork in the form oi
pen and ink drawings, a creative
writing section. photographs of all
dorms, oiiacampus houses (in-
cluding GRMS), and special in-
terest groups.

The first deadline to be met is for
April i. when seventy pages must
be completed and sent in for
printing. At present Ruth Grosser.
head of the layout staff. estimates
that about twenty pages have been
completed and anticipates no
difficulties in finishing all seventy
pages before spring break.

The yearbook is currently
operating on a trimmed budget.
eliminating expenses such as an
office supplies 'fund. A con-

 

solidation oi salaried positions into
iewerlower-salaried positions took
place at the beginning of the year
in an effort to lower the net ex-
pense oi the book. The funding
scheme for the book. planned by
editors Van Tsagaris and Carin
DePree, will come from sales of
the books, advertising, donations.
and SGA. The printing costs are to
be covered in part by the projected
sales of 400 books,

Books are selling for $12 each.
Carol Witz. advertising manager.
said that the advertising in the last
five and one~half pages is expected
to net “approximately $1000." This
sum will supplement $1500 that
Van collected as donations in the
New York City area last summer.
Operating expenses are being met
in part by utilizing the iunds made
available by SGA.

It must be emphasized that the
largest single source of money is
from sales of the book. It is
therefore essential that the
campus community subscribe ii
the success of this year's book and
the future of the yearbook is to be
ensured. Van anticipates that “all
the books will be sold by the end of
the school year." and that those
wanting to purchase a copy should
do so now. before it is too late.

 

