The Scarlet & Black, April is, IMF—page 5

 

,The black perspective

Note: This column was submitted
by Concerned Black Students. It

5 requested that the names ofthe
authors be withheld.

Many articles are written about
Blacks in Grinnell, yet-none are
written explaining the why's and
how's of our emotions and actions.
The times are changing. We. as
Blacks are part of that change.
This column is a part of a plan to
allow you a chance to understand
and become aware of what it is
we’re feeling, in hopes that it will
broaden your perspective and
create, instead of past combats,

ﬁgure cooperation.
‘Please excuse my grammar and
spelling. You see, where I come
from those things were not emr
hasized. We were taught to think
(gird to comprehend. To take what

e hear and make it fit into our
lives, and become of use to us.
when we wrote papers, although
spelling was often corrected, the
concepts and thought behind the
paper was most important. My
experience at Grinnell has been
memorizing and spelling it right,
The split. In my real life I’ve
learned, in my role I‘ve
memorized This is the first time
I’ve been made to realize i must
play a role and cannot be ac
ceptable bymyself.

It’s difficult to explainian ab-

ﬁact need to those who have
never experienced it, I prefer to
believe this is why Blacks must
light so hard for every “privilege"
ate get, I never before in my entire
.. e was made to beg for those
commodities I deemed as essen-
tial. Logical justification always
seemed enough. However, in
Grinnell our small numbers must
show for support, and inevitably if
we are to win our case someone

um.

 

along the line must begin to whine
and beg. One begins to feel as if it is
a war. The opposition cutting us
down and us the defense, crying
out for a little compassion and
understanding.

The cooperation just is not there.
We come expecting understanding
and are thrown statistics (in which
we are always outnumbered), and
prepared negations, Outnumbered
and powerless as we are the
threats Grinnell holds for us as
Blacks are often overwhelming.
Let us off our knees and onto our
feet.

Systems are designed to repress
radicalism, but change is our hope.
Therefore, we do ask for changes
in the system. We look for. and
make gaps in, regulations for our
advancement. it is hard for you to
understand, I know, It’s a lot like
lowering standards for Black
admissions, It doesn’t mean that
we are not capable but that our
“inferior" schools did not allow
us the opportunity to learn or
experience equal chances. We
have the need to develop our
community to the point of self
sufficiency. This requires we work
together, not to overpower
Whites, but to strengthen our
resources to equality. If things
were equal there would be no need
for this. When we must fight you
for this chance it only delays and
hinders our progress. Can’t you
realize some day it will be your
way, but first we must be given
that unchallenged chance?

We do not want to assimilate.
We are Black. So long we’ve been
made to be ashamed of that. but
now we are not ashamed and want
to be proud of our Blackness. We do
not want to be White and just like

 

everyone else. We are different.
Whites minimize this difference in
granting their idea of equality. We
want to be equal and to be Black.

This shows our further NEED for
Black adult professors with
whom to identify. We NEED to see
examples and be reminded that
Black is something to be proud of
through the ins iration and
guidance Black ad ts have to offer
us. We NEED to learn about
ourselves all the things you have
for so long hidden from us. We
NEED Black studies. We NEED
our community (cluster). We
NEED more Black entertainment,
which you also enjoy but won’t
allow for in your budgets, We
NEED more Black students. and
not just from prep schools, but
from all over. We NEED more
Black men to meet the Black
woman’s needs which have so long
been denied and are a major
source of discontent.

Most of all we ,NEED your
cooperation, not your competition.
We are not as armed as you for
battle, surely we would lose. ls that
the idea? This is what we have
come to wonder if you believe and
feel. What do we have to go on? In
future articles we intend to
elaborate on our needs and show
specifically why each one is dif»
ferent and so essential to us.

Until then: Brothers: “to con,
tinue our determination and
success, we must continue to unite,
to commune together, both
spiritually and physically. We
cannot afford to hate or distrust
anyone who is genuinely coma
mitted to the freedom and self-
actualization of Black folk."

UMOJA: UNITY

To All: Understanding.

a,Sporltelneous zaniness

by Mark S. Anderson

Now that spring-summer has
settled its feet here (I hope),
rhaps we can all oil our joints
‘3 try to get the most out of the
remaining weeks of this semester.
Study when you must, but don't
neglect the importance of being

alive. Do something ridiculous.

Reaction to Kozol

To the editor: 1 must admit I went
to hear Kozol to get some answers.
I had read his books and now
wanted more.

I heard a very human story—-

‘pressing, personal, something
that l have heard and seen, I was
not roused to anger or indignation;

ﬁlm had my questions and still did
not know how to reverse the
inhumane, wellroiled, efficient
school system, Structure and
organization were promised in a
forthcoming manual, But nowil
no longer expect him to have the
answers,

l-iis message was deﬁnitely
more than nice stories, but I was
annoyed with his simplicity,

“He is a product of this country,
an object of its processes of
preparation,” (The Night is Dark

_ id 1 Am Far From Home)

{meone struggling with his own
beliefs. I know that I too have to
Iightwith my indoctrinated values,
face the facts that schools function
to produce good citizens, upholding

aha: present social order, and that

schools do this well! l have to act,
find ways of change and dedicate
myself as a teacher to radicalizc
education That the purposes and
goals are worth striving for is a
built~in assumption, hisand mine I
alternately need to be convinced
and encouraged

I thank Jonathan K0201 for his
outspokenness. his passion and his

insights. .iulic Bell

Since my freshman days, oh so
very long ago, there has been a
gradual decline in mainstream
zaniness on this campus. As much
as the zanies might be despised at
times (the non-zanies dislike obr
noxious, self-indulgent, funny and
uninhibited people for having all
the fun), they have an important
function: to provide the rest of
humanity with comic relief. It’s the
necessary yang to the depressing
academic yin. Admittedly, there
are zanies who are working only
for themselves (such is life), but
for the most part, the really good
zanios have their purpose in their
heart.

There are plenty of zanies here,
but a lot of them stay in the closet
and don’t allow their creativity to
be fully appreciated. I can unr
dersland their attitude, because
there are a lot of redneck anti-
zanies around here. These anti-
zanies think everyone is laughing
at them, so they try to oppress all
laughter. Don’t fear these anti-
zanies, though, because they can
be crushed by numbers if every
closet zany would please step out.
The revolution begins now.
Everyone must be the first one,

Some zanies I know were ex-
pressing themselves the other
night in the loggia. much to the
delight of all who saw them. Scott
Sinatra, Blind Melon Bill, and
Mississippi Bob were drinking
Beam's Choice, playing guitars
and singing such favorites as
“Lola," “The Blitzkrieg Bop,”
“Brown-Eyed Girl,” and ”Der
Nibelung," to name but a few. A
crowd gathered to reap the
benefits of this expressive
zaniness. These boys were humbly
sharing what they could do with
their fellow friends and unknowns.
We were, of course, allowed to Join
in when we knew the song it
reminded me of summer camp;

 

singing songs around the campfire,
the friendship circles, necking with
the counselors, smoking pot . . .
And when they started to sing

“Kurn By Yah'I I almost wet my ,

pants.

The audience was visibly moved.
One young woman with wide and
generous hips had tears streaming
down her lace as she opened up her
denim purse and took out a few
coins which she then dropped into
the boys’ tin cup. This was a real
part of the Grinnell Experience. I
think (I’m not sure though, so I‘ll
have to ask Turner ol' the Provost
or, oh, perhaps Bo Battey would
know),

At any. rate, it’s time we con-
sidered What contributions we can
make to our joyful community.
There are opportunities like there
are roaches in the Quad kitchen, so
stay alert and jump in when you
spot an opening. Don’t bite your
tongue the next time you are sitting
in class and the perfect joke or
wisecrack says “hey" to your
consciousness. If you find yourself
walking past the library while the
executive council is in session, at
least wave to them if you can’t
think of anything else to do. Do you
think they are actually as old and
prematurely grey as they pretend
to be? I bet they'd laugh if you did
the right thing (I think a puppet
Show would be niceL It would be a
real challenge to their self
importance. Go ahead and
challenge them. Expose the anti
zanies whenever possible, If they
are forced to laugh at themselves,
they’ll get that much closer to
being human.

The challenge is on. It’s up to you
to revive the spirit that has
been packing its suitcases lately. if
we don’t all try, then Grinnell
College will soon become as
stimulating an environment as the
inside of Gerald Ford‘s shoes

 

,—

 

by Ruth Montgomery

The frustration engendered by
several recent faculty hiring
decisions has led to calls from all
sides for clearer guidelines for
EPCs and greater standardization
among the various departments’
EPCs.

Generally the frustration has
arisen from two factors. First,
student EPC members’ ex-
pectations of their involvement
have not been the same as those of
the faculty. Second, the EPCs
involved in hiring disputes are
usually those that have com-
paratively less voice, in hiring
decisions that other EPCs.

Standardization is advocated as
a means to meet both problems,
but I think that there is significant
danger of subverting the at
tainment of the real goal, which is
student involvement in the actual
decision of who is to be hired.

It is obvious that the
achievement of this goal is light
years away in some departments,
but other departments have
reached what both the faculty and
students feel are satisfactory
arrangements to allow studens
participation in the actual
decision, Even the most optimistic

 

men opocﬁepje'rilepo e

Standardization
may be hazardous

cannot expect that the faculty as a
whole would choose to standardize
EPCs to the point where they
would have a formal voice in the
hiring procedure. Dean Walker
and the Executive Council clearly
support a much reduced student
role in hiring decisions than that
advocated by student EPC
members.

This does not deny totally the
potential benefits of general
guidelines for EPCs. Needed is a
guideline requiring a thorough

iscussion and exchange of ideas
among faculty and students about
the way the EPC will Work with the
faculty in reaching departmental
decisions, The outcome of such
discussions should be specified in
such a way that is clear to both
EPC members and faculty.
Equally important are guidelines
specifying other areas in which
EPCs should be involved. such as
curricular decisions and ongoing
faculty evaluation.

These types of guidelines are
purposefully nonspecific, In
specificity lies in the danger of
losing the good E‘PC structures
that now exist in some depart
m e n t s . T 0

have any hope of success. the ef-
forts to increase student decision-
making power must for a time
remain on a departmental level,
More examples of successful of
forts like the political science or
philosophy departments must be
realized before the faculty as a
whole can be persuaded to allow
student participation in the actual
hiring decision.

Formalized guidelines making
more uniform the rights of all
EPCs. as advocated in last
week's 5&3 editorial, are more
likely to give us the lowest common
denominator of student par-
ticipation in hiring than to prevent
conﬂicts similar to those of recent
hiring decisions.

 

 

Pub Club, Inc.

HAPPY HOUR

4:00 -

MONDAY

6:30
- FRIDAY

COMING TUESDAY

Frozen Dunnon Yogurt Bars

Danny

Bars 30°

Danny Flips 50°
fﬂRUM GRItt

 

