Women’s status at

Grinnell very “quo”

One of the most meaningful Ways
to interpret the administration‘s
recent decision to offer Georgia
Dentel and Kathy McCluskey part
time positions is that it is yet
another signiiicant movement
“down the up staircase“ of
professionalism for women in this
country, and especially ior women
at Grinnell College. The job offers
are a reflection of the usual an-
tiquated attitudes and a sure sign
that Mr, Turner and Mr. Walker
still do not understand con-
temporary issues.

Women of competence and
aspiration should take warning
from what has transpired these
past three months, This ad
ministration, in its insensitive but
high—sounding “color and sex
blind” stance (which is merely an
argument for “business as usual"
given the methodology oi con-
temporary society), has continued
to exhibit its lack of understanding
of the problem of institutional
suppression and exploitation of
women. Positions oi responsibility
have not been offered to females.
Women have not had jobs created
for them, jobs to match their
talents or to challenge their talents
(as certain‘men have had) ; and the
accessibility and Creation of jobs,
the upward movement oi women
into pos ons ot authority and
responsibility, is what “ai-
firmative action” finally is all
about. in its basic implications,
affirmative action means that
Women are to be hired and
promoted, not demoted, according
to their availability and ex
cellence. Thus, the “needs” of

institutions must be reassessed
and seen in much broader per-
spective.

Grinnell College, however, has
not acted with insight and good
faith in the present cases. nor are
there any indications that it plans
to act affirmatively in the near
future. What we have now is
mealy-mouthed lip service ior
”thorough” searches and vague
promises that women will be
promoted on schedule, but no
commitments for the advancement
of women through establishing a
systematic policy of hiring and
through setting aside a substantial
amount of money to be spent to
assure that an effective af~
iirmative action program will be
carried out. For a college whose
mission has always focused either
explicitly or implicitly on
signiiicant social action, this'is a
most unfortunate development.

Unless Mr. Walker and Mr.

take steps to institute
proiessionalism of a meaningiul
kind here, the small contingent of
women iaculty and administrators
at Grinnell should tremble to know
that their status is so quo that in
the foreseeable future they are
likely to remain as exploited and
suppressed as they have been in
the past, This cannot avoid having
an adverse etiect not only on
community morale, but also on
(admissions and matriculation at
this college. Jeanne Burkle tforr
i-neriy coordinator of tutoring, a

 

job now hold by Barry nun. who is
called ”Director oi the Tutoring
Program") .

Correction

It. was incorrectly stated in last

week‘s article about the Dentel

McCluskey job olfers, that Tom Latimel’ would not be producing the
monthly events calendar. lle Vtill, in fact, be continuing this service.

Turner change their attitude and

 

 

The Scarlet &

second class postage paid at Grinnell, ls. 50m

Black

 

Editor
Associate Editor
News Editor
Feature Editor
Sports Editor
Fholngrauhy Editor
CODY Editor
cartoonisi
Advertising Manager
circulation Manager
business Manager
Facility Advisor

Rose, Andy McKibben

Reporters
on“ ssapieton, Dave Scnecmer, soo Mitchell, Fat Irwin, rim Decoster,
Felicia 67055, John Nelderbach, Mark Voorheesr Lucy Rosendablr Kathy
Vuoer, John Strauss, Patti Edmonds, Bob Waldner, Sub Meyer, Tom
Luwenberg, Jim 5frlckler,T0m Rowat, Ellen WalKEV, Dennis Hansen, Leslie

Columnists
Bob Aldrich, Pal Edmunds, ScothcMurray, JeN Miller, Ruth Montgomery,
er sexton

Photographers

Denny Minami, Steven ablesto, Dean Mcllvaine, Jim Turner, David
Rosenbaum. Chris Lower, Nick Maiden, Gregg Smith, and Gus Moreno

Chris tower
Mary erandt
Dave wick

David Green

rorn Arenberg
Steve siloerperd
ueppie Weiner
aeth Wiley

Pam Netl

Jon Elnaum

kick Petrart
wiillsm neminou

 

50in

 

 

published weekly exrepi during holidays and vacation periods by
Grinnellcollegc,$ludent publications and Radio Committee, Grinnell, lows

 

 

 

 

“Wally! Is that thing loaded?“

pnolo by (Jim tower

 

 

“The moving ﬁnger . . . ”
roloing pcohutb. and

by Scott McMurray

”Religious rebirth sweeping
America," “Thousands born
again," “Faith-healer Cures
basket Case,” The list of headlines
has been seemingly endless in
recent months as the country
experiences a renewed burst oi
fundamentalist religion.

This movement cuts across all
levels of society, carrying with it
old and cherished beliefs while at
the same time adopting the new,
For centuries scholars of all fields
have studied the phenomenon
known as the Star of Bethlehem.
Theologians considered it a har~
binger of the Savior‘s birth, while
astronomers have recently
belittled it as a fortuitous align-
ment of stars that quickly tell
apart, Expanding upon this idea at
astrological connections at the
time of birth, “hip" fun-
damentalists have claimed quite
profoundly that “Jesus was a
Cappricoi-n,“

Jimmy is a Libra. Born again
president-elect Carter is a fun-
damentalist of sorts himself: Quite
naturally there are those among
the movement who have begun to
look in the past for signs of his
coming. Hundreds have been
purportedly scanning the myriad

 

‘_olll

ior portents oi his stellar rise to
tame.

The symbol most
associated with Carter is the
peanut. In every context
imaginable Jimmy Carter has
been connected with peanuts. He
has been shown letting them
dribble through his fingers in
Georgia and has even been
caricatured as a peanut himself by
many cartoonists,

it takes no great ”leap oi faith"
to conclude that the destiny oi
Carter and peanuts are quite
possibly intertwined. At this point
symbolists examing Jimmy's past
suiier a serious, perhaps even iatal
setback. According to the
Americana Annual, the peanut
harvest that was occuring at tht
time or Carter’s birth was actually
live per centless than the previous
years, (Some researchers reiuse
to admit doieat and point to the
ratification oia state constitutional
amendment during the tall oi 1924
as a ioreshadowing of Carter’s
governmental reorganization to
Come).

So much for the divine Jimmy
theory. Nevertheless, Carter takes
his religion seriously and so should
we. Those of us whose religious

often

ﬁg otoro.
comic strips

about the born-again president. It
is hard for many people to identify
with one who holds such intense
convictions. (It took the then-
candidate’s own mother to per

iervor during the primaries).

Georges Sore], writing in the
early 19005, believed that man
needs to create myths by which to
live in order to cope with the
irrationality oi the universe.
Carter’s religion is the basic
“myth" upon which he relies when
dealing with everyday society. As
iar as myths are concerned his
religion is a very “positive” one, it
oiiers security and a sense of
shared purpose in exchange ior
faith. To put it in another context,
his “myth” oi religion is a warm
blanket in the comic strip oi life,

.limmy Carter‘s myth is also

hope tor the “comic strip oi life”
lies. To iollow this myth, Carter
must, unlike his recent
predecessors, fight out in the open

these causes remain humane in
nature, then Carterwill most likely
triumph over his critics, After all,
when was the last time you saw

 

beliefs Could best be described as
“in flux" tend to be a bit uneasy

View from the ivory tower

 

Gridc

byLizSexton

Those of you who wouldn't touch
the science building with a twenty
foot pole for fear of catching a
dread disease are missing out on a
lot oi joyiul community
togetherness. How many of you
have experienced the sense ot
community which iollows spending
iive hours in lab on an experiment,
only to throw out your products
before you have run all the
required tests on them? Or the
sublime joy of the last day of lab
when you cleaned out your desk
and broke $30.00 worth of
glassware? Not enough students,
I’m airaid, have known these
feelings, which is why we Grin~
nelllans are a joyless lot. The
obvious remedy is to institute labs
in humanities and social studies
classes, like the following
suggestions.

Sociology t2n Lab L72 This lab
will explore the repercussions of a
Grinnethiddlebury merger:
Griddlebury, Students will use
sociological interviewing
techniques to discover whether
moving the Green Mountains to the
golf.course will have any effect on
the ”quality of life” in Grinnell,

i.e., will students suddenly take to
wearing hiking boots in case the
urge to explore a hack trail hits
them at any given moment. Im-
porting of Vermont barns and
maple syrup will also be closely
monitored. A major project titled
“Griddlebury 0r Grinnell in
Middlebury—what’s the difr
terencei,” will be expected (door
1000 pages), important: No more
than five monosyllabic words are
allowed per page. StudenB will be
graded on verbosity, cir-
cumlocution. and general obs
scurity.

History . 5 Lab L77, By diligent
research students will explore the
historical movements which arose
as a result of the “Gl'iddlebury
Experience-” maple syrup
drinking among the colorful locals,
the overturn Turner turnover
phenomena, and others (to be
announced). original historical
documents will be gone over with a
iine tooth comb to determine the
original reaction or the parties
Involved. The texts include the
White Paper, yellowed with age,
and Cyclones and Snowstorms:
Griddlebiiry in Transition, by
'iorace “Go west, A.R.T, go

 

Snoopy actually “in the
doghouse"?

west!” Greeley Ill.

English 7-11 Lab L4, By i
terviewing coloriul local denizens,
students wiil assess said denizens
level of language to explore the
possibility that perhaps ' the
Griddle Experiment did not con-
tribute to a substantial imr
provement in the verbiage oi said
natives, or, in iact, in the verr
borrhea oi the pedagogues whose
very careers and most certainly
lives, limbs, and pursuit oi hap-
piness has its ioundation on the
successiul assimilation of the

pompous
designation of
fluence.” This data will be
displayedi'n a highly artlul,
terribly British illuminated
manuscript torm, and W)"

putas assign

an inferior mode, such as art
nouveau, moose printing, or
engraved cards. All presentations
will be no longer than one half of
one side of a single 5‘2" by 1]"
sheet or ioolscap, vihich, oi course,
means that each word must be
fraught with innuendo.

 

suade him to cool his religious-gs

humane. it is in this respect thats’

for causes in which he believes: li‘

cbuty lobe o'tlggcotcd .,

insidious juggernaut that certain,‘
tht”;
“Middlebury In-

b. :
jeered as ifit is merely scribbled i533

 

