PAGE 4 THE GRLNNELL SCARLET AND aLn'ck aucns'r zd, i973

A Small Town In Iowa

One third of the Grinnell community will arrive on the campus

today. For many, it will be their first view of small town life.
Although the combined population of town and college is under
10,000, Grinnell has a great attraction for those from the major
metropolitan areas of the nation -- especially Chicago and New
York.

And for these students, the sound of “why would anyone want to
go there” still lingers hauntingly. Now that they’re here, they
too may be wondering why they came to a small town in the middle
of Iowa’s cornfields.

Perhaps we can provide a few answers. Small towns like Grinnell
provide many new experiences for the city dweller, most of them
quite pleasant.

Living in a small town in Iowa is deciding to go for a walk at
three in the morning, and not wondering whether it is safe. It is.
Living in_a small town is using a bicycle to go almost anywhere,
and not worrying about the traffic jams. There aren’t any.

Living in a small town is having a breakdown on your way through
late at night, and finding help. It may take a trip to the fire station,
where the auto parts dealer is a volunteer, and a bit of searching
for the mechanics home phone number, butthe car will be repaired
right there. Try that in any big city rs and you’ll end up spending

, the night in a motel.

Small town life is discovering that the nickel Coke is not a thing
of the past, and that air is something sweet to savor, not something
acrid to choke on.

Small town living is knowingthepeople you meet when you go shops
ping -- and having a blank check provided it you forgot your check-
book. The computer and the big city have eliminated that in most
places. - 4

Finally, life in small town Iowa is a feeling that maybe the world
hasn’t fallen apart after all. Its seeing the sun rise in the morning
and set in the evening through natural clouds, not clouds of smoke.
Its a sense that there is still beauty, and a sense of caring, left in
the nation.

Maybe that‘s “why anyone would want to go there”.

The Editorial We

“We” is probably the most used and least understood word

. which appears in this column. We would guess that the word
appears about 200 times per year, and is misunderstood at least
ten times that often.

What does the “we” of this column mean? The most frequently
misused meaning ls‘that the editorial we is simply a device in-
vented to allow editors to give their personal expressions of op—
inion legitimacy in print. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The editorial we represents the official view of the Grinnell
Scarlet and Black, as determined by its four principal editors,

John Wylie, Brent Schondelmeyer, Lynn Voedisch, and KenWinokur.‘

Individual editorials, however, are indIVldual efforts, not produc»
tions of an ad hoc committee. Unless initiated, editorials are the
product of the editor with the approval of the three others already
named.

Asecond misconception is that the editorials in the Scarlet and
Black are simply continuations of the views expressed in the news
columns of the paper. Again, nothing could be more misleading.
It is the policy of the Scarlet and Black, as the only independent
news source for the Grinnell College community, that personal
bias or opinion will not be expressed in the news columns of the
paper. This is nothing unusual, it is simply aprerequisite for
any publication wanting to call itself a newspaper.

Finally, there is the aft repeated idea that editorials are written
in response to pressure from any of a dozen sources. Certainly,
there are pressures on a newspaper »- daily pressure from read-
ers, advertisers. and even outsiders. But, as John McCormally
(the Pulitzer prize winning editor-publisher of the Burlington
Hawkeye) said in a speech here last Spring, a newspaper that isn’t
constantly in trouble isn't doing its job. We may not like the pres—
sure, but at least it shows that somebody is reading the newspaper.
It does, not “force” us to write anything.

Rather, editorials are written after careful consideration of the

' issue in question, calling on the knowledge we have of the Grinnell

College community, We aren‘t always right, but if we provoke
discussion and thoughtful consideration of issues, we have acc-
omplished our primary task,

There is a second key word that is sometimes underused on the
editorial page, It is the “Editorial 1”, and it is a primary com-
ponent of the letter to the editor. We hope to see many such letts
ers as the year goes on ,, answering our editorial positions and
presenting opinions on issues we have never before considered.

Working together, the "Editorial we” and the “Editorial 1"
can be a powerful force for constructive progress in the Grinnell
community.

THE GRINNELL SCARLET AND BLACK

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."MIGHTY FINE CROP THIS YEAR! "

Plans To Remain Relaxed

by Michele Rothenherg

For my part, it all started two and
a half years ago. It was my last
year in high school and I had appis
ied to a few colleges. Having visit.
ed those colleges in the East I
was left with just one question mark
in my mind when decisionstime
came. On impulse l ﬂew out to
see the last school of the lot,

..ﬂ§222u11!es§122§c.

But no matter how many times they
are told “If you could get in here
you can do the work,” they will
worry until they bring home their
first passing grade. Most freshmen
also need to be reassured futilely
though it may be that the work get's
easier after writing the first paper.
To most freshman, sophomores do

 

located somewhere in the middle
of the country, That visit erased.
the question mark and the question.
The following August i made the
trip to Iowa again, this time for a
longer stay——my freshman year.
The date has changed and the
people have changed but the status
quo still exists Every year onewill
find freshmen anxiously waiting for
roommates on New Student Days,
wondering how hard it will behitchs
ing to get into “college life," and
asking questions in enough quantis
ty to match the Ervin Committee.

' The Metamorphosis Of A

by LC. Woods

An important Warningl

AS an upperclassman with some
notion of fairplay, I am issuing
you, the Class of '77, this warning,
The administration and other uppers
classmen will debunk my every
word now, but bitter experiencewill
prove me true, Then it will be too
late. The administration and the
upperclassmen will call this warn—
ing naught, but the irrational rave
ings of a diseased mind. BUT WHO
is MORE DISEASED, THEY 0R 1!!
i ask you!? Of course my mind
is diseased. I won‘t deny the facts.
but it is no more diseased than any
other mind on campus, Think of it
this way, two years ago Iwas like
the mayority of you happy, normal,
mentally alert and sexually active.
Look at me now, All that is left
is a shattered shell, premanently
wretched and mangled by that dread-
ed crippler of young adults, that
most virulent of social diseases,
the Grinnell Shock Syndrome(presse
urum 'academea). The most I can
offer is a detailed description of
the disease and its most common
manifestations AS I am Iamilar
only with the student strain, 1 shall
concern myself only with it.

The student Strain runs in four
month cycles and then starts again
after the Victim has a month lc
convalesce Lind regain his sense of

well-being and equilibrium. There
are iour Stages

Stage One consists of , (a) dyssenr

not seem that special, after all,
they were Just freshmen last year.
Juniors and seniors however have,
for the most part, an aura of some-
how being older.

Sophomores are often forewarned
about the ”Sophomore Slump,” a
dreaded disease that often is not
diagnosed until it is over. The
feeling of “It’ll neverhappen to me”
is prevalent in conjunction with the
sophomore slump. The two most
dangerous germs seem to be either
the desire to do well or the attempt
to decide how the future should be

tary (SAGA syndrome), (b) a fixed
glazed expression accompanied oy
extreme disorientation.

State Two consists of: (a) horni»
ness, (b) fatigued arms (especially
after contact with the bookstore or
library), (0) an amazing number of
women blownrup like toads, (d) red
eyes, and (e) writer's cramp.

Stage Three consists of two days
speeding

Stage Four is Stage Three accom-
panied with a benlghted smile on
the face, mouth formed with a com—
~pulslve urge to vocallze the phrase,
“when ya leavin'?"

To make matters worse every
cycle is a different mode of mental
gymnastic They are as follows.

Freshmen Frenzy: “My God,
what’s going on around herel7”
Sophomore Sophorific: “My God,
what's going on around herel?”
Junior Jitters: ”My God, what's
going on around here!?”

Senior Shock: “My God, how can
they expect me to function out there
when i don't even know what is go-
ing on around herel?”

Various authorities claim various

causes. Some say it's caused by‘

the soil. Others claim it’s some-
thing in the air. One even claims
its transmitted by eye contact with
one affected. But one thing that the
experts agree on is that the die
You have crossed the ruoicon and
you have jomed us. the suffering

heard of the pill popping livingdead.

designed. But the excitement of
starting school again is usually
evident, along with the relief of no
longer being a freshman and the
youngest.

For juniors this is the year one
is supposed to really prove one—
self. a critical yeargradewise.0th-
erwise it is similar to the senior
year, both classes having to hear
the ritual ofbeginning school again—-
‘mcal lines, book lines, and regis-
tration; both classes being accli-
mated to the school and the people;
and both classes walchingthefresh-
men and remembering when they
were at that stage,

For seniors there is the prospect
of testetaking, applying for grad—
uate schools or jobs and in gen~
eral making plans for the inevis
table freedom approaching. 0n the
other hand, there are those seniors
who wish to avoid all the preced-
ing topics and pretend they are
never leaving. ,

AS far as I am concerned I am
going to ignore it all. 1 fully plan

to participate in life, but grades ,

and other worries i plan to leave
outside my door.

Student

sease IS incurable as soon as its
cycle has started, So if you show
any of the symptoms of Stage One
the only advice that I can give you
is relax and try to enyoy yourself.
1 have long felt that a warning
of this sort should be allowed to
circulate for unwary freshmen. Si-
nce the administration has done no-
thing (other than label it the Grin-
nel Experience’ and look the other
way) and SGA'S policy is one of

durum &
.ohhhs &
Tonnes

“misery loves company”, I took
my moral conviction to the fearless
young editor of the S ii a and he
reluctantly ( i said fearless, not
foolish) agreed to print my article.
Now for his heroism he faces the
same repercussions Ido, that he will
become open game as I am. But
that worries neither of us because
our action will spur others of con-
science to follow our example, that
the world might be made a little
sweeter, a little kinder and a little
safer for Mom, apple pie and the
American way. Welcome to Powe»
sheik County home for incurables.
"Reg. U.s. Pat. Off.

 

 

 

 

 

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