Page Two

SCARLET AND BLACK

January 24. I958

 

Scarle’r and Black

GluNNELL COLLEGE
Grim-loll, Iowa

A wcckly new-pups: published cub may a! vb. college yelr by clu
Grim-lull Commitue on Student rubllmclom. r. Andrew Brown. chulrmzlrl.
Member of Amiuted Collaghta Pm. Mammal for national advenlslnz
by muoml Auvuruung Scnlcc, In:., College Yublmhar: Representative,
42» Madison Ave.. NW York. N r. mural .- second class malter m
cm rm offlcc At (ll-lunch. lW under cu. m of March 3. ms, Sub
Icrlptlon ml. :2 Der mlml ycm. _ _

Signad mlclm And ediurlnkv do ucc necessarily ni'lect ole cpmpm
or policies cf mu newcpmcf or o! Grinnell College. Umlmml edlwrlull
mm the opl mm of the calm.

.Lorl DeLay

Editor . ,
Special Assistant Editor . .Sue O‘Brien

News Editor
Copy Editor
Feature Edna

Proof Editor
Sports mm .

Business Manger
Special “1503:“ Business Manger . John Roberts
Circulation Mxnager .. .Duve Bowen

Staff members: Hank Abbott, Jane Antoine, Kris Auundsen,
Bruce Artherholt, Noel Bacchus, Slle Bomb, Camille Blzszczyk,
Betty Broad, Mary Lou Brooks, Sheen Clark, Arlene Cleveland,
Bob Curvey, Lynn DeLargey, Kate nowllug,

Gail Fierke, Cathy Foster, Peggy Frank, Nancy Glenicki,
Pearl Gottlleb, Barb det, Norma Hoffman, Nancy Human,
Louise Howe, Helen Hull, Gordie Hunt, Bill K911, Marilyn Kel-
sey, Judy Kent, Katy Klosterman, Jan Lalunau, Larry Lnuer,

Robb Madge", Gail McAﬂister, mu Mocking, Toni Moon,
Judy Morgan, Jolm Morris. Joanne Pauison, Al Sampson, Larry
Scott, Jen-y Shipley, Tam sum-nia. Jolm Smith, Nancy Smith,
3011: ‘Sézp‘g, Joan Spratlel', Kathy Starr, Roberta Stclber, Mary
ans. 3 .

A Thankful Exit
From A Glass HOLse

You have probably never noticed that at the end of
each S&B editor’s reign, he (or she) steps down from the
level of kings and people with worms, and once more be-
comes an “I." You have probably never noticed, because
you probably don’t care, After all, what is the editorial
anyway but that section of print that you read if you have
finished Thompson‘s column and there’s nothing else to do
before dinner? Not that I blame you. An editorial has very
little merit except that it contains ideas, and they are so
hard to bother with.

At any rate, I wish you would read this editorial, be-
cause it contains my thanks to the people who make it pos-
sible for the Scarlet and Black to appear 30 times a year,
with about 225 pages, and 36,000 words.

The students I would like to thank for hard work and
faithful service (to the extent of letting studies slide at
the really important issues) are all listed above in the mast-
head. Now, I know you absolutely never read its contents—
but try it once; you might find it interesting. Today it is
longer than usual, because it contains the names of all the
people who work on the 3&8. But often it contains just
the members of the editorial staffithe inner core of ten
people who keep the paper going in spite of evelything'. For
this they fail hour exams, develop coffee nerves, and get
their names in print about once a month.

The “elite fifty" who know the news before it’s news,
and see that you find out about it, are—whether you real-
ize it or notkamazingly dedicated to the idea that you
should find out about it, It gets awfully tiring trying to
to fit a lOO-word story into a two-line headline, or trying
to find a new and interesting way of saying that there
will be an informal party this weekend and a church ser-
vice on Sunday, or looking up “Zachopoulos” in the herd
book to be sure it is spelled right.

9; x

Walt Jacobson
.Ed Morrison

*

It is slave labor which puts the paper together, but it
is members of the administration who contribute much to
ensuring that there is worthwhile information to put to-
gether. Many thanks to Miss Gardner, Mrs. Prescott and
the Infromation Service, President Bowen and Mrs. Hicks,
and Mr, Ludwig for much valuable and time-consuming
help along this line.

s c: u

Several organizations have made the S&B’s job mucll
easier this year. The League Board has cooperated in a
manner unprecedented—at least in recent history—without
any loss of its function of protection to those who come]
before it for disciplinary action. The Student Council,
changed its meeting time to Wednesday for other reasons,‘
but in so doing, it enabled the 8&3 to give it much better
coverage. Certainly it has been a pleasure this semester
to work under the Committee on Student Publications. Its
members combine an active interest in the.publications
with a policy of trust—a situation quite refreshing against
the background of general student apathy, broken only‘

by distrust ‘-

With this issue ends the Era of Gene Thompson. I
am sure that my two predecessors join me in thanking him
for giving in periodically to our “fear of libel” and our
“belief that a word should be said now and then for Chris-
tianity and good taste.” The Era of Dave Bowen is also
drawing rapidly to a close. He has been circulation man-
ager of the S&B for the past ninety-seven issues—over

three years.

For the next issue there will be a new editor and a
new editorial staff. (To find out who‘s in it, read the mast-
head.) To Sue O‘Brien, the incoming editor, there is little
that can be said but, “Good luck, and may the lord have
mercy on you.”

Lori DeLny

Sackclolh
and

Ashes

By Gene Thompson
To those who have lately 9x7

12mm

To the Editor:

Last Friday we attended a
cosce hour devoted to the topic
cf the college curriculum. The
topic emphasized Grinnell’s hope
for close student-faculty rela-
tlonships and its desire to con-
sider students' opinions so as
to present a suitable curriculum.
We had hoped to experience a
pleasant change from the cur»

pressed criticisms of Grmnell’s ”M W“ °f ‘meuec'ual ?°“’
”intellectual atmosphere”: Take versatloniKGRWito a serious

gnome, 100k, Come down from discussion of Grinnell’s educa-

the high, white horse. Meet the
people. Stop trying to be a
one-man Chicago University.
Granted that it’s too bad that
we have to endure things like
the prepping activities cl last
fall, the continr . .
ual water-ﬁghts
and baby-play
of the dormi-
tories, and the
destruction off,“
our neighbor’slg‘p
fences. Too bad do.
that we have-
to rub elbows,
with the slobs,
the lightrhead-
ed little girls, and the pedants
and bigot; that rule a “social"
life.
Too bad, too, that the Amer»
ican educational system re-
quires of us that we snow 1.
certiﬁcate of graduation, bas-
cll on certain mum taken
w-itblu a certain discipline.
Too bad that the whole thing
is based on material wealth,
and that the distribution of
this wealth is such that it is
in the hands of Life slobs.
Unfortunate, isn't it, um the
world is faced with about ﬁfty
diﬁerent roads to hell, and
seems intent on trying them all
at once? Horrible, isn’t if, that
people around you answer with
“too bad” and “how awful!”7

tlonal goals and procedures.

We were dlsappulmcd. When
Norman Springer (English)
formulated a perhaps radical
suggestion for a change in
Grinnell’s curriculum, his idea
was brushed aside. Mr.
Springer’s suggestion involved
further integration of depart-
ments in amel- to increase
student intellectual communi-
caliuu between disciplines, His
suggestion met panel retorts
of “You (Mr. Springer) work
but a program to present
this synthesis,” and “There
are no barriers between de-
partments." And so the sug-
gestion was rapidly dismissed.

Ironically enough, Mr. Spring-
of Thomas Wolfe, James Joyce,
Marcel Proust, this is the an-
swer, and it works. For the
rest'of us, we have only one
course left open»a trip through
college, graduate school, per-
haps. in other words, we have
to face an “education," and
make our own personal modiﬁ-
cations.
. c .

I’ve gone to the lady behind
the desk and said, “Ma‘am, I’m
THROUGH with column»writ-
ing," and she answered: “Sir,
I’m THROUGH will. newspaper-
editing." And so we quit. Just
like that . . .

We begin to think of Abra-
ham Lincoln studying in the
woods. Of Chicago University,
ambitiously being intellectual
amid its gingerbread-gothic.
Here, we say, is an arrange-
ment with integrity! How much
hater than Grinnell, up its
lce cream—and—cake 1i ing arr
rangements, its recreation, its
TV and 5&B.

We begin to walk about with
fun-owed brows and a contempt
for trivia. We begin to talk,
occasionally, expressing dissatisc
faction with we . don’t - know -
quite-what. We give our empty
feeling the title “12le of intel-
lectual atmosphere," and begin-
to talk of “decadent somety.”

We mumble and groan, we
babble and man. We miss the
boat. We transfer.

Too baa—bu, too, too bad.
Very serious. Awful. Disgust-
ing. No one can tell me what

to do. Who can pump Gnu-
ncll full of intellectual at-
mosp'here? rll leave, go away,
close my books, never smllc ,
again at Jack Paar, Peanuts,

or Fletchel' Kuebel. l’ll sit
and think. Let ’em take thell- ‘

education, their curriculum,
their rules 21nd requirements.
For persons of the mentality

GLASSES

Made and Repaired in
our Laboratory.

One Day Service

EYES
EXAMINED

E. J. Jensen. O.D. l

Optometrist ‘

Across from post office l

 

er’s ideas reveal the feelings ol
a number of students at Grin-
nell: Why aren’t there more
courses which stress the rela—
tionships between disciplines?
Why aren’t the incoming classes
exposed to general humanities
courses which deal with not
only the technical aspeclsmt the
discipline but also the history,
philosophy, and interﬁeld rela-
tionships of this discipline?
Many students come to Grinnell
with link: or no idea of what
field they will eventually spe~
clallze in or with ideas so set
that even the present distribu-
tional requirements fall to give
them a perspective of the place
of their chosen ﬁeld in the
larger picture of knowledge.

At the coffee lloul- several
students proposed that Grin»
nell after these courses in
general studies for the fresh-
man and part or the swim-
more years, letting students
elect courses in the junior
and senior years. This propo-
sition was dismissed on the
grounds that such courses
could “degenerate." Does this
mean the Grinncll faculty is
not willing to put forth the
error: to see that such courses
prove stimulating? We think
not. Then why was such a
suggestion not more seriously
considered?

Mr. Springer had, We thought,
a valid Criticism of Grinnell.
Students also oﬁered opinions
which seemed to have merit,
And yet it seems the panel didv
n’t think these proposals were
worth serious Consideration. Just
what did the panel want? What
does lhe faculty‘want in the
way of Curriculum? What do
the students want? We'd like
to hear . . .

l Phil Caukins
Dave Cznmanske
Bill McClung

“the ideal Valentine Gift —

a porlrait” from

WEL‘L‘H'O U‘S‘E STUDIO

 

