 

mike Scarlet & Black. March 9. mist—rage 5.

Letters icont9d, : Need faculty support for

To the editor: In regards to
Valerie Lloyd’s letter of Feb, 23:
while Skip Day was skimmed over
in what was otherwise a well
stated letter expressing her con-
cerns. there is one point raised
which I must disagree with.

She states,“Skip Day will take
place with or without the support of
the faculty, and is probably better
without it.” I ask, “Why?” The

Grinnell College community. as
small as it is, would be served
much better through agreement
rather than dissent.

How could a student enjoy a
Studentrwilled Skip Day. knowing
he or she is missing an exam or
vital class meeting (as so many of
them seem to be).

And how could the student at-
tending class concentrate fully

Rejoinders to Miller defend MOBE

To the etlitorzA recent letter to the
Sm; suggested that Grinnell
MOBE was presumptuous, naive,
and selfvrlghtcous in protesting the
Chicago Arms Bazaar in a useless
”60‘s style" manner. ”Meanings
lul” and “productive" dialogue at
a level of SALT talk ”reality" was
suggested as a more effective
route for shaping policy

The Arms Bazaar was an
example of the military industrial
Complex at work; MOBE protested
on the basis of the conviction that a
seriously wrong turn is being taken
in spending billions on weaponry
manuiacture and peddling the
surplus across the globe.

The reality of the situation
requires voicing an obiection in
whatever channels available.
Protest is one Such method and can
be highly eiiective: a few examples
include suffrage, worker‘s rights.
and civil rights, It is not pro
sumptuous to take a stance on
issues of high priority and attempt
to persuade others or at least
encourage observers to give a
problem thought, Rosa Michnyn

To the editor: It IS frustrating and
disappointing to have to con-
tinually justiiy one’s stand against
the nuclear arms race, as Carolyn
Miller’s letter demands

The MOBE members who went
to Chicago to protest “Defense
Technology '79" did so because we
don't have the faith that Carolyn
does in the trouble-ridden.
stumbling SALT talks. and in
Carter’s professed desire to limit
weapons buildup Her letter ace
cuses us of “infinite naivete." yet
those who sit back and expect that
our leaders will automatically
make the kinds of moral decisions

 

knowing what he or she is missing
outside? And as for the l
professors, given a lecture
situation, it might be a bit
disconcerting lecturing to a class
oi live instead oi iiity.

why is Skip Day being used as a
wedge to further sever the already
disintegrating iacultystudent
relationship” Skip Day could be
used ior iaculty as well. Profs

that will keep humans irom an
nihilating each other live in a real
dream world oi their own.

The participation oi concerned
students in protests like this helped
convince our government to pull
this country out of Vietnam, ii the
time spent rallying in Chicago
works in a similar way to convey
our opposition to weapons
escalation, it was time well spent,
The energy Carolyn used to write
her Critical letter would be better
channelled into aiding, not con
demning, this uphill battle. Trcnn
(‘lcland

Questions AA effort

To the._editor: Once again. we hear
nonsense irom the administration
on affirmative action. Last week in
the Scarlet & Black. Aiiirmative
Action'- 0iiicer Kenneth c,
Browning suggested that the
primarily white population of
Grinnell has “made it difficult in
the past to attract minorities"

1 take exception to this patently
iacile assessment by the adminis-
tratlon. Let me suggest an alter-

7 native explanation. The reason ior

open space

Ohjé'c'ts“ to

by Danny Kadden

The discussion of curriculum
changes is now nearing an end and
decisions will soon be made. True,
these changes will affect only
students starting as freshmen next
year, but despite this iact, I ieel
the majority of students here are
concerned, perhaps coniused,
about the proposed changes.

As an individual, I am concerned
about the effect the proposed
changes will have on the
educational philosophy Grinnell
espouses; as a Hall President, 1 see
the entire eposiode as another
indication of lack of student input :
into the decisionrmaking process, ,
only one of many such episodesi
this year. _ l

The administration and facult
have not seriously sought student
opinion. As a student body already
entrusted with a significant
amount of fiscal and legislative
responsi lty, it is inconsistent
nd unfair to be ignored.

I FEEL WE are in a Clear
position to be valuable judgﬁ of

the lack oi minorities on the iaculty
of Grinnell College is that faculty
members who conducted depart-
mental recruitment did not provide
equal opportunity to minority
candidates

It‘s diiiicult for decades of
unequal opportunity to be
remedied by a couple oi years oi
equal opportunity, Sincerely,
Clifford l-:. Reid. Associate
i-vroicssor oi Economics

Skip Day

could spend a day with the family,
or just take a walk around the

’campus and acquaint themselves
owith students in an 0ther~than~

academic environmentiit might
be enjoyable. ,

Skip Day, as it was served to
relieve the intense academic
pressure on the studeno by giving
them a tree day to relax and ”let it
out”—now can you relax when

open space

worried about the class you‘re
missing?

Skip Day without laculty support
is definitely not a better ideavnor
even an enjoyable sounding
alternative. it is just a tool now,
being used to threaten and oppose,

Some compromise should be
reached—the Grinnell community
cannot aiiord this type oi weapon
Pamela |lulnlck

Notes from the “real world”

by Tim Cam
In the Feb. 23rd issue oi the SH,
Leslie Rose wrote on a subject that

. elicits a vague dread from most

seniors. i.e.. life after graduation.
Rose requested opinions from 5&1:
subscribers ln the real world. As a
somewhat biased member of the
real world. here goes.

In all fairness. I Should explain
my bias, and the fact that I might
be considered a “charter meme
ber” of the real world. lam biased,
because l am a Grinnell student on
leave who prefers the
nonacademic llfe, I'm a “charter
member" of the real world in that I
will be returning to Grinnell. I
presently live at home, and have a
“no mind" job. Admittedly I do not
face many oi the pressures that
graduates will face

SENIORS. IN My opinion. are

distributional ’ requirements

the merits

of a curriculum
proposal because we are the
students of Grinnell College, the
group whose education is being
judged by the iaculty.

At this point in the debate, a
graduation requirement oi at least
12 credits within a division is likely
to be passcd I cannot argue with
those who claim graduating
students are lacking a well-
rounded education: lionrscicnce
majors avOld science classes
consistently, as the Chart in last
week's 5&3 showed, AS history
major myseli, I understand this
trend completely,

MY OPINIO . for what it's
worth, is that science courses are
generally poorly designed for non-
majors, But I have an antrscience
blas and will not continue this line
of thought. Instead, I Will admit
that asking someone like me to
take three lousy science courses in
four years is not cruel or harsh In
the end. I can live with such
requirements because it will not
inhibit my ireedom to any great
degree,

Still. I am worried that the in-
stitution of such a requirement will
produce two negative aspects

FIRST. IT MAY prove to be the
fiist step toward the adoption of a
core curriculum (required cour-
595) in the near future.

Second, the whole academic
counselling program here may be
weakened

THE THREAT or a core
curriculum is not to be ignored; it
was under discussion along with
the lzrcredit proposal. But I feel it
will be impractical, both now and
in the future, mainly because of the
school’s size. Could a course like
Humanities 101 or Am Civ. be
demanded ofeveryone? Is there an
adequate stair to teach these
monster courses? Are there
enough rooms to accomodate the
droves of students? Would upper-

 

level courses be eliminated to free
teachers ior duty"

Thc second point is more
probable and warrants more
scriousv attention. The Tutorial
program is a beautiiul idea. and
Grinnell Should be proud of it
What can be better than a Course
laught and designed by a
motivated professor. with students
who choose the course out of
their own interest? The assignr
mentofan advisor in this way is as
close to periection as can be ex-
pectcd.

HUT TIIE Inf-In has not we
ceeded. Professors differ in their
attitudes toward these courses,
some caring and putting cnergyi
into them serving as good ado
visors. but most viewing the job as
a grim chore. making little effort
to Communicate with their ad
visees during the period when
advising is most necessary,

So I ask: Won't a lZ-Cl‘edit
divisional requirement inspirc
greater apathy among advisors'l
Want it cause them to view their
responsibilities toward their ad-
visees as less important7

THE PAST failure of recent 1
graduates (and probably present 1‘
upperclassmen) to achieve a
“wellrmunded” education is
large part due to uninspired ad- i

vising. A good advisor who truly their faces
faculty's help.

whishcs to gain a student's trust
and help him or her through the
first two years. shouldn't want or

many examples of the over-
widcning gap between faculty and
students, This is one reason why
the idea oi a spring Convocation
chk is good; it is a positive
proposal which i-ccognizcs and
attempts to solve the generally
poor relationship between ad
visor‘s and students,

But what is the point oi trying to
solve the problem by iirst bringing
the two parties together and then
eliminating some oi the advisor's
responsibilities by adding im-
personal requirements that do not
demand adVlsing'?

IN THE END. l oppose any
requirements, 1 would prefer a
good advisor persuading and
convincing me to take a course
than working with rcquircmtns.

I would like to see science
courses designed more ior non-
majors. hccause_the problem is
centered around the unpopularity
of science division offerings I
would like to see more demands
niltdt‘ of Tutorial advisors.

50' T0 .\\'0II) ‘requirements,
students should consider what your
educational interrsts are bascd on:
high school-bred biases or a fair
consideration oi_ needs?

Professors, should give more

in time to advisees, open up a bit

nstead oi blowing pipe smoke in
Students need the

TO THE administration. I ask

you to view the student body as an

nccd requiremean to.work with. intelligent group with “livein”

If such a distributional

expericnce, a valuable source oi

requirement is instituted, poor iiniormation and opinion that your

advisingwillcontinue and probably
worsen and the damage done will .

ldccisions should be based on,

If these requests can be fulfilled.

be serious If, at a school the size of lthen Grinnell will be a truly unique

Grinnell, personal advising cannot
work and help students, cannot
make them feel comiortable and.
worth the'advisor‘s trouble. then
there has been
failure.‘ '

THIS SCHOOL year has seen

 

lschool. attracting students who
grb‘pbout their education and use
i

it, academic freedom wisely.
"Su'cbéssful results.

a tremendous

mainly confronted with two closely
related fears: simple iear oi the
unknown. and the ”death of a
dream." After graduation seniors
will be faced with more choices
than ever before in their lives, The
“what ifs" follow: “What if I Can’t
find a job? What if I become
trapped? What ii 1 waste my life?"
ad lnfiniium This fear ofthe future
is worsened by the ract that the
Skill that the senior is best at
tbeinga Grinnell student! will soon
be primarily useless. though not
valueless Grinnell may not be
perfect. but at least it's familiar

The death of a dream is an ocr
currence which everyone has
experienced However, the death
of |he ”What I'm going to be when I
grow up?" dream is probably one
of the hardest to accept, Naturally.
many of these deaths of adult life
dreams havc already occurred
ihow many ‘79 prc-meds were
there in August 1975?“ and Will
occur later in life But some of the
most abrupt deaths happen in the
months iollowing graduation,

WHILE THESE FEARS are
very real. the Grinnell senior canal
believe. enjoy tremendous benefits
from leavinglhe academic viorld, I
don't think most Grinnell students
can reallv understand the benefits
of an academic lifestyle,
imagine a his where, for the most
part. pressure ends at 4:30 on
weekdays. imagine if possible
enjoying leisure lime activities for
their own sake, not as avoidance of
a paper. in short. imagine a much
less restricted lifestyle,

The very idea that a job en»
vironment is much less restrictive
than an academic environment
might cause shock to most Grine
nelllans. Ninelocfive for 50 weeks a
year sounds like incredible

drudgery, but it‘s not
necessarily the case The worst

work day ends at 5 pm. but can
that be said about the “sword of
Damocles.” academic pressure?
In the real world there is more
lreedom to set deadllnes Pressure
can be controlled. tasks deterred.
whereas in Grinnell, each
semester is an individual unit,
Work gets done during those
weeks. or not at all. Those who take
pressure home with them are. in
my opinion. a small minority in the
real world, but a vast majority at
Grinllell,

I RELIEVE TIIAT the present Is
an excellent time to be a liberal
arts graduate. This is a pivotal
time for our Society. Since the
American people's greatest
luxury. narrow mindcdness. is
finally becoming unaffordable.
This country has a long way to go
before its people really work
together. As pompous as it sounds.
and despite the plethora of giiiiaws
that this statement will elicit from
political science majors, I think
Grinnell prepares its students to he
true, effective Instruments of
change.

Finally, as an unremembercri
author stated, “Life is a lousy
spectator sport.“ Good luck. I wish
I could trade Ilaces with vou.

 

