Page Two

Jewels

To the Editor:

During December, n straw

vote was taken in housemeetings bring the Kingston Trio to Grlnnell for a concert. Mark the date, whl

SCARLET AND BLACK

Sticks and Stones l

by Paul Bass

On Wednesday night, Jan. 7, the Student Council voted to

January 9, I959

ll Platilude Becoming Reality?

Grinnell College is a college

The Grinnell faculty is now

of liberal arts, dedicated to the

advancement of humane learning."—Grinncll College Bulletin.

considering a cul' ’culum report

ch we believe will better facilitate the attainment of this goal.

concerning the Student Council children: it will long be remembered as the night our concert pro~ The above quoted ideal is not now entirely applicable to the
Gl‘lnnell community. It is not, because many students have been

Concerts for the second semester.
The question was: Would you be
willing to spend $1750 for the
Kingston Trio, or would you
rather spend less money for in
ferior groups? (A Council mem-
ber has told me that the ques
tion was put in the same way
at the Council meeting where
it was discussed.) We have re-
ceived no report on the results
of this vote.

At the time of the vote, it
was announced that. the Social
Coordinator would make in-
quiries about other groups and
that a list of performers and
prices would be presented in
January for a vote in house-
meetings. On Wednesday night,
the Student Council, disregard-
ing this statement, voted that
the Kingston Trio should give
a concert next semester.

The vote was 17 to 9, certain-
ly not an overwhelming ma-
jority in a group of 25 people,
at least not enough to predict
campus opinion with much ac-
curacy.

The choices given to the Coun-
cil were: The Kingston Trio for
$1750, Dave Brubeck for $1100
and the Hi~Lo‘s for $1500. Whe-
ther the two alternatives are
“inferior" groups as an inevit-
able result of their lower prices
is a matter of personal opinion.

The Student Council is mak-
ing assumptions about Campus
opinion which, it seems to me,
are hardly justiﬁable. It assumes
ﬁrst, that we want only jazz or
popular groups and expects the
Public Events committee to pro—
vide anything outside those
ﬁelds; second, that we want to
spend almost all of our money
on one “name" group (we have
$2000 for next semester's con-
certs); and third, that its opin-
ion reﬂects that of the entire
campus, whether or not it has
surveyed hall. opinions. The Stu-
dent Council may or may not
reflect student opinion, but it
seems determined not to know.

Judy Jensen
To the Editor:

”We don’t want to give you
the impression that a young
person must be a ‘brain’ to 3p-
913’ . (to Grinnell). We’re
not interested in having a col-
lege of intellectual bohemiansr"
The above is the statement of
Robert C. Sauers, admissions di-
rector, which appears in the
Alumni 5&8 for December, 1958.
I deﬁnitely hope that this state-
ment does not represent the
sentiment of Grimell as 8‘
school, or as a group of intelli-
gent human beings.

Underlying this statement is
a violent threat to the goals
of an educational institution.
The emphnsls here Is that stu-
dents who come to Grime“
Will not change! Don‘t worry,
Mum and Dad, your child will
be safe with us. We promise
to preserve all the values and
opinions with which your child
has been indoctrinated. He can
study here at Grinnell and it
won’t have any noticeable ef-
feet on him.

And yet, it would be a com.
plete waste of time and effort,
if a student’s education should
become such a mechanical and
sterile experience that it had no
effect on him. I am not recom—
mending the wearing of dirty
tennis shoes and shirts merely
for the experience of doing
something different. ,

But,‘if this issue is resolved
to a question of the ultimate
value of conformity to the
mldwestern, conservative, Pru-
testant traditions, or the value
of questioning critically the
books, Ideas, and moi-cs that
we encounter during our lives,
I should certainly choose the l
latter—«even if I came to the ‘
conclusion that I did not Want
to dress or speak in exactly
the Sﬁme manner as the pco- ‘
pie around me.

This anti-educational attitude
is equally incongruous when it

gram finally succumbed.

The program has been ailing
for quite some time. of course,
and I have always felt that
the social fee might better be
spent I have grown steadily
more weary of “big-name”
bands and their attendant big
noises; l have more than once
expressed my distaste for the
brassy concerts we have sched-
uled. I grounod audibly when
the Four Freshmen were en—
gaged for the second time in
three years, both times at a
cost all too dear.

still, up to now, we have had
compensations: twice in my
memory We have been privileg-
ed to hear symphony orchestras,
and We have had amiable Josh
White and colorful Louis Arms
strong once apiece. Perhaps it
was enough. Despite the fawn-
ing, bawling Freshmen and the
ampliﬁed bigness of Richard
Maltby (who also took our mon-
ey twice in three years) there
has always been the comforting
knowledge that once in or while
We would hire some talent, some
entertainment,

But whatever hopes Grinnell
had of a decent concert this
year were dispelled Wednes-
day night.

The Kingston Trio, as you
must know, is the group which
recently gained fame, fans and
all sorts of money with a renr
dering of a 130ryealuold folk
tune called “Tom Dooley.” They
are not, however, folk singers.
They are a commercial group,
out to make the slack-jawed
fans of the Top 40 polls Writhe
with pleasure. I have read that

thousands of letters poured into
radio stations all over the coun-
try, oderlng Tom Dooley legal
assistance, warm socks and even
sight-unseen marriages; this
would, perhaps, seem irrelevant,
were it not for the fact that it

appears in the conversations of
Grimell students, who do not
want this school to become a
place inhabited by “queer” peo—
ple. This is another formulation
of the unquestioning acceptance
that “our way" is the “right"
way to live and actiit’s those
other psoplc who are queer. Af-
ter all, one of those odd ducks
is probably a Communistl
Tom Hart

To Whom it May Concern:

I feel this matter should be
brought to attention: during the
23-day vacation, not only were
the dormitories cleaned, but per-
sonal possessions were conﬁscat-
ed, It’s not that l mind going
to see Mrs. Main, but the fact

that I had to ask for my ownl
property, which she had under-l
handedly taken to her ofﬁce; it's}

the principle of the thing—«how
much authority does a house-
keeper have? The Commandment
reads "thou shalt not steal" . . .

Arlene Cleveland

SCARLET AND BLACK

GRENNELL COLLEGE
Grinnell, Iowa

h? weekly newly-mt published each
dry of th- eollm yur by tin
Grimm]! Consume. on Student Pub
lie-lions. James a. Kiss-ms. chair-
mun Member or Ameloled Collegiate
Prue. Room-enter: (or national ed-
vmlliup by Nutlunhl Advertising
Service. Inc., Collaln Poul-hen Rel»
menu". ‘20 Mldimn Ave.. Nrw
York, N v Entered A! second elul
mnttcr at that Pout once .t annuell.
Iowa. und ch. m of Mirth a.
me. Subsr'hztlon rule sLsn our
.rliool mr.

Signed misle- and editorial. do not
nmoelrlly reﬂect the oplnlanl or pol.
idea of thl- nwlnlpcl- or of Grinnell
Colleen. Unllunod ediwrlnlu reﬂect the
opinion. of this editor.

Snedlzl An’t Editor Joe Wnllm
special Ass't lzuilncss Manager
John Bolton

so nicely demonstrates (1) the
nature of the music offered by
the Trio, (2) the street of that
music upon the lower forms of
life, and (a) that we have, once
again, been took.

The Kingston Trio is not
coming here for nothing, you
see. They are going to be paid
51,750. One thousand seven
hundred and ﬁfty dollars for
n group that records popular
music. We paid Maitby some.
thing like that for the Christ-
mas formal, and that was bad
enough, though probably ex-
cusable on the grounds that
the student body demands a
huge dance at least once a
year. But to lay out that sum
or money for a fonrlhuate
concert borders on, the crimi-
not.

And the price is not the worst
aspect of it. 1 mentioned that
the concert was to be in'the
spring, nigh unto spring vaca-
tion; this means that the whole
dreary winter will pass without
interruption or diversion.
Furthermore, there remains the
fascinating question of how the
council arrived at its epic deci-
sion. Surcly not by consulting
the students—for how would they
know what they wanted? Doubt-
less a committee pondered the
question.

Anyway, when the thing came
to a vote, the council had a
choice between the Kingston
group, Dave Brubeck, and some-
thing called the Hi-Lo’s. A de—
lightful selection, l think, and
one which aptly characterizes
the council’s taste in music.

The interesting thing about
the choice was that the coun-
cil expressed its belief that it
was more important that EV-
ERYONE GO To THE CON-
CERT than that We hire a
quality group. it you doubt
this, canal", your local coun-

a

graduated without proper

inequalities could result if
to the change and others lagged

his major field, posing another

the student a wide sole
hoping he will take enou
education?_

The ”Junior reading and junior examination"
are a more than adequate preparation for the student’s senior
year in which, based upon what h
examination, he will.
which he is most inte

We believe that a l
greatest faults.
this tentative report for dis

knowledge and appreciation of
humanities. This, in turn, is due to laults wrllnnlhe curriculum,
faults which the faculty is now considering rectifying.

the

The “studies” courses will provide a fine basis for the edu—

“studies” courses as a

One of the most meaningful

cation of the liberal arts student. These courses, interrelating
various areas of human knowledge, ideally will expose the under
graduate to the heart of “humane learning." In our opinion,
their worth cannot be over-emphasized. This may even be the
proper time for the faculty to Consider a humanities major using
these
courses which would explore various cultures and the moral
values and responsibilities of different civilizations.

basis and involving advanced

Contributions in the report. we

believe, is in the treatment of the C and D level courses. Work-
int;r for grades or even the value of grades per se has always been
a topic of discussion in our experience at Grinnell. The establish-
ment of the “pass-recxamine-fail” system, if adopted, would re—
place the shallow incentive offered to some students by the pres-
ent grading system and would instead emphasize the only proper
outlet for outstanding achievement ~ the independent project.

In allowing for procedural ﬂexibility Ln courses (by having

to

a course meet more or less times than that number indicated
by the credits, having periods for reading land writing or for
other projected study during which there would be no class
meetings and utilizing other methods departing from the tra-
ditional relationships) the organization of the department is
placed in the hands of those

— the department itsele This,

Whom it Should ideally belong

as we See it, is the greatest chal«
lenge to the faculty W hin the proposed curriculum. Obvious
some departments were quick to adapt

behind.

Required courses for graduation, now totalling 41 or 42 credits,

certain number of liberal arts

It seems obvious to us that

some sort of a vocational school,
better Job — and second —
are being thrown off.

are increased to 52 credits (excluding physical education) under
the_proposed curriculum. This allows the student less freedom of
choice as to What courses he wants to take other than those in
question: Should the College require

courses or be liberal in offeing

etion of’more specialized “oractical” Courses
gh different ones to give him 21 liberal

in the report

he has read and the results of the

pursue the courses and independent study in
rested and to which he is besf suited,

the last vestiges of Grinnell as
enabling him to first — get a

to get a smattering of the liberal arm,

We commend the faculty for releasing the report to us While

The faculty

it is under d'seussion. As was stated in this paper Nov, 7, 1958,
ack of communication ‘5 one of Grinnell‘s
bus gnade a wise decision in releasing
eussion by the studenﬁ at this time. ..

We commend the Student Council for taking this report under

consideration and creating an cu
matter.

tlet for student opinion on this

Finally, we commend the faculty for considering this report.

The sentence quoted from the Grinnell College Bulletin can be-
comle more meaningful, in our opinion, through this prouosed cur-
ncu um.

J.J.W

 

cil representative.

So we have the Trio for
$1,750. There is a possibility
that we may get a folk singer
from Minnesota for an incred-
ibly low price; Rey de la Torre,
the guitarist, is out, and so is
Pete Seeger, because the money
is largely gone. We could have

want EVERYONE TO GO. Tap
your feet, clap to the music,
roll your eyes back in your
head if you want.
YOUR CONCERT.

This is

And when you go home this

spring, tell your friends from
Oberlin and Carleton that you
are from Grinnell and that you
were just honored with a visit
from the Kingston Trio. Pres-
tige, man, Crazy.

 

brought in two dozen fine films:
and a couple of excellent small-
ish performers with the money
but. it is gone, blatantly ,

blown on the Kingston Trio.

Wlleeee!
I do hope no one is unhap-

py, though. Remember: this -

concert is for you, and l

HA‘L‘L‘M‘A’RK
—Valenl~ine lCardSe—

CONTEMPORARY
‘SLIM J lMS
SENTillM'ENTAL
.FAMIJLY
OlLD :F-ASHIONED

“When you care
enough to send
the very best”

 

in lo.
_ Grimm“

 

 

We’ve Got lt In Baked Goods
Come on in and Look Around

DANISH MAID

 

 

FB

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