The Grinnell

Scarlet 8 Black Etc?

11/10/78
Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowag
Vol. 37, N0. 10

 

Clark, James gripes aired

by Paul Morris
and
Debbie WcitIcr

Although the residents oi newly
renovated James and Clark halls
icel satislied with their dorms the
occupants oi both halls express
complaints about the renovations

They note pi obleins with
building materials door locks
leaks. bathroom iloor plans the
lack ol ioom sinks in James the
presence otcockroaches and taulty
show.ers

CLARK RESIDENT Vicki Hyde
sen or teels that the building
materials used in the lenovatlon
are or poor quality These teelings
are echoed by other dorm incine
bers.

“l don'| think it's going to hold up
very well,” states i-lyde “Normal
wear and tear” has already taken
its toll, and “we're only the iirst
ones to live there." She cites
already peeling paint and dents in
the walls as examples oi the
building's destructability The

not; maid agrees that the walls
and paint are easily damaged.

“Everything looks nice, but it's
jusl that it you look too close it's
not as nice as it looks," Hyde
comments,

SENIORS ROBIN Radesplel
and Sheryl Bautch concur. “There
are little taults in the cone
struction." asserts Bautch. “I’ve
heard a lot oi complaints. A lot of
people were upset about the
wallsethey dent easily. the paint
peels and they are not at all
soundproof." She can clearly hear

people in the room next door when ,

they speak at normal conversation
levels. and “all it takes is a suit
bump and you've got a little gash in
the wall." Also, in many oi the
rooms the healing does not work.

“There are so many little thin s
that don't work because the pl e
was done so quickly,” says
Radespiel. “They leit a lot oi
things unfinished." She described
some or the work as “thoughtless."

MANY RESIDENTS IIAVE had
problems with the door locks, “I
got locked in my room," says
Bautch. “i had to climb out the
window on a ladder." Apparently,

Mears to be razed

by David Jordan
Professor of History

Last winter Hie Grinnell College
Board of Trustees voted to tear
down Mears Cottage, the second
oldest building on campus and one
of only two prelSOO structures still
standing. At their meeting on
campus five weeks ago, the
trustees reendorsed that decision
with a ruling that no students
would reside in Mears alter the
second semester of the current
academic year.

That decision cleared the way [or
the possible demolition Of Mears
next summer, although President
A. hard Turner said last week
that he did not read the trustees’
decision “as necessarily a
precipitous move to demolish the
building." However, he
acknowledged that destruction oi
the building during the summer
was a possibility since the trustees
intend no further use of the
structure. _

The trustees also moved last
month to authorize the con
struction of a fourth ﬂoor addition

to Norris as a replacement tor the
housing space to be lost in Mears.
That addition would be part of a
total renovation OI Norris, which is
needed although it is the newest
residence hall on campus.

The architectural consultants
Dober and Associates in their 1977
report termed Norris, built in 1959,
as presently inadequate with
respect to soundproofing, heating
and cooling, and the building has
generally been regarded by the
campus community over the years
as probably the least satisiactory
hall on campus from both aesthetic
and residential considerations.

The trustees‘ decisions, reached
in the absence oi any signiiicant
campus-wide discussion, were not
announced to the public after last
winter’s meeting or alter the
recent gathering or the Board.
Turner revealed the details of the
two decisions last week in rﬁponse
to this writer's questions.

(Editor's Note: For an in—depth
analysis and commentary. see
pages it and 7.)

 

some kllld ol' latch release broke
within the lock Other residents
have also been locked into tllell'
rooms. Hyde asserts that “there
are cheap locks on the doors "

Aside from the minor llaws
shared by many rooms. some
major problems have sui-taced.
Radespiel recalls, "When i moved
in there was a hole bigger than my
iisl in the wall water poured in
every time it rained " The water-
l'ulned some of her books

She promptly called soc. "They
sald It tllle hole! 5 due to water
damage " They iinally lixed the
tulle after two “leeks, Now, com~
menls Radesplel. “it looks like a
hole that was tilled in."

Hyde also has problems with
water damage Aiter the night oi
the tornado. three water pockets
iorined on her ceiling, she notitied
Boa, who in lurn called in the
building contractor. The cone
tractors patched up the root but did
not tix her ceiling. The bubbles are
still there

For some, the atmosphere oi
Clark leaves something to be
desired. “It‘s like living in a
motel,” remarks Radespiel. ”It's
hard to make a Clark room cozy,”
but it can be done, she adds.
Another resident was even more
specii Clark reminds him of “3
Motel 6.

BUT ALMOST ALL the residents
quality their remarks with the
opinion that in Spite of it all, “In
general, Clark is very nice.“ The
kitchen and FDR, the sinks in the
rooms, the modern bathrooms and
the carpeting were all praised.
lvtost express satisiaction with the
lounge, although many students
were confused when the lounge
furniture was suddenly switched

Radespiel comments that
although her overall impression of
the dorm is mixed, “Our ex-
pectations were high and Clark
hasn’t lived up to them," Bautch
agrees that her impressions oi
Clark have altered since she drew
into her room last spring. About
the building's ilaws, she notes,
“Stuff like this doesn‘t show up
until you‘ve been there a month or
two."

RESIDENTS 0F JAMES, who
took occupancy just last week,

tcontiuued on page B)

 

 

0A look into the future?

‘ President Turne‘r recently acknowledged that the trustees have de tied to demolish historic Mears
ll.alt The sets graphics department extrapolates what the new '
buildin could |oolt like. (Photo by Karl Dukste ,> ,

Cottage and add a ﬂoor to No

College pressures
promote depression

by Julinlmc Brand

“But i don't want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked,
”Oh you can't help that." said the cat. “We're all mad here. rm
mad. You're mad,"
“How do you know I'm mad”" said Alice.

“You must be,"
here." (Lewis Carrollt

“I’m going crazy” is a common
complaint on campus. The strain of
the intense academic atmosphere
gets to us all at one time or
another, Coupled with a problem in
an intimate relationship, a per
sonal crisis or demanding exr
tracurricular activities, pressures
often lead to an emotional setback
that seems to last forever, Yet with
the help of a friend, most students
manage to get back up for the next
round, sometimes only to be
knocked down agai

This cyclic bout with depression
is a, widespread phenomenon,
according to a recent study
published in Psychology Today
entitled “College Blues.” Dr.
Aaron Beck and Jeiiery Young
estimate that in the nine months 0t
school, “as many as seventy-eight
per cent oi the 7,500,300 students
enrolled in American colleges may
suiier symptoms oi depression—
roughly a quarter of the student
population at any one time."

THE ARTICLE also maintains
that ”Campus depression will play
a role in as many as 500 suicides,
which are so per cent more

frequent among non-students oi the

 

said the cat, “or else you wouldn't have come

Jim Tederman. Dean of Student
Allairs, estimates that there are
“probably an average at no more
than two serious suicide attempts a
year" at Grinnell Yet he contends.
“we have our fair share of students
with emotional difficulties and we
probably have more than any oi
our ACM sisters.” He adds, ”It
seems the better the school, the
more you’ll have,”

IF ATTENDANCE at the
Poweshiek County Mental Health
Center is any indication, then in-
deed there may be a signiiicant
amount of emotional strain on
Grinnell students. This year the
iCenter has already served 37
students, which the staff feels is an
unusually high proportion. in 1973
20 per cent or the 493 people the
therapists treated were students, It
was estimated that about half of
those students were seen
regularly, and the other hali were
seen only for two or three sessions.

Dr. John Daniels, Director of the
Center, ieels that a majority of the
college student clients “don't have
serious emotional problems—they
just come‘i’cm help dealing with
problems everyone faces." The

 

