um...

The Scarlet & Black April 29. ”Tl—page 5

 

Ignorant Chauvinism

A:

aboundd

Ya know, there‘s only one thing
that burns me more than that
lengthy sophomoric letter in last
week’s paper about the Black
Perspective column, and that’s
poor class conduct. The days are
\gone when the teacher’s main

.oncern was your behavior, and
now all they care about is . . . (I
was going to say “teaching,” but I
felt funny about that). Perhaps you
.ll (teachers included) could fill
that in yourself. You don’t get
report cards with a check or a “C”
in the class conduct column
anymore, so many of you just don't
realize that you are behaving
poorly, even at this late stage. it
may be a problem of reverting to
your adolescentways, or it may be
that you never learned to begin
with. Whatever, I‘m here to help,

Allow me to present an example
of bad class conduct. Just last
week in one of my classes, a senior
(I kid you not) pulled this semi-
cheap trick. It went somethin’ like

is:
oodent: Uh, Mr. Teacher, whut
yew jus' sed soundid ok, but I reely
cou’nt see that in whut we red.
iActually, he said it in a stronger,

more belligerent way, in order to

3»

feign intelligence, sincerity, and
guts-balls courage, but it was such
crapola, that I didn't want to
nauseate you.)

teacher: Well, Ernest, I'll try to
show you just how I meant it, and
we'll see if that doesn’t help,
stoodent: I don’t know-Wavy, but,
aw-w, oh-h»kay, Mr. Teacher, sir. I
hope you can help me.

teacher: (after explaining it all,

 

by Mark Anderson

turns to student) There, do you see
now, Ernest?

stoodeut: Aw, yeah, Mr. Teacher. 1
really understand now. Yeah, I can
really see that now. Thanx.

That’s the old Satori-inaARH
trick. The purpose is, of course, to
Impress upon the teacher your
courage, potential, and Willingness
to learn. Like I said, this is cheap,
and it most certainly won't cone
vince the good teachers.

Since the ultimate aim of proper
class conduct is to impress the
teacher with who you are and what
you can du, proper class conduct
does not mean keeping your mouth
shut and blending into your desk.
You must be THERE from the
start and slowly-work your way
into the teacher’s consciousness.

I will try to present a skeletal
route to the top which you can alter
to suit your needs. Initially, itis the
being there that is important.
Develop an image which will catch
the teacher's eye in a subtle way.
Wear something distinctive, like a
red bandana, a top hat, or a patch
over one eye. and sit near the front,
but not in the front row (too eager).
If you smoke, roll your own
Cigarettes and light them with Ohio
Blue Tip matches, It’s important
that you pay close attention to the
teacher, and when Someone in the
class speaks, reflect the teacher’s
reaction exactly, Laugh when the
teacher laughs, just loud enough to
be noticed. Depending upon your
image, Lake a lot of notes, or don't
take any.

Keep this up for a while, but
make sure that you don't speak in

 

class until after the first exam. Try
to get a mediocre grade on this, so
you have a pretext for seeing the
teacher about it. Aside from fin-
ding out the correct answers and
exhibiting a willingness to learn,
your main purpose in this meeting
is to burn your name upon the
teacher's memory. Just keep
sticking the test under his or her
nose, so that your name (which
you’ve written on every page)

keeps announcing itself.

You must now begin to talk in
class, but don’t talk about what you
haven't read. Speak in a serious
tone, and refrain from excessive
“ums,” “likes,” and “y’knows.”
When the next exam rolls around,‘
try to improve a bit, Then you can
show it to the teacher, Commenting
on your improvement and greater
understanding and all of that Eddie
Haskell type baloney. Just at that
moment when the teacher is trying
to remember your name, by a
prearranged signal, a friend will
walk by and shout “Morning Dan.”
You will silently wave back, and
leave your enlightened teacher
with a cheery “see you later."

The rest is easy, Move to the
front row, just left of Center, talk
more, say hello to the teacher in
the forum, and you’ll have him or
her eating out of your hand. You
won't even have to study for the
final, I swear.

Just do what I told you, and you
can’t miss. I used this plan once in
a taxidermy class back home, and
I had no trouble getting a nosweat
C,

 

 

by Gregory Wiggins Chavis

This article is in response to the
literature printed in the April 29,
1977 edition of the Scarlet dz Black,
entitled “Black perspective con-
fusing." The first statement I must
make is an explanation of the angle
at which I am forced to com-

rehend that article. That is, the
ﬁack perspective is very clear,
what is confused is the student
interpreting the Black perspective
by a white value system. To
acquire the full meaning of the

rticle “Black Perspective . . . ”
one must, due to the cir-
cumstances, view the literature in
an unbiased way. Herman stated in
his first paragraph “. . , The
Black perspective,‘ submitted by
Concerned Black Students, and
written by a group requtsting that
their names be withheld.” I find
this very contradictory. If the
article was submitted by the
Concerned Black Students, then

 

opon opooo opon opooo opon epooo

”Herman letter confused

the group, c. 3.5., who wrote the
article must have written it exc
pressing the ideas of the group,
which I prefer to be referred to as
an organization,

Herman stated that the Closest
statement Blacks have made
concerning goals was “We did not
want to assimilate. We are Black."
We want to be equal in a biased,
ethnocentric, egotistical society. I
can very clearly understand these
statemean as goals, To elaborate
further, we want the opportunity to
exist in this society as a cohesive
Black culture. We want to become
socially accepted as individuals,
rather than as Black individuals.
We want the equal opportunity for
success without the bias ster»
eotypical bull concerning ins
comprehension. We want to be
looked at as Students on the
Grinnell College campus. When we
express expertise we do not want to
be interrogated any more than any
other student. These are only a few
immediate goals that may clarify
matters to the confused m,
dividuals.

Herman states; ”As a freshman,
becoming frustrated with the
hostility that I received from Black
students." First of all, Blacks have
been frustrated with White's in-
conceivable notions of superiority
for years. Second, Herman, after
approximately three weeks,
submitted a very offending letter
to the 5&3 degrading Blacks in the
sense of becoming an expert on the
ideals, values, and culture of

Grinnell’s Black community. One
could only expect confrontation,
which I am assured was not
hostile.

Furthermore, I, myself am very
tired of lowering my intellectual
abilities to explain and reaexplain
to confused individuals my Black
existence, Black values, and Black
culture to one who refuses to un-
derstand and thus, either neglects
or makes ignorant responses. it
appears to me that since all Black
people and some whites can un
derstand my points then it is un
deniably you who are confused.
biased, and-or ignorant,

Finally may I make the distinc-
tion that this article is not of the
collective opinions of the Con-
cerned Black Students, but of
Gregory Wiggins Chavis. If none of
this article is comprehendable to
you, then let this one point stand

 

clear.

 

Interested in low tins!
tel Intel
In Eurupe, aid Israel?

STUDENT TRAVEL
CENTER can help you
travel when you want &
return when you want at
minimal cost. For more
info Call TOLL FREE 800
325-8034.

 

 

Joy, tribulation of
a racquot addict

By Tom Paltzer

Racquet sports have a peculiar
attraction for me. At various points
in my life i have played tennis,
badminton, squash, and racqueta
ball with much satisfaction. There
is, however, an obverse side to the
coin, for besides satisfaction,
racquet sports also supply large
doses of frustration.

As a child I watched professional
tennis matches such as Wimbledon
on television. The game appeared
to be very simple to master as I
watched these top-flight players
battle one another, Then I picked
up a tennis racquet. A friend and I
took lessons one summer. and
learned quite a bit more than we
ever wanted to know about chasing
errant tennis balls across adjacent
courts and the surrounding
countryside.

My friend could Stand the [utility
for only a couple of months and
gave up tennis forever. I
struggled bravely on, and reached
a level of mediocrity at which I
could keep the ball on the court
surface most of the time. My
backhand and forehand were fair,
but I had an awful serve. Needless
to say, I have never been a com-
petitor at Wimbledon.

During my Navy years I played
tennis with a young man who had
been one of the top small college
players in Pennsylvania. He
destroyed me, but one day I placed
a beautiful backhand drive down
the sideline as he was moving the
Wrong direction. He stopped in his
tracks, looked at me, and said,
“Fine Shot." If Rod Laver had told
me the same thing with the same
look on his face I could not have
been happier. I stopped playing
tennis shortly after this incident
for some unknown reason.

We also played a lot of bad-
minton in the Navy. This Sport had
an undeserved reputation as an
activity suitable only for Sissies or
those who are not competent
enough to handle a tennis racquet,
The court is small but it takes
strength, quickness, last reactions,
and, above all, endurance to
compete with a good badminton
player. There were a lot of good
badminton players in the Navy.
They were usually middleaged
officers that could finesse a

DEA VU

 

shuttlecock across a net by looking
at it. I was at a much lower level of
ability along with the guys who
played me, but, nevertheless, we
enjoyed the game immensely. At
Grinnell, badminton is one of the
sports that is rarely played, even
though classes are offered.

Racquetball has developed into
my favorite racquet sport over the
past few years. Most of my part
ners use the power game, in which
kill shots are hit low on the Wall
with as much strength as possible.
It is a very effective strategy, but 1
do not have the Skills to use it
consistently. That means I use a
large number of soft shots low in
the corners. If I am hitting these
Shots well they will slowly drive
my opponent crazy since most of
them are not accustomed to such
tactics.

As I play racquetball in par
ticular my mind becomes oblivious
of anything outside the court. The
ball, my opponent, along with those
infuriating walls are my entire
world. When a player, racquet, and
ball come together in the right
combination, explosive plays can
develop in an instant. Or if the
wrong combination occurs, the
easiest shot may be blown by the
bat of players. Some days the
racquet seems like a foreign object
in my hand, on others it feels like a
part of my arm.

I am still unsure as to why I
ienyoy racquet sports so much.
Unlike team sports, the glory or
the disgrace falls upon the in-
dividual. There is not much excuse
for a blown shot, except one’s own
incompetence. But there is also
nothing sweeter than a well hit shot
that leaves your opponent in a
situation where he cannot return it.

In my years at Grinnell 1 have
introduced a number of people to
racquetball, and made a number of
friends through the game. It is
unfortunate ina way that the game
is rapidly gaining in popularity, for
courts will start to become scarce.
Even so, I am still always willing
to gain new converts for the game.
Given a reasonable amount of
patience and athletic ability
anyone can become a racquet
addict like myself.

RECORDS

'I 5 % SALE
Fri. & Sat, Apr. 291h 8. 301k

All Albums Reduced 15%

Mfg. list
$6.98

$5.98

Our Price

$5.50
$4.50 $3.82

Sale Price

$4.69

All Smoking Accessories Reduced l5%

Papers, Pipes, Clips, Bongs,
Stones, Mist Scenfs, Cokesnuff,
Quench Gum, Concert Kits,
Mury Gins, lest Kits . . .

 

