Don’t stop now

The Grinnell campus community was shocked out of an
apparent case of acute lethargy early last semester when the
college administration presented it with a discussion paper
and the attempted arbitrary firing of two administrators
Jolted into action, the community proceeded to speak out
and force administrators to listen to its opinions and needs.

Turner admits that “we" learned a lesson from last
semester's ‘uprising.' Georgia Dentel and Kathy Mc-
Cluskey, the administrators fired last fall, have re—negotiated
with the College. Dentel has signed a contract and it appears
that McCluskey will do the same. However, both women's
salaries and responsibilities have been cut and Dentel signed
under protest, Obviously, continued effort must be exerted
to expand the area of affirmative action in the hiring of
females to varied and responsible positions in the College
community.

In an attempt at cooperation with the faculty, President
Turner, at last Monday’s faculty meeting, requested that
faculty members give him lists of specific areas that need to
be examined. When pressed, Turner said that he would also
consider such lists from students.

On February 7, Turner plans to submit his own list to the
faculty, He cited the library, dorm improvements, general
education and advising and counseling as obvious areas that
he would include on his list.

Following that presentation, Turner believes that “hard
discussions” on “specifics" should take place with any
resulting concrete proposals going to specific committees.

By going ahead with such steps without formal moves to
inform the students of his plans, it appears that Turner is
already ignoring the lesson he claimed to have learned.

But he now claims that he wants the opinion of students,
faculty and alumni. “If we can’t hear your voice, we can't
deal with you," Turner said. So let's deal with him by giving
him ideas and proposals about student input channels, af-
firmative action, curriculum, tenure policies, dorm
renovations and other areas of concern.

Having Dentel and McCluskey back in the fold should not
be considered as the closing of an issue with a student
victory. It should not be the end of a long hard journey, but
rather a springboard for further discussion and work aimed
at improving Grinnell College.

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Scarlet 5r Black, January 28—page 4-

 

 

 

 

 

Alum advises: look to
future, not to aolrrlirlistratiorie

To the Editor: I was disturbed by
the coverage afforded the
November 153er Alumni Con-
ference on the Position Paper in
the November 26 5&3 (Alums
convene for the second White
Paper conference),

My initial disappointemnt was
that I had been misquoted, and
since I represented fully one-third
of all alumni quoted in the article.
my disappointment was more than
personal. The quote reads like a
slam on the maturity of Grinnell
students, one which i neither made
nor intended.

Since Dave Wick never identified
himself to me, nor asked me for
comment on the Position Paper, I
can only assume that he overheard
tor had relayed to him) my
remarks at the Saturday evening
discussion in Haines lounge. i had
noted then that there seemed to be
few students interested in
discussing the Position Paper with
the alumni, and asked the students
why this might be. The consensus
of the Students at the discussion
was that aside from the James
Gang Bang, the primary deterrent
to attendance was that students
were still reeling from the ad-
ministrative ”reorganization,"
and that due to the immediate and
obviously important nature of that
light, students were not yet ready
to deal with the future-oriented and
more general Position Paper.

It was that consensus that I was
reporting, not a lack of maturity,
when I used the \vords “not ready"
in a longer and more obvious
sentence that Mr. Wick chose not to
report.

My general disappointment with
the article Stems from a lack of
precision in the reportage, and an
unseemly willingness to rely on
outSIde sources, rather than 5&3
staffers. And when your primary
source turns out to be Mr. Turner, I
really wonder

instead of quoting Mr. Turner on
the “supportiveness” of the
alumni, perhaps you could have
shared with your readers just a few
specific examples of this sup.
portiveness I think the students
might care to know, for example,
that many, if not most ol the
alumni felt that the reorganization
was a double blow to the College—
lll terms of affirmative action and
of the need for strong social-
recreational programming—and

 

that suspicion of Mr, Turner's
motivation and advice was Clearly
in order.

Students might like to know that
the alumni recognized the need for
improved career counseling, and
offered themselves en masse to
assist in this area with on—campus
counseling and off-campus in-
ternships , . , +++

The Position Paper is, of course,
totally irrelevant to the years that
all current Grinnell Students will
be spending in Grinnell Despite
the resignation of the student who
told me “Why discuss it? I hear
they're golng to try it all for a year
anyway,” it should be obvious that
a) while some of Mr. Turner’s
ideas are well thought out, others
are half-baked; b) no college could
afford to even try everything in the
compendium, c) the various
contradictions within the Position
Paper insure that it is a basis for
discussion and not a blueprint,
and d) many, if not most of the
suggestions therein are not up to
the administration, but are within
the province of the faculty,

Mr. Turner, it seems. was
selected to be Grinnell‘s president
because, among other things, it
was hoped he would stir the
campus into positive, forward
motion out of the doldrums of the
middle ’70’5; move it out of die
defensive position dictated by the
late ’Go’s. He has, it would appear,
begun to do this, Not perfectly, of
course; not without serious
mistakes, to he sure (whether they
are fatal to his tenure remains to
be seen). But [he Grinnell com-
munity is stirring.

Students, on the defensive again,
are being forced to define their
needs and make a case for the
status quo. The faculty is waking
up from a welleamed rest and
trying to come to grips with its
composition, methodology and role
in the College. The alumni, too, are
trying to see what they can do to
mainlalli and improve the
distlnctlvc “Grinnell Experience."

+++

Wllen my discuSSlon group had
its first meeting in the Forum, it
seemed to me that our two student
participants were hiding in the
corner of the room, somewhat
defensive and unsure of their roles.
I said to them, “As far as I'm
concerned, you’re not students,
because nothing in this Position

 

Paper is going to happen while you Q
are still studean, You’re alumni,
just like the rest of us. The only
differences are that you have the
benefit or handicap of immediacy,
and we have the benefit of per.
spective or the handicap of
nostalgia." I found the weekend
exciting because all of us, with our
differing perspectives, were
challenging each other, ,and we
were challenging the faculty and
administration, too. And, out of it, I
anticipate a series of concrete
proposals, well thought out, and h,
the best interests and Spirit 01
Grinnell College. They will come
from the faculty, they will come
from students, they Will come from ,
alumni, and yes, some of them w
come from Mr. Turner.

Please do not mistake the
Position Paper for these concrete
proposals, and please do not
believe that your input is un~
wanted. If you don’t think Mr,
Turner Wants to hear from you, go
to the faculty. Or the trustees. Or
the alumni. But please do not sit
around waiting for the ad-
ministration to tell you what
happened at the November 1972‘
Conference. . . . - Th;

Greater Grinnell Community is
thinking and starting to ma"

suggestions on how to insure the

the students who enter Grinnell are
those most ready to benefit from
and contribute to it, and that their
Grinnell years will equip them (as
best a mere college cani for the
years ahead.

There are several areas in which
I have strong interest, including
the teaching of journalism, the use
of internships, more effective use
of alumni for the students' benefit,
and a better public relations and
recruiting effort. i am working on
concrete proposals in these ar ,
to be presented to the appl‘upri e
people. And I will back up my
proposals with offers to work on
them.

1 note with approval that the 5%
continues to be a fine forum In,
discussion of the College as it
exists, with good reportage of
current events and questions, and
the usual range of commentary
and debale. But is it really that
difficult to consider the future?
Barry Alicolla was, President, New
Y rk Alumni Cluh {Retired 5&5
E tor)

 

