'The Grinnell Experience’

by Deborah McKnight and Jim Alt

We have been following with some
interest the current discussion a-
bout the unsatisfactory state--or
the general absence—-of sex on cam-
pus. Agreement seems widespread
as to the existence ol a problem
and the urgent need for a solution;
yet debate continues over apprope
riate corrective measures and even
over the fundamental nature of the
problem itself.

in the past week we have heard
some imaginative, albeit cynical,
proposals for alleviating the im-
mediate crisis: _

one person we know thinks that
student entrepreneurs could form a
business firm along the lines at the
now—defunct Chandelbaum’s, but of-
lerlng services other than sand-
wichemaking. The firm would pre—
sumably offer both on-site and der
livered services, although Carry—
buts and self—service would be pro-
scribed.

Another person suggests that the
College itse could provide the same
services, hi ing students attheCol-
lege slave-labor wage of $1.60 an
hour. Work-grant scholarships we»
uld, ol course, take on an entirely.
new dimension.
it has also been suggested that
SGA is the appropriate organiza-
tion to provide such services to
students. The likelihood of com-
mittee involvement. although fas-
cinating, may make this idea work—
able.

These proposals, however, do dem-
onstrate that Grinnell students are
becoming desparate. At the risk of
being thought indelicate or unroman»
tic, we should like to make some
observations as to the true nature
or the problem and to propose a
long-term solution.

The problem haS‘been diagnosed
by others as a lack of romanti-
cism on campus, or of mystery
between the sexes. It has been ar-
gued that such levelers as coed
dorms and bathrooms make men
and women too familiar with each
other, leaving nothing to be dis
covered. This analysis, we think,
hits near the mark; but we would
add this observation, which has the
force of a natural law:

The more difficult it is made for
people to get something, the more
energy and ingenuity they will exe
pend to circumvent their restrice
tions and, consequently, the more
of that thing they will get.

The truth of this observation is
borne out by observing the elbows
and knees of past generations of
Grinnellians. when there were res-
tricted coed visitations, dorm hours
and sexually segregated campuses
the rough brick walls under alldorm

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Wynn: Support

To the Editors:

Can SGA really work? Can it be
a viable form, catalyst, and mobe
ilizer of student concerns? Can
it get beyond the bureaucratic rum-
blings?

The answers to these questions
depend on what kind ol people are
chosen for its leaders. And their
effectiveness will depend on personr
a1 qualities which will let those
interests of students be effectively
mobilized; personal qualities which
will include the ability to get to
the issue and the solution. The
problems are the same. There need
to be new solutions.

Michele Rothenberg, who is running
for SGA Vice President, seems to
really have those qualities and ideas.
l’ve worked with her in other things
(from ISPIRG to Campus political
concerns), and have lound a lot or
the necessary imagination, perser-
verance, and ability to go beyond
periphery types of concerns.

And, she has the rddlcal ideas that
need to take place on this campus
so that Grinnell can become a unis
que and exciting place of learning.

I encourage you to vote as I will
on MondayﬁMl‘chele Rothenbergior

VP- Mary Jane Wynn

windows served as silentnandpaine
rule—guardians of the public moral—
ity,

But judging by alumni scar tissue,
the walls were never very effec-
tive deterrents, The scars and the
accounts of two generations ofGrln-
nellian relatives support this con
clusion.

In those times, you see, the ad
ministration was wise enough to try
to keep male and female students
apart, and they thus successfully
encouraged unsanctioned coeducar
tional activity, The current admin»
istration, with its misguided "lib»
erality" as to coed dorms, coed
Visitation, and dorm hours, is re-
sponsible lor our present—day dif—
ficulties.

Thus we come to our proposal,
the logic and practicality of which
will not be denied by any right—
thinld'ng person: Discard coed
dorms, reinstate restructions on
coed visitation, reinstitute dorm
hours, and enforce all these rig—
idlyﬁand then turn the Norrises in—
to a cheap motel.

The use of Norris as a cheap
motel will provide a convenient and
suitably seedy locale fo the con-
sumation of the nDWrilli 't unions.
For the benefit of Walker dz Co.,
we point out the steady stream of
income derivable from such a ven-
ture....as well. of course, as the
concurrent increase in student sex-
ual activity and decrease in stu-
dent dissatisfaction.

Can you imagine it? it is twelve
thirty at night and the dorm is lock-
ed up tight. You pry open the win
dow, peer into the dark, and drop
stealthily to the ground. Ducking
from shadow to shadow, you make
your way to a secret central cam~
pus rendevous.

You and your mend then sneak
silently toward the big ﬂashing neon
sign-~“The Grinnell ExperienCe"
--marking the new» motel.

The most severe—looking person
the College;can hire is behind the
desk, asking whether you have lug-
gage and watching suspiciously as
you register under assumed names.
Alter paying in advance, you are
ushered to your tiny, badly-lit, papr
er-walled Norris room...

Now THAT is bringing back my-
stery and romance!

”\tulotn by Julio pnuu

Stilt .Et provide:
February 23, ”73

photo in him lnnn,

nhiin if» nine {mun

Weather Report: Intensity

by Scott Mason

Spearheaded by the dynanilcdrum-
ming of Eric Grnvatt, Weather Re~
port presented two sets 0d diiving,
complex music in Darby gymnaSr
iiim Saturday, Feb. 10. Before the
perlormance, pianist Josef Zawinul
commented that the group had made
its music more accessaole in live
perlormances; instead of the
dreamy, ethereal sound textures
that dominated much of their alr
bums, Weather Report opened with
a pounding rhythm that was only
occasionally interrupted by periods
of spatial calm. Gravatt remained
solid and constant, and around this
loundation, piano, bass, sax and per-
cussion weaved spiralling, rhythmic
lines. Weather Report did not play
compositions as such, but rather
used thematic material from their
albums as a basis for extended
improvisation. The band has moved
beyond the traditional Jazz concept
or alternating solos; they playtogetr
her as a unit, exchanging ideas and
lines freely. As Zawinul once put it,
“We always solo and we never solo,”
With Herbie Hancock, Weather Re-
port is extending this concept of
group improvisation within an elec-
tronic context to new extemes.

A ilote-byrnote description ol

music cl this type is worthless:,.,

Contributions for next week’s
sob Literary Supplement sh.
ould be placed in the 58:3 office
(Forum 114) or in the $813 lace
ulty mailbox by 4:00 pm. tor
morrow atternooh All mem
bers of the campus community
are invited to submit their work

 

highlights of the pcrlormance in-
cluded the dazzling percussion work
of Brazilian Dom Um Ramao (Air—
to Moreira’s teacher), and the arco
bass solos by eroslav vitous who,
along with Richard Davis, is bring
ing this aspect of bass playing to
the torelront in jazz. WayneShorter
on tenor and soprano saxophone

took n relatively subdued role, but
when he did play, he produced long,
conceptually advanced lines and
short flurries of notes that were
olten of startling intensity The
weakest aspect of the perlormance
—-if a group like this can have a
weak p—oint at all--was in Zawinr

l by Gregg banner

is Grinnell College to be a pole

_}ie _conoclast

itical-Socialracademic battlegroundi
or a rational Community? The ansr :

wer to this question rests exclus-
ively on your View of the purpose
of the college and its role in soc-
iety. ls a college primarily tor the
intellectual or character growth of
the student or the base for the
social reformation of society? Shou-
ld the college serve its a social
retreat or the hot bed for Mr. Ar-

Clompus. Cocks’ Attitude 'tncomprehensible’

To the Editors:

i found Bob Cocks’ comments about
the "conformist culture" of Grin-
nell, in last week's issue to be in-
dicative of a regressive, destruc-
tive state of mind. His approach
to sexuality and “romance” was
appalling. According to Mr. Cocks,
by thrusting head-first into Co-ed
dormitories and johns, “We have
removed those exquisite little dif-
terences between the sexes that
fuel romance",

It seems to me that the move
toward co-educational facilities has
allowed men and women to recog
nize each other as human, rather
than as mythic Creations, oozing
sexual mystique from every pore.
Those “exquisite littledifferences”
between the sexes that Mr. Cocks
yearns for are artilicial guises
that Western culture has imposed
upon our perceptions or each other
as men and women.

The “nervousness” and formal-
ity" of the college courtship ritual
that Mr. Cocks reminisces about,
are in my mind, leatures of an ale
ienating and dehumanizing system
of gamerplaying that substitutes lor
any sort of substantial relationship.

We are told by Mr. Cocks that“sex
without romance ultimately becomes
meaningless and/or degrading”. it
would seem to me that romance is
not a requisite lor meaninglul sex-
ual activity; more crucial are c0n~
cepts like mutual respect, love, and
understanding. The problem of salts
ual “degradation" is not so lightly
explained by a lack ol “romance".
Sexuality is a mode of communi-
cation among many; simple hjrnan
regard and care ls a much strong-
er antidote to degradation than the
simplistic and superficial notion of
romance.

Cocks’ proposals for change at
Grinnell were the most absurd and
incomprehensible portion ofhis tre-
atise, His idea {or reducing the
number of co-ed housing units and
vjohns is unreasonable; housing pat—
terns are determined by student
demand, derived from housingqueSr
tionnaires, and thus the present
distribution of comed halls reflects
student desires.

Presumably, when the studentpop»
ulace demands more mystery and
“romance” in its lite, it will make
known its needs. The shocking cared
Johns that are excoriated hy Cocks
present ample evidence that his
vaunted “romance” is only paper
thin. What kind of relationship mi-
ght we expect that cold be deter-
ght we expect that could be deter
red by witnessing the “heloved's "
body functions? lts n weak romance
that could be fouled in the john.

other proposals calling for a cut
back in college sponsored weeke

end activities seem equaly lucicr»
elld activities seem equally ludi-
crous. The college should ctler as
varied an entertainment experience
as possible; if people wanted the
dead calm of any small town, they
need not pay $4,000 yearly to be
lulled to sleep. All Students have
the option of sitting out activities;
it’s not that much of a struggle
to stay home Contrarily, it would
be quite a problem lor individuals
seeking good music, films and lacs
lures, without transportation, thl‘r
range lbr themselves as active an
events calendar as does the col-
lege.

Lastly, where Mr, Cocks got the
notion that women are attempting
to mimic men in order to demon—
strate equality is a source of won~
derment. Most of the women I know
who are struggling to rind sane ways
ol existing, Elie attempting to trun—
scend sexual stereotypes, not Con-
firm them through mimicry,

Brad Clompus

Johnson: Reconsider Credit-Fail?

To the Editors:

In the recent SGA elections, all
three official candidates called for
a return to the credit/fail grading
system. The All Campus Education
at Policies Committee considered
a proposal or this nature at the be-
ginning ol last semester. This pro-
posal was withdrawn for a variety
of reasons,

Firstly, the faculty members of
the committee were somewhat less
than enthusiastic about u general
reconsideration ol a grading sys
tem that had only been in ellcct loi-
six weeks
Secondly, it was shown that the

grades received by students taking
a course credit/[all usually comes
ponded well to their GPA,

Thirdly. it was argued that since
graduate schools seemed to regard
a grade of Cl‘tllt as Li C or D. there
was little sense in maintaining n
grade olcredlt, The student menu
bel's of the committee were swept
nway by the logic of the faculty's
arguments und withdrew their pro-
posnl.

If there is sizenhle Student senti-
Iiient iii illvoi' of a return to the
credit/fall option. the conllilltiee
would be ecstatic to discuss such

» '1
Q 1“ ”pas” ooug Johnson

ul 5 use of the ARP synthesizer.
The sounds he produced seemed oc-
casionally out of place and strained;
1 often got the impression that he
did not have the time to program
the unit to its best advantage. The
obvious solution to this problem
would be for Weather Report to
hire a lull time man on synthe-
sizer, as Hancock has done, and
leave Zawinul to his piano, which
has enough attachments on it alone
to keep him busy lull time.

On their albums, Weather Report
and I Sing The Body Electric, the
band has shown itself capable of
producing sound textures and elec
tronlc tone poems ol the highest
order; in their live performance,
they created music of almost unr
bearable rhythmic drive and inten-
sity. Their next release, a double
album due out within the next month
or so, should prove a lascinating
combination ol these two aspects of
their playing.

Seize The Day

onin devoutly desired orgiastic der
bauchery']. Is the collegeto become
a work/study training‘iristithte or
is this program incompatible with a
“liberal arts” tradition?

For years Students have debated
the questions ol what student power
is, how to get it, and what to do
with it. Having conquered the ans
cient social taboos and having ad-
justed to their new found freedom,
increasingly students are turning
their attention to academia,

This current arena of student un~
rest is the issue of student power
in academic policy making. The ac—
tions taken regarding this relate to
either spelelC changes or general
student power. And the nature of
the action takes the form of either
a request or a demand.

Requests, per se, and their cor-
alleryndiscussion are a moral me-
ans of changing the college; demands
and their coralleryv—force, are not.
When the administration yields to
a demand backed by, for example,
the occupation of the library, they
are setting a precident whereby in
the luture students whose requests
are turned down, will resort to a
coersive tactic and undoubtedly suc-
ceed, The students who use such
means, also have opened themselves
to physical attack by otherdlsentlng
students who oppose them. And like
the administration these students
haven’t a leg to stand on.

Some students advocate total res-
tl'ucturing or non-structuring of the
college, some just want a seat on
now closed committees. others urge
the estah 'shlileiit of a studentrfac~
ultyradnii istration senate while
some want more but limited student
power and those who want ultimate
control by students. Those advocat-
ing greater input want greater par-
ticipation, while the real meaning
of those who want student Control
is that they want to dominate. There
are, of course, those who care very
little about the mixer play in gen-
eral. nnd curiously enough it is not
at all clenr where the majority of
students Stand
One thing, however. is certain No
matter who wants “hat. the only pro-
ductive course tlfiit‘tion necessitates
rational discussion of the isstlesund
forbids the use of intimidation by
any group involved Such intintidr

(continued on page 7)

 

