Page Two

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. February 1, I96.

RUMORS, BOYCOTT. VIOLENCE SCRUTINIZEB

BLACK STUDENTS IN A WHITE TOWN

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BOYCOTT BACKGROUND REVlSlTED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HUBER’I’ FARBES

($3 BOYGOTT

(Continued from Page I)

lponsored stencil in hand. But
that day, the ladies said, the
mimeograph machines were
all out-ot-order. The Service
Bureau people promised Heli-
gott they would have the
copies by 8 mm. the next day.

But early Tuesday morning
otter assembling his group and

repnring them to stnii mail-

oxes, Heligott was told that

the Service Bureau would not
run off the document in (pres-
tion with or without Prof. Ca-
nary’s sponsorship.

Dean Winters told them.
Heligott said, that “your ma-
terial is too controversial and
will not be run all."

, NEGRDES REPUDIATE
; hovcon

But while Helfgott’s predom-
hrantly White planning group
was jousting with the College
administration and Service Bu-
reau, a group of about sixty
students — almost all Negroes
._ met Monday night.

The group did not decide on
a name, a future program, or
even the lime {or another meet-
ing.

It did decide on a president
._ North Younker junior Hu—
bert Farbes.

Forbes, representing “around
lety of us," told the 5&3
that the group did not support
Helfgott‘s boycott and would
have nothing to do with a boy-
out in the lawn of Grinnell.

He told l-leligott the same
thing Tuesday.

But repudiation notwithstand~
ing, Helfgott went down to
Grinnell Office Supply and ran
off “a few" copies of the Col-
legersuppressed document, put
them on posters reading
“THINK ABOUT IT . . .
THERE ARE ELEMENTS ON
THIS CAMPUS WHICH BE-
LIEVE THIS INFORMATION
IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL
AND SHOULD NOT BE DIS-
TRIBUTED T0 STUDENTS,”
and posted them in the college
postoiiice, the Quad dinner
line, and the bulletin board at
Cowles.

“There have been many in-
stances of derogatory name-
c allin g (‘Nigger,' ‘Jigaboo,’
etc.) from high school kids,"
the poster read, “who are not
picky and will shout something

MAX HELFGO'IT

at any readily identiﬁable eth-
nic group."
INCIDENTS FINALLY CITED

It then cited instances of
deliberate attempts by towns-
men to run down Negro stu-
dents and faculty members
with automobiles, lack of help
from the local police in situ«
rations where Negroes were ver-
bally and physically accosted
in the Iown, and occasions in
which the College could but did
not, his charges against townie
aggressorsl

A ﬁnal alleged instance of
Negro harassment summarized
a confrontation between mem~
bers of the Oscar Lindsay Trio
and town bullies after a cam-
pus concert last Friday night.

“It was fortunate no fight
was threatened," the poster
concluded, “b e c a u s e each
member of the Trio was car-
rying a .38 caliber pistol."

By 7 pm. Monday night all
but one poster (the one in
Cowles) had been torn down,
and the one remaining bad the
last incident effaccd with
marking pens or various colors.

Helfgott‘s troubles were just
beginning.

One oi the students present
at the TriOrBully confrontation
at Wayne's Steakhouse (“the
Rex”) denied that the Trio car-
ried guns and told Helfgott —
rather vehemently —— to re-
move her name from the pos.
ters.

Mr. Canary became reluc-
tant to sponsor the petition,
Helfgott found himself “tallb
ing continually (or three days
without sleep" explaining the
entire mess to “everyone on
campus."

Heligott spent the next few
days visiting President Glenn
Leggett (at Heligott’s own re«
quest), explaining his actions
to the student Senate Wednes-
day night (at the Senate’s re
quest) and considering the fu~
ture of the boycott idea.

HE’S NOT SORRY

Asked if he was sorry for
ever considering the boycott,
Heligott said.

“No, I’m sorry for the cons
fusion that resulted from the
early release or information to
the wrong people — which is
again my fault and for which
I must take all responsibility

BOYCOTT —
(Continued on Page I)

By JOSHUA SACHS

The meetings which have tak-
en place in the last week are
a ﬁrst response to the harass
ment of Negro students irorn
the college by some elements of
the town of Grinnell.

The students feel that the at-
mosphere in the town is hostile
to them. “Whenever you're
downtown," said Junior Howard
Ward, “You get sneered at.”
He added, though, that the mer-
chants are friendly and that
the trouble comes mostly from
high school students.

Resident adviser Zelte Craw-
ford recalled being called ”nig-
ger” while out on dates in the
town. He also said that some-
one tried to start a fight with
him one night at the Pizza Pub.
He reported neither incident,
saying, “What can you do? You
can't pin it down to anyone."
Crawford added that he did not
know or a single Negro student
here who has not been subjected
to some harassment,

GET IT EVERY DAY

Professor Denis de Coteau
echoed Crawford‘s statement.
He said that he had had two
incidents in October, nothing
since then, but that be under-
stood that “Negro students get
it every day." De Coteau a-
greed with Word that the tmw
ble is mostly from some high
school students doing "what
they think is fun.”

Senior Mike Dejole agreed
that by and large his relations

DEAN RICHARD WINTERS

with the town have been friend-
ly. He said his only trouble has
been with town resident Jim
Slebiska.
SLEBISKA-KELLEY

Slebiska has been implicated
in several unpleasantries, the
most noteworthy being a light
last year with Lou Kelley. Ac-
cording to Kelley, he (Kelley)
had been at the "Rex” one night
when a fight broke out outside
between Slebiska and student
David Price. Lﬂu said he went
out to watch and that Slebiska,
shouting “i hate niggers worse
than anything," leit Price to go
after Kelley. Lou tried to get
away but was prevented by a
ring of townies watching the
fight. He at last escaped and
got back to his hall, where
Slebiska appeared a few min-

utes later and attacked him
again. The police arrived and
led Slebiska away. What hap-
pened afterward is uncertain.

Kelley Said that neither the
police not the college at»
pmached him to see if he would
press charges. President Leggett
and Dean Thompson both as-
sured the 8&3 that the college
is willing to prosecute but that
no students Could be found to
testify. The whole matter is
confused.

Slebiska told sophomore
Grady Murdock several days
ago that Chief Peters told him
that he was not to be in any
establishment in Grinnell at the
same time as a Negro. Grady
feels that Slebiska is inﬂuencing
ﬂ'le conduct of the students from
the high school towards the Ne-
gro students, but Slebiska said
that he doesn't like the high

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROF. DENTS DeCOTEAU

school people and wants nothing
to do with them.

TOWN UNAWARE

Most incidents of harassment
do not seem to have been re-
ported to the college or the
police. However, President Leg-
gett said that he called the
meeting last Sunday at Grinnell
House because several Negro
students had reported occur-
rences. This meeting was at—
tended by Leggett, several pro
minent townspeople, including
Chief Peters and Rev. John Hed-
ger, and Negro students Lou
Kelley, Grady Murdock and Roy
Walker. Most of the people in
volved in this meeting felt that
its value lay in inior-rning the
townspeople that the problem
exists.

Most people in the town seem
to have been unaware of the
problem. Prof. de Coteau re<
lates how “after Martin Luther
King spoke, one of the owners
of McNally's came to me say-
ing, ‘That man King sure is
fantastic. Thank God we don’t
have anything like that in this
town.’ I told him an hour and
a half of incidents that I had
heard about and by the time I
was done he was nearly crying.
He had no idea that things like
that were going on."

Rev. Hedger of the St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church, and director
of its student center, told the
San that most of the townsmen
at the meeting were unaware

that incidents against Negro stu-
dents were frequent and that
friction and resentment were
growing. He fell: this was partly
because Negro students and pro«
lessors had been understandably

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVEREND JOHN HEDGER

reluctant to discuss these ems
barrassing occurrences.

The Negro students tended to
explain the lack ot reports dif-
ferently. They express the opin-
iun that many incidents con-
tained conduct ugly and alien.
sive, but not illegal. When
asked whether reports had been
held back for fear of retaliation
from some town residents,
Grady Murdock replied, “Hell,
no."

Lou Kelley agreed that ”a lot
of people in the town were
made aware of things that they
hadn't known before.” He felt
the townspeople were sincerely
ignorant of the situation, not
just covering up.

In a meeting held last weelf
by Chief Peters. and the auxili-
ary police, Peters said that
most incidents had never been
reported. He urged that any
harassment, however trivial, be
reported at once to the police.

BEING BLIND

Other people were not so con.
vinced. Professor tie Cnteau
thought Peters bad a tendency
to play down everything that
has happened as unimportant.
"is he waiting tor something to
really happen?” he asked.

Grady Murdock said "I’m sort
of skeptical that they were tali-
en entirely by surprise. The
meeting helped to direct con-
sciousness." Sophomore Frank
Thomas said, "quite often when
incidents occur there is a Cou-
casion present. This is not a
matter of being unaware, but of
being blind.“

Already, attempts are being
made to alleviate the tension.
President Lsggett considered his
meeting a beginning and ex-
pressed tbe hope that subsequent
events, such as a rumor that
the college would boycott the
town would not make things
more difficult.

Rev, Hedger obviously Con-
cerned over the incidents, inr
formed the 5&3 that he had
preached about the problem

BACKGROUND—
(Coutinued on Page 4)

 

