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Where the Truth Hurts i

By TOM THOMAS

The United States today faces a cathar-
sis e a dead end brought about by the
failure of American liberalism culmi—
nating in the Johnson administration.
This liberalization, however, has corn»
pounded the tragedy of the situation
through its castration of American ra-
dicalism, Having been subjected to the
reactionary whims of my home town tor
the two weeks of spring break, I have
arrived at the belief that Grinnell radi-
calism is superfluous —< made irrevelant
not by the isolation of all iowa cornfield,
but by its inapplicability to a contem-
porary society.

Through cooptation and assimilation,
the liberal establishment has ensnated
the American university system, sup-
pressed opposition with the soscalled
“politics of consensus," and dismissed
the possibility of viable political alterna-
tives. correspondingly, the left of Amer»
ican politics has itself become a part or
the system (Le. the college professor of
leftist belief who Without hesttation lends
his talents to the Rand Corporation or
the Pentagon’s Project Camelot). What
remains, then, is what is so evident
here at Grinnell ~ revolution for the hell
of it with — “the system” as a catch
phrase and the petty semantictsm of cail<
ing B&G men “workers."

What is needed instead is the promul-
gation of radical alternatives to the "es-
tabllshment" which is so readily dis-
paraged. The distinction must be made
between the hopeless and nihilistic en<
tanglements of a radical “countersrevm
lution" or reaction to the reaction of the
right and the fulwardlng ot a viable
radical program. At Grinnell students
and faculty alike have spent far too much
time smugly revelling in their Enlighten-
merit outlooks oi the American system
while avoiding all attempts at either
substantive reform or effective revolu-
tion.

The present situation necessnaies A
disengagement, at least intellectually.
from the ongoing functions at the govern.
mental . industrial » military complexes
and a resistance to the continuing at-
tempts of those complexes to coopt the
individual. There must be a repudiation
of the Johnsonian myth that participa-
tlun and support of the system bring

SCARLET AND BLACK

Wall and Walker
Replace Slauss

Last week, President Leggett named
professor Joseph Wall (History) and
professor Waldo Walker (Biology) as the
successors to Dean Stauss as Dean of
the College and Provost, as of July 1 this
year, The Board of Trustees approved
the appointments at their Spring meet-
ing, March 15-18.

Mrl Wall, who as Chairman of the
Faculty has been working very closely
with Dean Stauss on academic matters,
will assume the duties (except for ad.
missions) now delegated to the Dean of
the College in the official by—laWs of the
college, He Will work with the divisional
and departmental chairmen on matters
uflecting the recruiting of new faculty,
pmmotions, tenure, and academia
changes. Mr. Wall will also be permanent
chairman of the Academic Standing Com-
mittee, and will have responsibility for
academic advising and the library,

Mr. Walker, currently Science Divi-
hion chairman and chairman of the
Committee on Admissions and Financial
Aid, Will take over the duties Dean
Stauss has performed under the cate-
gory Di “provost." Generally, this would
be financial and budgetary planning, in-
cluding allocating ior all divisions oi
the college, liason with the business oi~
tics on matters oiiecting faculty and
students, and oversight of the ﬁnancial
aid and placement office. In addition,
Professor Walker will be permanent
chairman of the Admissions committee.

M

about a corresponding participation in
the decision making process or the sys~
tern.

Pleas of removal from the "real
world” and irrelevant curriculum do not
provide absolution, for the failure of
Grlnnell is not one of either geography
or course content but rather of approach
to American society. This failure will
continue until those of us here reject
the corresponding failure of our environ-
mental context, move past the “liberal"
participation in that context or the “reds
icnl” blind attack of it, and seek instead
programmatic alternatives applicable to
our present and consistent with our be<
liefs.

 

in Spring

A Young Man’s Fancy

CLOSED EASTER SUNDAY

Tom Br Bette Gurbison

236-6221

 

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Copy “Seized"

April 4. mo

PTERODAGTYL Sues Turner

Two staff members of Pieroductyi,
the “underground” newspaper circu<
lated in Grinnell, have tiled an $11,000
damage suit against iowa Attorney Gen-
eral Richard Turner and four other law
eniorcement officials responsible for a
confiscation of the paper's copy and pho
tographs at it Wilton Junction printing
office on March 13.

In a suit filed before Judge Roy L.
Stephenson in us. District Court in Des
Moines Pterodactyi photographer Henry
Wilhelm and Grinnell junior Lawrence
Frank ask for an injunction ordering
the return of the allegedly obscene ma-
terial, and request that the Attorney
General's Office pay rterodactyl $1,000
actual damages and $10,000 punitive
damages.

Frank and Wilhelm contend that the
material was illegally seized by state
agents in violation of their rights of
free speech and freedom of the press.

Attorney Clark Holmes of the Iowa
Civil Liberties Union is representing
Pterodactyl in the case. Mrs. Louie
Noun of Des Moines, chairman of the
ICLU, was recently quoted as saying that
such a seizure of material without a
prior judicial ruling that it was obscene
“violates constitutionally guaranteed
rights of freedom of expresSlon and
amounts to a method of censorship."

In addition to Turner, the other de-
fendants in the suit are Asst, Atty, Gen-
eral Douglas Carlson; Robert Blair, di-
rector of the State Bureau of Criminal
Investigation, and Bureau Agents Daniel
Mayer and Terry C. Johnson.

The defendants made it motion tliai.
the suit be dismissed during a hearing
on March 25, claiming that they were
acting in their official capacities as state
law enforcement officials. Judge Steph-
enson ordered the defendants to tile
briefs by April 3, and delayed action on
an injunction,

At the hearing Turner testified that
the material picked up by state agents
at the 5-12 Publishing shop in Wilton
Junction was “voluntarily surrendered"
by the firm’s lawyer, John Stevens.
“Each issue oi the paper was getting
progressively worse and i ﬁgured the
next issue would be the beliringer of
them all," 'nirner testified, ”I initiated
this action after conferring with attorney
Stevens.”

“It wasn't a seizure, no question
about it," he continued. “The material
was delivered to us voluntarily by the
printer.”

“i decided to investigate to see if the
copy turned over to us was in fact oi»
scene. Because of prevtous issues, there
was reasonable cause to believe it would
be obscene.

“By obscene I mean liable to arouse
the p ru rle nt interest," Turner said,
“That’s my opinion and it may probably
very well be legally obscene too.”

T u rne r called Yterodactyl “mere
trashi" He told the Cﬂul‘t, “I don’t
think it had any news in it,"

“It wasn’t in any form to Inform peo-
ple. I don’t see how it could possibly
rise to the stature of a newspaper. I
haven't read it all. It‘s too disgusting.

"There was no intrinsic value in any
copies I’ve seen oi this — trash.”

Harold Eugene Saylor, president of
Trico Publishing and an owner of 5-)!
Publishing, testified that state agents
had talked to him before the material in
question was picked up on Mar. 13 to
find out when the next issue would be
published,

“I did not ever contact the Attorney
General: Office or the ROI and offer

ADDRESS HERII

material to them," Saylor said.

Wilhelm testified that he and Frank
took the material to the printing firm
to have it published on March 13. "I gave
the copy and photographs to Mr, Saylor
with the idea that they would be re.
turned to me, as they were in the past,"
he said.

According to Wilhelm, while he was
waiting for the paper to be printed a
man who identified himself at: BC! agent
Daniel Mayer approached him and told
Wilhelm that he had “seized" the copy
and photographs.

“He used the word ‘eeized',” Wilhelm
testified

Wilhelm also testified that the meter-
ial was given to state agents without
his knowledge or consent. He said he told
the printer's attorney that the material
had an implicit pro-publication copy:
right,

Wilhelm told the 5&3 that the mater:
lal confiscated was to be published in a
special 32<page issue of Ptemdactyl. He
said the material included photograph:
of the recent nude protest at Grinneli,
satirical articles directed at the AttDr<
ney General’s Office, articles on SGA, a
photo essay on a recent disturbance at
the University of Wisconsin, and a two
page article by Frank about his recent
visit to Cuba.

Turner’s actions have been severely
criticized in the editorial columns of the
Des Moines Register and several other.
Iowa papers.

m

15;; Martyrs

Commemorated

Today, April 4th, is the first anniver-
sary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. concerned Black Students have
planned Black Martyr’s Weekend from
April 345 to honor Dr. King and others
who have died while trying to give life
to racial justice. in a statement con-
cerning this weekend, or, Leggett saidI
“The tragic significance or that day wil
be felt by all Americans for many years,
for the assassination symbolized the deep
alienation of Black and White in Amen
loan society. All at once, in triglttemng
fashion, everyone knew that racial in-
justice to this country was a hard and
violent fact that would not, to quote Dr.
King's own words, “work itself out."
There are several outstanding events
this weekend, Tonight at a pm. Dr.
Nathan Hare, ohairman of the Black
Student Party at San Francisco State
College, will speak in Herrick Chapel.
Tomorrow in south Lounge there will
be a panel discussion "In Defense or
Black People —- The Black Panther
Party” at 1:30 pm. The discussion will
be led by three members of the Des
Moiues Black Panther Party. Charlel
Smith, deputy minister of delens
Michael Harris, deputy chairman an
Ronald Drew, deputy minister of infor-
matlon, Dr. Charles H. Nichols, Visiting
professor of History and American Stun
dies at Grinneli, will lecture in the South
Lounge at 3:30 pm. on “Martin Luther
King, Jr. and the Present American
Mood" Members of Concerned Black
Students will give B performance of
African Dance in Gardner Lounge at
7:30, and directly afterwards the “Jaclﬂ
[on Five" will play for a dance there‘
Sunday's activities will begin with wit-
liam Strickland, a New York psycholm
gist and founder of the Northern Studen(
Movement, speaking in Herrick Chapel.

 

