Inge Four

SCARLET AND BLACK

 

'I'om Wenner Reiects Victory

Popular Tom Wenner, a re-
luctant write-in candidate for
senior class president, said
Wednesday, after being de-
, lared the overwhelming victor
. the race for senior class
president, that he must decline
0 accept the post because

there are “too many important
noncerns I have to handle.”

In a campaign conducted by
an unauthorized group of anon-

ymous "friends," the Wenner
ticket received a landslide of
support that more than doubled
the total vote count of the
closest contender.

This year's senior class pres-
ident will he Dave Evans. He
placed second in total vote
count in Wednesday‘s elections.

.Other senior rclass officers
are Bill Hicks, vice president;
Mark Ferdinand, treasurer;
and Ann Hart, secretary.

 

Government Servant Rules by Crisis

In Order to Create

By Kathy Elliott

_ "The goal of the government
Iervant is the generation and
gulrivat'ion of consensus,” said
[Charles 0. Lerche, Jr., Profes-
sor of International Relations
in the School of International
Service at The American Uni-

,versity. Lerche spoke on "The
portance of an Informed
blic in a Democratic Soci-

oty” in Herrick Chapel on Fri-

Ilay, November 15, as a part of

. e Grinnell College Student

ymposium.

“What-the government wants
from me as a citizen," Lerche
paid, “is consensus so that‘ it
Yuan workyon a day to day basis

. without conferring with me. I

m to trust the government

and allow automation autonw

my to enact the job to be

Hone.”

Lerche described the com-

osite image of the Amer-

an‘ public which the For-
eign Policy Conunittee holds
today. The initial image is
that of an uninformed. unin-
terested, irrational, highly
‘ernotional mass whose nor-
mal state is “hopeless di-
vision: The government sees
itself strung between the
mass hysteria and mass re-
laxation” of a public which
can only be dealt with on
.an “emotional scale," said
Lerche.

The government sees itself
as sufficiently dedicated and
educated to conduct public
husiness, while the masses
“need not, cannot, and should

not be taken into government
lionfidence.”

Since any government needs
the backing of its constituents,
lerche pointed out the masses
are needed to give the govern.
ment there consensus. "There-

GLASSES

Made and Repaired
in Our Laboratory

Contact Lenses

CASES AND
SOLUTIONS

EYES
EXAMINED

E. J. Jensen, O.D. .
Optometrist

Across from Post Office

Public Consensus

fore, it is necessary to see that
the consensus is formed the
right way by steering mass at‘
titude through consensus en-
gineering," Lerche said.

The most effective method
of obtaining “instant; consen-
sus" Is by declaring a crisis,
a time when the masses can
always be counted on to rally

*behind their leader. Thus, the
government today “conducts
more than one crisis simul-
taneously. That way, there is
always something for us to
worry about," Lerche said.

Lerche added that the press
is also doing what it can to in-
volve mass emotion by putting
out news in emotional, person~
alized terms and simplifying
and polarizing issues.

Lerche maintained that the
image of the “monster public”
does exist today, not because
themasses are ignorant, but
because they have been “whip-
lashed by crisis after crisis un-
til they don't know what to
believe.

“The government has cried
‘wolf’ too many times. Every
decision is said to be crucial.
The masses have been kept in
Such a high emotional State
that they have become desen~
sitized. They don’t know what
to believe, so they don’t be
lieve anything.

“The only way to re-establish
public consensus is by standing
foursquare with the public on
government issues. We need
more than consensus manage-
ent. It is impossible for our
country to move forward with-
out agreement and understand-
ing between the masses and
government on the nature and

content of our goals," Lerche
concluded.

 

Friday, November 22, I96!

A debate between James Greenfield (second from left) and James Lerche (second
from right) was a feature of lost Friday'l Symposium session. Other participants were II.

to r.)
levy) .

C. Edwin Gilmour (poll. sci.l. Greenfield, Poul Reichs. Lerche. and Joseph Wall (his-

 

SIA Executive Lectures

By Ann Showalter

Brian Eattey of the United
States information A g e n c y
launched the second part of
the Symposium, “The Execu-
tive,” speaking on “An Execu-
tive Agency in Action” Tues-
day night in Herrick Chapel.

Sprinkling his talk with an-
alogies, and anecdotes, the
Special Assistant to the Dep-
uty Director of USlA for policy
and Plans explained how the
agency uses Communications
techniques to improve US pub-
lic relations abroad.

Battey compared the USIA
to a camera lens. “The pic-
ture it gives depends upon
the scenery. You can‘t take
a picture of a snowstorm and
come out with a photograph
of a beautiful summer day;
likewise, we can’t make
films of the burning of a
church in Birmingham and
create a favorable image of
the United States with them.”

He said that when the US
tries to persuade a foreign
country to accept a specific
objective,'“lt is not our prop-

aganda that really does the
job; the people of the'coun-
try must come to believe the
innovation will b e n 2 fi t
them.”

He hypothesized that the US
might want to install a satel-
lite tracking station in a small
foreign country. There might
be opposition from “Commu-
nists," local newspapers, stu-
dent groups and others who
would say the tracking station
was a missile base in disguise.

 

In VOGUE

 

for THANKSGIVING

23675328

The job of the USIA In such
a situation would he to use
films, radio broadcasts, and
magazine articles to show
that similar operations had
been beneficial in other coun-
tries and that the proposal
was in the interests of world
peace.

Battey continued, “Accept-
ance of the innovation might
start with favorable coverage
in local communications media
and» gradually the citizens
might come to think the track-
ing station would be good for
meir country." Thus, the USIA
works indirectly.

One of the propagandist’s

problems is understanding cul-
tural Values outside his own
society. For instance, during
the Korean war leaflets show-
ing an octopus Inscribed with
a hammer and sickle entan-
gling Korea in its tentacles
were dropped on North Korea.
One North Korean prisoner
said he had seen one of the
leaflets and interpreted the
cartoon to mean Communism
would guarantee the Koreans
plenty of octopus to eat.

In concluding his lecture,
Battey stated he finds his work
interesting because it deals
with the intangible: the thought
in another man’s mind.

 

 

MEEKER'S

laundry — Cleaners

lAnnouncing the Following Services

Wash. Dry. Fold '

a. 5 pounds 75c, then He per pound
lo. Washed in Home Washers

c. 24 Hour Service

d. Socks melted and Neatly Folded

Bundle Service

01. Shirts 28c each
b. Pants 50¢ each
c. 3 day service

ol. Sport Shirts and Pants Returned

on Hangers.

Take Your Clothes In to Your '

North or South

Campus Agent

Soy ”Send Them to Meeker's"

 

