Page Two

EDITORIALS

We Ain’t Gonna Study War No More?

“The only thing necessary to the trlumpll or evil is that good
men do nothing.” Edmund Burke

Many defend AFROTC as merely another course of study, its presence war—
ranting no moral decision. We disagree. ROTC, in any form, is an integral part of
the American military complex, which is in turn olten the instigator and always
the instrument of violence in American foreign policy. A moral stand must inevitably
be taken. Even those who disregard the issue because Grlnnell is small and few
students are involved, are taking a moral stand — that ol silent complicity. The
very existence of the Armed Forces must be either morally supported or con-
demned, and those who remain silent unavoidably give their tacit agreement to
this military complex.

The popular defense of the well-educated soldier, the set-called “liberal linger
on the trigger” hypothesis, is based on the assumption that the power of the
military will be used justly and humanely by intelligent men. There are at least
two weaknesses in this myth.

First, this idea may very Well have been valid back in the middle ages when
a man was a gentleman first and a soldier second, but this is no longer the case
Today’s army makes soldiers, pure and simple, who all fit the same, well dis
plined mold. Individualism, whether a result of education or any other factor, is
discouraged to the point where, atter military training and indoctrination, the
difference between a Grinnell soldier and a Texas Tech soldier is doubtlully Very
great.

A second weakness is that, given the structure of military life and the simple
directness of the chain of command (I say, therefore, you do), it is reasonable to
assume that, even if a man tried to implement. the lessons of his liberal education,
he would very probably prove to be utterly ineffective, (and has proved so, many
will testify).

It is apparent that, whatever the future status of AFROTC at Grinnell, our
decision here will not shake the world: we will not insure the success or the demise
of the military by what we do. This frees us to consider the principle involved in
the question, and allows us to act: morally upon what we decide. The sides are
drawn. will we symbolically demonstrate our aversion to both war and the military
by refusing to admit the compatability of an obvious instrument of violence with
the teachings of a liberal education, and discontinue any college ties with a
preparation for that violence? or will we, by remaining silent or continuing our ate
filiation with ROTC, become accomplices to that violence, in essence condonliig.
the existence and actions of the military, and affirming the proposition that any.
liberal arts graduate is only half a man without a few notches on his gull handle?

The decision is ours, and it is too important to be ignored or taken lightly. The
principle ’nvolved, complicity “All! the military and consequent support rendered
its basic policies and even its very existence, is too iundameiunl a contradiction to
the philosophy and beliefs of this college for us to be content with hallrway measures.
0ui- position must be made absolutely cle . all ties with ROTC must be immediate-
ly and completely abolished. Rather than hopelessly concentrate on Council Col—
lege‘s liberalization oi the U.s. Air Force, let us constructively concentrate on our
llbeidlizatlon of Gl'lllnell College.

S.K., an, KH.

Now is the Time

This weekend one of the most tragic events or our time, the assassination of
Dr. Mai-tin Luther King, will be commemorated. This is not the time for ninking
it a long weekend in Chicago, or starting your drinking a day earlier, or even
spending an extra few hours in the library, just because classes have been called
off for Friday. This is not Just another Gl‘lllllell Weekend. This is a time for taking
a long and hard look at ourselves, both as individuals and as a total community.
What did this man stand for? Why was he killed? Who killed him? And maybe
most importantly, how can we develop ourselves and our community so lliat he
will not have died in vain?

D.s.

So Happy Together

Some time in the near future, the Student Ailalls Committee will meet to decide
the status of next year's dormitories, their gender and distribution. This is the
perfect opportunity to examine the resulls of the Younker Experiment, with an
eye to both perservmg this coed dormitory and instituting others of the same type.

The increased social mobility and case of campus lite which has resulted from
this year's integration of campuses has been obvious. but equally obvious is the
fact that there is still room for enormous growth in this area. The overwhelming‘
success of the Younkers has shown us that, rather than be content With the halt
and half division of the campuses, the entire dormitory system should be modeled
as much as physically possible on the idea of coed dormitories. Alternating men’s
and women’s dorms and formation of shared-lounge dorms would insure the evolu»
tion of this natural living situation into maturity.

There are at least two other hall complexes on campus which offer possibilities
for a Younkeretype shared-lounge situation: Loose, and East and West Norris, both
of which should be made functional in this way as soon as possible. Arguments such
ls cost and the possibility of puritanical public outcries pale beside the enormous
benefits the addition of these complexes would provide. Ari institution which can
lavish money on such luxuries as unnecessary reception centers and multimillion
dollar game rooms can certainly, with a little planning, find the funds to dismantle
a few urinals and install them someplace else. And since when has Grinnell been
lfraid to step courageously and ambitiously in new directions and, despite close-
minded public sentiment, forge new paths toward truly liberal education? We
urge the Student Affairs Committee to act positively in this matter, and proVide
Gl'innell with the mature social structures it needs to become the ”experience" it
professes to be.

K. H.

SCARLET AND BLACK

l talk of the town l

by fredrlcka nelson

I wouldn't say that grinnell has n
ditterent aspect alter break, though the
smell of spring moisture is in the air
and the grass is hinting from its grey-
ness that it just might turn green and
surprise us all — maybe give us a sniff
of new life inside. . .

though places can go through seasons,
they do not have the kind 0! changes in
the middle of somewhere and sometime
that are characteristic of people. i think
many of us have returned, fulfilled by
new relationships or renewed by confron-
tations, to look around again at our
places in spacetime and dream or
change. i think many know that dream-
ing is funny and fantastic until it is
tumed into doing. we need to learn to
make what We ﬁnd into what we want.

>0! * III l‘

a friend of mine shared a fantasy with
me just yesterday. we agreed that this
country with its colleges of various
kinds and its multi-Various peoples is
long overdue for its apocalypse. the
friend had seen a horse in the sky draw-
ing a chariot of doomechange. the horse
was an omen and the people who saw
it tried to interpret its meaning, was it
had or good?

it was a stallion beautifully free With
no reins binding it behind the doomsman.
its hooves were drawn out into the
clouds behind it and its head was strainv
ing for the blue openness. there was llei—
[her Chariot nor l‘ltlel‘.

among mundane things the horse is
rare, but lmlteethe-less real. omens are
all around [or those who travel to notice
if they Wlll. places don’t change, but

April 4 m9

The Scarlet & Black

Grinnoll College,

Grinnell, lowa

An independent news»
paper published weekly.
during holidays

null
titer.

and examination periods.

a by the Grinnell Com-

Qd more on Student roari—

‘iy/ chums. Suhsnlptlon

MWNSE rate 35.00 Der school

yea
suslw mssm
.nnucr: STROM

Editor .,.._
nurlnm Manage

questions oi travelers and relate our
own experiences in such a way that we
will further our abilities to understand
and to make our dreams into realities.
these shared experiences help each of us
interpret the places we call our own.

enough. . . .

not because enough has been said, but
because i cannot say these things as
Well as they should be said.

* 3k * )0!

friends of ms. king will be glad to
know that i am no longer misinforming
them when i say that she has returned
and her shop is quite open.

also

the friendly freaks of 3271/; broad, in.
eluding the cat and {our beautiful kittens,
and their other people friends want to
wish mr. earl brown the best of luck in
his new business. the varsity will never
be the same, though young mr. daniorth
tries very hard. readers, stop at paglai’s
pizza in maryvills, missouri and say
hello to mr. brown.

=l< * * >l<

readers and friends,

you are cordially invited to come and
visit our kittens and look over our col<
leCtlorl 0i oddities that We are selling as
“furniture.” (kittens not for sale)

directly overhead dr. terguson’s office

on broad street and the stairway is on
the leIlh side.
good day.

people in new places are able to see
what isn’t so apparent to the natives.
hopefully each of us will be able to ask

 

 

iii Saul State

The swords of lawn Attorney Genet-n1 Richard Turner have been slashing away
ill Grinnell for seveial monllls now, and so far most of tls have managed to keep
our pl‘ovelbial cool. But the latest stab by the Des Moilles Crusader has cut a
bit too deeply to be ignored.

The Turner investigation of the disrbbing incident at Gl'ilinell was so ludicrous
that It llaldly melited editorial comment. The latest Turner fiasco is so outrageous
that it merits all the wrath that can be squeezed out of a typewriter.

As Griiinellinns were happily packing up for their annual Spring jaunt into the
real world, Richard Turner attempted lo castrate the already feeble Movement
at Grinliell by cutting oil iis organ of communication. On March l3
slate agents Hildef the direction of Turner — without a warrant m conﬁscated ma-
terial that was to have been printed in Ptel'odnctyl, Grinnell’s “underground” paper.

The Des Moines Register called the actions of the Attorney General’s Diilce
“shocking" and “totalitarian.” We would Call them despicable and intolerable.

Fl'lor restraint and censorship arc Concepts repulsive to anyone concerned
with protecting the righls of free press and free speech. But such total disregard
for due process or law, such blatant suppression of the freedom oi expression,
should provoke even the most apathetic Grinnellian.

The elltlre altair Smacks Soul'ly of hookburning, and if the values of this in-
stitution are worth anything at all, Grinnellians had better wake up and do some
firefighting. The book you save may eventually be your oivn.

Tile Iowa Civil Liberties Union should be commended for volunteering its
services to the Pterodactyl stair members whn have filed an $11,000 damage suit
against the Attorney General’s office in an effort to regain the confiscated material.

Turner’s testimony in the Case has been rather amusing. He claimed that
Ptera is “obscene” because ”it appeals to the prurient intelest,” despite the fact
that there has been no judlCial determination on the matter. Can We presume that
Mr. Turner meant to say that Piero appeals to his prurient interest? That would be
quite Et feather in the caps of the Flow staff.

Turner also claimed that no seizure Occurred, since the printer volunteered to
give Ptero's material lo State agents. it is clear. however, that the material was
volunteered by the printer only after the Attorney General had requested it. In any
event, Turner's relusal to retul‘ the material to its rightful owners on the Ptero
staff makes him solely responsible for the paper’s suppression, regardless of
whether or not all actual seizure occurred.

It was also amusing that after condemning Ptero as “obscene trash,” Turner
testified that he hadn’t read the copy completely. (Perhaps this is a inanisfestation
of the “blind justice” we hear so much about.) Turner explained, “It's too dis<
gusting.”

The storm trooper tactics of Richard Turner are what we find disgusting.
They appeal to the Puritan interest. They are utterly without redeeming social
value. And, to use Mr. Turner’s phraseology, they are mere trash.

Hopefully the courts will act rapidly in restoring Pterodactyl to its higheflying
position by dulling the sword of Richard Turner and pulling him back in his place,
wherever that may be.

l-lopefuily, even here in Nowhere, U.S.A., the pen is still mightier than the
sword. ll it is not, the sad state at Iowa is in a sadder state Lhan many of us had
feared. MB.

 

