Page Two

SCARLET AND BLACK

& Friday. February lb. I962

 

 

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GRINNELL COLLEGE
Grinnell, Iowa

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Editorial:

The answer game

l e are the tested ones
-We me the questioned tunes
Learning together suspect
Headhiece spilling stl‘im'
Our Ilr’ Il Voices, when
.\’.e whisper illontl

‘Are brash and meaningless
AS ciphers.

Shape without form, Shade without color.

Pataly’ntl l3,

Those \\ 0 have ssed

ce, gesture without motion

With dilect e)es into lit'es othel Kingdom
Remenlbel us — it ill till — nut its lnst

Violent souls, but only

'As the tested ones

The questioned ones. . .
This is the tray they say it
This is the \th you s
‘l‘his is the \V‘cl) he say it. . .

(Not with 21 than0 it hilt tin answer.)

Jam”

'10 the ‘Editor:

I am sick or hearing all this
talk of unilateral, as well as mul-
tilateral nuclear disarmament. I
am sick of seeing communist-
iispircd propaganda and brain.
washing tactics, cg. GLEE
(General Lethal Engineering Ens
tc-priscsi lcaIlcts tacked up on
our school bulletin boards, I am
ck of seeing draft-dodging en-
couraged by conscientious objecA
Lon information. I am sick oi
sacingthc “Fast tor Pcacc" dcnr
castration in
xaltcd I am sick of tho impi-cs.
ion that all the students at
Grinncll participated in a sym—
pathy fast, as Cxemplified by the
trio letter from the irate Wash.

igton student. I am sick of the
political ultralibcralism border-
ing on socialism expressed so
.toudly on this campus. I am sick
or people on “my side" not both.
ering to express their views on
situations hcrc and on a national
level. (I realize that perhaps
there is no one on “my side.")
Does south campus ever write
letter in to the paper?

I am sick of not hearing the
American way praised, and sel-
dom having her faults objective-
ly and constructively appraised,

or attempts made to correct
them through enlightened de-
mocracy. I am sick of people
cringing about the Bomb, and
then going out and pursuing tlic
course that will bring our
enemies down on us more swift.
.ty and more surely than any
other in thc for-cscoablc Iutur-c i
am sick of the lack of Americans
on this campus (no i-cfcrencc' to
Ioi ign students . . .i, and (by
Americans) I don't mean pcoplc
who were simply born in,Vil»
lagcvillc, Iowa, but peopic who
deal and believe and stand up tor
and just flat practice being
Americans,

I’m sic , and a little sad, be
cause if this apathy persists, in
”otty years (to bc optimistic), the
finest way at his ever practically
operated by any complex so
cicty anywhere on‘ this planet
will have trod the same dusty
road as all the other fallen civic
tizations beiore it, to be rcptaccd
’)y the colossus of the Soviet.
Union.

Jim Johnson

Washington heing‘

.Sovtct Union

must be

It must. . a

'r.
it t» I l n n

T0 the Editar:

This week. with the exchange
of Col. RllilDl Abe] for our
own spy, Francis Power a
dangerous precedent bits can
set. Abel was con ’ tccl, as was
Powers, in a Court or law.

Tins court refused all ran
quests for a reprieve on the
basis of Abel's health or phys»
ical condition. However. it
seems that.no court. no branch
of our government is free from
the effects or our security mon-
stcr, the CIA.

We have Created a society
that is so sick with fcar that it
is willing to give up all that
dcinocracy stands ior, if we
lee] that we can save our own
necks by the action. If this is
the case. our necks aren't worth
saving. If we have taken to
trading in human life and mak-
ing a ll‘lOCliel_ or otir own syss
tcm oi law. who on this earth
can have an respect left for
us” How can we rcspcct our—
selves? ,

Do we now regret that the
Roscubcrgs were cxccutcd?
Think of the price they would
have brought on the auction
block of the cam war.

Doesn't it seem logical, after
an exchange like this, to ship
suspected American Communists
like Harry Bridges. Archie
Brown and Pete Seegei- to the
in exchange [or
some Soviet oi-tcasts who hap-
pen lo bclicvc in democracy?

I at ciys thought ideas like
that were ridiculous, but thcn
I-bclieve that the AbelvFowe s
trade \v s an act of hysteru
and political manipulation gear—
ed to take the pro iii-c oil a
lot of guys at the top,

It's time to stop this before
it goes any further. Plans aic
being made tor future exchang-
cs. They- cannot be permitted
to be carriccl out. We are ex-
changing our Cl\ll liberties, and
polluting our system oi justice,
We are creating an icon or na-
tional sccuri ~ and the clergy
is being manned by the high
priests of the CIA, .

I value human life as highly
as anyone in our society. But
this .‘chdil does nothinginore
than make lire cheap; it is as
low as the slave tradnigs of a
decadent, barbaric socieL. Law

Campus |nquirer——-

Students give opintlns of talloui shelter question

by P: to M Milicr

The following. oucstion was
askctt of six Grinncll Students.
"Do you think that the college
should pr-cvidc tallout protcc
tion tor the collcgc community?“
Roberta Eustis (senior):

I (act that it is a good idea
bccausc in case oi a nuclcar
ciisis, it is one oi thc only mca—
sures that we know of at pro
sent that could possibly save
lives.”

David Hnwley (sophomore):

“Along with the Stratcgic Air
Command and our ballistic "its?
site bases. civil defense is also
an important part of our over-
all national dclcnsc. The Amer»
ican people must remove thcir
idealistic .veil and accept the
possibility ot destruction. which
is tar from a rsinotc possibility.

Fallout shelters will insure
a more adequate defense of
homes and will Serve to bring
to the American people an
awareness oi tlic lacts. Being
'lnlletl to siocp by a trilse sciisc

0i security and the leellng
that nuclear attack is improb—
able is what thc Russians
want. We must build our dc-
iciises. otlicrwisc we will be
last, Let’s be realistic!"
Margaret Mayeda (trcshmciii':
“I test that it is better to do
something Doc ﬁve to protect.
oursclvcs. I don't fact, however.
that the building oI such Shela
tci-s will hampcr- thc ctfcrt toi-
peacc In addition. it is inlpol‘a
tant that at the same time our
govcrnmcnt kccp on working to
insure peace I don’t. tool that
digging a hole in the ground is
the only imswcr to the prob.
lem."
Charles Mayhiigli (ti-csliman
“My position on fallout shel-
tci-s is one o1 interested Indif-
icrcncc simply bccausc I don’t.
feel that I'm in a position to
make a choicc I am not rcspon:
Sible tor the atmospticrc that
the college provides for me
primarily because my parents
financially shouldci this lESpons

sibility Consequently the qucs-
tion about whether to havc tall—
out shcltcrs on‘ campus is
theirs."

Ted Moss (scuior):

"There sccnis to its little
chance at a localized war oi
any sort in this country that
would make a mum shelter
bone t. In the event at a
nuclear w. , as I understand
it, a large part oi the world
would he uninliabitablc tor
many years, tlicrciorc I have
no desire to exist in such a
world, as 1 am basically a
capitalist."

Miu'y Gne Porter (Senior):

“1 would be in favor of a fella
out shelter as a means of\pr6s
serving a society. but I fear that
such a policy is an extension of
the community oi‘ tear. It such
shelters arc to be built either
on or oil a college cainpu I
fscl that they should lac com-
munity shelters rather than
pi ivatc ones.

Academicdeiachmeniimplies social responsibi lily

by Mikc norwatt

This article is the sccoiid iii a
scrics on thc rcsponsibility ot'
thc acadcmic community to the
“outside" world.

Last week it was argued that
a socieL‘l's capacity to survive
rests upon its ability to accomr
modatc changing conditions. One
of thc ways in which socictics

‘ enable themselves to change is

through social criticism.

The process or- social change.
it was contended, is complicated
by the fact that societies are
reluctant to Cast,otf obsolete
means for achieving their ulti~
mate ands. .

The major reason for this
reluctance is that various indi-
viduals and groups within so~
cietics have stakes in the status
quo and are fear-tut of the con—
sequences of change. For exam-
ple, as modern capitalists began
to threaten the position of aris-
tccracies, aristocratic closse ate
tempted to halt the growth 0!
industrialism by preserving in»
stitutions incompatablc with
mechanization.

Our values. beliefs and opin-
ions about social problems
arc determined b_ a complex
at economic, sociological and
physical factors. Owing to this
fact, the chi ty of our per»
ception diminishcs as our in-
vulvcmcnt and commitment
inn-cases. As a result. the
prnbnhility of our bcing “0hr
jectivo” is reduced.

When wc find ourselves in-
volved in social problems, when
otir values, beliefs and interests
conic into conflict with oppos-
sing values, beliefs and interests,
Olll' tendency is to be defensive
side” World.

 

rauicr than open minded. Just
as wc judge others more harsh-
ly than we judge ourselves, wc
arc tar more sensitive to thc
“faults” of the opposition than
we are to our Own.

As a case in point, wc see in-
justice in the actions of other
nations more readily than we see
them in our own. When the
Soviets suppressed thc revolution
in Hungary, we judged the ac—
tion evil, When the United States
attempted to suppress revolu-
tion in Cuba, we saw an act_of

righteousness.

It all boils down to this:
truth becomes that which rec
cniorces our own values and
belicis. Falsehood is that which
contradicts them. It thus stands
to reason that the perspective
or various economic, social. and
political groups is limited. In.
deed, as the members at these
groups bccomc committed,
they act to limit themselves.
They read only magazines and
newspapers with which they
agree, listen to commentators
whose vicws are compatible
with their own.

One problem of a society is
to want to find rcliabtc inforilla»
tion about relevant social prob-
lems upon ,which to torm judg—
ments — information which .
not “propaganda". Anothc- is to
be able to find reliable infor—
mation.

This means that reliable crita
ics must be discovered and their
work must be acccssibtc to the
general public. By “reliable in-
formation", I mean material

which is not produced to sup-'

port the position of a particular
group, btit iatnci to captuie aca
tuality. Such intormation is mors
likely to come from the academic
community than from any
other sector oi the society.

The ocadcmician is less like-
ly to be blinded by economic
and political self-interest than
is, tor instance, the business
man. the labor leader or the
public polic awoken His ulti—
mate value is more likely to be
the good oi the wholc rather
than the good or a particular
group. His perspective tends to
he broader because he is ex»
posed to a wider gamut oi opiu—_
ions and richer sources of in” -
iormatiou. In a word, he is
much more likcly to see the
weakness in labor's position
than labor is. no is also much
more likely to see the strongth
at their position than manage-
ment is.

Owing to his relatively great-
er “detachment," he is more
likely to portray the real con-
flict. Often opposing groups
couch their power contlicts in
moral terms. Less restrained by
economic and political factors,
the acadciniciaii is both in a bet-
ter position to see the rcal’proh—
lem and set iortli his findings.

In View of the academic ch»
munty's unique vantage point,
and in light of the present sit—
uation in which the consequences
of public policy are so great, the
academic community has a re—

sponsibility to participate both
directly and indirectly in the
formation of public policy. One
or the ways it can do this is 1::
deal with pertinent. social prob—
lems and attempt to make its
findings available to the "out

 

and justice are the toundations
oi our society. without them
there would bo,cliaos and tlltia
matcly the destruction or our
system. The Abel—Powers ex
change has gauged a large
chink in this foundation, which
is now being strained to the
breaking point.

Peter Zwick
To the Editor:

I liad'lt intcidcd to open any
coiitiotci by m‘ lcttci oi
Feb. 2 (i ch appc d in last
week's Scarlet and Black), and
1m v - Ieluctant to be both—
cring on with another Continua
iiicaticn But pcrhaps I had be'is
tcr clari 1: my position, sincc it
was so Violently nilsl'epl‘escnts‘d
by Mr liciiclcrson (though I
don't incur to bl..iiic him Ioi
this as ho plainly liadnt i ad
my ﬁrst letter).

My posit ii, it I may state it
again, is simply that stridciits,
qua studcnts, should think, just
as plumbcrs, qua plumbers,
should plumb, mid iriwycrs. qua
lawyers, should p ctice law. I
didn’t. mean that ~tudsan should
think cightccn even eight
hours a day: it is surely ici-y

proper that they should divcrt
themselves by going to classes,
or playing tcn , or engaging
in campus pol ic or discuss:
iiig national politics. After all,
thinking is or. extraordinarily
dirticult occupation, and, irlicrc
it leads to truth, oftcn a pain.
iul one.

But it docs seem to me una
fortunate that at G inncll there
are so many socially respectable
pseud .iiitcllcctual rciugccs from
thinking, such as groups dealing
with political and international
problems.

There is Something pccullarly
dismal and repugnant to human
dignity in mass emotion mas~
ouciading as thought If those
groups think that I wrong them,
I can only suggest that while
thinking may ultiiiiatcl- result
in action. the clia actcrrstic ini—
mcdiatc results of thought arc
ldca~ not cottcc llours_ or mean-
mgtcs mountains or llllmeoa
graphed mush, or excursion
tours to the nation's capital.

May I add that i am not ino-
tivaled by any desire to elnu~
late the linbi . of the ostrich?

or iiiolc, if Mr. Smucker pre-
fe s lndccd. I am in favor or
thinking principally because it
is the only way to avoid li 'ng
like an ostrich, and burying
one’s head in the trivia of daily
events—or living like a mole.
who (in the manner of a new:-
paper columnist) blindly eat.
his way through the we kly dirt,
but leavcs behind him only a
tow sorry droppings.
Yours faithfully,

Benton Fox

To thc Editol:

As chairman of the Student
Government Association curric-
uiiini committee, I would ap-
prcciatc suggestions of the stu—
dent body on any of the {014
lowing topics:

1) The Junior

Exam.

2) Tim calendar
and the exam
particular

a) Any aspect of thc ciirrictr
lum,

it you should feel so moved.
please drop a note to me in Box
866. Thank you.

Torry Parssincii

Liberal Arts

in gcncrl.
pcricd in

 

