SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. April IS, ”A!

 

Scarlet and Black

GRINNELI. COLLEGE
Grinuell. lawn

A weekly newspaper publishzd each Friday or lhe bul-
lege year by the Gnunell columns: on Studznt Publica
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lob Hodlema
Hnmh‘l rusou
.Alan Axelmd
Mmhi lurIuy
Slevz uuszy
Aime l‘lmr
Paul nraalzy
Libby Plunwlil
suzy Wlll

nusmzss M En
ASSOCIATE EDH‘OK
CDPY EDITOR .

SPORTS miron
matron: :nrron .
EXCHANGE EDITOR
EDITOIIAL mam]
CIRCULATION MANAGE!

Student Ideas

Sunday afternoon we will inaugurate a new leader
for Grinnell. In his inaugural address President Glenn

Leggett will tell the college that it is time for a ”reaf»
firmation" of the sense of community and that any
break-down in communications that may have typified
Grinnell and other campuses in past years should now
come to an end. Leggett will say it is time for the stu—
dents, faculty, and administration to get together and
solve these problems.

In recent weeks we’ve had several occasions to talk
with President Leggett about the college community.
Most recently it has been with regard to our editorial
policy. Leggett seeks a more constructive policy from
the 58:3; he wants to see us making policy suggestions
for the college.

We’ve been reluctant to do this. We‘ve been more
willing to limit ourselves to a critical posture, offering
our opinions as particular cases arise. The reason we
have chosen this stand is that it has seemed to be more
effective for past editors. The record of willingness on
the part of the administration to react to student crit»
icism has been far better than their willingness to re—
act to new plan It is easier to dismiss as “impractical
at this time" a constructive proposal than it is to an-
swer a criticism of an existing but poorly working
policy,

It is our opinion that in recent years at Grinnell
the effect of any student-promoted proposal has been
little. The conflict that Leggett will speak of Sunday
has driven a wedge between students and administra-
tion that created on the part of the students a suspi~
Cious, hyper-critical attitude toward the administration.
We hope that when Leggett speaks of more and closer
work with students he means that the students’ opin—
ions will not only be sought more but considered more
than they have in the past.

If this proves to be the case, if President Leggett
can bring about a better working relationship with
the students then he will have accomplished a great
deal. But even with better working relations. the pri-
mary responsibility for creative leadership rests with
him. And while it is good to know that any constructive
and thoughtful proposals that students may present
are going to get fair attention, we think that it is likely
that students will continue to look toward the presi~
dent’s office for the new ideas that Grinnell needs.

And Student Praise

It’s not often that we take this space to applaud
an act by the administration. But this week I think
we’ve witnessed an unparalleled act of broad-mindness
on their part.

Thursday morning an art exhibit was hung in the
Forum. The exhibit was created by photographer Hen-
ry Wilhelm, co—editor of the Cyclone. A few of the pho-
tographs aroused a question of propriety in some cir-
cles. Some went so far as to have portions of the exhibit
removed. When confronted with this conflict, however,
the administration took a bold, strong, liberal, and high
ly enlightened position. They had the removed photo—
graphs replaced. It is a promising sign to see this alti~
tude on the part of the administration.

Doug McCormac

The Grudge Pot

i was quite enjoying my dinner last Friday,
having saved the plumpest Shrimp fur lasl.
when as I eased my lurk into the lender mor-
sel a muted scream violated the conviviality
of the, Quad. Piteous of some, as-yet-anohy‘
mous girl being frightened from he: meal, and
angered by the Wretch who would have dared
to do such a deed, I looked anxiously, bul with
sympathy ready in my deepvblue eyes. about
the table for that pale, tearrstn'cken, nauseous
grotesquely that — only seconds before — had
been the lace or a pure and Charming miss,

Much to my dismay, alas, I perceived only
empty chairs and slaie smoke arising lrom
cigarette butts, for my sometime, meal-time
companions had not shared my sensitivity to
the delicacy and complexity or victuals, nor
ever had known the necessity of slow gunman-
dizing.

Horrors! Behold - it must have been the
shrimp who had called out. Guiltily, secreA
lively cramming that daleclable little dainty
into my shirt pocket —- grease stains spreading
like ominous blots of sin — I hastened to the
privacy of my apartment, pulled the curtains,
and laid the battered crustacean upon my
desk. What perverse, primal manifestation
was this?

"Let it be known in lhe world," I heard the
shrimp say, solemnly, puiulully, “that l was

filed in deep fat — mere Wesson Oil — as a
living Sacrifice lo artificiality and sham, The
greasy eruptions and violet pits that decorale
your youths’ faces are the hideous signs or
the degradation to lollow."

“What can i do?" i asked, falling, lying
prostrate, grovelling, flapping my limbs in lu-
lilc abandon over my carpet (which is of a
miller expensive sort that cannot stand ma
much of such wear). “ls this lhe end? A pmg»
ress to nonexistence, a twelve-line sonnet, a
race where the, horses gallop off into invisi-
bility, non-nuclear devastation and annihilation.
a meaningless hollow silent scream — is this
civilization?"

“Tell lhe world," said the shrimp.

“Tell them what? What?"

But my roommate, proud, haughty. dis-
dainlul and free, strode past the trembling
posture of my body and lilled that plump
shrimp in his lips and in two bites devoured
it.

I awaited the carbuncles and boils to seep
from his pores like dirt from the end of a
worm, but he only smiled and asked me why
1 was sleeping nu me hard llovr. 0h, bitter dis-
illusionment! False tale! What a promiscuous
whore you are. Before the mirror, I saw the
small red head at a pimple assert itseli upon
the whileness or my face,

 

 

Letters . . .

S. C. Problem

To the L Im‘:

“We've given up the lhoughl as doing any
lhlhg about the South Campus Problem,” ad-
vised President Glenn Leggett last January
(5&3 Jan. 21). Holy intellectualism, Batman,
there is a South Campus Problem! And i:
would seem by implication that it musl be
worse lhan the North Campus Problem, be
impossible lo define. and more rampant if the
President, the student deans, the Ad Hoc
Committee, the Executive Council. the Faculv
iy Committee on Student Affairs, the AWS
Board, the Cofl-IP, and the Senate huve joini-
ly thrown in the towel. Never let it be said.
lhough, that the men of North Campus
can 0ilt~pl0l>lEm the women or Soulh Campus
because we have the right lu have jusl as
many problems at the same magnitude_as the
other end of the campus does. in the light of
unequal publicily, South Campus has been
grossly overlooked when we indeed have our
own problems.

We feel that the SCP does not primarily
stem from the present hall System. but rather
largely as a result hi the bases of many fe-
male relallollslllpsnThese bases Consxst maln-
ly of unwrilten reciprocity agreements among
women to promote each otliei"s boyfriends
and sacondly, a guarantee oi companionship
because few of us enjoy Sitting alone on a
(lawless Saturday night. Consequently. a
group of girls congregate wallowing in Com-
munal sellvpity instead of attempting lo ex-
plore the mean' gtul possibilities of inter-
female relalio s, Women don’t seek Out
other women expressly im- lhese ends. but
what good are “cool" boyfriends and other
such status Symbols without other women
around? This type of relationship arises (mm
the unavailability or reluctance of |hnse
versed in other topics of conversation to en-
courage ihlelleclual enthusiasm.

These slalemehis, we believe, generally re-
fleet |he attitudes oi the less mature — re-
gardlcss Df age or classification. Freshmen

can beneiil imm living experiences derived
mm a heterogeneous group or uppeuclass
women; conversely, upperclnss women can
benefit from the genuine intellectual zeal ex~
hibitcd by some freshmen which can as st
us in defining our goals, Separating lresh.
men women wilh access only to selecled up»
pcl‘class women would deny them accessglo
a \lidcl', nlﬂl'e diver ilied group — assuming
that lliere is diversification in numbers at
Grinnell. riom olll' experience, freshmen wo~
men’s halls have stunted most forms of in
uivulual growth and have lailed to produce
anything beyond superficial trivia which most
of us remember as freshlne lsn'l him a
more realistic picture bl anli- lclleclualism
on soulu Campus? We have youthful imper-
leciious, and we breed trivia and anlirlnlel»

i l

lectunlism by permitting these forces to re-
place informal exchanges of ideas. Optimism
cally, the mature college woman allows her-
self I healthy amount of trivia and escapism
but also realizes that the importance of at
taining Ind ﬁaintuining outlets for outside
of class intellectual stimulation. Some fresh-
man women can achieve this without living
experiences wilh upperclass women, but whv
compound lhe already prevalent by isolating
ireshmen women geographically? Why iso-
late upperclass women from the many cun-
sti‘uctlve freshmen influences?

Anti-intellectualism on South Campus, as
we have defined it, is more than a reaction
against Icademic pressure. It flourishes and
proliferales in an environment which affirms
consistent banalities. Amidnlellectua 5m,
then, is the absence of much of the potential
meaning accessible to intelligent persons. lil-
stead of altering the hall system, each one
should decide Whether we want to continue
supporting trivia, which can discourage fresh-
men, or be of some Value to them.

’l‘romonveutm
La Celestina
B. All):

Mother's Advice

ED. NOTE: The following is a Letter
sent to a Gi'illnell coed by her Mother.
Tile daughter asked to have it re-pl‘illtcd.

That powerful emotion you described as
“Ieeling horny" is the dark, potent, whirlwind
force of the unconscious. And your whole liie
depends on what you do with it. It must be
used. ll will not be suppressed. It can be
drained on somewhat by piecemeal satisfac-
lions — sex. “kicks," physically exhausting
exercise 7 the whole range that the Greeks
provided [or in the Dionysian rites — but u 13
hot ilseli a need for any of these things. It
is the creative energy of the universe. our
drive, even, is immortality. It has no morality
of its own—only . power lo express, a restless
seeking to fulfill. it we feel it strongly, dear
heart, we must find something big enough to
work at, that is worthy of his power. For ii
We do not give il meaning and threw
tioli u will turn on us and destroy us, or
we will spend a picirul life merely trying lo
drain it off. You have this creative energy and
power very strongly, dear Daughter, uud you
will iiud a work lo du that harnesses it, Ind
turns it to creation, to beauty, to love.

But it is more universal than the kind of
love you can express for one person 7 lo
pmli‘ all that energy illla one person would
overwhelm and destroy the poor guy!

N0 — it is something far hevond that,
Something we share with God — or at least,
something fundamental to the universe which
we can use with God’s help lo share in Ills
cl'ealivo lile.

 

