 

ScarletL and

Black

GRINNELL COLLEGE
Grinnell. Iowa

at weekly oewsnrner published each riidin- ot the college
~ bv the manner: Commune on Student pubilonuom, r,

n
as
iiseii Are.

a). the rest more at

rt or March a.

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, lleiues nell ini-
seiiite

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'eiv

Jim Hatﬁeld
George nllcl:
. smi
t.n..lin
R-rhlltl ohlemeivr
Jini llolllnln
sire Wallil 5
.lim amen
n, ilolieils
sell ineptei
aldiiie llnnnev

 

osophy logically fac
lbecome
your minds and enlpty tlle Wallet

which I
present hours regulations (and associated policies Such as
out procedure and
unrealistic. and
need for some introduction of flexibility illto tlle present
system. Here is what I propose:

ofﬂeampus big;
room

dent as is now tlle c:

room dools. Tlle present
assumption that women might d
they had privacy, is insulting. In
he allowed to protect themselves from thierel’y which ex,
ists ill all colleges and one of which Grinnell women not
infrequently complain.

Further llexibilitv can nlw.
es which are abused can illway

All letters to the Editor written tor publication in the Scarlet
and Bloch must be typed and do ble spaced. No unsigned letters

will be printed. llnwever. writei
iequest. The 3&5 reserves the r

names will be withheld upon
ht to shorten any letter.

‘Nous' shaky

Old philosophy maga7ines never die, they just Iade

non-being.

Mo 'ng subscribers. This

into the lnetaphy cal void. Grinnell's NOUS. the lively
and lone (America's only) undergraduate journal of Dllll‘
unless Unmoved students

is a broad hint. Open
(it‘s causal).

Larry Smucker
8&3 Managing Editor

A new hours policy

Opinion on women’s hours at Grinnell seems to fall

into three eliteg'olie

FIRST. there are those wllo

How
and Black poll,
(lent body. indi

nswered by H
ated tllat S]

favor abolitioll. Second.

there are tllose who seem satisfied with the status quo.
Thi d. there are tllose who do not favor abolition but ask
the introduction of some Flexibility into present regula-
lions.
inany studentsfavot- abolition? The Scarlet

per cent of the stu<

women and Lil lnen do.

These students represent a little less than one quarter

of Grinnell's present enrollment.

The total of students who seem to be satisfied with

logically be labeled either

”Satis ed”
About 20 per cent a; the poll respondents i 73 men and
32 women —- indicated that they are opposed to the
most moderate change suggested
llaire: allowing women to have
nights of extended houls ez
dents also seem to stand for the status quo.

tile status (1th is considerably larger There are the more
than 600 who did not answer the

B poll and who can
or “indifferent."

on the 5&1} t1uestion~
three or four optional

-h month. These 100 or so stu—

HOWEVER. nearly 400 students 7 218 men and 170

women — responded taro bly to
proposal. More than one-third of
nell. then. definitely furor some change.

the "optional extension”
those enrolled at Grill-

Two weeks ago the abolitionists had lny support. Now

I look upon such a more as ideal,
impractical. The fact that less than 20 per cent of all Grin-
llell women indicated that they favor abolition cannot be
disregarded.
policy have at least one undebatable argument: that the
college is re:. onsihle for the safety ol' its students.

And those who

argue

but, both unpopular and

against: a “Cell ours

But while I feel that Grinnell is not now ready
for abolition of hours. I certainly agree with those

students who favor a change.

legulatiolls are admittedly necessary. The complaint

and many students

doors”) are

have

is this: that the

no locks on women's
unllSt. ’lllere is a

FIRST. I suggest that women be allowed ten hours

per month to be used as hours
doses of two hours each. This seems to me to be all Elder
(plate allowanceil'or trial purposes at leasti or “speci 1
occasions.” In addition, such an optional
would provide a most important opportunlt
regulation of hours Such a policy- would constitute added
‘bookworli and later hours for the night checker (who
should, by the way, certainly be an adult and not a stu<
e). But the inconvenience would
well be worth the increased sense of freedom which the
extension policy would give Grinnell women.

extensions ill in lnlllll

Vtellslon policy
for personal

Second, I Suggest that the policy of room and ball
confinement be virtually eliminated. The penalty for

tardin e.

could be loss of one two-hour “tension. Loss

of all five extensions could then be followed by com

finement.

Third I suggest that locks be provided for women’s

‘no loc

poli '. based on the
ill: or entertain men if
addition. women should

I am convinced that my suggestionsior similar sub-

Jim

stitutes # ought to be adopted on at least a trial basi
ys be reduced. And any Chang
be rescinded.

Hatfield

5&1; Editor

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. November 2. I962

Reject, relax rules say readers to
cries of parent letter - writers

Parents favor regs;
doubt looser morals

3321 Marquetle Avenue
Dallas 25, Texas
Oetober 29, 1962

To the Editor:

We too are “parent reader
We read with interest the letter
in a recent sun or S&B in
which a number or students, in-
eluding our daughtcl colnlncntr
ed on eged ovei estratnt by
the college administration in
some areas and under-restraint
in othe s.

we CAN'T AGREE with the
suggestion implicit in the letter
that hours regulations in the
girls‘ dormitories should be su-
spended. irrespective oi how
properly most oi the girls might
regulate their owll hours, the
college itself would doubtless be
considered remiss in its respon-
sibilities if some untoward in.
cident should oeeiir.

Nevertheless the students‘
letter itsell seemed to us to
he a perfectly legitimate ev—
pression of opinion. and ene
tirely appropriate in the intel-
leetnally iree environment
which we hope Grinnell will
continue to lie.

On the other hand the subse-
quently published reaction of
the anoymous “Parent readers"
we find highly ot‘l'clistve — most

'lcularly the S(‘Ul‘lllo|l$ in-

“Why else do you want to
the hours but for ‘free

A NUMBER or other reasons
tor ndroeallng a relaxation or
hon might occur to the less
pi-uiient imagination. Some of
us, for instance. can look back
to our own collegiate years and
remember such relativeiy non-
Corrupt cmoytllent of unregh
merited time as a simple delight
in continuing to gab at 2 am.
while‘ the dtlllards sleptieren
though nine nights out oi ten
we ourselves were among the
dilllal'ds

M and Mrs. John F. Drake

l2 a.m. doesn't
define morality

To the Editor:
.1 have been rollowing with
some disappointment the letters
concerning the issue of the'alJol—
ition oi women‘s hours Although
there has been a lot or discus.
sion on campus. tow students
have had their ileiis published
The parellls' eomnienls show a
I: at coretul analysis ._ ap-
parently due to old pe nal
preyudices which prevent
thought.

PARENTS HAVE claimed that
abolition of women's hours
would lead to a decrease in
morality. health. grade points.
and even the .rellege‘s reputae
lion. as it there \ some causal
relulionship invoicd. This is a
valid argument for women's
choosing to be in by midnight.
but it is not a valid argument
for requ’ring women to be in at
u speril lime, Parents do not
understand the issue in the the
way as students understand it.

't parents on eems to
ie of providing time
loi- free lore. The fact .
someone said, that "a ytlling
thal run he done .ettei- midnight
can be done betore midnight"
To most students who are eon-
eerned. the i sue is .1 mutter or
principle Are Grinnell students
inaluie enough lo regulule their
own lives? it not. are Grinnell
students mature enough to learn
to regulate their 0\\‘l\ live Ally
student who isn't yet mature
enough to slarl lenining soc l
responsibility might us well \
up and go back to [he womb.
i believe that most Grinnell
students are already lnalllle

. Viduiil.

enough to take care of theme
selves — il women’s hours ivcie
aboli hcd most women would re
turn to [hair dorm not more
thou hall an hour later than the
present cur-tow, anyway. Oceasr
ionnlly some rebel might stay
out all night. but as an lntelllr
pent human being she has a

ight to make such a choice l
repeat: “anything that can be
done alter midnight can be done
beloi-e midnight” The signlt'i»
cunt result oi the abolition or
women's hours would be to in-
eiease the students‘ sense or
responsibility by recognizing
them as maturing young Cltl»
Zens, and no longer as over»
grown children.

1 RECOMMEND suspending
curtew hours tor a trial period
oi one month. A student-faculty
committee would evaluate the
results of the experiment. and
report to the college administra-
tion. in order to make the ex-
pel'ilnent. semi-seientitie, per-
llaps the sociology department
would conduct a survey to der
teimiiie it the virginity rate had
decreased signiiieuntly.

Bill Farthing

Maturity. not
puni+ive rule

To the Editor:

What is maturity? On :1 Cole
lege campus. there are two as
pects of maturity; academic and
soeialrinterpersonal. There is lit
lle question about the degree of
academic and intellectual proﬁ-
ciency. responsibility, and free-
donl which has been achieved
here. This state or anal . while
heartening in itself. provides
one side or a rather drastic con
trast at Grinnell. We reter to
the unduly restrictive social rage
ulallons placed upon the female
students.

An individual cannot attain
personal standards or behavior-
and a personal ethic when her
actions are controlled by an
nrbitrllrlly designed punitive
system. The process or “gl'OWr
ing up" and becoming mature
necessarily in ‘olvcs the ability
to make decisions for oneself.
This ability u I not be actual»
ized i the girls are denied
the right to Ilse their own
judgment. A college girl. ii
she is considered mature.
should be trusted on all levels
or behavior. It is hoped that
her powers oi judgment are
developing They should not be

'lllled hy unnecessary regu-
ll ion, but rather should lie
:illoucd to grow in an atmose
phere of freedom and personal
integrity.

An atmosphere or more per-
sonal responsibility and self-
cohtrol is a goal to be sought
Before coming to Grinnell. the
student should have reached.
through parental and institution-
al training. a degree of nlaltllity
sunicient to prepare her lo start
making lievown decisions. In the
light of the school's demands
upon the individual academic
responsibility ol the student. how
can it deny to this some st
dent personal social l'esponsibi
ity? Do they not go hand in
hand? Relaxation of authoritar»
ion control is :1 means to great-
er maturity and self-control,
which at one time or another.
must be attained by every indie
Why should the Grinv
nell girl be forced to {are this
important phase of growth att-
er graduation? Is she not ready
to do so while in eoll'ege- Grin»
nell College has reached the
evolutionary stage where the
development ol a knowledgeable.
tully mature. sell-slinieienl pe -
son should become the eve ll
gool or the college experience.
Th diﬁicull under
present conditions.

THE PARENTS who wrote up-
pos the proposed abolition of
womens hours base their pro-
tests on the "moral laxtty" and

“free love" likely to ensue if
such action were carried out. it
is our contention that these
well-meaning parents are incr l-
inating themselves by implying
that they have not brought up
their children to be able to cope
With the responsibility of sell-
discipline

In conclusion. a general et-
inosphcre of freedom on our
campus is to be desired. Cer-
tainly. we would grow. become
more mature and healthy, and
our college experience would
be more complete The contrast
between soeinl restrictivene
and academic freedom would di-
ininish and Grinnell could be
come the school to which it
aspll‘cs.

Jim rronir
Phil King

Cowleslioos deny ‘
freedom of speech

To the Editor:

Several evenings ago when the
headwaiter at Cowles started to
read an announcement about an
emergency meeting ot the Grin»
nell Student Peace Group. he
was drowned out by a large
amount of hissing and booing.

BECAUSE of this hissing and
booing. i doubt that anybody in
the dining room was able to un-
dcrsland the announcement.

Although 1 am not a mem—
ber of the Grinnell sru, the
type or behavior exhibited by
the men oi Grinnell College in
(ll-owning out this announce-
ment disturbs me greatly.

To me this type of behavior
brings pictures into my mind of
the kind oi tactics used by ene-
mies oi democracy and free
speech everywhere when they
shout down people opposed to
them so that these people can—
not be heard.

Ralph Craft

Alternatives
now debated

To the Editor:

As an intelligent parent said
in his contribution to the Scarlet
and Black. “the question of the
regulation of \ronlen's hours. is

no simple do-you-don‘t-youeap
prove matter. however it may
appear on the sin-race." My chief
concern is with impressing this
fact upon the parents, especially
ii the letters whirh we have
been reading are representative
of their collective opinion. 1 hope
simply to present some of the
alternatives to the ideas they
have expressed, not to eoni'nre
them or the wisdom of a partied
ler position on the issue.
runnars THE eaSlest to an-
swer or the questions ralsed is
"Why else do you want to rela
the hours but ior ‘free love.
There are monv reasons. some
or the most concrete or which
are: to be able lo attend spe-
clal events in Des Moines or
loivu City without having to
leave beloi-e the end or to drive
back. perhaps at dangerous
speeds, under the pressure oi an
approaching zero hour: to be
able to stay for the end of the
film at the Strand in Grinnell:
or to continue a stimulating d .
eussion ol' the Cuban crisis in
the Union. ~

Les tangible. but considered
important by many. is the psy-
chologlcal pressure exerted by
Main hall clock on the minds or
women somewhere outside the
door as the hour approaches. it
is not the tact that we are ex-
posted in around twelve but [he
fact that we must be in exactly
hy twelve that is opposed by
some oi us.

Now to the mechanics of the
operation. were there no hours
That “no houis at the wonie
dorms would mean no reslri
tions at all on be being

(Cont, to 1). 3. ('01. 1)

in

 

