SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. October 5, l962

 

 

Scariei and Black

GRINNELL COLLEGE
Grinnell, law:

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The Oxford lilisis

lime. . .

You can’t learn much about the problem of integra
tion rs. segregation by talking to people from Dubuque
and Minneapolis.

That's why I went Monday to the campus of the
University of Mississippi. There I was successful ill ob-
taining some Natchez-Hulltsvllle-B’lobile viewpoints. Here
is something of what I learned about the Mississippi cri s
and the general Southern attitude toward the question of
equality of races ill education:

THE GENERAL attitude of the students and faculty
is one of embarassment over the violence alld a feeling of
resentment of Northern interference into “our problem."
Any other attempts to describe tlle attitude of the Oxford
campus community need to be prefaced witll “some stu-
dents,” or ”some faculty.”

Some students I tallied with were obviously pro-segu
legationist and were proud of Others were largely inv
different expressing only conrern at the interruption of
their studies and social life.

ANY I’RO-INTEGRATIONIS’I‘ views were kept well
hidden. Mississipppi is not the kind of school you go to
if you are all ardent pro-l'lltegrationist.

I asked the editor of the Daily Mississipian wllat edir
torial stand she was taking ill regard to the whole situa-
tion. She said she is ill 'lng students to eschew Violence. I
(rueried her on her personal stand on integration and she
declined to answer.

The phenomena. most difficult for me to under-
stand and, I suppose. for most other Northern stu<
dents, is the apparent ease and nonchalance with
which many Southerners rationalize seeing-alien. It’s
as if there never really were any question about it:
“Meredith is a Negro and he’s entitled to his educa-
tion but I’d just as soon he got it elsewhere.” That‘s
the quite mattel f-fact thing you'd hear from many
honest and stir ghtvtllinking Southerners.

Integration will come to Missi sippi because it is the
law of the land. It will havehard traveling because, un-
fortunately, laws often don’t respect local attitudes.

In all respects, the best thing we at Grinnell can do
is try to understand — and wait.

. . . leadership

One person can be held largely responsible for the
\‘iolellce at Oxford: Gov. loss Barnett. V

He could himself have carried out the Federal Court
ruling that Negro James Meredith be enrolled at Ole
Miss, Had he dolle this—perhaps appealing the decision if
Ile felt so inclined—but, ill al case, seeing that the ruling
was carried out peaceably, there would have been no need
for US. marshals or troops.

Barnett could have handled possible agitation
arising from Meredith‘s enrolling with state troop-
ers—but he didn’t. Instead, in an obviously politically
motivated move, he stood against the ruling thus r-
ing local and regional racist blood.

What was done by the Federal Government had to
he done. The Justice Department acted with great consid-
eration and discretion. Call it Northern interference or
whatever, the move was necessary because integration will
not come of itself ill Mississippi — not as long as there

are leaders like Barnett.

.liln Hatfield

'l-lei‘ﬁe/o’ scandal sheet' [lit
for panning preppers at play

To the Editor:

We think that the changes
and innovations that Prcsklcnl
Bowen has proposed [or the col-
legc are cxccllcm, l—lcwcvcr. we
lccl that ii lhcsc ideas are to
be at all cu'ccuvc, n radical
changc in the lypc pl student at
Grinnell must take place. It
sccms obvious to us that a large
portion, if not the majority. of
the students are immature both
personally and in inter-student
relations, and are unable, or at
least unwilling. to lake theme
solves in hand,

Thc recent outbreak of prep-
ping incidents demonstrates this
point vcry well, as do the war
tel' ﬁghts mentioned in last
week’s 5&1: in the letter by
Howard Dunn and Craig Hen»
derson; lulking in the library.
locking the Quadrangle doors,
and innumerable other ridicw
Ions stunts and attitudes.

Thc childish attitudes of the
students are indeed appalling,
But we feel that ncl only are
these attitudes not being dis»
couraged by the administration,
but are fostered by the petty
regulations that are imposed in
some instances and the excessive
hands—pa policy in clhers.

The administration is neces
sarily a guiding hand to student
government. But the emphasis
is tragically misplaced. we are
told, for example, that as col<
legs students we are mature in-
dividuals, but are at the same
time required to have our doors
open during open~open dorms.
Can the administration expect us
to act like adults if we are cone
stantly being told that we are
naughty children who are 1an
able to look nflcr ourselves?

0n north campus it is pos-
sible to ﬂagrantly break rules
with very little concrete action
by the administration. Such
incidents in past years as the
Terry Bisson aﬁair and the
1960 Boar‘s Head dinner, and
this year, last week’s prepping
stunts demonstrate the wny in
which oiienders get oﬁ very
lightly at the hands 0! other
students.

South campus, on the other
hand, is subiected to ridiculous
rules which require girls to be
dcpcnclcnt and unimaginative. It
is aSsleed that the girls are too
immature to decide (or them-
sclvcs when to come in at night,
Wilh no locks on the doors,
there is little chance for real
privacy. It is not uncommon to
have one's private aﬁall‘s and
habits challenged by the Dean
of Women, Women can literally
be held priscncr for infractions
of rules.

The existence of freshman
dorms and discouragement of
oil-campus housing also discouiu
age initiative. Most of the dorms.
particularly the freshman dorms
offer a very poor atmosphere
for serious intellectual endeavo s.

SOME OF THE women advo-
cate lhe rules imposed on them
from above on the erounds that
they could not discipline them-
selves into obeying rules set up
by their own consciences or
schedules But cotild these ,
disClpline themselves enough to
work on long range projects
lather than daily assignments?
if the students do not learn to
lake on l-espomlbilily in college.
will they be able to cope with
it al'ler graduation? The college
should encourage independence
and initiative. not squelch it

The problem would seem to
bc that cvcrly lenient action is
lpkcn against the reallv trouble»
some and childish oﬁ'endersAlhe
prcppcrs and other clicnd
while real restrictions are placed
in the way of those who would
wish in utilize the‘ independ—
ence and self-discipline in more
important ways.

if the students

5,

prescnuy at

Grinncll are in fact unable or
remain unwilling to maturely
look utter themselves and accept
independence and responsibility,
the President's proposals should
not be put into eiiecl for several
years. in the interim, the rules
policy should be such as to env
courage students who show
pl'omlse ci learning to accept the
role of sensible adults

Nicholas nickcn
Toby Paﬂ'
Marion Drake
Donna Cunningham
John IVlorris
Tcrry Rosenicldcr
Carol Wayne
Betsy Murray
Margaret Brewer
Marie Sippoln
Robert Metcalf

To the editor:

Sometimes, in prdcr to make
a great stride forward, it is
necessary first in take u small
step backward This is the case
with the me! . Freshmen Orienc
tatlon Program. It is perhaps
humiliating to a freshman in
be told, “You are an umelette—
now get in lhe pan and lr "
But in demonstrating the orig-
inalily required to try like an
omelette. he not only can feel
respect for himsell, but also has
earned the respect and pinup-n—
tioli oi his hall mates.

Freshman students undergo-
ing “prepping" are not uskel
to take it like so many stalks
cl overcooked asparagus. They
are expected to use their wits
and figure out some clever lprm
of retaliation. This is one oi
the purposes of the prcgrnm. it
encourages the men to think for
themselves, which they have
had little opportunity to up.
College |S the place where they
bcgin to bc on their own 7 to
be lorccd to Come up with some
tions—and the circulation pro-
gram is part of college.

The program also serves to
ccmcnl iiicnrlships and form a
feeling bl camaraderie, The best
way to solidify grcup clcscness
is to put the individuals to
wolk solving a problem requil
ing cvcrycnc’s assistance. This
group reeling is important both
now and in later lite. Knowing
how to gcl along in a group
situation will hold these men in
good steeds.

The [act that individual re-
spect should be a fundamental
plillciple of lil'c cannot be de-
nlcci. But we musl all relux and
lealn not to take ourselves so
scr-iously, There will bc many
times when this carefully nur—
tnrcd respect will be dealt some
hard blows, And sometimes the
only way to roll with the punch
will lie in the ability not to
take onesell‘ scriou onen, a
rucrul laugh at one' nwn ex-
pcnsrz is the first step to adjust
ment, The man who Will not
laugh at himself may find others
inugning at him.

Andy Hand

To the Editor:

in view of the discussion raise
ed about north campus orienta-
tion programs in last 5
5&3 and my close obser ion
of these prcgrnms, i feel quali-
ﬁed to comment on the traditiolv
alism of the CprP.

ln Langnn, there is no prep-
ping or any orientation program
at all, for that matter. Oul‘ ap-
proach was premised on the mar
turity and personal initiative of
her students and upperclassmen
alike. It has pl'oven successful.

The Langan cnumplc would
seem to indicate that prepping
is not necessary to “integrate"
new students into the hall sys-
tem. Anyone expressing the Con-
tra ‘ mercly seeking 'ustiﬁca-
tion for his own “kic '

Peter 2. siiydcr
Langnn linn President

To the Editor:

It is a well cslablishccl tact.
that, due in publishing problems,
the newsprint used by the s &B
is of inferior qualily and yel-
lows quickly with age. There
certainly seems to be little need
to aggravate this condition with
bad editorial policy. Granted a
newspaper is obligated to take
a stand on Certain controversial
issues. The type of intense per-
sollal campaign witnessed in last
week's critique on prcppmg is
much more than taking a stand.

1 AM sun that Mr. Hatﬁeld
derives great personal satlstacV
tlou in carrying on his private
crusade, but what about his reA
sponslblllty to the college and
his tellow suidenlsi Not that
we are not all guilty of this air
fense. Too many Grinnellians are
willing to shrug it on. falling to
present their views in lieu of
academic pressure or general
complacency. Be that as it may,
it would seem that a newspaper
ought to present both sides amt
if it chooses to approach an is-
sue lrom only one slandpoint.
as is so often the case with our
5&3, the least it can do is to
present its case in a scrupulous
manner. The gross misrepresen-
tatlon apparent in last week’s
issue is appalling.

We must remember that this
is THE GRINNELL COLLEGE
SCARLET AND BLACK, not
Jim Hatﬁeld's scandal sheet. Ad-
ditional criticism would have
litile effect other than to antag-
onize our editor further, and
who knows what lhnl would
initiate.

For the beneﬁt‘ of the some
2,000 parents, faculty. alumni
and iricnds oi the college who
read the 5&3 each week, l
would like to give a factual re‘
pcrl concerning the prepping is-
sue. To someone outside lhe col-
lege it certainly must seem that
the majority of our editors is
is against prepping. This is a
far cry from the truth. While
the maiorily of our editors are
not in favor of prepping, it is
a fact that each prepping “stunt"
is discussed at house meetings
or in house council and voted
on.

lN EACH case a majority is
required for passage, which
means that a majority or the
Grinnell students are in favor
of the events or the past few
weeks, After reading Mr. Hat-
ﬁeld's details of the Ncrlhclcrk
prep exchange one is led to be
lieve that it was a malicious
stunt that intimidated the {resin
men,

in truth. though the stunt was
proposed by upperclassmen, the
freshmen were consulted and
given a chance to withdraw, It
wasa freshman activity in which
only freshmen participated.

Let it be known that there
are many pl us involved in this
academic rat race who are not
against prepping, but are whole-
heartedly in lavor. Prepping pro—
vides an emotional and physical
outlet that is sorely lacking on
this campus, Perhaps it is best
summed up by a freshman who
said. “I ﬁnd pl‘epping‘ a genuine
beneﬁt in bolb the upperclass—
men and the freshmen. Prep-
ping offer us (freshmenl one of
the few opportunities to escape
the facade of this intellectual
community and get in know
our fellows as people: besides.
it is a heck pl a lot of just
plain fun."

ll eventually all such things
as prepping and the hall system
are done away whh and Grim
ncll becomes the type of sterile
academic community proposed
by some. wiLl this bc the kind
or institution where you would
send your children or that you
would want to help ﬁnancially?

You be the judge!

Jon Larson

 

