Scarlet and Black

GRINNELL COLLEGI
Grinnell. lowu

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Lynn Deuzler
Jim Molnryr:

.lonn wolf

ann Ynst’

. Susan lelor

. Cymhln arusl

sunny King. Rum Unruh
Tom Harunen

Ann shuwnlfer. Nancy oromko,
Pum Clny, Susun Gelber

.. . ,. Steve Casey. Kenton Clymer
Dick Lovell, Nlck Nnnas, pm: Trlgg

nuslNEss MANAGER
MANAGING Environ
com! rprron

NEWS EDlTUR
mums EDITOR
seonrs rolrons
HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
NEWS ncronrcns ,

spears neronrrns ,.

Calendar "Commitmen’rs"

Those who must plan the college social program each
year invariably face the demands of different campus fac-
tions, each supporting its own plan for guiding the students’
socio-cultural existence and each with a calendar of events
that it deems appropriate and necessary. The student com-
mittee and its coordinators, chosen especially to plan the

‘ weekend schedule of events on campus, spend hours and
hours juggling dates and features, hoping to come out with
a satisfactory program that will be beneficial to all students
and one which will be acceptable to each faction involved,
Presently, the Social Coordinating Committee finds itself in
In operational dilemma —- the result of an apparent existing
“policy" of blocking weekend programs.

Specifically, we would cite this weekend as a classic ex-
ample. The music department, in opening the Lenox Quartet
fall concert series, deemed the event important enough to
be “all campus” and for all practical purposes blocked the
calendar by forbidding the social personnel to schedule
any event opposite the Saturday night concert. Yet, this “all-
campus” event, which is scheduled for a single performance
Ind which has been announced as open to the public, will he
presented in Roberts Theatre, which has an audience capacity
of 467 people. With all due respect to the music department
and the recognized value of its programs, we must point out
that for its personnel to assume to block the entire Saturday
evening for a program that not even half the student body can
feasibly attend is ridiculous.

The operational dilemma mentioned earlier comes from
the question of just what the policy for calendar commitment
should be and just what constitutes an all-campus event, In
the years before President Bowen, blocking was considered
the thing to do to the weekend calendar. An event scheduled
for Saturday night took exclusive rights to that night and the
student choice of what to attend was limited to one.

Dr. Bowen, however, was opposed to “all-campus" block-
ing of events, except for those accessible by the entire campus
and favored by student wants, e.g. Odetta concert, Brothers
Four Concert. During the Bowen years the campus calendar
was more fluid than now — students found themselves with
several weekend events to choose from. The social program
was rich and varied. We would hate to see, during this interim
period in administration, a return to the old policy of block-
ing and the calendar limitations it would pose.

It is time for a definite policy of competitive allowance
on campus. The narrow-minded individual who can see only
his department and his performer should not be allowed to
intimidate the student social planners nor subject each stu-
dent to attend his event simply “because there wasn’t any-
thing else to do,"

We would suggest that the student social committee,
along with its adult supervisors, be given ultimate control of
the weekend calendar situation, and that they not only pre-
sent to the student body some baSlc policy objectives, but that
they work on finding out, via polls and personal contact, just
what the students want in their social program and just what
can be termed an “all-campus" event according to student
preference. As long as it is student money being spent, let
the investors have some say about the merchandise..And let’s
not limit the customers to just one brand name.

 

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. October 9. I964

Letters to the Editor
‘Sad Freshman Don't Be Mad: We're lust Youlhful'

Dear Editor:

I am indebted to Master A.
Sad Freshman for his profound
analysis of upperolassmen’s
attitudes. I was unaware of the
immaturity on campus. I was
so moved by his plea that I
offer this letter as a “service to
my fellowmen."

This sad freshman dubs our
campus as being immature; I
characterize it as being youthr
ful. Those things he criticizes
are not really irresponsible
acts but merely innocent exub-

erances. For example, he con-
demns the prepping program as
lacking service and social re-
sponsibility. Through the pro-
gram the freshman is first in—
troduced to his upperclass hall—
mates. This is their finest hour.
Out of this and other aspects of
the hall system grows a life-
long camaraderie. Are we to
upset this noble tradition which
has worked so well in the past?
The answer is obvious.

Let us consider some of the
specifics of the program. Cal»

 

Student Requests Reprint of Article

The following is from an
article by Dr. John A. Logan
jr. president of Hollins Col-
lege, Virginia in the Hollins
College Bulletin. It appeared
in the Des Moines Register on
Monday, Sept. 14, and ap-
pears here at the requested a,
,Grinnell student.

Almost every college admin»
istration reports increasing
pressure from students to re-
lax rules and regulations on
smoking, drinking, cars, visit-
ing hours and curiews. while
the whole question of how far
the college should act in loco
parentls has been the subject
of heated debate.

Tremors from these seismic
disturbances have reached Hol-
lins in the form of a Wide-
spread concern about the effic-
acy of the honor system.

It seems to be generally con-
ceded that infractions of the
rules go unreported and there-
fore unpunished, and that there
is a general disinclination to
tell on anyone else, to be one's
sister’s keeper.

I have heard it argued that
obedience to the letter and
spirit of the honor code should
be a matter of individual con-
science only, not a matter of
corporate responsibility. Pre-
sumably, if an individual does
not agree with a rule or with
the system no one else ought
to enforce it on her.

Any system which leaves it
up to every individual to de-
cide whether a rule is just or
unjust is no system at all, but
anarchy.

An honor system differs from
any other regulatory mechan-
ism only ln the mode of en
forcement. It is enforced by
the subjects themselves rath-
er than by external authority.

The concept of honor grew
out of the medieval code of
chivalry in a steeply hierarch-
ical society. and the essence of
honor was the notion of an ob—
ligation to one's class or caste
not to bring disgrace upon oth-
ers by improper behavior.

It may be that, in the kind of
democracy that has evolved in
this country, such a sense of
corporate responsibility is an
anachronism. I do not believe
this is necessarily true, but I
do think tihat some conflict
exists between certain contemv
porary currents in American
democratic thought and prac-
tice and the idea of a self
enforcing honor code.

“has the same potential,

 

At the center of this problem
is the generally sorry condition
of the American family as a
focus of moral authority.

Haunted by ill-digested Freu-
dian strictures against parental
repression bedeviled by the
“progressive" cult of self-ex—
pression, urged toward per~
missiveness and beguiled by
false doctrines of family democ-
racy, parents have too often ab-
dicated their responsibility for
setting standards of behavior
and limitations on their Chil-
dren’s, freedom of action.

Afraid of inducing trauma, or
of being unpopular with their
Children or their children's
friends. they have yielded an
demands for privileges and lib»
erties which are clearly harm-
ful.

in so doing, these adults are
robbing their children of an es<
sential part of their education
by failing to provide clear
measures of right and wrong
and values based on something
firmer than the whims of the
crowd. It is an ethic which says
that because a good many peo-
ple are doing something, it is
normal and therefore right.

It must be made clear that
rules are made to protect
young people from hurting
themselves. not simply to keep
them from having fun.

We must also rid ourselves of
some of our worship and indul-
gence of youth and the false
notion that fun is an end in it-
self, rather than a by product
of doing hard things well, ’or
we will transform ourselves in»
to a society of adolescents.

We must also beware of the
prevalent and pernicious mlSA
conception that democracy imr
plies absolute equality. and
that any denial of equal worth
is un-Amencan.

Democracy in e a n 5 equal
rights before the law and equal
opportunity for individual devel-
opment to the limit of one’s po»
tential. and we have along way
to go in achieving these ideals;
but democracy emphatically
does not imply that everyone
that
knowledge and experience are
not to be valued above ignor»
ance and inexperience. and that
every man’s judgment is sov-
ereign and that every opinion
is as good as every other.

in other words, democracy
does not deny the principle of

HONOR SYSTEM—
Continued on Page l2

 

isthenics are definitely benefi-
cial. Telephone speeches pro-
vide a twofold service. The
freshman learns the upperclass-
men’s names and also to an‘
swer the phone before lfwo
rings. The innocent humor of
these greetings makes the tasks
pleasant to perform. Beanies
cap off the prepping program.
By wearing his, the freshman
identifies himself with that
great institution Smith Hall (for
example).

Granted there may be a few
instances of irresponsibility on
campus. but should the vast
majority of upperclassmen suf-
fer the stamp of immaturity?
True, youth is given to excess;
but do not Confuse this with
moral laxness. With the em-
phasis on greater student re-
sponsibility given this year by
the encampment student leadA
ers and acting — president
Stauss, I am conﬁdent that a
large reservoir of individual
responsi 'lity will be tapped.
Fear not, sad freshman, Grin-
nell may not yet be perfect.
but it holds potent seeds for the
future.

Sincerely,
A youthful upperclassman

’Sud Freshman“
Given Rebuttal

Dear Editor:
I would like to take issue with

a letter published last week in
the S and B for three reasons:
(1) the title was erroneous, (Z)
the contents show a marked
lack of maturity on the part of
the writer and (3) fhe signature
indicates that the writer doesn’t
have strong enough conviction:
to back up his words.

The title was “Frosh look at
upperclassmen." This implies
that the letter was a general
viewpoint held by all freshmen,
This is most cerminly not true
and the ~impresslon is false.
Most freshmen, perhaps ex-
cluding those who are socrally
untalented and thus are unu'lll-
ing to show themselves, are of
a totally different Opinion. Air
10W me to enlarge.

This sad freshman says that
the answer is obvious concern-
ing his queries about the use-
fulness of prepping and bean-
ies, etc., implying that they
are not useful and perhaps det-
rimental. It is truly rather obr
vious that. if a person cannot go
through what little bit was done

in the way of prepping. or if the
beannie hurts his little head or
ruffles his hair. and he cannot
take this. then he belongs no!
at college, but at home as close
to his mother as possible—at
apron string length. This sad
freshman also makes a very
witty joke about the library,
that someone is taking it. He
does not know Who this some»
one is but T. S. F. immediately
tags the whole body of upper-
Classmen with the sin. This is
not to say that some upper-
classmen may not fit the de»
scription but to condemn all, as

JONES LETTER—
Continued on Page a

 

