no. Two

SCARLET AND BLACK

 

Ed' orial

Sugar Coated Education?

While watching the 3&6 men busily cleaning the
Forum windows (seems like the last time they did that
was just before Commencement, but I wouldn’t swear to
it) some thoughts occurred to me about the nature of

the present weekend.

Basically, it seems to me that the whole thing is a
pretty good idea. Bringing all the parents and alums over
and giving them a taste of what Grinnell life really is
does seem to be a laudable undertaking.

The questions that bother me, however, are, do we
really give them much of an idea of what’s going on here
or do we just show them a big party and send them home
even more ignorant than before?

I suppose the whole thing harks back to the old
problem of the college’s image. Should we try to sugar-
coat the Grinnell education and hope the parents and
alums never see beyond the coating or should we
make an honest effort to show them what’s really hap-

pening here.

The sugarcoat approach would be fine except that
every once in a while the real thing does show through!
like when the 58;]! prints obnoxious articles or the stu-
dents return home for vacations.

Often when the real thing does show through, it of-
fers only an incomplete picture which out of context is
very damaging to our precious image. What is lacking is
a context of understanding. Homecoming could contribute

to such a context.

The point is, I suppose, that most of us at Grinnell
spend very little time going to football games, wearing
mums, electing queens and building floats. Yet for the
parent or alum who spends one day a year here it looks
like that really is about all that happens.

I’m not saying that homecoming football games
should be abolished, though perhaps a series of IM games
might be more representative, but that the emphasis

should be placed elsewhere.

Rather than send out an expensive invitation emblaz-
oned with a Grinnell halfback scampering for long yardage
(or maybe just trying to get back to the scrimmage line),
why not substitute a shot of a classroom discussion or
a play. If football games were once the motif of Grinnell
life, they are now only a pleasant, if slightly irrelevant,

adjunct.

What this weekend needs is more emphasis on such
things as tomorrow morning’s symposium or the Ameri-
can premier of the Russian drama. An expansion of ac-
tivities which show what Grinnell life really is and a
lightening of the emphasis on the football game would
in the long run, make homecoming a truly significant
event and not just the occasion for a haircut.

 

IllilllilllllllilllllllllllllllllllIIllllllllillllllilllluillllllllllllllillllllilllli

ACM Program Open:

Applications for second se-
mester (January - June ’67)
fellowships in the ACM Central
American Field Studies Pro-
gram, San Jose, Costa Rica,
are now available from R. F.
Voenman, economics, in Car-
negie 112.

Anyone wishing further in—
formation should confacf voen-
man. The closing date for the
acceptance of applications is
November 4.

nlllllllllllllllllliilIIllllllIIiIlllllllllllllllllulllllllllllllllllllllluillllllr

Selective Service Test

The Selective Service Quali-
fication Test will be given again
this year on November 18 and
la Grinnell men who have not
taken the test and are imbued
with a healthy neurotic horror
of the draft should obtain an
application card from Dean

Thompson as soon as possible
Alihough die test will not be
given in Grinnell, fransporrafion
to Iowa City or Des Moines
will be arranged at a later date

Scarlet and Black

GRINNELL COLLEGE
Grinncll. lower
A weekly newspaper Published each Friday or the

..

0, college year by :no Grinnell Colnlnluce on Sinnenr Pubs

r, llcatlaus. Represented for national novcrnsing by Na-
e
n

[tonal Advcnising Servicer

inc, College Publishers

Repressnlalive. l3 Eur 59m sirosr, New York. 22. N.Y.
nsccond clnss postage paid at Grinnell. Iowa Subscripllon
nxe 35.00 per Ichool year. laoo paid subscripucns.

EDITOR . ..
BUSLNESS ANAG
NEWS muck _ 7
resume zmron _
copy EDITOR .

anron EDITORS . .
ASSlsrAN‘r ro THE EDITOR

cum: monomer-rm
PHOTOGRAPHERS
clncuLArroN STAFF
nArr _

k HArnld Fuson
__ Susan will
M-rlhl ncrkey

, Nun riscncr
Susan Gather

Alan Axelmd. Ann Klrschner
. 7 Anne Farrer

Jim Slur-gas
,. Alan bernhurur, susnn Kuescr
. Mike Delole, Chuck Demchuck

. mi Nncnman, Charles sinlrh, Kryl Neuman,

Rid-um Schooirov, Knihy Siren, Jan Hale.
Paul Jones Bruce nlnnrord, l'lltnhrd Kump,

Andy isms,

racism Johlumn, Henry Wllhelnl.

Phyllls Murruy, Sunh rhorsen. Don \vinney

Animal Behaviour

Neii Fischer

Friday. October 2']. 19M

— Guy lombardo in '67

Certain more conservative
elements on campus have ex-
hibited a notable lack of en-
thusiasm for (and even fear
of) the radical departure from
the pasf represented in rnis
year’s homecoming. The
dance (And Jefferson Air-
plane; Visual: Anthony Mar-
tin) surely must be aversive
for these individuals, and it
is thus with their psychologi-
cal welfare in mind that 1 pre-
sent a schedule of homecom-
ing events for 1951 —— a sched-
ule so well adapted to Grin-
nell as to be immediately ac-
oepted. Sn even if all of you
forthright, conservative, and
sterile individuals are too in-
hibited to enthusiastically al-
lend the Jefferson Airplane
dance, you can still look for-
ward to next year:

Events of 1967 “Parents'
Weekend” (“homecoming,” of
course, will be eliminated ns
semantically inappropriate) will
begin on Friday. October 22,
with administration-alumni sym-
posium of primary interest to
all alums — “The Role of the
Maid in the Hall System.”

Friday, too, offers a host of
o t h e r Wonderful activities.
Two showings 0f “Bambi,” a
wonderful family movie for

the entire, wonderful family,
will ge biven in ARI-i — a
parents’ showing at 6:30 pm.
and a matinee at Z in the nth
emoon. Later a fascinating
exhibit of Alumni Needlework
of the Class of ’46 will be
shown in the Schneffcr Gal-
lery.

A treat for our scholars will
be a lecturesdemonstralion in
R o b e r t s concerning “Social
Amenities and Gracious Living”
by governor Harold E.
Hughes. Mrl Hughes will also
distribute free scarlet and
black penibox favors to quali-
fied seniors.

On Saturday, though, dis
real fun begins. Feeling the
necessity for victory, the ml:-
letic department has nego-
liated to play Pnrsons’ fresh-
man team. Prior lo the game,
there will be a musicale of
Beloved, Sacred Music by
Cowles.

Float competition will be de-
leted from the schedule; Clark
men would have won anyway
With their original theme —
“Scenes from the Life of Dean
Thompson."

Following the big game, re-
freshments will be served. Par-
ents and faculty will imbibe
Sherry and biscuits (Courtesy

of Golden Rule Funeral Homes)
in the North Lounge, While stu-
dents and chaperones will have
Kalli-Aide and graham crack-
ers (courtesy of the Rex) in the
South Lounge.

And the dance — oh, yes
. . . We are extremely form.
uate ln having secured Guy
Lombardo and his Royal Can-
adiansr Bubbles will be blown
onto the dance ﬂoor over
huge blocks of dry-ice. Let’s
hear it for Guy and the boys
who have ended a twenty-five
year booking at New York’s
Roosevelt Hotel just to come
all the way In central Iowa to
play your favorite tunes ..
notably the “Anniversary
Waltz."

Dress will be suicily en.
forced. Man must wear three-
butforl, v e s t ed, conservative
suits; skirt length must be
“modest." All dates must have
gaudy purple orchids at least
seven (7) inches in diameter.

This appears in me [0 be
the kind of thing that some

of you want, and personally I
think it’s just wonderful, won-

derful, wonderful. And, be-

sides, the Jefferson Airplane

(lance this weekend is a once-
ino-lifeiinie thin g anyway;

you‘ll never have to worry

about if oagin.

 

Letters . . .

Questions Formality
To the Editor:

On attending chapel this year,
1 was happy to see that Mr.

Haas was not afraid to create a
religious atmosphere in his ser-

vice, especially when contrasted
with the tone of many of last
year’s chapel services. However,
it is my own feeling, and that
of most others to whom I have
talked, that this has been ac-
complished partially at the cost
of informality and meaningfur
ness. I think that most students
who amended the recent commu-
nion service appreciated the fact
that they could participate in a
Communion service for the cola
lege community, although many
regretted that it had to be ac-
companied by so much formali-
ty and ritual. When preoccu-
pation with formality displaces
the meaningfulness of the ser-
vice, then the formality is be-
ing carried too far. in the fu—
ture perhaps Mr. Haas and all
others concerned could con-
centrate more fully on bringing
a significant Christian message
to the sunday service. rather
than insisting on a potentially
perfunctory ormalify.

_Byron Bangert

Classic Cynicism
To the Editor:

Never before have l been so
thoroughly disgusted by a letter
appearing in the sell. I am, of
course. referring to John Cros-
sett‘s example of “classic” cyni-
cism. Anyone who can read the
special 5&3 and come away with
no more than a mental residue
of grammatical errors and in—
correct logic, should be copy-
ing manuscripts in a monastery
and not writing letters in con-
demnation of the fresh spirit of
involvement. which has been so
sorely needed at Grinnell. For
the first time in at least three
years the campus is really alive
with the, excitemenh of ‘new

ideas, and all John ci-osselt can
see is poor logic.

ironically John Crossett’s let-
ter_is itself a model of poor
logic and invalid goneralizsuon.
The statement that flows “mar
each argumentior rather each
utterance” is a classic example
To write such a letter last year
would have been equivalent to
kicking a mun who was already
down. but this year, in an at-
mosphere of innovation and ex-
citement. John Crossett has
only succeeded in making clear
how truly out of touch he is.

—Craig w. Allin

in Defense
To the Editor:

It is unfortunate that the
North and James Fetzer sing
presentation has been misin-
terpreted and distorted by Peg«
gy Barlett in her letter in last
week's paper.

Miss Barlett referred to a pre«
sentzltlon that dealt with, as she
phrased it, “the topic of Negro
culture.” if Miss Barleht had
listened more closely to the nar-
ration, she might have recalled
more precisely that it made
specific reference to “the Negro
farm hand in the 1850’s" Now
the kind of music created by
and about these people was the
essence of the NorthsJames Fet-
zer presentation, the mood of
which was clearly not dems
gatory. The recurrent themes
that ran through all of the
songs were “I got a crown up
in a the kingdom, Ain'a that
good news,” “There is a balm
in Gilead to make the wounded
whole," and “I got plenty o’
nothin’, and nothin’s plenty for
me ('cause) 1 got my girl, got
my Lord, got my song.” It is ex-
tremely disrespectful to twist
the meaning of Gershwin's
music and Heyward’s lyrics, as
Miss Barlett did to make her
Eolnt. If Miss Barlett had any

nowledge of the musical Porgy
and Bess, she could not have
inaccurately concluded that the
message was simply ”nothin’s
plenty for me.” And more im-
portant, as in all great choral
music, the song smks for it-
self, if you listen to the whole
song.

And n point about dialect.
Mr. Burleigh, one of the famous
Negro folk song writers of the
1880’s, and his contemporaries
wrote all their songs in dialect.
Heyward wrote his lyrics in the
same style. To reconstruct the
lyrics in “perfect” English, to
tamper at all with u composer’s
work, is an insult to the com<
poser and a misrepresentation
of what he wrote. This was not
our lniEntIOn.

Finally, our costumes were
part of a context —— a period in
time, a place in history. When
Miss Barlelt changed die Lime
and place, she protected no in-
nocence. What made her sick
(“Your handling of the topic
was offensive . . l and you don’t)
even know it") cast an ironic
reflection, the proportions of
which exceed even her poor

taster
—.Bill Hughes

In Defense II

To the Editor:

Having read and reread Peg-
gy Barleth lemr fo rho sou
last week regarding Fetzer, 1
am still completely unable to
understand it.

Although I on: not a Negro
Culture major, there are certain
facts upon which even I feel
qualified to comment. The form
er slave condiu'on of the Ameri-
can Negro is no secret, nor is
it, 1 believe, a negative reflec<
tion on the Negro In any sense
of the word. It is, lo borrow on
expression, a sickening chapter
in American history, but it is a
chapter of which the Negro is
the victim, not the culprit. The
only people who should have
been sensitive about Oul' pre-
sentation are white.

It is in mis sense that North
and James attempted to treat
the Negro Slave culture in Fet-
zer; not as u mockery of his
position, but as a tribute to the
dignity with which he bore his
unjust burden.

Although undoubtedly not an
moi replication of the Negro
condition of the 1850’s, our pre-
sentation was, we feel, treated
with dis highest degree of re~
specl, dignity, and sensitivity,

—Bruce Hamilton

1 l

 

