F’day, November 3. Y?”

> Letters

(Cont’d. from Page 4)

but it one takes the trouble to
read rather than merely look
at the articles, one should real-
ize that the underlying raison
d‘etre of that publication is to
make Whites think about the
condition of the Blacks in our
society, and to come to some
understanding of their living
contradiction.

"i fear that the failure to use
reason . l . will either doom or
damn them in the future."
Again we have the “right-think
tug man” syndrome. First at
all, reason implies, or rather,
the use or reason implies, that
one’s opponent is vulnerable to
it. The past hundred years oi
American history, not to men<
tion the entire period oi
slavery, has not given any in-
dication of an American public
susceptible to reasoning. The
{act that there still exists a
"race question," whether or
not it is marked by platitudes
or by riots, is the very proof
of such a dismal lack of recep-
tiveness on the part of the
White community As long as
Blacks are forced to Sit at the
back of the bus, physically,
mentally or emotionally, I do
not think that the Whites in the
trout seats have any right to
expect anything short of violent
words and actions.

Mr. Stump mentions the pD<
larization of issues and the re-
jection of the wisdom oi inte-
gration, “the goal of the entire
Civil Rights Movement.” I
ask, who has polarized the is-
sues —— the Black worker try<
ing to get a job ior which there
ts some respect, the Black stu-
dent who is denied any identity
with the society in which he
lives since he is not told at the
contributions his ethnic group
has made to it, or is it the
Wop who votes against open
housing, the Kike who insists
that he knows how and what
to teach these “deprived chil<
dren“?

I suppose that when Mr.
Stump uses an absolute such as
"entire," he really means it
And is not merely succumbing
to irrational emotional.
ism. However, his statement
about the civil right: mow

ment betrays an almost total
disregard for current events.
Few issues have been made so
plain recently as the divided
nature of that cause, And what
is the "wisdom oi integration”?
Presumably that by integration
the Black individual becomes
familiar with and accepts the
values of the society into which
he is integrated. These great
values that we have, are they
the ones that presently allow
George Wallace to attract such
a large following? Or perhaps
they are those that allow
people to ignore the murder of
a woman in the street just out-
side their windows? 0r those
that produce a sheriff who
blows a kid’s head off {or steal-
ing a car? or perhaps merely
those that create a Donald
Stump who is so willing to ig-
nore the urgency and intensity
of the plight of fellow human
beings simply because they do
not use “reason.”

Finally (at last!), there is
Mr. Stumps lack of compre-
hension oi the use Di the term
“colonial” to refer to the Black
America within White Amer-
ica. Granted, the ghettoes are
not in some far off land across
the sea; but that is hardly any
excuse ior their not being
colonies. who governs them?
Until recently, the vast major-
ity oi p 'tical and administra-
tive oificials at any advanced
level were Whites. Who em-
ployes them? Whites. Who pays
them? Whitest Are they ens
ploited? It exploited is to be
taken to mean that they are
not paid as much for the same
quality work as are Whites.
yes. ii exploited is to mean
that they are denied access to
the belterrpaying, more pres-
tigious jobs, yes. It it means
that they are not given serv-
ices ior which they pay an
as much as do Whites, yes it
it means that what money they
do earn is not allowed to ac<
cumulaie, but is removed from
their community by people who
do not live in the community,
yes. Do any more comparisons
have to be made?

I hope that Mr. Stump will
not be so attended by this let-
ter that he will not reread
The Brotherhood, this time in
an alien to comprehend tho

SCARLET AND BLACK

emotions and their roots rather
than to make debaters points
about the logic. if The Brother
hood is to be criticized at all,
it is because it does not start
at the beginning. Knowing the
ioundations for their argu-
ments, the writers have not
thought it necessary to de-
velop them. Uniortunately, Mr.
Stump‘s views are probably
held by a number of other
people on campus and it might
be prudent for future contribu-
tors to that publication to de-
scribe in greater detail even
those views that they deem
most basic, in order that people
habitually callous to them
might begin to understand. I
think that it the first issue
was an attempt to attract at-
tention to the issue, an atten-
tion that has been woefully
lacking at Grinnell, they have
succeeded and can now proceed
to take advantage of this turn
of events.

Andrew Rothstein

Social Experiment
Yields Bud Results

To the Editor

While the campus is preoc-
cupied With a multitude of sub-
jects, i have decided to add
my two cents worth,

On Sunday, November 3, 1968,
my roommate and i undertook
an experiment that entailed our
going to lunch nearly 45 minutes
before the doors of the South
Campus dining hall opened. We
sat in the small reception area
right outside the doors By 11:55
am. that small room was
crammed with possibly do or
more individuals who had, in the
most obtrusive manner, ignored
the termed line and butted.
in. For the most part,, these
mature individuals were intense-
ly preoccupied with discussing
the scab workers and their lack
of principles. Need I say morez

Sincerely,
Jeii Wolison '70

Guroff Idea Amuse!
Slump and Spiegel

To the Editor:

It was a delight to read Pro-
fessor Gumit's comments about
the Social studies program in tho
“I the week before last. W!

Campus Events:

Page Five

Bressier Concert, America Hurrah
By FREDA TEPFER

We must pay for the excesses of the past by making sacrifices.
in other words. friends, this is going to he a Slow week. It’s all
right though, because there’s always a smiling face at the Strand

ready to take your money.

On Friday, November 8, the Concert Series presents Charles
Bressler, tenor, at 3:00 in Roberts Theatre. Mr. Bressler will pre.
sent a varied program —- everything irom Purcell to Debussy.
At 9:15 in ARI-l “Fury” will be Shown. Since neither of the ﬁlm
people were available for comment, I’ll just have to assume it’s
the same horse story i used to watch on Saturday mornings in my
childhood — after “Heckel and Jeckel” and beiore “Sky King." I
will gladly be proven wrong From 10:00 until midnight it will be
Freebie time in the North Lounge — the juke box will go on a
2-hour diet of tender loving care — no money. it you’ve got
nothing else to do at 11:15 you can listen to Part 1 of “John
Brown’s Body" in the cniiee house and music room.

Saturday at 1:30 the Grinnell Follies presents the ﬁghting
Pioneers in battle against the men of (Zoo. At 7:00 and 10:00 in
Roberts Theatre the Broadway play “America Hurrah” will be
presented under the auspices oi the Student Concert Committee
and the Music and Drama Department. Once again at 7:30 "Fury"
will be shown in ARI-l (no comment). At 9:30 the rocks will dancﬁ

in the North Lounge,

on Sunday at 2:30 in the Burling Viewing Room all you
Bergman buffs can attend the film Seminar. The rest of us can
go to ARH at 8:30 to see “The Silence" in blissful ignorance,

A Slow week begins on Monday. it you really crave communal
eXCltement, you can observe the ticket distribution for “The Typ-
lsts” and “The Tiger" at the Forum desk. This drama pertormed
by the Charles Kimbroughs, actors-in-residence, will be presented
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 in Roberts Theatre. On
Wednesday at 10:30, the mid-week blues will be played at the Jam
Session in the Forum. Thursday at 8:00 the Grinneli Draft Infor.
mation Center will present a film and discussion in the South
Lounge. At 10:15 the Thursday Evening South Lounge Film Series
begins with “Ephesus." It looks like general boredom will be
leading his troops into battle this week, but we can always light

him off with a little studyingl

WWW

were especially struck, no, struck
dumb by the statement that
"because the staii is unfamiliar
with the material, the opportu-
nity for initiative on the part of
the students is greater." The
luster of our old Historical
Studles course iaded as we read
mis exciting statement and
realized its implicit concept of
education. All the training oi

our teachers was like shackles
upon our feet; it limited our
initiative and prevented mean-
ingtul, mutual learning expe-
riences with the faculty. Just
think of the freedom we would
have had if our professors had
been completely ignorant: no
a nn o yin g preconceptions, no
categories closing in on our
minds, no cosmology to blind
our innate vision of the heavens.

In order to make the Social
Studies students as free as pos-
sible and eliminate the “ten-
dency to steer (students) in a
specific direction," we suggest
that proiessors with the great—
est possible ignorance of the
course be sought out imme-
diately. Biology proiessors,
Greek pruiessors, and English
pmiessors would liberate us
captives of knowledge even
more than the present stait.

Even better, let us accept the
demands {or student power on
this campus in the most impor-
tant tield of play, the class-
room. Since students are the
most ignorant members oi the
community, let them teach the
course.

From nothing to get better-

ment

Were a most noble experi-

ment.
Donald stump
Eleonora Spiegel

Editorials: Worst
Part of S&B

To the Editor:

The Scarlet and Black this SE‘
master would be a ﬁne newspap-
er were it not for the constancy
of its dull, reactionary, and po-
tentiaily subversive editorials.

What are you trying to do?
Sabotage the student movement?
it would appear to the normal
reader that your interest in the
past does not confine itself to
ridiculous printing of irrelevant
stories. No indeed; it is much
Worse. You would have Grinnell
operate under the rules 0i 1911.

Your last week's editorial was
iar the worst thought~out piece
to appear in what would other-
wise huve been a fair issue.
Richard Schneirov was brave
to light a rule in the only» way
in which it can be fought. The
administration and you may talk
till hell ireezes over about pro~
cedure, but where has proce-
dure gotten any of us? Schneirov
should not be expelled, he should
have been honored,

You accused Richard Schnei-
rov of acting with “haughti-
ness," a charge you neither de-
iine nor substantiate. But is it
not a worse example of haughti-
ness to presume to know the
truth, and to pretend an ins
nocence making you eligible to
cast the that stone?

You would do this community
and your readers a service by
allowing the entire editorial
staff Write the editorials. it is
inconceivable that there could
be more than one such sick
mind at Grinnell College.

(Name Withheld) '

(All letters must be signed.
Names withheld by request.)

 

