 

SCARLET AND BLACK

“Jubilail'on T.’ Crossed

Prof Protects Protester! hole

GRINNELL POLICE CHIEF BILL PETERS stomped onto campus April 24
and removed an American ﬂag that had been inverted by anti-war protestors.

PETERS: “Don't
Tread On Me"

”Don’t tread on me,” Grllinell Police
Chief Bill Peters warned six Grinnell stu-
dents who went to talk to him last Fri<
day morning about the inverted ilag
Incident.

“When you turn that flag upside down,
you’re infringing upon my rights," Pet-
ers Said. “You may he in distress, but
that doesn‘t mean this country is. who
in the hell are you to say it should be
flown upside down?”

On Thursday Peters came on campus,
removed the inverted flag, and took it to
the police station. “when i went up there
:i wasn’t looking tor the guy who did it,"
Peters Said. “I couldn't care less who
did ii. I was interested in the flag,”

“You were looking at me at my
aggressive worst,” Peters told the stu-
dents. "I’m a human being; I’m no god.”

Peters said that he had “no complaints”
about student plans to go door-to-door in
Grinnell to talk about the war. “i
think personally this is a good way to
protest,” he said.

“You‘re looking at the king oi pro-
testers, here,” Peters said. “l just do
it diiterently — 1 write letters and go to
mnventiolis."

"l’m not going to come down and shoot
you in the head because the ﬂags up-
siderdowli," he explained. l‘I’m just say
lug don't turn the llag upsidedown, and
don't [read on me,"

rt:

} Discussion
(Continued from Page I)

carehil tacticaliy about weakening in-
stitutions or higher education.”

“an!” ejaculated Senior Al Cloudr “It
you think that Grinnell is an autono-
maus institution -— wow. I'm incredu-
ious!”

Cloud Continued: “if you think Grin»
hell is existing outside the military-
industrial complex and business and
blah, blah — it's a bunch oi garbage!"

At midnight President Leggett came
to the Forum to keep it open past clos-
ing time. He told the students that “by
turning the ﬂag upside down you may
be involving the whole community”

Leggett characterized typical symbol-
ic protest at Grinnell as nonviolent,
creative, and not involving innocent hy-
standers,

Before the discussion ended at 3
o’clock, seniors Dim Cheiietz and
Cloud launched into long tirades Ci'iti<
sizing various aspects oi Griniicll, In-
cluding phystcnl education require-
ments, senior comprehensives, iestric-
[ions on student use at buildings, B&G
wages, and the general attitudes of pro-
Iessors and students at the college.

;_._—_—_—:__—z

OUTSIDE AGITATOR
PACKS PISTOL

A man who was allegedly carrying a
gun showed up at the ilagpole last Ft‘i-
day atternoon and reportedly attempted
to provoke a disturbance.

Ted Glick said that the man, around
55, took off his glasses and tried to
taunt him into a fight because he had in»
verted the ﬂag on Thursday,

When Grinnell photographer Krystyna
Neuman snapped a photograph or him,
the man grabbed at her camera and
threatened that she had better not pub-
lish the picture, Witnesses said.

Senior Bruce Armstrong told the 5&3,
“I’m pretty sure he had a revolver and
I could smell whiskey on his breath.”
Armstrong said that the man let him {eel
a bulge under his shoulder (the gun
supposedly.) Armstrong quoted the man
as saying, "Nobody will get to the ﬂag—
at least the first six won’t.”

President Leggett said that he phoned
Chief Peters when junior Tom Thomas
called him and told him about the inci-
dent, and told Thomas to have students
stay away from the man.

Leggett heat Peters to the scene. He
said he introduced himself to the man
and asked him it he was carrying a gun.
Leggebt said that the man replied that
he was, but that he also had registration
papers ior it.

“I told him that wasn’t the point and
asked him to leave,” Leggett said. The
man then walked all, according to Log
gett.

Miss Neuman told the 5&3 that she
has talked with Peters and Poweshiek
County attorney Michael Enich about
the incident, and that she is Considering
pressing charges

about the flag iiicidehi at a meet
South Lounge last Thursday n:
Leggeit kept the Forum open until 3
A. . to allow the discussion to CD“-
tihue past closing time

By A STAFF WRITER

Following a brief series of antirwar
speeches last Friday afternoon, a pig
eon sitting atop the titty-loot ﬂagpole
on central campus would have seen
tour students and a single professor
crowding the narrow concrete base.

The base or the pole is three test in
diameter and projects two feet all the
ground. On it were Al cloud and Bon—
riie Tinker — two seniors who were
waiﬁng to invert the llag after fresh-
man Steve Mannhelmer and senior
Bruce Armstrong, standing next to
them, had straightened it up and ilown
it right. Also on base was Associate
Professor John M Crossett, Jr.. Clas-
sics. _

Cloud and Miss Tinker. however, never
did reverse the ting. They descended
{mm the base and joined the estimated
25!] onlookers. So did Armstrong and
Mannheimer.

But when the pigeon looked back
down he saw that John Crossett, alone,
had become the Jubilation T. Compune
of Grinnell,

The Classics professor stood his
narrow ground and took hold of the flags
halyards. He was to remain on the
base for over two hours, to be replaced
in his Vigil later by students Asked nu<
merous times it he was guarding the
ﬂag from those who would turn it up-
sidedown, Crossett would make no state-
mentat all.

Students changed guard in shirts over
the ﬂag until it was taken down at sum
set by 3&0 men. Saturday at 5:45
hm. Crossett returned to the flagpole,
presumably to check on the state of
the ilag.

l'le lound, he said, that the halyards had
been Cut during the night and the {as-
tenings removed so that the ﬂag could
not be raised. Crossctt repaired the
rope and again put the ilag rightrside<
up and at hail-mast

Max Jones, general Ioreman of the
physical plant, said Wednesday that
the ropes had been cut on two sepa-
rate occasions since Friday. He said it
costs $7.50 to repair the ropes each
time they are severed.

Tuesday morning early risers could
tee a red-white-andrblue brassiere flap-
ping in the breeze. It was taken down,
as a navy blue sweatshirt had been
the preVioiis Thursday. In tiie ailer-
noon, Crossett sat on the base talking
with students.

1

Crossett, who by this time had become
a campus landmark, would make no
statement concerning the flag incident
itself, but he would talk about. other
things,

He told the 5&3 he had served for a
short time with the US, Cavalry dur-
ing the second world war; he was at
Fort Riley, Kant

“When I received my honorable dis-
charge,” he mused, “the Army told me
not to come back even it we were in-
vaded.”

In 1945 Crossett served as the editor-
lnchief of the Columbia University
newspaper, The Spectator He was also
co-edltor of the Columbia Jester Re-

a

I

JOHN Mr CROSSE'IT, JR.

View with Allan Ginsberg until, Cros-
sett said he ousted the beat poet “be
cause he never did a damn thing and
1 was tired of keeping his name on the
masthead.”

Wednesday morning, according to
foreman Jones, BXLG tried tying the
ropes about ten ieet up on the ﬂagpole
in hopes that no one would be able to
alter, maim, reverse, or turtliei- change
the ﬂag. This would also, Jones said,
prevent other things from ilying _.
possibly pigeons and brassicres.

The result: an lialian national ﬂag
raised by Ron Stantord flew over the
Grinncll campus Wednesday night.
BULLETIN! Someone greased the flag
pole Thursday!

 

Glitk Comments

By TED GLICK

If one wishes to understand Why i in-
verted the American flag and flew it
upside down — an international Sign of
distress 7 I would suggest he follow
these steps:

(1)Lie down an the green grass in
the center of the campus with a group
or iriends on a beautitul spring day.

(2) Imagine iragnieiitation bombs and
napalm raining down on the people
walking around the campus from a
seemingly invisible source — perhaps
irom experience you would know that
the source is an American plane ilying
30,000 (set above you.

(3) Think oi your iriends lying dead,
mutilated, or covered with napalm,
screaming in painiul and ten-trying
agony — then ask why this could ever
be justiﬁed, especially at the hands
ol' a “Civil nil" nzitiolir

(4) And if this is lint enough, think of
the many other institutionalized agonics
heaped upon millions oi people around
the world by this ”civilized" nation in

on Flog Action

the name oi democracy, justice, and
rreedom.

If you follow these steps you may
come to realize the emotional torment
r wils undergoing at the time or my ac-

tion, an emotional torment brought
about by the intellectual and rational
Search tor the truth about this cmintn'
I have been engaged in for nearly two
years. i took this action only after real-
izing the true distress this naﬁon is in
when it tor-gets the principles upon
which it was founded and for which
the iiag should stand.

I hope that those who were, under.
standably, turned on by my action have
begun to come to some realization ot
the reasons for the action I cannot
argue the wisdom of an end to the War
in this article, but I can ask that those
who ieel some anger inward i-ne ior my
action will altempt l0 loolt more closely
into the conditions in this country which
made such an action, 1 reel, necessary.
ii only that comes out or the “ﬂagpole
incident,” I Will be satisfied and
gl’ﬂtiiied.

 

