Page Two

SCARLET AND, BLACK

Friday, October 27, |96l

 

 

lgll‘arlpt anti Elects:

Grinnell, Iown
GRINNELL COLLEGE

h wcelvly ncWSPnncr published each ri-iriny or on cutlepe
rcnr iiy ihc '

, under
.30 In." school

Nancy
Miriam \\'

in it.

lluih cincncu

in»; iliinncss ilnnocor Huck

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Goon!

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Another isdaimel

In August a Peace corps trainee, Charles Kamcn, ins
terrupted a Rotary Club meeting at which the House Un—
American Activities Film “Operation Abolition” was being
shown, expressed rather openly his opposition to the film,
and provided the incident for a little known amendment
to the Peace Corps Act passed in the last days of this ses—
sion of Congress .

After the incident which received wide publicity in
the American newspapers, Con 'ressmen placed a ,2 eat deal
of pressure on Peace Corps Di ector R. Sargent Sh ver to
dismiss Kamen, but Shriver refused to dismiss hinl on
'rounds otli than psychological tests, security investiga—
tions and ab ity tests to determine his suitability for Peace
Corps assignments '

Congress has,expressed its feelings on this matter in
an amendment to the Peace Corps Act, however, which has
received considerably less mention than the Kamen inci-
dent. This amendment is a disclaimer affidavit differing

‘om tllat attached to the National Defense Education Act
of 1958 only in that it does not require the Peace Corps
candidate to deny membership in a long list of specific or—
ganizations.

Such an oath is really of no value since most Coni-
munists would not hesitate to take it. However, much
more important than this is the fact that this law extends
into the very vague area of an individanl’s belief in right
and wronigr and leads to debates such as those of the House
Un-American Activities Committee. Although most of us
would object to having a Peace Co ps member who advocat-
ed the overthrow of our constitutional form of government,
we question whether opposition to the film “Operation
Abolition" or the House Un-American Activities Committee
constitutes advocation of the overthrow of Constitutional
government. The history of this amendment would indicate
Ellis, however.

It is unfortunate that this amendment has been at-
tached to a bill which is in all other ways an outstanding"
piece of legislation. The first section of the bill states the
purpose of the law as two-fold: to provide technical aid by
the United States for any nation wanting it and to provide
an opportunity for Americans to better understand cultures
and problems different from their own.

Two years ago 20 colleges and universities refused to
accept funds from the National Defense Education Act on
the basis of the disclaimer affidavit attached to it, Grinnell
was one of these with Bryn Mawr, Haverford. Princeton,
Antioch, Harvard, Oberlin, Radcliffe, Reed and others
Since this is again an issue which will involve students and
an area in which the voice of students is for great impor-
tance, perhaps we should'again express our opposition to
legislation of this sort. .

Secondly, this shows that programs such as Grinliell’s
“Fifth Year Abroad" to which no such stipulations are
attached have not yet been replaced by the Peace Corps.
We have already learned that some countries distrust the
sincerity of the United States government in this project,

and it is not likely that this disclaimer affidavit will erase ,

this distrust. Apparently the work of private organizctions
in this area should be continued for some time to come.
Craig Henderson

 

by Jack Chapman

“The Harvard of the Midw sr'
fat the mention of this ph -
wc swcll with pride that Gri »
hell is comporcd with the (loan
cl prosligc schools. .

The statement was made by
an administration member that
sincc our admissions standards
worr equal to those of the
Eastern schools, we art: just as
discriminating; wc compete with
than. It seems to me these
Statements reflect El prevalent
attitude.

There is no harm
ourselves the Harvard
Midwest; iherc is no harm
thinking we arc in. compchlion
with lhc Eastern schools 7 it’s
sort of fun; but l lhink there
is u definite danger involved
The notion that we are on a
par with the big names in edu-
cation tends to obscure the
reality of the situation.

We neither have the prestige,
lhc financial resources, the great
selectivity of student body. nor
the cultural benefits of location
that the Eastern schools have.

However. I do not mean to
disparage Grinnell; 1 merely
think we ought to bring our
estimates into perspective,

Although we do not have
the prestige or money of some
or the Eastern schools, we do
have other attributes Wc have
a residence system devoid of

Polish Students

Ed. Note: rourlccn Ameri-
cans studied in Polmul last
Year. One of these was Grin-
nelliiin Bill Parsons, who
studied Polish history in Cm-
cow at Jogiclloniun Universi p,
which was founded in 1364,
and which served as alma
mater to Copernicus, This was
part of the same exchange
program which brought An~
drew Szyc to any cnmpus last
year, The following is the
second in a series 0:; Poland
nml Polish student lilc by Bill
Poisons,

in coiling
oi the
in

by Bill Poi-sons

Students from all over me
world enjoy having a good time
while studying. Polish students
are no exception. in many ways
their Search for relaxation and
fun resembles ours—\vitli such
activities as dancing, movies, in-
iormal parties—but p e i- h a p s
most typical of the Polish stil-
dents' non-academic life is the
“wycieczkn” (excursion).

When the weather permits,
especially in the spring and
fall, every weekend hccomcs
the occasion for a hike into the
woods or to the mountains, or
for a visit to the ruins of some
old castle or monastery, Sume-
limos these are specially organs
ized, but usually students just

11¢ Sanitg of Emacs—l

cw
l ‘ all
l

 

He can laliihast
institutions
of

by John Ward ’5 m g“'

l have been accused of writ
ing a cynical column. This 1
could take, But yesterday a‘ ,
little girl walked up to me andl filmote "t‘f de‘
said, "It must be hard zrymgi » ' , Svez‘ufiuvl'fg‘pffr:
lo be funny all the time," tlicn‘ , , a n oi excerpts
she spun on her heel and walkr, , - . l'Dln Jack
cd away. There was no time for] . , , i Donglas and

.regardlcss

wilo'sgoingto be
hurt or he can

, ,, . , , s Lewis Carroll.
a witty anslver, no time fol Ward The former M”
what would. have‘been a classic go the way of Emmus‘ Pope,
retort. Things like this can thner rind Mencken, unloved
scare you sometimes.

SANITY 0F STONES
The college cynic

has two Contl p. 6, col. 1

Parsons

get together and go someplace

During the summer vacation
such “wycicczki” are oncouragco
by a type of government-spon-
sorcii hitchhikilig called “auto-
stop,” Books of coupons arc
purchased at a nominal ice .by
those wishing to travel chcava.
These coupons are then given
to the driver who picks up the
hitchhiker, depending on the

the ills or discrimination that
fraternal societies thrive on.
We have developed 1 tradi»
tion that eliminates class dis-
tinclian, that places a high
value on equality,

Wc have miiiimizccl the o -
ganizollon moivsuburb prcssur s
of Amcricnn socicly. Wc lmvc
an atmosphere of informality.
We have developed a valuable
relationship between faculty and
student,

We must bring ourselves into
perspective; we must realize
our ocficicncics and our attri-
bules. More nnporlonlf however,
we must slrivc to even iurihcr
culmncc our position; we must
nticmpt to approach the goal
of perfection in education that
our uniqueness shows. We must
realize our potentiality and Ex-
ploit it. Wc must bocomc an
oven stronger bastion ol intel-
lectun c“ and culture in the
Midwest.

Most certainly the Ford Foun-
dation grant admits our worth
and potentiality; it Certainly
gives impetus to our move to
develop our potential. with the
funds from this grant and our
matching funds, we can improve
the physical faculties of Grin-
nell.

i hope that we will be able
to afiord scholarships in depth
—Dfiering those of meager
means on eGucntiol-i icec oi

financial burden; that we can
acquire cconomic distribution
as well as geographic distri-
bution. i hope that we can
nitorcl to offer even better
ioouliy salaries so that we
can attract and hold outstands
ing proiessois, that we can
sircnglhcn weal; departments.

1 hope that we can expand
our forcign suiclcm program. I
hope that we will oocr even
more cultural opportunities and
social uciiviiic- i hopc that we
will seriously consider the tu<
torial system and increase the
use or seminars and smaller
classes 1 hope that we will is
pond the resources ol the l
brary.

I am sure that my hopes do
not ditter much irom those of
anyone else concerned with the
future of Gi-inneil. We must rc-
mcmbcr, howevcr. that money
is only a means to satisfy our
goals. Our future is unlimiio
but we must undertake a CHU-
cal evaluation. develop an at-
titude of conscicmious concern
and move with determination
toward yet unrealized cducalion—
Then, perhaps
someday, when we say that we
go to Grinnell, people will not
reply, “on! Yes. Cornell _ very

That's in Ithaca,

al excellence.

fine school,
isn’t it?”

Enjoy Excurssions By “Auto-Slop"

, Wfiw

Bill Parsons, Complete with goatee in the white outfit on the
left, takes part in Polish youth initiation ceremonies last year.

distance traveled. At the end of
the scosoii the drivers with the
must coupon-miles win valuable
prizes,

Competitions among the
riders are also conducted, such
:is essay writing, photo cori-
tests, etc. The first year this
program was in operation, a
rise in juvenile delinquency
was nolcd. Since then restric-
tions have been placed on
those who are eligible to por-
ticimite, but many people still
think this pmciico is unwise.

One oi the traditional activi«
ties 'lor Cracow's student popu—
lation is ”Juvcnalia.” For these
thrcc spring days classes are
called 03'. students dress up in
medieval costumes and partici-
polc in organized activities. For
those students most enthusiastic
there exists a Brotherhood for
Students of rho Middle Ages.
csch member of which has au-
tlicntlc (theatrical) olrcss. This
group entertains the people of
Cracow singing Latin songs and
performing for ‘them a play.

The “prepping" of the first-
year stlldenls was the theme of
this play, carried on according
to medieval traditions. Tho
Brotherhood let me be .-. prcp
ior this presentation. My role

consisted of answering three
questions with rive Words, and
being punished for the incorrect

answers. After having my im-
pin-mos
out, I was accepted into the so-
ciety of students.

“Jlivenalia” has been celebrat-
cd in Cracow from the Middle
Ages to the present, with the
exception of the wur years and
the pcriool directly following,
Unolcr the post-war rcgimc these
festivities were considered bour-
geois, and were prohibited until
1956.

n is ironic um what was once
considered bourgeois, is now
hailed as a manifestation of the
students’ solidarity in the build-
ing or socialism, as was the
case in the speech oiiicially pro—
claiming ihe holiday.

During this holiday a film
short was made, showing how
the students of Cracow amused
themselves. But the producer
was not interested in medieval
tradition. Instead, he wanted
the members of the Brother-
lioool lo ‘rock & rolr in their
authentic costumes. In this man»
her i was introduced to the
movie industry as well as the
theater while in Polonol.

ceremonionsly driven