Page Two SCARLET AND BLACK Friday. February 23. I962 l gamut»: birth Tiled: GRXNNELL COLLEGE Grinnell, [own A Main newsnahci’ nub shed eurh wr- bv uie cuiinal Comm (-3 on Sinner: . uurhrw Bionn, riuuii. Remcseuitd [or iyiiiiouil ilillci‘llslir ,uiuuul Am ink Seruce, m Colic mummy urn. clitnine Iii} Madison Ave, New mi in ‘ iuu il> rrciui wsmviu :itthc l‘os: ' animal. iW under u-i ui llurrh 3, Dig. su uiuuii mp $4.5“ he) school if unau burl; Jim Gem-gr , our biriuu. rm Cinxsman LC" ruluihiri. Jim liri ~ m is Rolieiie Ciiol' s u icialfliue ian.‘ M. Miller . John 11 lan niiu inner . , . .luilv - (0 mi Timur, Ml h Ltsllo Biiixletlen, sur As. Sliai'ls , nuspu Luephr uniiuii nuur i-‘i-upuiu Ld ohicf Pho'iu Cirruiuiuu i. A Business instants. ' Two editorials The present deartll of candidates for the Student Gov- ernment presidency is alarming. But perhaps it is just what we need. For tlle J'irst tilne in a long time we are hearing people ask “What should student government do '3,” instead of “What can it do?” For the first time in a long tilne we are hearing people admit to some of tile realities of student govern, ment. Namely, tllat we are students first, politicians sec— (ind; that perhaps student government should not see how much it can accomplish but What it should accomplish \. thin its limits. The controversy which has beell brought about by the Fox alld Henderson letters has turned up some interest‘ ing points concerning the pioper role of the undergraduate. 'And these points seem particularly appropos at this time. M' Fox would seem to hold that students should think, just i lawyers practice law and politicians engage in politics. This, We think, is a rather monastic View, albeit a rather attractive one. Who wouldn’t rather contemplate Pope or listen to Bach than attend a Student Senate nieetz il] We certainly would. Mr. Fox has his point and it’s a valid one. But we are more inclined to rig ee with Craig Henderson alld Mike Hor att, (W ose ”Grey Matter” column in this issue deals with this vcr subject). We think college is, as Hendelu son says, ”not a place for ‘tllinking' alone, but an oppor- [unity [or the student to test . i . ideas of other men as i 11 as his own, and when he has made mistakes to eval- L te his action with intelligence.” We think, as Horwatt says, “Knowledge should gen— erate thought alid thought should lead to action, and ace tion to more thought.” Now where does all this put us ill relation to student government at Grinnell? We think the point is this that too many students behave as Mr. Fox would suggest And too many take the philosophy of Henderson and Horwatt too seriously. Both views are valid but there is a middle ground that must be sought or student government here will 1) atrophy or 2) go the way of the I\ lkenny cats. We are presently suffering from a reaction from too much government, too much action. And the pendulum is beginning to swing ill tlle oppoSlte direction. From too much 1 ction we are going towards no action at all. The fact that we may have no need for a student government convention this year is evidence of this. No one wants to take on the SGA presidency because the job. which reflects the char- acter of the government it heads, has become to large a task, too complex a position. Again we point to the mid-g 'ound between sedentary contemplation and frenetic actillty for activity’s sake. .We must find that middle ground and return to student government at Grinnell a practical philosophy of opera- tion. Government at Grilincll has accomplished much in the past year. But unless we take stock of where we are go, ring that work may be all in rain. The Student Govern- ment Association was instituted as a cure for our former inefficient Student Council form of government. We have cured many of the weaknesses of that form, But there is a point at which to stop — a point at which to realign a revolutionary philosophy which w s instituted to pull government here out of the doldrllms. It was necessary that we began to see what Student Government can do in order to escape such torpor. But now is the time to stop alld decide what our stil- .dent government should do. Vi’e hate to write an editorial like this one. Frankly, we do it only to warn our readers not to expect too much of a society like the one we have at Gi-inilell. “7e refer specifically to the recent thefts of a $150 'Polaroid Land Camera from the biology department last Thursday and of between $150 and 00 from wallets 01' athletes competing in last Friday‘s qlladiangular swim meet here. ' We make this point: The 13007131us students and fac- ulty who make up Grinncll College can never afford to or» erlook the fact that a fen of their number might be quite capable of theft. And it would certainly be folly to think that dishonest persons from outside the college community have any less access to campus buildings and events than other nonrcol- lege people. Those who forget that no society is completely safe from an occasional theft — and certainly not a soceity so founded on the integrity of its members as is Grimlell‘s — will continue to have possesions stolen. Be careful. 'Knowledge should generate thought, ihen action' by N (c llorwatt in this series, I haV contend ed that ihe capacity for detachr inc-iii is a nun which is rare in society and that the place where detatchment is most like ly to be found is in the aca- denilf: community. Perspective IS less likely to be narrowed by vested inlcrcsis. since the Vested interests of the scholar are few. Intellect .tcllds lo sharpen liy expo re to ii wider variety of opinion and iiclier sources of knowledge. As students, we ale exposed to grcal ideas and superior ihinkers. Within an academic atmosphere, We cnioy a unique vantage point from which in view contemporary social prob- lems To the extent that we CK- 1)10it our unique situation — the diversity of Opinion ruu wculih 01 data 7 we will be more cquippcrl to make judgments and take positions on social is- olieflem To the Edito Or iliarily rm 2] preuy lnildr mannered guy. Also somewhat lazy. it takes a lot of plessure to hif my boiling point. In the three and one-half years that rve been here, I've never got- icn indignant enough to its a “Letter to the Editor.” I 6 just waited and Sure enough. sonic- piip has lost his temper before 1 did, and saved me the trouble of writing. But now my ire‘ has been aroused, my bOlling point has been reached. Au intolerable situation exists on campus, and i am Stirling myself out of lny lpihurgy to say something about it Every night ihc Cowles cafe— teria bureaucracy sets up ihrer or four extra tables at the back of the room. Then, when the North Campus herd surges in, a waiter is posted to make sure that no- body sits at these extra tables at the back of ihe room. Finally, since they c not needed, some- one else ic down those empty tables. a As a result oi this, mm! who wish in eat together are often ibrceri to sit at widely scattered pcinis. The cxnusc given for this nunsensit l bcA hnvibr is that other tables are only hull—full. So what? The fact remains that there are more than enough tables set up to accomodaie all groups who want to sit together. And if you're going to tear down fully-set tables. you in gilt as wcll wait until they have been used. Docs ii matter in a disli- washing machlnc- how many dishes it washes? Paul D. Samuel sues. With this greater opportunity to broaden perspectives and sharpen inlellects. we can cu. joy the possibility of judging somal conflict more objectively than can many of those wuh vested interests in th: outside world. in an age when the decisions of one generation are ihe out side world’s advantage that we keep abreast of current events and that we iniect our views in to the of public opinion thiougli appropriate modes of political action. By so doing, we make our knowledge onernhvc On the one hand, we cuniribuic to society by Widening the spectrum of den bate. 0n the other, our educa— tion is Cnl'iched by applying our knowledge to concrete situation. It iS pficii argued that in or dcr to act effectively. we must opciate within ihc framev rk of rpniplbie certainty. This is, to say the lcnsi, a rather exorbitant *pectation since, what is knowledge but inference. “Ham- let" illusllaies that we must all ways not with uncertainty. Harm let was unable to operate af— lectivcly because he demanded certainty before making dcc‘i» SlOnS. Most of our judgements and consequently ‘Oul' choices must be made wiih uncertainty. Our efforts should be directed (or ward minimizing uncertainty and being prepared to act before if is fab late to do so. The claim 1 wish to make is that students are in a position to utilize the resources made possible by their academic situar tion for socmlly useful endeaw ors. Knowledge should generate thought and thought should lead to action. and action to more ihpughi. @honghts out of Season Washington, DC. has Come a long way Since a Frenchman with the snickery name of P. c L’Enfant first laid out its broad, muddy avenues. Today all iho roads of the world politics have ihcir nexus in die American Capital. The city is not only ihe focus for the conduct of public: but also for those who dispute the way it is bean conducted. It is the Mecca for protesters. Lasi weekend the hopes and appre- hensions of the American stu- dent peace movement centered in b ca on a strip of sidewalk between Pennsylvania Avenue and the world's moPt impol‘lflhi architectural mediocrity, ll’iE White House. Tile recent journey of 11 Grinnellizus to swell the ranks of thousands in n united peace group demonstration, “Turn Toward Peace,” makes me slightly nostalgic. i think of a similar exodus last November, and i can't help reflecting. The purpose of both journeys was much the same. Both aimed to rally public opinion against nuclear resumption and the arms race generally The situation oi each. howcvcr, was different. Our November sortie was imi- iaied here at c niiell; it grew sponlaneouslv. painfully, and coincided with the canipusay'ide debate on the Senate resolution. Although we hoped other col- lcges would follow us in Wash- ington, we were going it alone. The recent protesters Joined a large group, up to eight thous- Jazz conceri' reviewed Poor piano jinxes MJQ's otherwise by Ron Turner Last night's pci-fbrmancc by the Modern Jazz Quartet was inhibited by only ciip fncibr: a poor piano. Tlic ri'itiSEC of the MJQ has been called “Jazz in sober sui But last nighl, at least to a ceriain extent for John Lev. s it was JaZZ in a stl‘altrlacl t A post-concert musing by bassist Perry Heath confirmed this opinion: “The piano did not allow a fair repr‘escntnr tinn of the Modern Juzz Quar- tel." However, in spite of the piano, the Quartet members displayed their talent for pre- cision ensemble playing and were re lied accordingly with a warm reception from the Gi‘innell audience. Their first number "Ralph' New Blue presented vibror harpist Mill Jackson's fine solo technique and Lewis‘ deceptive simplicity at the piano, "FHA gate," one oi” three from the ballet score of “Original Si " exhibited the excellent compo tion and arranging ability of The main theme alterna- ed between conirapullial and unison exprossrun, “How High The Moon" rc- ceivcd the biggest hand of the evening. The highlights of this piece were the an lib vihrahuip introduction, the [lowed buss line. and n double time solo by Jackson which was probably his most inspir» ed rciiirihuiion to the coiicerf. “Pierrot" an extract from another Ullginal suite by Law was a dainty thing ending in a moving excliungc of lilies be tween Heath mid Jackson. A funky blues called "Bel" w Lewis and licnfh in unison rhythmic patterns behind Jackr son. allowing him much freedom to demonstrate his mastery of the vibraharp. The set ended wuh “Odds Against Tomorrow" which included a more Vigorous offering from Lewi in an up. lelnpo iiiiei-lude. The second half of flip con. ceri began wiih Duke Ellington’s “It Don‘t Mean 3 Thing" The last high no the piano brought a grimsce from her . Tile Quartet “as loudly a plauded for Ornette Coleman “Lonely W'olnan," a powerful number in which more “as heard from drummer Connie Kay. Heath’s tasteful solo got a smile from Lewis as the entire group seemed to put iorih more effort. By Larry Smuclfer and, I understand The Comment of national SANE‘S Sanford Gotr tlieb before the protest rally last week, that Grinneil's audacA ious November was spiritual ancestor to February's mass movement. is gratifying to me. Gi-iniiell reacted weakly to last week’s delegation. A rally (My apologies to Ezra Found.) for the group thefl‘uesday night before departure drew. on my estimate, one-eighth the number of students who assembled for a similar function in November. There was no clapping. I don't really know whether to aurib ate the wider interest last fall to an innate Grinnell chauvinism, a hangover from the “Rah, Rah, Sis-boom-bah" days, or a genuine campus renaissance. I like fo think ihc latter, but i don't know. ' irhe ll travelers probably discovered that the pipe con- trolling the water fountain in the White House law-ii stands naked before Mecca. Maybe the crowd obscured the pipe. They undoubt- cdly discovered other pickets smiling madmen hoisting fuzzy lettered placecards reading “Gov ernment Poisons Oatmeal: The Second Christ," and the inevit- able Washington chapter. Young Americans for Freedom, ',A word to the returnees. Watch your emotional reservoir. Washington and the aftermath will drain off some of it. There‘s THOUGHTS (Could. p. 8, col. 1) top performance “Piazza Nnvuiin" featured a subtitled pianoVbass chani, fin. ger cymbals, and a light vibra— harp obbligato. The variances in both tempo and mood pro- duced a \'e_ enective offering. The sad “\Vl . Are You Blue" was contrasted by ‘ nll‘nal Dance“ in which Jackson played humorous discords and play— fully came up with a fine solo. The last scheduled piece. "Bag's Groove." produced.a Very soul» iul improvisation by Jackson. the composer. , Although ilie average listener probably found much similarity and redundancy in the concert. lhel'e was considerable variety within this unity. The group was well coordinated uiul. as ii result, the ensemble playing was excellent. The burden of the solo work was car ed primarily by Jack son. mainly because Lewis w flusiraied v.iih the Steinway, in spin of uieir apparent com— placency, ihe Quartet did per. form wiih a high degree of continuity, Perhaps now more people will become aware of Lhe fact that jazz is not just a raucous, iii. cohernnf conglomeralion of iso- laied. meaningless sounds.