ScarletL and Black GRINNELL COLLEGE Grinnell. Iowa at weekly oewsnrner published each riidin- ot the college ~ bv the manner: Commune on Student pubilonuom, r, n as iiseii Are. a). the rest more at rt or March a. eiuno Spoils l- itois . , lleiues nell ini- seiiite mo. Subscription iollnl mueiliu Coll Publishel-sfieh. err . r E trail in lo . under it. he school inc. 'eiv Jim Hatfield George nllcl: . smi t.n..lin R-rhlltl ohlemeivr Jini llolllnln sire Wallil 5 .lim amen n, ilolieils sell ineptei aldiiie llnnnev osophy logically fac lbecome your minds and enlpty tlle Wallet which I present hours regulations (and associated policies Such as out procedure and unrealistic. and need for some introduction of flexibility illto tlle present system. Here is what I propose: offleampus big; room dent as is now tlle c: room dools. Tlle present assumption that women might d they had privacy, is insulting. In he allowed to protect themselves from thierel’y which ex, ists ill all colleges and one of which Grinnell women not infrequently complain. Further llexibilitv can nlw. es which are abused can illway All letters to the Editor written tor publication in the Scarlet and Bloch must be typed and do ble spaced. No unsigned letters will be printed. llnwever. writei iequest. The 3&5 reserves the r names will be withheld upon ht to shorten any letter. ‘Nous' shaky Old philosophy maga7ines never die, they just Iade non-being. Mo 'ng subscribers. This into the lnetaphy cal void. Grinnell's NOUS. the lively and lone (America's only) undergraduate journal of Dllll‘ unless Unmoved students is a broad hint. Open (it‘s causal). Larry Smucker 8&3 Managing Editor A new hours policy Opinion on women’s hours at Grinnell seems to fall into three eliteg'olie FIRST. there are those wllo How and Black poll, (lent body. indi nswered by H ated tllat S] favor abolitioll. Second. there are tllose who seem satisfied with the status quo. Thi d. there are tllose who do not favor abolition but ask the introduction of some Flexibility into present regula- lions. inany studentsfavot- abolition? The Scarlet per cent of the stu< women and Lil lnen do. These students represent a little less than one quarter of Grinnell's present enrollment. The total of students who seem to be satisfied with logically be labeled either ”Satis ed” About 20 per cent a; the poll respondents i 73 men and 32 women —- indicated that they are opposed to the most moderate change suggested llaire: allowing women to have nights of extended houls ez dents also seem to stand for the status quo. tile status (1th is considerably larger There are the more than 600 who did not answer the B poll and who can or “indifferent." on the 5&1} t1uestion~ three or four optional -h month. These 100 or so stu— HOWEVER. nearly 400 students 7 218 men and 170 women — responded taro bly to proposal. More than one-third of nell. then. definitely furor some change. the "optional extension” those enrolled at Grill- Two weeks ago the abolitionists had lny support. Now I look upon such a more as ideal, impractical. The fact that less than 20 per cent of all Grin- llell women indicated that they favor abolition cannot be disregarded. policy have at least one undebatable argument: that the college is re:. onsihle for the safety ol' its students. And those who argue but, both unpopular and against: a “Cell ours But while I feel that Grinnell is not now ready for abolition of hours. I certainly agree with those students who favor a change. legulatiolls are admittedly necessary. The complaint and many students doors”) are have is this: that the no locks on women's unllSt. ’lllere is a FIRST. I suggest that women be allowed ten hours per month to be used as hours doses of two hours each. This seems to me to be all Elder (plate allowanceil'or trial purposes at leasti or “speci 1 occasions.” In addition, such an optional would provide a most important opportunlt regulation of hours Such a policy- would constitute added ‘bookworli and later hours for the night checker (who should, by the way, certainly be an adult and not a stu< e). But the inconvenience would well be worth the increased sense of freedom which the extension policy would give Grinnell women. extensions ill in lnlllll Vtellslon policy for personal Second, I Suggest that the policy of room and ball confinement be virtually eliminated. The penalty for tardin e. could be loss of one two-hour “tension. Loss of all five extensions could then be followed by com finement. Third I suggest that locks be provided for women’s ‘no loc poli '. based on the ill: or entertain men if addition. women should I am convinced that my suggestionsior similar sub- Jim stitutes # ought to be adopted on at least a trial basi ys be reduced. And any Chang be rescinded. Hatfield 5&1; Editor SCARLET AND BLACK Friday. November 2. I962 Reject, relax rules say readers to cries of parent letter - writers Parents favor regs; doubt looser morals 3321 Marquetle Avenue Dallas 25, Texas Oetober 29, 1962 To the Editor: We too are “parent reader We read with interest the letter in a recent sun or S&B in which a number or students, in- eluding our daughtcl colnlncntr ed on eged ovei estratnt by the college administration in some areas and under-restraint in othe s. we CAN'T AGREE with the suggestion implicit in the letter that hours regulations in the girls‘ dormitories should be su- spended. irrespective oi how properly most oi the girls might regulate their owll hours, the college itself would doubtless be considered remiss in its respon- sibilities if some untoward in. cident should oeeiir. Nevertheless the students‘ letter itsell seemed to us to he a perfectly legitimate ev— pression of opinion. and ene tirely appropriate in the intel- leetnally iree environment which we hope Grinnell will continue to lie. On the other hand the subse- quently published reaction of the anoymous “Parent readers" we find highly ot‘l'clistve — most 'lcularly the S(‘Ul‘lllo|l$ in- “Why else do you want to the hours but for ‘free A NUMBER or other reasons tor ndroeallng a relaxation or hon might occur to the less pi-uiient imagination. Some of us, for instance. can look back to our own collegiate years and remember such relativeiy non- Corrupt cmoytllent of unregh merited time as a simple delight in continuing to gab at 2 am. while‘ the dtlllards sleptieren though nine nights out oi ten we ourselves were among the dilllal'ds M and Mrs. John F. Drake l2 a.m. doesn't define morality To the Editor: .1 have been rollowing with some disappointment the letters concerning the issue of the'alJol— ition oi women‘s hours Although there has been a lot or discus. sion on campus. tow students have had their ileiis published The parellls' eomnienls show a I: at coretul analysis ._ ap- parently due to old pe nal preyudices which prevent thought. PARENTS HAVE claimed that abolition of women's hours would lead to a decrease in morality. health. grade points. and even the .rellege‘s reputae lion. as it there \ some causal relulionship invoicd. This is a valid argument for women's choosing to be in by midnight. but it is not a valid argument for requ’ring women to be in at u speril lime, Parents do not understand the issue in the the way as students understand it. 't parents on eems to ie of providing time loi- free lore. The fact . someone said, that "a ytlling thal run he done .ettei- midnight can be done betore midnight" To most students who are eon- eerned. the i sue is .1 mutter or principle Are Grinnell students inaluie enough lo regulule their own lives? it not. are Grinnell students mature enough to learn to regulate their 0\\‘l\ live Ally student who isn't yet mature enough to slarl lenining soc l responsibility might us well \ up and go back to [he womb. i believe that most Grinnell students are already lnalllle . Viduiil. enough to take care of theme selves — il women’s hours ivcie aboli hcd most women would re turn to [hair dorm not more thou hall an hour later than the present cur-tow, anyway. Oceasr ionnlly some rebel might stay out all night. but as an lntelllr pent human being she has a ight to make such a choice l repeat: “anything that can be done alter midnight can be done beloi-e midnight” The signlt'i» cunt result oi the abolition or women's hours would be to in- eiease the students‘ sense or responsibility by recognizing them as maturing young Cltl» Zens, and no longer as over» grown children. 1 RECOMMEND suspending curtew hours tor a trial period oi one month. A student-faculty committee would evaluate the results of the experiment. and report to the college administra- tion. in order to make the ex- pel'ilnent. semi-seientitie, per- llaps the sociology department would conduct a survey to der teimiiie it the virginity rate had decreased signiiieuntly. Bill Farthing Maturity. not puni+ive rule To the Editor: What is maturity? On :1 Cole lege campus. there are two as pects of maturity; academic and soeialrinterpersonal. There is lit lle question about the degree of academic and intellectual profi- ciency. responsibility, and free- donl which has been achieved here. This state or anal . while heartening in itself. provides one side or a rather drastic con trast at Grinnell. We reter to the unduly restrictive social rage ulallons placed upon the female students. An individual cannot attain personal standards or behavior- and a personal ethic when her actions are controlled by an nrbitrllrlly designed punitive system. The process or “gl'OWr ing up" and becoming mature necessarily in ‘olvcs the ability to make decisions for oneself. This ability u I not be actual» ized i the girls are denied the right to Ilse their own judgment. A college girl. ii she is considered mature. should be trusted on all levels or behavior. It is hoped that her powers oi judgment are developing They should not be 'lllled hy unnecessary regu- ll ion, but rather should lie :illoucd to grow in an atmose phere of freedom and personal integrity. An atmosphere or more per- sonal responsibility and self- cohtrol is a goal to be sought Before coming to Grinnell. the student should have reached. through parental and institution- al training. a degree of nlaltllity sunicient to prepare her lo start making lievown decisions. In the light of the school's demands upon the individual academic responsibility ol the student. how can it deny to this some st dent personal social l'esponsibi ity? Do they not go hand in hand? Relaxation of authoritar» ion control is :1 means to great- er maturity and self-control, which at one time or another. must be attained by every indie Why should the Grinv nell girl be forced to {are this important phase of growth att- er graduation? Is she not ready to do so while in eoll'ege- Grin» nell College has reached the evolutionary stage where the development ol a knowledgeable. tully mature. sell-slinieienl pe - son should become the eve ll gool or the college experience. Th difiicull under present conditions. THE PARENTS who wrote up- pos the proposed abolition of womens hours base their pro- tests on the "moral laxtty" and “free love" likely to ensue if such action were carried out. it is our contention that these well-meaning parents are incr l- inating themselves by implying that they have not brought up their children to be able to cope With the responsibility of sell- discipline In conclusion. a general et- inosphcre of freedom on our campus is to be desired. Cer- tainly. we would grow. become more mature and healthy, and our college experience would be more complete The contrast between soeinl restrictivene and academic freedom would di- ininish and Grinnell could be come the school to which it aspll‘cs. Jim rronir Phil King Cowleslioos deny ‘ freedom of speech To the Editor: Several evenings ago when the headwaiter at Cowles started to read an announcement about an emergency meeting ot the Grin» nell Student Peace Group. he was drowned out by a large amount of hissing and booing. BECAUSE of this hissing and booing. i doubt that anybody in the dining room was able to un- dcrsland the announcement. Although 1 am not a mem— ber of the Grinnell sru, the type or behavior exhibited by the men oi Grinnell College in (ll-owning out this announce- ment disturbs me greatly. To me this type of behavior brings pictures into my mind of the kind oi tactics used by ene- mies oi democracy and free speech everywhere when they shout down people opposed to them so that these people can— not be heard. Ralph Craft Alternatives now debated To the Editor: As an intelligent parent said in his contribution to the Scarlet and Black. “the question of the regulation of \ronlen's hours. is no simple do-you-don‘t-youeap prove matter. however it may appear on the sin-race." My chief concern is with impressing this fact upon the parents, especially ii the letters whirh we have been reading are representative of their collective opinion. 1 hope simply to present some of the alternatives to the ideas they have expressed, not to eoni'nre them or the wisdom of a partied ler position on the issue. runnars THE eaSlest to an- swer or the questions ralsed is "Why else do you want to rela the hours but ior ‘free love. There are monv reasons. some or the most concrete or which are: to be able lo attend spe- clal events in Des Moines or loivu City without having to leave beloi-e the end or to drive back. perhaps at dangerous speeds, under the pressure oi an approaching zero hour: to be able to stay for the end of the film at the Strand in Grinnell: or to continue a stimulating d . eussion ol' the Cuban crisis in the Union. ~ Les tangible. but considered important by many. is the psy- chologlcal pressure exerted by Main hall clock on the minds or women somewhere outside the door as the hour approaches. it is not the tact that we are ex- posted in around twelve but [he fact that we must be in exactly hy twelve that is opposed by some oi us. Now to the mechanics of the operation. were there no hours That “no houis at the wonie dorms would mean no reslri tions at all on be being (Cont, to 1). 3. ('01. 1) in