Page Two SCARLET AND BLACK Friday. January I0. I?“ . ' Jay Bardole Bescribes African Student life A The tribal people seem to be friendly to the foreigner. As a friend and I entered one of the na- tive villages which was about two hours walk from Cuttington. the people came out and shook our hands and. we made a _vain attempt at conversa- tion. . We can really divide our students at Cuttington into three groups. First, there are the Monrovia ’etudents. generally classed as Americo Liberian These young people are said to be descendents of former slaves, and it was their folk who ran the country before the Tubman administration. This term is no longer admired and is embarrassing to those whom it describes. These students have al- ways lived in a Western atmosphere, speak no tri- bal tongue, and the folk lore is unknown to them. In many ways they resemble American Negroes. We have many tribal students who were and are educated by various missions. These students have all attended bush school, and know the' arts and skills taught there. Both boys and girls have experienced the ritual ceremony of circumcision. .When they go home for vacation, they return to . mud huts, and to families who may speak little or no English. These students are steeped in native folk lore and other tribal customs having been taught by the bush devil himself. Many of these tribal students strive for an edu- cation so they can return to their villages and raise the standard of living. A few want to leave their homeland and its poverty and find the excitement and high standard of living of the Western world. but fortunately they are a minority. As every school. Cuttington has its foreign stu— dents. We have Kikuyu students from Kenya, one of whom has served five years in a Mau~Mau deten- tion camp. Most of the students come from colonial countries, such as Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone. Rhodesia and Swayland, and they feel hostile to- ward foreigners ln Africa. These are the students who are likely to be rebellious and lead student strikes, etc. Still they do lend a greater variety to the African scene at Cuttington, providing a wealth of thought that students should imbibe. Yes, I can now say I have taught a Prince. We have two Princes, one from Nigeria, and from the Cameroon. The latter, in particular is as courtly and courteous as a prince ought to be, and he is a fine addition to my track team. The students‘ attitude toward the United States is constantlychanging. They feel that our policies are hypocritical. They ask why we send Peace Corps to Africa when we need help in our own South. When a distinguished man like William 0. Douglas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, comes to Cuttington and tells the students that there is no real racial problem in the United States, and that which remains is rapidly vanishing, the stu- dents know he is whitewashing the truth. This does not build good will. ' Likewise the students’ feeling towards me fluc- tuates according to the New York Times report on the racial problem. When Birmingham is in the news, I can anticipate their reaction. But usually they are gay and friendly. , The students are basically argumentative. Each paper or exam returned that isn’t graded as high as the student is used to will bring that student for— ward, not so much asking way, but complaining that he should have more credit. ,Grades are the prime goal of all these students. Many times talk becomes quite heated, but usually the next day there are few hard feelings. It is more difficult to gain a rapport with these students than it is for a’teacher at home. I have found that I have gained much of an insight wlm the track. team as we prepared for the meet. and now can exchange ideas with these students much better. My best rapport has come through my square dance group. These students feel die most ease with me, and I feel the most at ease with them. Students here are serious about their studies.‘ and work long hours in preparation, but their ef- ficiency is low. Reading rates are slow and they have not mastered the art of selecting material that is important. Their mode of study is memoriza- tion, and they try to memorize everything. The cry in class is give us a definition, their purpose being to have something to memorize. They memorize specific examples; however, seldom can they trans- fer the methods to similar problems. Calculus stu- dents can work a complex integration if it is pre- sented in a straightforward form, but if it is a word problem, they can not set the problem up. As for anything requiring the logic of Western thought— well, African thought patterns just aren‘t logical. Many of the problems stem from the fact that 75 per cent of the students are working in a second language. Also the students enter college with a poor background. Thus education for Liberia on the primary and secondary levels as well as in col- leges is important, and it must be obtained if the students are going to successfully maintain a posi< tion in the world today. The problem is: how best can Western methods and African personality be integrated. Ed notei This is the final half of a letter from Travel-Scholar Jay Bardoie, who is presently teaching at Cuttington College, Li- beria. - . -Happiness Is imitation (ACP) —— With thanks to car- toonist Charles Schulz, James Dulicai, Columnist for THE fiROWN AND WHITE, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., writes: Happiness Happiness is getting served. is a postponed test you weren't pre- pared for. Happiness is 14 minutes ’of extra sleep. r ”e n .. £9 ‘5' mass canon ausmn MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR , FEATURE EDITO sronrs smroa CHIEF p EXCHAN E sen-on Happiness Happiness is a late professor. is m o n e y from home. Happiness is one girl for home and one for school. Happiness is an textbook. is finishing a term paper. is finally being hired- is a v o i d i n g the draft. is a gas-price war. is sleeping in class and not missing any- thing. is enough hot water. is growing a beard. is seeing in 0 vi a s "For Adults Only." is being ignored by the Dean of Stu- dents. ‘ Finis inexpensive Happiness Happiness Happiness H . tion notice. appmess Happiness Happiness means fun. A lot Happiness Happiness Happiness Scarlei‘ and [Black {is rare year by the Grlnlulll Committee on Student Publica- dons. national advertising by National Advertising service. Tum, Calls 2 Publishers Representativa. is en: 50m Street. New Iowa. Subscription me $4.50 per school year. ASSISTANT sronrs canon OTOGRAPHER BUSINESS ASSISTANTS CIRCULATION MANAGER SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER . It’s been a good year. Our books balanced. (I got paid.) The complimentary letters exceeded the critical. (My mother writes every week.) ' Our editorial comment received much administra- The S&B appeared every week—almost. Subscriptions were up, cancellations down. The year was interesting, educational, but by no proof reading have gone into this year. And for this drudgery, the mechanical aspect of journalism, I owe thanks to my editors and staffers. GRINNELL COLLEGE Grimm". law: A weekly newspaper published each Friday or the col- Laird H. Barber. chairman, Represented m ork 22, mi, Second class postage paid at Grinnell, .vhn nenos onnd mum Dave Haetz . John won en Adkinson . Len Calodney . Eric Jacobson Tom HIriman Jeff Kohlman John Poiman Larry Rindcrknecnt of copyediting, headline writing, and J. P. H. Happiness is a parking place. Happiness is a dorm puppy. 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