Scarlet and Black GRINNELL COLLEGE Glinnell. low: A weekly newspaper published each Frldav or the col. leoe year lay the Grlnnell CDmmllicc on snudcm Pllbllca- lions. Laird H, Barber, chairman. Represented for national ndVertislng by Nhilonal Advenlslnlz Service. lnc., College Publishers Represenmive, la East can. Street. New York 22, in. second class posiage paid a: Grinnell, low. Subscription rate $4.50 Per school year. Lynn Dellzlcr .lim McIntyre . John wall Karen Adkinson Jlln Fish susmess MANAGING EDITOR FEATURE EDITOR scours comm . HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Tom llmlrnan XEPURTERS Ann siiownuer, J. Erlo Jacobson, Don lunn n, Pele Knllman Editorial “Zip" Code In attempting to ire-evaluate the “letters to the editor” department and establish a norm for letter publication in the year to come, two things require primary consideration. First, such a department is of very little value unless it is a weekly presentation of quality contributions, Second, the problem of keep- ing the department going demands responsibility on the part of both the S&B and its readers. The problem of keeping a steady stream of letters flowing into the editor’s office is contingent both upon reader interest in campus issues and the journalistic integrity of the editor with regard to all letters sub- mitted. In 1964 it will be our practice to print those letters which the college situation deems relevant or of in— terest. We will not allow prejudice or personal opinion to color our choice of letters for this department. The “letters to the editor" column should exist as one of reader opinion, and not of editorial opinion. It seems especially important to stress the fact that a prerequisite for publication in the “letters” col- umn doesn’t necessarily mean that a letter must criti- cize or complain. Letters of praise for some event or person, letters of agreement on some issue, or letters of evaluation concerning some campus discussion are just as much a part of any good ”letters" department as are letters of criticism. Although it is impossible at times to print every letter submitted to the S&B, each letter submitted will either be printed or acknowledged by a personal letter from the editor explaining why it was not used. The ”letters to the editor” department is open, then, to you our readers Last week we stated that it would exist as an open forum for opinion, discussion, and debate. We have stated here that every effort will be made on this side of the editor’s desk to maintain a readers’ opinion department of quantity and quality. The rest is up to you, Goldwater Favored to Take Mock Convention Nomination 0n the strength of the results of a poll published by the Young Republican newsletter, the YR Pioneer, Senator Barry Gold- water is the pre-convention fa- vorite to win the Republican nomination for president in the upcoming Mock Political Con- vention. In the poll Goldwater was the choice of 46 per cent of the 97 Young Republicans who responded to the poll. His . closest rival, Governor Nelson ' Rockefeller, was the choice of only 13 per cent who responded. However, much has changed since the death of President Kennedy, and preliminary re- ports on the latest YR Pioneer poll indicate that Goldwater ‘may have lost strength on the ‘Grinnell campus. The results of the poll are to be released In February. Dave Evans, President of die iYoung Democrats club, says that a group in his club has or» ganized and is planning a cam- paign to secure the Democratic vice-presidential nomination for Wyoming Senator Gale McGee. it was announced last week in the 5&3 that Senator McGee would keynote the Democratic session. Bob Savage, President of the Young Republicans, says he ex- pects a similar movement to arise in his club pushing the nomination of Mark Hatfield for the second spot on the GOP ticket. Hatfield is in his second term as Governor of Oregon, He will keynote the opening session of the convention on April 9 and act as presiding officer for that session. Interest in the Republican convention w as stimulated this week by speculation as to whether a group would back the candidacy of Margaret Chase Smith. The Maine Sen- ator announced her intention to enter the New Hampshire and Illinois primaries this week. SCARLET AND BLACK , Tom Fullmer Frldoy, January Miscellany and Digression An undergraduate is expect- ed to be idealistic, and a. senior is expected to be cynical, Not wishing to destroy these stere- otypes today’s column will deal With that wonderful world of make believe, the interim ses— sion. Theoretically for fresh- men and sophomores the inc terim session is a time for in- dependent study. However, if we naively believe the defh nition of the word independ- ent that appears in the dic- tionary, l. e. free from con- trol or persuasion, we see that than is a contradiction between theory and practice in the interim session. For if a freshman or a sopho— more were to utilize this time for true independent reading and study, he very probably would not choose the course of study which the college out- lines for the interim session. Freddie Freshman, (it is ala ways good writing technique to toss in a name here and there to give the reader something to identify With,) is requested, l. e., told, to independently read the Aeneid, Both freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to independently do reading from a bibliography supplied by the school to prepare themselves for the lectures of Messrs. Hoff- mann, Hanson and Burke, which they are urged to inde» pendently attend. Now I wish to cast no asper— sions on these gentleman who undoubtedly are well qualified in their fields and will give ex- cellent lectures which will bene- fit all who attend. For those students who have been waiting all semester for a respite from courses to do in dependent study on "Actio In Distans: Gravitation for New4 tonians and Post Newtonians,” the program outlined by the college is a godsend It is also probably wel- comed by those students who have not developed ally in- dividual curiosities or inter- ests and are relieved that the college has prepared a pro- gram for the period between semesters which will enter GLASSES Made and Repaired in Our Laboratory Contact Lenses CASES AND SOLUTIONS EYES EXAMINED E. J. Jensen, oil). Optometrist Across from Post Office tain them or at least keep them ocCupied so they do not die of boredom. As it stands now the student feels that if he is going to do anything he might as well follow the pro- gram set up by the college. Few do. We must not forget the up- perclassmen in this biased anal— ysis of the interim session. The juniors are involved in prepar- ation for the Junior Liberal Arts examination — Grinnel!‘s unique device to rid itself of a vast overstock of paper, ensure that the post office and service bureau are constantly function- ing, and provide, “a means of evaluation other than the usual course grades and grade point average.” Already the JLA, as it is af— fectionately known, has cov- ered the nature of man and the areas of evidence and evalua- tion. This year the junior class will write definitive essays on order. One topic reportedly ready for a future year is the nature of the JLA. For Seniors, the interim ses- sion is analogous to the peri- od between the sentence and the execution. Literature ma- jons had the good luck to have the privilege of taking part of their comps two days after finals. They were able to avoid some of the torture of waiting. History majors are fortun- ate in that to do well in the essay portion of their comps no prior knowledge of his- tory is required. They are given a semester of reading ’to do during the interim on which the essay examination will be based. Any student with a proficiency in speed I o a d l n g, a photographic mind, and a gift of eloquence should be able to do well on the history essay. What can be done wlth the interim session? Why not set up a program whereby stu- dents are required to present a plan for independent study dur- ing the interim to their advise or? This program could include reading or the working on a project. Part or all of the work could be required in a field sep- arate from the student’s major. FULLMER— l Continued on Page 4 @EPEMDDBHW Pharmacy 4th Avenue Hanson's DANISH MAID Home of Quality 4th Ave. ‘ D E N O ' 5 Pizza - Beverages Brood St. We also give tree delivery 236-6334