Page Two SCARLET AND BLACK Friday, February 1 Scarlet and Black GRINNELL COLLEGE Grimicll. lot/u \i'ralily iicuslmiim published each run ll) mp oiiuuell (.Uuunllicu cu in ll Ember, chmnuliu Rci [venisillg by animml Am‘einsiug c Publishcis Rwrcsrnililve, IS him 5 ii Yoili y. swim class push-up paid .u Giiuucii, iuubu Mlle SlSO bu school rcar. Li‘im Drlizler Jim Mciuiyic .iuliu Wolf Kureu Ailkilhon iiui Fish of me Col- FllDllcilr IDUOR BUSINLSS MANAGFK , MANAGING izbirok f-icm'uize Luiroh . ,. SPORTS EDITOR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER . . . . 1w“ iiimunu ' REI’OR’IERS Aim suuuilier, .i. brie Jacobson. Don Kurascli, paid lioilman, Nancy Gromylcn, suzuunc ociber. Aillly Hand, susiu Tilylflr The interim session looks good on paper. The Junior Liberal Arts Exam impresses the prospective student, and adds depth and polish to the college cata~ loguei But the fact remains — students consider both the JLA and the interim “comic relief.” A time designed for independent study finds the students migrating to the train and bus_depot, rather than to the library. Shelves in the bookstore remain stocked with relevant material long after the syllabus has been distributed. Lecturers, experts in their fields, are brought to the campus — morning lectures attract a great number of curious students, while later discus— sion sessions entertain a handful of sleepy listeners. The members of the junior class compare notes on how little they have read about Aristotle, Darwin, or New- ton, and proceed to deal out the next bridge hand, What does it mean, this interim period? A two- week paid vacation for a group of shiftless liberal arts students who choose to party rather than prepare for independent progress? It can hardly be a question of Whether Grinnell students can study independently. Regular course work, and advanced projects show that they do a great deal on their own—both by choice and by necessity. But where, in the study plans for the interim ses— the seniors, in preparing for comps, have the oppor- tunity to do extensive work in a chosen field, and the chance to graduate necessitates the completion of that _work successfully. ' Although the JLA is not supposed to shadow the interim period, the juniors have been restricted cornv pletely during the last two weeks by its existence. Their study is independent only in respect to whether they do it or not For those students who decide to go along with the experiment, at least two full weeks of reading are mapped out by the syllabus. There isn’t much room for-exploration in areas of personal interest, and there isn’t enough interest in those areas supposed to be explored The knowledge that no one has to pass (unless he anticipates needing those four credits to graduate) might relieve pressure, but it also eliminates motivation. _ Sophomores and freshmen are guided by vague plans for learning, and faithfully read books from the proposed lists and attend their lectures for a while. But when the interim is over, they have little more to show for it than memories of sleeping late in the morning, attending movies every night in ARH. and the appre- hension that they are one year closer to the JLA sylla- bus. If the interim session is going to benefit just the handful of underclassmen that take the maximum amount of energy in an attempt to fulfill a rather vague degree of responsibility, then it should be abolished. Right now it exists as a lot of free time to use up before classes start again, If the juniors are going to have a JLA, then the topics should be more relevant and more individually» oriented. Some discrimination should be drawn be- tween those who do the work and those who “bull" their'way through; and with the topics as vague and general as they are now, this is often not possible. If the college wants to provide the student with two weeks free from classes to pursue independent in terests, the interests must be particularized for each “body-student" rather than bin-aggregate “studenk body." Let’s focus the interim session or scrap it. The announcement by Mar- ‘gal'et Chase Smith that she livnuld enter the New Hump lshirc primary in an attempt to secure the Republican presi- dential nomination came as no surprise to those of us who are worried about Creeping femin» ism in American society. Her announcement should be a clarion call of warning ibi- those American men who have not yet fallen under Lhe insid~ ious control of the opposite sex. Whether there are any such people left in our society has been open to doubt. Former President Harry Truman, when asked about the possi- bility of a woman president, answered: “I don’t see why not. They I u n everything else, and if you don’t know that now, you soon will." Ambrose Bierce conveyed the same impression when be de- lined a Queen as “A woman by whom the realm is ruled when there is a king, and through whom it is ruled when there is not.” Despite these statements, it is clear to me that, fortunately, men make most of the imporr tant decisions in this world. I say fortunately, for if these de- Tom Wilmer—“h? l l Cislons were made by women, I doubt whether our civilizallon could endure. 1 am a firm believer in the doctrine of male supremacy. This belief is firmly ground- ed in empirical prejudice. However, it would be foolish for me to argue for a pro- gram to deal with women’s rights which was based on the separate but equal con- cept. That type of program is no longer accepted by the intelligent individual in to- day’s society What i do argue for is a more realistic policy, a policy which recognizes the necessity for Women in socieiy and the associations Which must take place in such a society if it is to continue to function. That policy is based on the more realistic and practical concept of together but unequal. The American woman simply has not shown herself capable of doing anything which re- quires the slightest amount of ingenuity and original thought. She has shown herself inca- pable of performing such minor tasks as driving a car. A womr an never parks a car; she abandons it. Women, of course, do have their place in this world. if trained properly, they make excellent occasional compilfv ions and have shown some abilily in doing menial work. The marriage vows recogiiice that woman is suited to be a servant to man. Each woman at the altar promises to “love, honor, and obey," her' hus- band. That is as it should be. Even Grinnell is not safe from the insidious quest lor equality for women, For those who are complacent, I need only point but that two of the last ioui- S&B,editors have been women. One week from today will begin a test for Grinnell Col» lege. Next weekend is women‘s weekend. Each man must de- cide for himself what his own Conduct will be during this Crit- ical period. I would only suggest that Grinnell men act from a posi- tion of strength. Reasoning is useless with women, but, like the lower form of intelli- gence which they are, women respect firmness and lame. Before resorting to violence, however, one is cautioned to check with the humane so- cieiy. An Explanation To the Editor: in the last issue of the 5&3 there appeared an ad which “Independent” Study To The Editor: Many faculty members have been troubled. as has Tom Fullmer, by the use of the term “independent" of some study here at Grinnell. 1 don’t know which dictionary Mr. Fullmer consulted. i should urge all to acquire the habit of consulting the rich treasury called for short “N. E. D." — A New Eng- lish Dictionary on Historical Principles. N. E. D. meaning number i for “independent" is “Not depending upon the authority of another, not in position of subordination or subjection; not subject to ex- ternal control or rule; self- g o v e r n in g, autonomous, l'ree." Absurdity develops ii we de- fine “independent," as does Fullmer’s dictionary as “free from control or persuasion" in an absolute sense This is N. E. D. meaning 5: “Not dependent on others for the formation of opinions or guidance of cpnduci; not influenced by the opinions of others; thinking or acting. or disposed to think or act, for oneself, (of persons, their disposition, pm)" One usage of (his kind is of “ancindependent' and energetic man who will vote as he pleases." An extended use is KUNTZ LETTER— Continued on Page 8 Letters to the Editor... sion, is the notion of either choice or necessity? Only . urged student support of the advertisers represented in the paper, andl feel that further explanation is needed. This year ihe Cyclone and the 5&3 have taken their business out of Grinnell, with the Cyclone photography be- ing done at Cedar Rapids and the printing of the 5&3 being done in Newton. The respec- tive decisions to leave Grin- nell were made after careful consideration of the offers made and the services to be rendered. Naturally Grinnell businesses were upset at the loss oi this business, and as of now three firms have withdrawn their advertising {r 0 m the 5&3. These firms are Coast-to-Coast. Cunningham's, and I. D.'s. This could be understandable to the publications' stalls, but there are two obicciidns to the With- draWEIls, rim, boih publications are on budgets, and they have to get what they consider to be the most for what money they have 1 think that Grinnell businesses should realize that it takes more than location in Grinnell to win the college contracts and should offer more than that in getting the college business. The second objection to the withdrawal of the advertising was the way in which it was done. The three firms termi- noted their business with the idea that. they do no! need stu- dent business and support for their firms. Therefore, i think all students should think about this next time ihcy do any shop- pingi ‘ Bunny King Adult: Mature? To the Editor: Perhaps the crux of our prob lem within the Grinnell Commu‘ nity is the assumption we tend to make that the terms “adult" and “mature” are necessarily synonymous. They may be, bui need not be. We may have lor- gotten the la ct that most “Adults" are not “mature." When the Community ap- preached the s f u d e n t indi- vidually or institutionally as an “adult,” it made the assump- tion — “mature." The Community seems to for— get that Che larger society has many mechanisms which lunc- tion constantly to discipline and integrate socially the vast ma- jority of the “adults” who will never be “m a t u re," even though they live a millennium. Robert C. Sauers ’49 Ed. Note: This letter was received during the Christmas recess. Because of the ab— sence of 3 “letters” column during the change of editors, the letter was held until now. We leei ii is still relevant, due to increased discussion about campus problems, sponsored by the Board at Religion. Be Lecluse Addresses Ghicago French Girole Miss Odette de Leclusa (French) was in Chicago this week where she presented a lecture in French (0 the Cercle Francais on Tuesday. She spoke on the subject, “The Parisian Hostess and Her Salon in the 18th Century.” »