M'Y' March 6. HM SCARLET AND BLACK Page Fly. Alt, Johnson, Spence Recount Variety of Political Experiences March 15 is the deadline for submission of applications for this summer's Political Interne ship p r o g r a m. Application forms are available in Room 207, Carnegie, from C. Edwin Gilmour, PPPE director, or from his secretary. By Suzanne Gelber A summer of superlatives, responsibility and hard work, a three-month madhouse de- scribe the political internships sponsored by PPPE as seen by last summer's interns—Mari- lyn Alt, Phil Johnson, and Jack Spence. Chosen by application (which lsenow open), interns receive a $500 stipend for two months work from PPPE; a third month of work and salary is the option of individual con- gressmen with whom interns are placed. Election years mean work on Congressional or gubernatorial campaigns, while years between elections find tnost interns at Work in Wash- ington, D. C., on Congressional offlce staffs. From pasting labels to sec- retarial work, from greeting constituents to background re- search on legislation, Marilyn Alt expended her energies in the office of Neal Smith, Dem- ocratic representative from Des Moines. Fifth District. “I did what other staff members couldn’t get to," stated Mari- lyn. A political science major, Marilyn attended open commit- tee hearings and spent a day with 6|) Methodist Youhh Fel- lowship members when Civil Rights was under debate. Acting as legislative assistant to Congressman Fred Schwen- gel, 3 Republican from Daven- port, Iowa, Phil Johnson en» joyed close contact with legisla- tive affairs and techniques. Johnson had a desk in Schwen- gel's inner office from which he called Congressional commit- tees to discover the status of pertinent legislation, as part of his duties or legislative re- search. Phil wrote synopses of bills for Schwengel and actual» ly wrote sections of bills the Congressman intended to intro- duce. As did the other interns, Jack Spence noted that “an- swering constituent mail pro- vided an interesting exercise in knowledge of Congressional style, and demanded a com- plete knowledge of the stand the Congressman took on a Wide variety of legislation." Jack spent his summer in Wis- cousin in Senator William Prox- mil‘e's ”informal workshop.” ‘The typical senatorial staff has 15 members," stated Jack, “and the atmosphere of each office reflects the Congression- al personality it houses." Com- menting on the mail situation, Jack explained that the office received 400-500 pieces of mail daily, about 80 per cent of which had to be answered per- Newa-formed Grinnell Civil Rights Club To Replace Civil Rights Talk with Action By Ann Showalter ”We want to stop talking about civil rights and start act< lng," stated Susan Goldberg, one of the organizers of the re cently formed Grinnell Civil Rights Group. In view of the significance of the civil rights movement and of the role of students in it, the group has been formed “to pro- vide the college community with an opportunity to learn about and to become active participants in this nationwide movement.” Susan stressed the group's concern with getting the towns- people of Grinnell involved in the program. “Some members of the Grinnell Ministerial As- sociation seemed very interest- ed, and none were hostile” at a meeting Monday with represen— tatives from the civil rights chapter. “We plan to take a survey of town opinion on the civil rights problem in general and on spe. cific issues such as willingness to sell houses to Negroes," she continued. The group plans to hold a hindralsing work day before' the spring recess. Members will wash Wllltlows, do spring cleaning and outdoor tasks ap~ propriate to the weather ior (acuity and townspeople. Another pie-v cation project will he a Showing of ”I’ll Never Turn Back,” a Student Non- violent Coordinating Committee iilm about voter registration in the Mississippi Delta. “We would like to send some one to work in one of SNCC’s summer programs," S u s a n said. A civil rights bulletin board will present current develop- ments ill the field and opportun- ities for students to continue their work in their hometowns. K e n n 2 th A, Christiansen (biol.) heads the group’s board of faculty advisers which in< cludes Howard R. Burkle (phil.). R o g e r L. Eldridge (chaplain), Robert H. Have- rnan (econ), Alan R. Jones (hist.), and James s. Magee (poli. sci.). . Long range plans includes sending members to the April NAACP Convention in St. Louis, to a concert by Dick Gregory and the Freedom Singers May 12 in Iowa City, and to a tenth anniversary cel- ebration of the Supreme Court decision on public school inte- gration May 14 in Des Moines. The local organization plans to work With the exchange pm- gram between Grinnell and Les Molnes College in Tennes- see. The program llas the back- ing of faculty and adminis a- tion of both schools and awaits a grant so it can get underway. sonally. ”When I answered mail, I had to assume the char- acter of William Proxmire, down to the last detail," ob- served Jack. Mail is divided into several categories: legisla~ tive, case, and personal mail. Legislative m a i l originated from both individuals and groups and dealt with or re— quested tha Senator’s opinion on hills. Case mail consisted of communication regarding ap« pointments and other requests. In a basement room, which the Senator shared with a lobby group and a second Senator, was located an automatic let- ter—typer and automatic pen to deal with form letters. Activia ties within the senatorial office itself ranged from publishing a newsletter, to speech composi— tion, to wrlting books, to case work on bills, and Spence found his job a great opportunity “to really get to know staff mem- bers who were on the inside track.” Intense exposure to a sum- mer of politics led Phil to com- plete an independent research project on minority staffing and Marilyn to set up the campus political symposium. Spence hopes to find a place on Sena- tor Proxmire's campaign staff this summer. All three interns agreed that the internship was an “extremely valuable experi- ence,” as Johnson put it, “Learning how a Congress~ man operates just isn’t in text- books,” commented Phil, who also mentioned discovering the importance of personal contacts in politics. Despite a lack of formal orientation and a “pert- Od of adjustment,” the interns commented on Congressional helpfulness and the air of re- sponsibility which accompanied their positions. “I came away with the conviction that Con- gressmen are people after all," joked Marilyn. Informality characterized the interns’ living arrangements. Marilyn lived with four June graduates, riding to work on a bus and fixing meals with the other girls. A rented room in the middle of American Uni- versity housed Phil Johnson, while Jack Spence commuted from suburban Bethesda, Mary- land, The intern trio attended a number of discussion groups slated particularly for the thou- sand or so interns which Wash- ington accommodated last sum- mer. Hours of less formal dis cussion vied with lectures, con< certs, parties, and committee meetings for the interns' free time. The late President Ken- nedy addressd the student group, as did congressmen who spoke on their areas of special- ization. Applicants must state preferences as to winch sena- tors or representatives or can- didates not presently in office they want to serve and the rea- sons for their choice. Ques- lions asked of applicants reier to relevant courses they have taken at Grinnell as well as their motives ln applying DENO'S PIZZA Cold Beverages Spaghetti Every Monday and Wednesday FREE DELIVERY — CALL 236-5334 LITTLEFIELD JEWELRY 4th and Broad Street Grinnell. Iowa THE ENGAGEMENT RING WITH. THE PERFECT CENTER DlAMOND K eepsake‘ True artistry is expressed in the brilliant fashion stfling of every Keepsake diamond engagement ring Each settlng is a master- piece of design, reflecting the full hrilllanca and beauty of the center diamond . . . a perfect gem of flawless clarity. fine color and meticulous modern cut. The name, Keepsake, in the ring and on the tag is your assurance of fine quality and lasting satisfaction. 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