Eddy. April I1, 1954

SCARLET AND BLACK

 

Letters to the Editor

Students Seek Personal Letters for Memorial Library

Students:

Our generation has experi-
enced few shocks, and none has
moved us more deeply and
none have we shared with more
intensity than the death of
President Kennedy, All Ameri-
cans were stunned and grieved
by his untimely passing, but
perhaps youth felt the blow
more keenly than the rest. He
was a man who shared his
youth and ideals with young
people and awakened within us
the challenge to find a purpose
and to carry out our responsi-
bility to ourselves and to our
country.

We believe that the personal
letters college students wrote to
friends, sweethearts, parents
and others who were close to
them during those days in No
vember would indicate their
true feelings and vividly de-
lcribe the effect of John F. Ken-
nedy’s death upon oLu‘ genera-
tion. In addition to providing a
tribute to President Kennedy,
these letters would serve not
only as a valuable asset to his-
torians, but would clearly de-
pict for the future the emotion-
el and psychological impact of
the tragedy upon the thoughts
of America’s young people.

Because we feel that these
letters are important, we as in-
diVIduals are collecting them
for deposit in the JFK Memor-
ial Library and have been as.
cured by officials at the Nation-
31 Ardhives in Washington,
D,C,. that the letters will be

flrossman Enters Plea
For Clock coordination

To the editor,

I would like to make, What I
feel is a simple request:
wouldn’t it be very easy for the
men from the physical plant to
set all of the campus clocks
to standard “radio" time, and
help eliminate some of the em-
barrassing bother of my being
late to a class or to dinner or
to the movies or to the library?
It wouldn’t take more than a
few minutes. \

S. Grossman

Anonymous l’tem
Speaks on ’Misery'

The following letter con-
sisted of a newspaper clip,
unsigned, from Chapel Hill.

North Carolina, The bold-
laced line was underlined.
.To the Editor:

Student Life, Washington Uni-
versity, St, Louis, Missouri,
says:

Misery is dorm hours.

Misery is a letter from the
draft beard. ,

Misery is having your 2lst
birthday fall during finals week.

Misery is trying to be like
Harvard.

Misery is a letter from home
with no money in in

Misely is tuition,

Misery is the lite of a pledge,

Misery is a new pair of Levi’s.

Anonymous Donation

 

accepted, stored there, and for-
warded to the Kennedy Library
upon its completion.

As we are college students
with a limited budget, our only
appeal is to students through
college newspapers, and we
need your support and coopera-
tion to make this project a suc-
cess. If you have saved any of
the letters you received which
commented upon the effects of
the events in Dallas ,and if you
are interested in donating them
to the library, please send them
[0:

Letters
BOX 756
Blackburg, Virginia 24060

If possible, we would like to
have the original envelope
showing the postmark and date.
Upon receipt of the letters, we
will assemble them and send
them In a body to the National
Archives.

 

It should be remembered that
letters sent will be made avail-
able for examination by com-
petent and interested persons
at the library, and thus, any
personal matter may be de<
leted, or the letter may! be re-
copied, omitting these parts
We will attempt to acknowledge
all letters which are received,

We feel that if we are able to
obtain an adequate number of
these letters representing a
fair cross—section ofsthe U.Sr
college population, then our
generation Will be enabled to
make a real and unique contri-
bution to history, helping to
paint a clearer picture of times
such as the present.

Kathryn I. Kulesher
Western Reserve u.
Cleveland, Ohlo

Thomas H. Maher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Blackburg, Virginia

 

Student Wants Better SGA.
Full-Time Interest in Politics

To the Editor:

it is Indeed unfortunate that
for most student government is
something to think about only
prior to elections, I suggest
that, if the quality of student
government is to improve, and
it must, we will have to consid~
er changes broader in scope
than those afforded by the elec-
toral process. We must begin
by asking ourselves certain
fundamental questions:

ls a structure copied from
the national system really
suited to our needs? Is the
threat of tyranny in our leaders
so great that we must shackle
the system with the elaborate
checks and balances which pre-
vent prompt and efficient ac
tion? And is it necessary to
fragment the functions of stu-
dent government among so
many different cabinets, com-
mittees, councils, and boards?

Our present structure is dem-
ocratic to be sure, if we judge
the democracy of a system by
its resemblance to our Ameri-
can national government. In
fact, we score quite well on
such a comparative test. We
have an executive with a cab-
inet and a veto, a court with 1‘97
view and appeal, and a senate
with representatives, commit-
tees, and all the fits and starts
so common to its national coun-
terpart.

But perhaps this ideal demo-
cratic structure is not What is
needed at Grinnell for effective
and efficient student govern-
ment. Certainly our situation is
vastly different from that en-
countered at the national level,
Our government is faced with a
Higher Good in the form of an
administration Which can over-
rule and negate its action. In
addition, our leaders lack the
skill, found on the national lev-
el, of making a bad system
work well, With a few excep-
tions, those Involved in student
government are students first
and politicians second

 

To make matters worse, the
attempted imitation is a bad
one. Difficulties in the national
system are made impasses in
ours, In place of unified en-
forcement under executive di-
rection we have substituted a
divided police force and made
them independent of the presi-
dent. In place of parties we
have substituted 3 political elite
which divides itself into two
opposing machines for each
year's election. In place of a
tattle-tale press we have sub-
stituted nothing. We hear of ir-
regularities in student govern-
ment only when one faction
becomes incensed at another,
which is seldom. And finally,
our courts have failed to cre—
ate me clear and consistent
legal framework upon which ef-
fective enforcement rests.

The very persistence of these
problems suggests that they are
the result, not of incompetent
leaders, but of an inadequate
governmental structure. Hence,
better government will be
achieved only by broad struc-
tural reform.

It is unfortunate that such
reform must originate in the
senate, for it is perhaps the
most confused and impotent
branch of student government.
This presents a strange para-
dox: if the student senate were
effective enough to initiate the
necessary reform, much of the
reform would be unnecessary,

Determined leadership from
the executive and co-operation
by the courts would be a great
help, but the critical support
for change must come from the
student body at large. For as
long as we have a democrati-
cally styled system, the demos
must bear a large part of the
responsibility. If We are to suc-
ceed in this Herculean effort,
we must be a government of
the many for longer than one
convention session.

Gerald Goddard

 

Page Thro.

The Senate Scene

By WADE STEVENSON

A revitalized Student Senate
met Wednesday night and
adopted resolutions which will
enable that body to assume
tighter control of student funds.
A resolution was passed with
the intent of providing a reme~
dy against the use of funds for
secret parties:

“Be it resolved that: any
student group, with the excep»
tion of residence halls, which
desires to use student funds in
excess of five dollars for a
party or a convention not bud»
getecl for by the Senate must
obtain approval from the Sen-
ate to use these funds.”

The Senate also passed three
other resolutions pertaining to
student finances:

“Be it resolved that: the Ap-
propriatlons Committee shall
be empowered to allocate funds
not exceeding fifty dollars With-
out obtaining prior approval by
the Senate.”

“Be it resolved that: all
funds left over in any student
accounts which contain funds
provided by the Student Gov.
ernment Association, other
then Men’s residence hall ac-
counts, automatically be placed
in the General Budget and Re-
serve fund at the end of each
organization‘s financial year.
Funds left over in Social Co-
ordination Committee AcCounts
shall be placed in social re-
servesl Social Reserves are not
to accumulate over shsuo. Any
excess Will be placed in Gen-
eral Budget and Reserve.”

“Be it resolved that: each
campus organization which re
ceives funds from the Student
Government Association be re-
quired to submit detailed state-
ments of financial condition to
the Senate Appropriations Com-
mittee on the first day classes
convene for second semester
and within one week following
spring vacation. Such financial
statements shall include an ac-
counting of all expenditures
made by said organization."

The Senate approved the ap-
pointment of Nord Brue as
campus National Student As-
sociation Coordinator. How-
ever, Jolln Lischer, chairman
of the Nomination Committee,

 

noted that applications for tho
position had not been presented
to the entire body.

Phil Johnson, 5. G, A. Presiw
dent, stated that "such action
is not without precedent,”
Johnson indicated that ”tho

function of the N. S, A. Coordi-
nator is to work closely with tho
executive cabinet and the exe-
cutivs cabinet should be able
to chose someone with Whom
they can work."

Jim Herzog said that he was
“highly critical of any Student
Government which doesn’t op—
en up applications to the entire
student body." Lischer stated
that “the Nomination Commit—
tee has the highest regard for
Brue’s ability, but they are
disturbed by the mechanism
used to nominate him for the
position." ,

After debating the problem
of applications, the Senate
passed the following resolu-
tion:

”Be it resolved that: the
executive cabinet maintain I
policy of open application for
all Student Government A!-
sociatlon appointments.”

Concerning other business,
the Senate asked the executive
cabinet to submit resolutions
on the open lounge rule and
the car rule. Due to a recent
case In which two students
who were apprehended with
automobiles have been asked
to repay a part of their scholar.
ships, the Student Government
officials would like to clarify
the existing car rule,

Applications are open for
positions on the high court,
secretary of the executive cabi~
net. chairman of the Foreign
Student Board, the Freshmen
Commission, and the Encamp-
ment Committee. The death
line for application is April 20.

The Senate approved the ap.
pomtment of Ellen Pearce a!
Secretary to the Student Sen-
ate, Also Adenna Peterson wad
approved as Chief Magistrate
of the Women's Primary Court,
and Karen Adkinson, Pam Clay
and Mary Wilson were ap-
proved as members of the
Women’s Primary Court. Davo
Willis was approved in an inv
terim appointment to the men's
Primary Court,

 

JUST ARRIVED!!
A WATER-FIGHT ARSENAL!

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GARDEN
/ HOSE
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BEN FRANKLIN'S