Friday, October 30. I964 SCARLET AND such Page Three Taylor Wants Senate to ‘Retire'; feels It Is No Longer Necessary The Student Senate has called for its own death In its aug- ust life of four years, it has occupied well over 2000 man hours a year in meetings alone (plus all the other bunc that Went on behind the scenes). it has proved that no matter how wonderful a representative leg- islative body may seem in po- litical theory, it is not only in- efficient, but also entirely un- necessary on this particular college campus. Let us be realistic. Grinnell College is in the business of educating, Grinnell students are in the business of learn- ing. But Grinnell College is not In the business of providing an outlet for pseudo—political activities. I do believe, however—after too many years of experience with this octopodal monster— that student government has a function on this campus—an important function. Those members of the col- lege community who have worked on it seem in agree— ment, as am I, that student government has two function to carry out those responsibl » ities assigned to the students by the college, and to consult with officials of the college when student opinion is de- , sired, _ If one must use political theory. or its jargon, the Grin- nell student body is not sov- ereign, Thus it does not pos- sess sovereign power. We, as students, have volunteered for, and are assigned certain rer sponsibilities by the college. It is the function of student gov» ernment to carry them out. These are properly the du» ties of house presidents and their assistants, and of the ap~ pointed committees, Student leaders then, are stu- dents who are willing to im- plement these functions, to do the nasty chores and go in the meetings, in return for the benefits of friendship and per- sonal satisfaction which these positions offer. Getting back to the Student Senate, let us be realistic again. It's a big hunk of extra bag» gage; it's bogging the monster down. The following, with very little exaggeration goes on now. I-Iall elects two senators, For- ty senators elect speaker. Sen- ate meets. Executive Cabinet, aws Board, Coil-11> present proposals for Senate to rubber stamp. House council already knows through house president. Rest of hall is not at house meeting, doesn’t care, or doesn’t know who hall senator is is what And, neally, how could any- one consult with a body such as this? The situation varies, of course, from hall to hall, but the point is that the house presidents and the executive cabinet have actually worked out everything the Senate has passed for four years. It’s used all that time and energy doing nothing—except getting in ev- eryone else’s way. No one is trying to usurp its power—just to get a job done. There's no power to usurp. I submit that we should po- litely kill the Student Senate and bury it with all the due pomp and circumstance it has lived among. Let the AWS and the CDIHP legislate in the first place. Then they would only have to do it once. Let them consult with the administration. They ac- tually know what is going on. They would be much more ef- fective. Let them have the trust they deserve, There need be no separation of powers in a system that has no sovereignty. We need a workable, efficient system to do a lot of chores—not A model of the federal system. _ Since we expend so much time and energy doing practi- cally nothing except chores anyway, let us rid ourselves of this part of the monster, and allow those students who will take on our responsibilities the freedom of an efficient system in which to work. Let us realize, also, that we are students: Let's free our- selves of useless meetings. . and spend our time with books. Sue Taylor In damp weather, birds fly closer [O the ground than usual, seeking insects unable to rise far aloft with wet wings, MAKE A DATE WITH A STEAK TONIGHT .Enioy The Finest Food and Atmosphere in Grinnell LONGHORN Shades Of Gray—w Once Upon a Time. . A True By Carl Otis Gray In years to come when I am very old and my little brown skinned children come and sit upon my knees and ask for the honest facts about black and white, I shall sign and recount for them amazing facts about how they got to be what they are. I shall tell them the fol- lowing story about their Dad- dy. Once upon a time when I was young and still in college, I met a Black Muslims At mat time I was young and idealis- tic and I stopped to set this gentleman straight about the hats of life, “Sir,” said 1, giving due re» spect to his age, ”don’t you realize that you are using ex- tremist tactics by peddling this hate mongering propaganda?” “Man, you have been brain washed by those so - called White liberals" was his courte- ous reply. "Your position is just as had as that of the Ku Klux Klan," I reminded him. “Yes, man you have been brain washed,” he continued. ”You know of course, that all leading anthropologists re— fute any concept of racial su- periority," Again, I had to rev fresh his memory. “Tell me what good has the white man done in this world?” ”Well, really, that‘s a fairly obvious question to answer. Look around you. Most of the conveniences of the modern world do happen to be a pro duct of Western civilization, which of course has most of its heritage in the course of European and Middle Eastern development." “Oh really?" he seemed in- terested now. “Yes. and you see as Ameri- cans we necessarily are heirs to this heritage . . ." “As Americans?" “Yes, as Americans," I had to be patient with him, ”You see the fourteenah and fifteenth amendments say . . ." ”The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to what?”:he was relatively dense, “The American Constitution. Plus there is this new Civil Rights Bill that proves without a doubt . . .” “Wait a moment,” he inter- rupted, “what are you a citizen of?" “America, the United States. U.S.A.” "What is your n ative tongue?” he asked, “English." “Ho; ho!” he thought he had me, “were your parents Eng- Iish?" “No. they were American." “But they speak English . . ”In America we speak Enge lish." 1 was impatient. “We speak English," he mused as if it were a new thought. “But your skin is dark; why don’t you speak Ibo or Yoruba?” “Because I’m an American, Stupid," "But your skin is dark. You Story say you’re an American." He acted as if the combination was new to him. ‘ ' “Yes, yes, I’m a Negro Amer- loan, a Negro American," I repeatEd, Suddenly there came the light ; his face beamed, ”Man, you‘re not a Negro or an American, you’re a psuedo Af- rican!" He seemed so sure. Well! Never had anything . come to me as such a shock. He meant to tell me that my parents had hidden this great scar from me for so long. That in reality my identity was false, that I was laboring un- der [these delusions of gram deur this I couldn’t, I wouldn't accept this. I knew precisely who I was and what it meant. The nerve of the idiot. I dismissed him. >.< e a Surely when I am old I shall look back on this incident and chuckle through my long white beard and my sunglasses, as I tell my children about their heritage. By that time I’m sure the word psuedo will be out of the American vocabulary so that they won’t understand its significance. National Review offers. ' ~ SPECIAL STUDENT RATE: 89 for "It? Academic Your 0N LY tyou save $2.35 orer the regular rate) SUBSCRIBE NOW! Don‘l miss another exciting ism. When you think of your appearance LONDON LEATHER AND RUSSIAN LEATHER COLOGNE AFTER SHAVE Tharp Pharmacy \ 4th Avenue For Your Study Break Snacks go In THE TASTY PASTRY SHOP 923 Broad luxurious 'ascot shirt in champagne crepe 6.00 60 softly draped. .so superbly detailed. ..sa special. Care-free, all Dacrona polyester. Marvelous in white or misty pastels. 28 to 38. 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