Friday, April 29. ms The Liberal Liberal Arts College and Its Students: Part II SCARLET AND BLACK Carleton} 'liberalism' limited to Acudemi 5 ED. NOTE: In this second in a series on the “Liberal Liberal Arts College and Its Students," Burdette (Bird) Loomis, at Carleton junior government major, expounds on two factors which he thinks inhibit Carleton‘s progress as a “liberal" college — the nll-lrnpor. taut gradepolnt and the “disturbingly Midwestern morals." The statement of aims in the 1966 Carleton College Catalog concludes: Through emphasis on moral sensi- tivity, intellectual excellence, and commitment to goals which extend beyond the sell, the College wants to help its students develop their abil< ity to make critical and independent judgments and to act responsi- bly within any society. It hopes that they will enhance their clVllizauon with the works of their reason and imagination and that they will chal- lenge any threat to the freedom and dignity of man. it is significant to today’s Carleton that “moral sensitivity” precedes “intel- lectual excellence” in the above par graph. Every student knows that Carle- ton emphasizes intellectual excellence; if they don’t know upon arrival, the work load soon leaves them with no doubt as to the truth of this proposition, But Viet Nam-and many students react instinctively by burying themselves in their work. A considerable amount of studying at Carleton thus seems to be motivated by fear—fear oi the capabilities of 1300 other bright people, fear of not getting into the (or any) grad school. and per- haps a tear of experience, substituting in its place the safety of learning from books But every college has its 3C3- demic pressures, and although Carlee ton’s high standards produce a lot of anxieties, 75 per cent of all entering Carla graduate, so the pressure is hardly un- bearable. While Carieton's academic position is generally well-defined, its social posture is ill a state of serious flux. Carleton, like its students. is going through an "identity Crisis." Carleton has looked tor ltselt during most of the past decade, is still searching, and may or may not find itself in the next few years. The social situation at Carleton today is one of compromise. There are a limited number of open houses each week, wo- men’s hours have been somewhat libel“ aiized, and while talk about sex is en- couraged, the college has tound it neces- sal‘y to take a position in opposllion to premarital intercourse. A rather lopsided balance of feeling exists in that the students and a large AN ART WORKSHOP is part at Carleton'r "well-defined" academic posi- tion. It is the "social posture" that "is in a state of rerisos flux." accord- to writer Loomir. wen to a greater extent each student can .feel, if he allows himself, that Carleton wants to imbue everyone with that kind of “moral sensitivity" which the college thinks is the best, Unfortunately the morals turn out to be disturbingly Mid- western. First, in regard to “intellectual ex- cellence," Carleton is generally rec- ognized as a “good, small liberal arts college" (whatever that means); the at:- ldemlc program is properly heavy for such an institution, and the faculty is generally excellent. Everyone feels an amound of pressure. produced mainly by the looming: of graduate school .an/or segment of the faculty are for more lib~ eral than the administration. One major reason for this is that while the Carle- ton student body is natinnal in composi- tion, the money to run the college comes from an older and more conservative Carleton generation, which lives and al- ways has lived in the Midwest. The attitudes of the Midwest also play a large role in the social realm of Carleton lite. Northfield (until two years ago known as the town of “cows, col- leges, and contentment") is the usual bastion of conservatism. and, by God, the college can’t allow its students to offend» the townies. The atmosphere of Northfield and the whole Midwest is tak- en too seriously by the college; with dynamic leadership Carleton could suc- cessfully set itself apart from the re- straints superficially imposed by geog- raphy. But time after time students hear the same administration objection — don’t otiend those who support the college. Don’t oiiend, don't risk, do disagree if you want. but not too loudly. This is all great encouragement to that individual who is supposedly learning how to make “critical and independent judgments" What about these ”Critical and inde- pendent judgments” that the college de- sires the student to make? 0K, great. losers on the Carleton scene are the people who are concerned about the col- lege and its tuture. This segment untor~ tunately seems to be dwindling as ad- missions poiicies and disillusionment thin the rank of dissenters. Action Party, a. formerly successful political organization of the Leif, did a quiet death earlier this year, and al- though an SDS chapter has spmng up for Action members, the locus of their thinking is almost entirely toward off- campus issues. The college newspaper is filled with the usual accepted (and too-often hackneyed) liberal thought, and there is a definite need tor a sharp, satirical publication which might stir "COWS. COLLEGES, AND CONTENTMENT" were Norihtield's attrac- tions. This and Midwestern Conservatism are telren too seriously by Carla- ton says Loomis. Noble aims and all that. But when stu— dents propose a community government \vlll the college listen? Will the admis- sions office take a chance on that bright boy who might become an activist: Or will it settle on that nice, alkaround boy who probably won't cause any trouble? Whenever a problem comes up at Carle- ton that appears to call tor a decision, it is immediately referred to a com< mittee, and it necessary, a new com- mittee is formed to study the problem" There is a committee for everything—— a Student Long Range Planning Com- mittee, a Faculty Long Range Planning Committee, a StudentvFaculty . Admin- istration Council, a Faculty-Administra- tloanruslee Council (aptly abbreviated FAT), and dozens more. The four committees above have all evolved in the past few years because no one seems to want to make a deci- sion. The present president has tried to be a democrat in the totalitarian frame- work of administration set up by his predecessor. Thus, more committees are created every week in response to the need tor a place tor each new idea to be reterred and (in all probability) shelved. Lost in this endless proliferation of of committees, compromise, and inde- cision is that individual who is paying $2600 a year to attend Carleton. Why is the student content to apathetically live with this all too real muddle? First, there is the demanding academ- lc program. For many people the grade point is the be—all and endrall of col- lege liter Carleton has more than its share of these people (commonly labeled “superbookers"), but this group would not be active on any campus. Themed] up some tresh ideas. Memories ot harsh administration action toward a previous publication and a lack in creative talent have combined to effectively silence this possible outlet of criticism and vitality. AS there are neither fraternities nor cars at Carleton, students must lute- grate themselves into the lite ot the college to a considerable extent. How- ever, atter seeing the same issues hag- gled over for years on end (i,e., open houses, women’s hours, in loco parentis) most Carls tend to ignOle the identifi- cation problems or the college and con- centrate inwardly toward their books and social life or toward the Outside world. Thus the administration is tree to wander toward whatever policy it ieeis that the students will accept. This is why the Carleton identification problem may not be solved tor a long time. Only a small part of the student body is willing to try to argue and moan in order to make the administration talk about what should have been carved years ago. So—tor a college with an excellent lib- eral tradition in academics, Carleton is not working nearly hard enough to cre- ate an equally liberal climate tor social thought. The “moral sensitivity” of the college and the inditrerence of most of the students toward changing the col- lege social situation leave the fate of Carleton’s identity Still to be decided. Perhaps it will take a new president. perhaps a new climate of opinion among students, but what is a certainty is that Carleton needs a sense of direction in the social sphere Similar to the sense of purpose its academics have long pos— sessed.