The Draft —

The government has proposed limitations on student
deferment; the affluent must live the laws they create.
Let them bear the pain of their crusades. But the morn-
ing after the war — no more automated “service", no
compulsion. Community is not coerced, but born of love.

— D. R. D.

Protest, 30’s Style-

The “Evening of Protest, 1930’s Style" was a rare chance for
the community feeling that can exist at Grinnell to be felt and
expressed. Faculty, students, and administration completely im-
mersed themselves and united in spontaneous fun. The group

that proceded the ”storm” Mr,

Robert Canary’s home afterward

indicated by their excitement the need and the potential for fel-
lowship in a small school. Times like this should happen more

often: they are healthy and exilarating.

All Together Now . . .

my

 

 

—L.S. & S. .

STUDENTS AND FACULTY in the inhaduclory Ameli-
oan Studies requanc. dogs a protest "l730's iiyle."

News

Philosopher to Come

Brand Blanshard, a scholar
who has been praised as the
“philosopher's philosopher,"
will meet informally with stu-
dents and make three public ap<
pearances on campus March 13-
15.

Blanchard, sterling professor
emeritus of philosophy at Yale,
was chairman of Yale's phil-
vsophy department from 1945 to
1950 and again from 1959 to
will. His twovolume book “The
Nature of Thought” published
in 1940 was rated by n Philoso-
phical Assocmtion committee
as one oi the ten outstanding
works on philosophy produced
in the United States since 1900.

Blanshard will speak Monday
at 8:00 pm, in the South
lounge on “Reason and Feel-

Briefs

ing in Present-Day Ethics."
Tuesday at 4. pm. he will
lead an open philosophy cello
quium and at 8:00 p.n1. will
speak on “Conformity and the
Individual Mind." He will also
speak on Wednesday at 8:001

New Hall Presidents

Newly elected men’s house
presdents are: Steve Mc-
Dowell, Gates: Harry Ruth,
Dibble; Richard Weeks, Lan-
gan; Tom Russell, Cowles;
Paul Tice, Clark; John Wiles,
West Norris; Jim Wilson,
East Norris; Mel Thompson,
Rawson; Roy Walker, Smith
and Ron Cogswell, North
Younker. The results for
South Younker were unavail-
able at press time.

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday, Maroh l0, I967

A Faculty Opinion

“Community Court"

By John Crossett
(Classical Languages)

Two weeks ago, the editor oi the sail pre-
sented her view on the proposed reform of the
college’s judiciary system, The viewpoint was,
quite naturally and properly, that of the stu«
dents. The proposal, however, presents certain
problems to other parts of the collegiate com-
munity, notably, lthink, to the faculty.

Now one does not expect students to defend
the faculty from dangers; that responsibility is
rightly leii to the tnculiy itself. Perhaps. though,
it is fair to point out that the welfare of the com-
munity as a whole is affected by whatever hap-
pens to he one of its pans, and the faculty is, in
some sense, a legitimate and even important
part of the community.

In the proposed system, there will be two
groups: a Judicial Council and an unnamed com-
mittee on “policy evaluation and recommenda-
tion," The 5&3 editorial struck at the heart of
the committee on policy when it questioned the
commitlee’s membelship: three members from
the administration, three from the faculty, and
three trom the student body.

It seems to me even more
wonhy of comment, however,
to note that the Judicial Council
has no members from the ad-
ministration. Now I submit
that a so-called "Community
Court” which has no member—
ship irom the administration
can scarcely represent the
“community”—to say nothing )r , _
of the fact that other com
stituencies are left out also: M" c"°“°"
trustees, parents, and alumni. In short, the Ju-
dicial Council, made up only of faculty and stu-
dents in equal numbers, is to pass judgment on
students and to sentence them. The president ra-
tains final say over the Council's decisions, but
he has no part in them. Such an arrangement in«
volves the faculty in responsibility Without giv-
ing it any real power, and even worse, it makes
the faculty serve as a “butter" in the constant
struggle between students and administration.

The President of the college is charged, by
the by-laws, with responsibility for the conduct
of students. It is no part of the faculty's duties
to relieve him of this responsibility, either in
part or in whole. The faculty, by its unique posi«
tion, could serve as a liason between the students
and the administration— but it can do so only
if it is not involved in passing judgment. Faculty
members are here primarily to teach the stu-
dents; their only professional right to pass judg-
menl comes in their prolessional competence:
the classroom and its academic concomitants,
such as tests and grades. It would seem that the
5&3 and the SGA should rise up in wraLh at the
very idea of having academic persons pass on
social violations; to accept such a Judicial Coun-
cil is to accept the idea that the academic and
the social are necessarily intertwmed, a position

which, as I understand it, both the Sim and thq
SGA have denied.

As both faculty and students are split on this
question, it would seem sensible first to investi-
gate whether the academic and the social are
bound together. It the parts are separate, then
we do not have a community and hence no right
to a “community court”; if they are linked, then
adequate representation should be given to all
parts of the community, and the community in-
cludes parents and alumni and administration. I
would propose that any “community Court" have
equal representation from all the constituencies
of the community. Such a court — it we agree
that there is a “community“ made up of social
and academic interests — would consist of mem-
bers from the following: trustees; administra-
tion; faculty; students; alumni; parents. Such a
committee, whether numbering three numbers
from each group or fewer, would, of course, be
unwieldy: parents, alumni, and trustees can
scarcely be expected to travel to the college each
time some student chooses to violate a rule and
gets caught. It is clear that a "community
court” which represents all the constituencies
fairly has no manageable meaning; to omit one
or more of the constituencies is to belie its name
and its nature,

My reason tior writing this column is twofold!
first, to initiate argument about the philosophic
foundations of the College; second, to protect my-
self and my colleagues on the faculty from being
used by both the students and the administration
for purposes not natural to us. in the past two
years, major decisions about the social life of
students have twice been presented to the “com-
munity" as if the faculty approved: (1) the res
form of life in the halls on North Campus; (2)‘
the relaxation or abolition of women‘s hours. In
neither case, has the faculty been allowed to
vote, although its opinions have been solicited.
Since the President announced his intention, bath
to faculty and students, to “liberalize” Women's
hours before soliciting the faculty’s opinion, and
wonders whether that opinion could have much‘
meaning I might add here that the SH! seems
to be assuming that women’s hours are to be
done away with entirely; I would suggest to the
editors, and to the students in general, that. noth-
ing in the President’s remarks can be construed
quite so liberally. Failure to appreciate this
point may only lead to more ouerulous Com-
plaints about a “lack of communication”; 1
would argue that there has been no lack of corn-
municalion but rather a lack of intelligent in-
ierpretation.

The proposed reform of the judiciary system
does not state its origin, but one of the agencies
involved is the Faculty Committee on Student All-
fairs. it should be observed that this committee
does not represent the faculty, for it is not a
regular faculty committee. It is instead a presi<
denlial committee and reports directly to him.
In its deliberations and in those of the adminis-
tration, the faculty is no better all than the stu-
dents: it has a belated voice and no vote whatso-
ever. Before students draw any conclusions about
the function or attitude of the faculty in all this
business, they should be aware of these facts.

 

 

Scarlet and Black

ontNNELL conic:
Grinncll. Inn

A weekly newspaper published oath Friday or the
college year by the Grinncll Committee on sludrni roar
licauous. lieprcssnrcd tor national advertising by Na~

_ Kryuyn. Neumul

Susan wtu

. Suunne ceihcr

, i-lumld nison, Richnrd numb,
Paul Nuhmlli, Richard schnrlrov
harry Ancont
phyilis Murary
susun Range!
Min. Deiolc. chuck nrmchock

.lohu Woll
Ir a a. ey, Jul Hlle, Andy isms,
Ed Spethninn. susrn rogg, ooh Wlnney,
Dave nllloo, mu Gray, Kllhy She:
TECHNICAL surmvrson ..... ..__ _

assocurr. EDITOR
snimami. STAFF .

SPORTS EDITOR
sorrows ASSISTANT
cures PHOTOGRAPHER .
ausmcss sure
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,iicnry Wilhelm

Letters . . .

On the Draft
To the Editor:

it appears as it the nation’s
juvenile propensity for fair-
play in matters which should
more properly be dealt with
on the basis of national secilriv
ty interests has finally overtak-
en our sage executive leader-
ship, One cannot but be some-
what mystified by the logic of
the new system of random in.
sanity, which runs something
to the effect that since we do
not have to draft everybody,
some people are avoiding mili-
tary service altogether by get-
ting educated (shame, shame).

Therefore we ought to do
away with graduate defer-
nlents (and maybe even under-
graduate deterinents) and let

our bright people take their
chances. Never mind that it is
in our interest at least to in»
sure these people that they
will be able to finish their ad
ucations. Never mind that We
can do this more easily and
rationally because the exigen-
cies oi the present world situa-
tion do not force us t/u draft
every one. Fair is fair,

One might go on fulminating
for several hours and pages
against President Johnson’s
balmy draft suggestions; how-
ever, we think that the point
has been made We would like
to conclude by taking note of
two ironies which strike us
most strongly in this, the
winter of our discontent. First,
it seems ironic that college
students, through the doctrin-
rloire application of leitisblib<
eral formulae to problems of
military conscription, have
succccdcd in slitting their own
throats.

Secondly, it seems to be one
or those “supreme ironies" of
history that the elementary
scholars of 1957 — those dlil-
dren who were suddenly ele-
vated to “waveol-lhsrucure"
status by the Russian Sputnik,
and who were to be the im-
mediate beneficiaries of the
new educational revolution a
have in 1967 become the po-
tential victims of a new draft
law which espouse: nnti
tellectuallsm in the interests
or “fair-play," Not satisfied
with levelling most of Viet-
nam, the Administration is out
to level American society It
has said to the colleginns of
this country, “Go away, We
don't need you anymore; the
missile gap is closed.

Stephen Shender
Erik lil. Rasmussen
James A. Fry

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