Page Two

Editorials . . .

By numerical maiorify —

There is really only one sense in which a new court system
could be considered a “community court.” To date, no one on cam-
pus has dared to deal with it in this - its most honest and most
desirable sense. According to the definition of community, the stu-
dent community is the viable community at Grinnell. Fortunately
students and faculty live much or their lives in common. But it is
the students who actually live together, sharing basic living experi-
ences with each other. Some might prefer it otherwise but this
is the reality on our campus. it is not that we should separate aca-
demic and social but that we do not share to the same degree with
all members or the community.

Then why are students — those most familiar and most con-
cerned with this real community — not permitted to order the
community themselves? Apparently there is a great teat among
their elders in the administration that things would fall apart if
students had their way. Former Presidents Gates and Bowen both
placed much iaith in students’ ability to govern their own lives. As
tar back as 1887. the Gtinnell College president (Gates) was say-
ing, "It is ten thousand times better that the young people should
learn to govern themselves, than that they should be governed in
any best way whatsoever."

The iaculty discussed the proposals about a new court system
at their meeting last Monday but they railed to even approach can
sensus. The laculty obviously have their own doubts about the pro
posals, especially about being caught as middlemen between the
administration and students. Certainly the abolition of the Faculty
Committee on Student Atlairs is a step in the right direction but
these new proposals should not be the final word ~ and they might
be if students support them in the upcoming referendum.

in trying to improve upon our present oourt structure we run
the danger of reverting to a system whereby students will actually
have less control of their welfare than previously. Perhaps it will
be more constructive it students, faculty and administration hear
court cases and make policy together, but the iaculty and adminis~
tration need not be represented in equal ratio to students. Let us not
target who has — in areas of student concern ——numerical majority.

The new look—

Well, we finally got our name change _ at least on a “trial"
basis. We apologize tor the long delay. If you remember, a couple
of weeks ago we announced that we were planning to change the
name. But, then, choosing a new name, getting it passed for trial
publication by the Committee on Student Publications and putting
it into actual design all require timeconsuming deliberation.

Early in this deliberation we had viewed other college news-
papers to note the tone set by their names. We came across me
Bmwn Daily Herald, The Commentator and the Antioch Record -
all straightiorward in approach. But other colleges use —— what our
type-designer calls — the banner. Some examples or college news-
paper names styled like banners are the Brown and White, and, an
ever so trenchant one, The Crimson Arrow. We thought some more
about our own Scarlet and Black and, well . . r we asked for sug»
gestions tor a new name.

We were looking for a name that would be short and sell-de-
lcriptive. We considered names that had Similar connotations like
”journal,” “weekly” or “news,” but “reporter” won over the others
on several counts. “Reporter,” besides being less common than the
others, has broad connotations. For instance, although we take the
view that the Grinnell College newspaper should be, at best, a
journal, future editors may take different tacts. “Reporter" could
describe them all. The Grinnell Reporter represents a break from
the cumbersome ilags oi yesterday. We think, all in all, the new
flags set a more mature and intellectual tone for the paper.

The paper’s “new look" is furthered by several other changes.
A switch from the narrow five column width to four columns on
the front and other key pages will foster easier reading. The col~
umns are wider and so are the white spaces in between. (We did
not change the column width on every page because or some set
advertisement widths.) Also note that the sports page has been
jumped to the inside of the paper.

We welcome your comments about our changes and hope that
you will consider them improvements as we do.

The Grinnell Reporter

(formerly the Scarlet 8. Black)
Grinnell College

Grinnell. low:

A weekly newspaper ttublisncd each Frlday at
the college year by the Grinnefl committee on sun
uent Puhllcfluons. Represented tor national silver»
rising by National Advertising Service. lnc.. College
publishers representative. in East 50th street. New
York 22. N.v. second class postage paid at Grinnttll.
rowa. Subscription rnte ssno per school yum. laud
paid subscriptions.

GPS

Member at the
Collegiate
Press Servicc

comm

, xrystyna Ncumnn
ausmcss m

._ sushi: will

The Grinnoll REPORTER

day, March I

Grinnell student writes —-

Student Life in Belgium

Ed. Nolc:
.loii Klove, a political science major, is a
member of Grinnell'i class at last. he writes
of his year abroad at a college in Bruges,
Belgium, and of his daily lite there “with
the hope that I will have served undergrad»
uates in planning their oil-campus study."

i chose to come to Bruges and the College
d'Europo to get the opportunity to learn more
about Belgium, this Small and lofloiten neglect-
ed country. I have round it a nation of deep
cleavages: those of religion, class and language.

The iringe political parties are calling tor the
dissolution of Belgium and the annexation of their
respective areas to Holland and France. it is
worthy to note, also, how the linguistic pendu»
lum swings back and forth, first threatening the
Flemish and now the Walloons.

At present, the pendulum is pointing south —
with the coal regions of Liege coming into eclipse
and the growth or industry making a booming
city of Antwerpen. Further evidence of the fear
felt by the Walloons can be seen lrom an article
appearing in their weekly magazine: “Le Ciel~
estece Flemande?“

But, aside from the knowledge that i have
gained about this country in which i am studying,
which alone has made my program a success. 1
have also beneiited from my courses and item
the international atmosphere or the college heck.
I have been exposed to dliierent polnw or View,
hr example. in seminars conducted by Europeans
on Viet Nam, or those about the reunification of
Germany and the problems of south Tyrolia.

The College d’Europe, tountled in Bruges in 1952,
was designed to train post-graduates for positions
in the diplomatic corps of their respective coun-
tries or for posts in various international organ-
izations. Over 51% of the graduates of the col.
lege have taken jobs with the Common Market at
some time following their studies at Bmges. This
is due primarily to the proximity of Brussels
and a strong alumni organization, l’Anclen, which
operates from that city.

Bruges itself is in the Flemish-administered
portion oi Belgium. but the college recognizes
Only French and English in its classes. All can-
didates for admission must speak and read both
languages and be able to write one of them well
enough idr papers and reports.

Students are recruited on a competitive basis
by examination, which is held in their home
Countries, with criteria established in that coun-
try. Many of the students are here on scholar-
ships, which are also directed irarn the ioreign
ministry of their country. Because of the unique
European orientation of the College, there are
only two noneEuwpeans in the student body: a
Congolese and myself. The rest come from Scan-
danavia, all countries of Western Europe, Greece.
Poland and East Germany.

The ages of the students vary. but the average
is 25, The range runs trom a Greek lawyer, 32,
it) myself, 22. Some of the students are already
employed elsewhere: tor example, a Norwegian
journalist is here to do some stories on Norwegian
embassy life in the Benelux countries and on
Belgian agriculture and a Polish protessor is
hereto get a closer view of the “decadent West."

Daily Life
On Monday nitemoon, at Mb 30 (2:30), the

weekend officially ends. Students have returne

from a weekend in Paris at the Picasso exhibition
or from a promenade along the Belgian seacoast,
only 15 kilometers irnrn Bruges. Walking along
the beach in mid-winter is a Belgian custom
which many of the students have adopted. The
beaches are as packed in winter as in summer:
the only diiierence being you don‘t go in the wa-
ter and you bundle up against the harsh Channel
Winds.

It is on Monday afternoon that I meet a sem-
inar conducted by an American prolessor from
the University of Massachusetts. The custom has
been to have a visiting American on the iaculty
oi the college each year. I am taking two courses
under him: “Defense Problems of the West" and
a course on NATO: its structure, purpose and
political problems. However, on this particular
Monday, class lasted four hours and became a
joint seminar with a lecture given by a NATO
official in Paris and an American General at
SHAPE in Fontainbleu.

Following the talks, a reception was held {or
the visitors at the Maison des Etudiants, our dor-
mitory, which is a few kilometers from the
“Dyver” (our name for the classroom section oi
the college corresponding to ARH). it is a
pleasant walk over small bridges, under which
a maze oi canals z' zag through the city. once
at the Maison, aperttifs consumed, guests hav-
ing departed, the bell for dinner is rung.

Quite unlike Grinnell and its cafeteria-style,
the students at Bruges are spoiled by being
served dining room style — with not so much to
do as fetch one’s own glass of Wine. The Maison
was once me Grand Hotel at Bruges turned over
by the city for use by the students as a dormitory.
Everyone has his own room and both boys and
girls live together. Indeed, a discussion of “open
dorms” would be quite alien here,

Alter dinner, which is finished at about 8:30
pm, the students begin retiring to their rooms
for study or to the lounge for catching up on the
latest news irom the newspapeis of their home
countries. Lite between 8:30 p.111. and ll:0li pm.
is very quiet, at which time the sound of type<
writers is perhaps the most penetrating of
noises. But, by 11:30 pm, one begins to heat the
sounds oi the Beach Boys, or the Trogs on “Radio
London” (a pirate radio station operating 21/z
miles oil the British coast, which comes in loud
and clear in Belgium).

The college is returning to liie again, as one
hears students descending the spiral staircases
tor the "Roi d‘espagne,” a small bistro nearby
which serves as our Version of the Forum. it is
run by an old Belgian and her dog, the latter or
which makes an inspection at everyone who en-
ters — and sometimes proves to be quite selec-
tive about those who may come in to enjoy his
mistress hospitality. The old lady herself has a
soil-touch and has been known to extend indefinite
credit to the students. Free rounds are also not
entirely rare.

For those who have not. left the college, there
are always rooms where dancing takes place. in
others, one can hear bridge-bidding in German
(oi all the nationalities the Germans remain the
most addicted to the game) or the groans of the
Danish. as they lose their last Belgian trancs in
a heated game of poker.

 

To the Editor:

tellers . . .

To the Editor:

i feel called upon to point
out some cloudy thinking which
has in the past characterized
various sections of the college
community. The administration
is ahnost universally suscept-
lble to it, the faculty tails vic~
tirn on occasions, and even the
student body becomes contused
from time to time — now is
such a time.

There is, I think, a basic dit-
fercnce between liberalism
and irresponsibility. The two
terms are tar from synon-
ymous. A lack of irresponsibili»
ty does not even imply a lack of
liberalism. And yet we tend
so oiten to overlook this fact.

I’m referring here specifically
to Mr. Shender'a lrticln about,
the Com? election (March 10
seal. I'm especially surprised
that a student of Mr. Shender's
intelligence and experience
should tell into such an obvious
error.

The sooner all of the mem—
bers of the college community
learn to make this distinction,
the sooner we will be able to
make some progress on some of
the reforms which the commu-
nity so sorely needs.

Perhaps I should make one
final point clear; 1 am neither
attacking Lemaire nor tlelend-
ing Mr. Fllgeltaub, l merely
want to try to clear up this
confusion and Mr. Shender's
article offered an opportunity
to do just that.

_'rrlp Kennedy

Having participated in the
tormulanon oi the proposal to
reorganize our judicial system,
I would like to wmment on the
articles appearing in last. weelt’o
son.

1) Mr. John Crossett address-
ed himfilf to the idea of I
"community court"; criticizing
the council: a) tor not tnily
representing the college com-
munity (as he defined it), and
b) tor being an unrealistic con—
cept. i can only agree. The
Judicial Council would not he
a “community court"; it was
not intended to be one. While
the student court members he—
gan their thinking about a judi-
cial reorganization with this
idea in mind, when the group

See LE‘H‘ERS on page I