its. Two Editorials . . . Something missing In curriculum planning . . . Intense curriculum evaluation sessions took place over vacation in committee meetings of the presidentially-seiected Faculty com- mittee on Educational Policy and Curriculum. In a February re- rt to the faculty, this committee promised a "tentative and per- aps speculative paper” to be used otter vacation for “fonnal dea parlment, division and individual faculty comment," Thus, the giverandrtake of faculty over the issue of curriculum change ls at a peak presently. Whom is this evaluation designed to benefit? is its aim ll) make the faculty better satisfied with their teaching duties? That would certainly be fine, but is that the primary aim? Will new programs created by the study mostly serve President Leggett as a sales tool in tundrsising? Or is the goal an educationally pr0< ductive curriculum for the students who actually take the courses? The curriculum commiitee has, of course, utilized some ad- mlrable methods in attempting to glean student opinion. They re- quested suggestions (receiving sadly little response) and they dis- tributed extensive questionnaires to students and recent alums. The questionnaires did elicit what some members of the committee consider to be a good response for a form of such length. (370 re- plied out of a student body numbering approximately 1,150. This does not include alums.) Committee members The Reporter talked to expressed the desire to also consult personally with students in dividually or in groups. While the committee has formal channels for the gathering of individual faculty and departmental opinion, no such formal structure exists for similar communication and feedback with students. This situation has its origin in President Leggett’s misguided concept of his appointed committee, He believes curriculum mat- ters to be solely a taculty concern. When the committee was formed, ideas about student representation on it or a parallel stu- dent committee were thrown out. A strong senate curriculum com- mittee might have stepped in and demanded recognition but the student committee was lacking — in direction and in firm, con tinuous leadership. The student body as a whole has little of which to be proud in the way it has allowed the study of curriculum changes to slip through its fingers. That stage of the study is history now. Yet them il still n place for student participation before open questions become set recommendations — especially since the faculty committee seems receptive. There are several possibilities: Students could be included in curriculum meetings called by the iaculty of their major field. Perhaps isculty members would wish to choose a tow seniors in their department to attend these meetings regularly or perhaps the meetings should be open. The SGA should resurrect the concept of a parallel student committee to the faculty’s. The faculty committee should put a rain on further deliberations until they have made sure that a structure for Consultation with students has been put in ettcct. Although student participation should be the concern of everyone at Grinnell, the responsibility for its imple mentation will, in this case, probably rest with SGA ~ thus with Ric MacDoWell and his newly appointed speaker of the senate, Phil Bertenthal. x by the administration on the position because he is a special student. The other members of the committee are Jim Sebern, Fur— urn Chairman; Ann Kirschner, Assistant Forum Chairman; and Sue Piansky, Movies Chair- man, The position of Informal Activities Chairman was elimi~ hated and the Gadabouts Chair- man will be chosen next fall. New social coordinator Dale Dreyiuss has been se- iected as Social Coordinator for the coming school year. John Denny was declared ineligible The Board of Publications voted Wednesday, April 5, to accept the Grinnell Reporter as the new name for the col- lege newspaper. The Grinnell Reporter {formerly the Scarlet & Black) Grinnell College Grinn-ii, lam! A wcskly newspaper published rnch Friday or the college year by the Grinnell cum-nurse on sut- dcnt Publications. Represented tor national adver- tising by National Advertlxinz service, Inc., College Publisher: reprsscnmive, is East 50th srrsst, New York 22. N.v. Sccond class noxiaKe onto or Grinnell. town. Subscription rate 35110 per rcnnoi year. isoo Dflld subscriptions. OPS Member of in. colioglst. rm. Sank. curios BUSINESS micro EDITORIAL srnrr ___ Itryrtynn Neuman . Surnn wui Harold ruson, Phyllis Muir-y. nul Nuhlnln, nichsrd Schnelmv nsrry Ancona no soctnmnn Susan Kaeser "oars surron _. con mrroa ., cum: PHUI'OGRAPHEII _ SCIENCE CONSULTANT . .inhn wnr amnrlmr STAFF ,. lelhl berkcy, .lln nus, Andy lsnus, sue Galvin, Sue Gclbcr, Dan bucks. Lllah Morton. have ntllon. sin 0 . nutty Shel naniCAl. Iuomvlson __ Henry Wilhelm Tho Grinnell REPORTER Friday. April 7, my New: appraisal The future of the theatre departmenl by Melinda Ward Ed. Note: The recent theater department shake-up has resulted in a debate over tho merits of an academic as opposed to produc- tion oriented education in the theater. Enters ing this controversy is Mrr Porter Woods, who comes horn Mtddlebury College, where he is an Assistant Professor of English and As‘ mlate Director of the Wright Memorial Theatrer woods received his n.3, from Brown University in English Literature, his M. from the University or Oregon in English L t- erature, and his D.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama in Playwrlting and Theatre History. He has written several plays and is presently working on a study of the Negro playwright in America. President Glenn Leggett said in an interview with The Reporter that he hopes Woods will strengthen the academic pan of the Theatre De- partment. Leggett stated that Woods will prob- ably teach courses which have not been regulan iy offered before by the department — American Theatre, Theatre History, and Modern Dramatic Theory. Leggett anticipates that Woods will teach two courses a semester and that the de- partment will be able to manage three major productions per year. Several theatre majors were introduced to Woods during his recent visit to Grinnell, and have expressed enthusiasm about the addition of an instructor primarily Concerned with the aca- demic aspect of theatre. In discussions with Leg- gett and Executive Committee Chairman Joseph Wall (history) these some students have strongly stressed and argued that. the extracurricular and practical aspects of the theatre should not be sacrificed for the sake of the academic portion. The students maintained that practical work in the theatre is necessary for a good campus theatre climate, since it provides experience an students interested in the theatre as an extra- curricular activity and preproiessionai train~ ing for theatre majors. Leggett said at. that time that ho “had no in- tention of slacking oil on the production end of theatre,” yet he offered no ideas as to who would teach introductory courses and courses in acting and directing. It is the feeling or many theatre and non- theatre majors alike that students are primarily concerned with practical courses which provide active enjoyment and professional training. It in s common feeling that practical theatre gen- erates excitement in the theatre department and that it attracts new students to the Stage. It lb alsD felt that courses such as American Theatre and Major British Drama could be handled in the American Studies and English programs, as they have been in the past. Leggett has expressed the view that a basic background in dramatic literature and theatre history is necessary for maintaining excellence in campus productions. At the same time he has expressed his enthusiastic opinion that theatre productions during the 196667 season have been of excellent quality. even though he has made it apparent by his actions that he considers the academics in the theatre department to be in- ferior. Leggett’s long range plans for the department may be admirable but they nevertheless would seem to present an immediate problem for both theatre majors and Grinnell theatre audiences who are accustomed to an extracurricular and production-oriented approach to theatre. It would seem that this problem might have been avoided or at least lessened had those re- sponsible ior hiring and organizing the departs ment been more aware of the diversity of needs of theatre in a small liberal arts college such as Grinnell. Students must be concerned with the immediate, but they are capable of understand ing long range goals. Regardless oi Wuods’ capa- bilities and promise, the 196153 theatre season will be a difficult one for the department, due to this shift of emphasis and to the particular vacuum left by present Director Richard Meyer’s departure. It is felt by many students that in pur- suing a total turnover of theatre personnel Legs gett acted without adequate insight or ioresight and without suiiiciently broad evaluation oi the theatre department and its role in Grinnell Cohege.. \ Nous: search for form and variety By Nancy McCannon Space does not allow me time for a formal detailed criticism on Nous; this is rather on evaluation. The hardest thing in evaluating a stu- dent publication is deciding on your criterion. it is simply unfair to compare beginning works with classics. A good student work is seldom a classic. The fairest method of evaluating is para- lleled by distinctions in children's drawings. There are children whose sterilized and stiff Cartoon drawings allow only repetition and children whose wavering lines search for form and variety. In other words the basic criterion for judging stu- dent art it elast‘ ty. is there enough freedom and imagination to allow for growth? One thing promising about Nous is that it sug- gests that tile Salinger influenced higilly realistic personal autobiographical, “I was lonely on the railroad track” school of student poetry is dying out. This allows one to read Nous Witbnllt the haunting suspicion that the same eighteen year old wrote the whole thing. More seriously the death of this highly artificial convention has opened Nous to old variety and less stock devices and views. A iew poets fell by the way (but not as many as could have been predicted) on a more basic issue, the confusion oi philosophy with poetry. If you have a political, philosophical comment, write an essay. Poetry simply doesn't have the length to be a solid argument and it has other first principles. The difference between philosophy and poetry is comparable to the difference be tween a minister and a lover. The former has the obligation to be right, the latter to be good. Or as Gertrude Stein says, “Poetry is the loving and leaving at nouns." From this perspective, caro- lessness and timidity with words is adultery. In Nous as a whole then is both great an- evenness of quality (probably unavoidable) and variety of form (very interesting). in form it varies from poetry in all shapes, to woodcuts, prints, and photos, to scholarly essays. On the student essays Gregory Robinson’s ap» pears to be the most imaginatively scholarly. Tbs idea is well worth considering. Howard Davidson’s essay, while not actually applying to Paradise Lost, has a wild and wield logic that is iunny and appealing, I reier Don Gregory to Raymund Bells (Historical Studies Notes 1965), “The problem of Western Society in the last two hundred years il creating a balance between the will of the min- ority and of the majority, between freedom and equality.” In other words. neither equality nor utility are to be taken as absolutes. Because you can think of one example in which utility must be Considered does not mean that there are not countless examples in which equality is the prime consideration. One is informed by the other. Per‘ haps Western society must be willing to sacrifice one man under certain conditions, but how about all of Red China or the whole Jewish population? Utility is too simple, also. There are utilities and utilities. Art is a lie but abstract models have their own deception. Well written but I think you divided by zero. of the poetry, Eleni Sarant produced the most finished piece. Nancy Loes‘ poems contain sun- prises, Paul Jones’ and John Herr‘s are uneven but promising. The art is well selected. Lester Tobias' cover, and the woodcuts by John Thornton and Lynn Adams are all interesting. Jon Megibow's and Carol Morgan’s prints are sophisticated and sen— sitive. Henry Wilhelm’s photographs show amaz- ing growth. They show sensitivity to texture. light. chiaroscuro. They vary 1mm surrealistic, ro- mantic landscape in his tint on do evocative, almost Kleelike lows landscapes I personally would buy Nous just fit the photographs.