Friday. September 2‘7. H751

SCARLET AND ELACK

Page Titre.

 

ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

by Neil Fischer

I’d like to enter another complaint . . . on the books.

Remembering a line from one of John Ciardi’s pl]
it easy to draw a parallel with and for my “readersh
nell:

“Sir," sald the spectacled skeletal lady back at the
desk, “in this allegory

You lead from my shelves or not at all.

Go look for yourselves: there are no bookstores. . . '

At least there are no other bookstores, and rm getting just a
little tired of a trusty monopolistic force being exercised on my
choice of reading — and for that matter writing — material.

And so, this week. I’m not sure whether l'm taking a side-
swipe at the bookstore, the library, or the faculty. But i hope who-
ever is responsible for the problem will get the idea.

Let's be more specific. Okay, you — a Grinnell sophomore or
junior or whatever e have had a book recommended to you by
your Physical Anthropology professor, namely African Genesis by
Robert Ardery, a popular, anthropomorphic, almost-satirical semi-
novel on Australoplthicine manrapes.

You go over to Carnegie basement. Yes, they have one (but
only one) copy of the book — Price, 31.95.

The same book, unexpurgeted and unabridged, is also out for
95 cents. Why does the bookstore stock the more expensive copy?

Why does it stock only higher grade. ,higher priced typing
paper?

Okay, you say, but you don't have to buy African Genesis; it’s
only recommended reading. And besides, if you are the lucky one
to get to the library first — before the other 35 in your third anthm
class 7 you're all right,

Alright, you are taking 19th Century Russian Literature.
Gogol's Dead souls is required reading a Price $2.45 in a Modern
Library edition, The same book — in the same translation and un-
abridged and, of course, unexpurguted ~— is available for 75 cents
In, I believe, a Signet Classic edition.

So why do we get stuck tor $1.70 more than we might have
paid?

Why does a III-cent box of Kleenex cost 39 cents in Camegia
basement?

of course, ii materialist bookstore is not all to blame, Al
Sam Wassom, head of the bookstore, is the first to point out: “I
only order what the professors tell me.”

But some faculty members, it seems, don‘t know much about
books or student finances.

A seminar in Press AS A Social Instrument course this semes-
ter has a $5.95 history of mass media as a required text. Reading
the entire book was the first assignment,

But after the class finished it, the good professor emphasized
it was “merely interesting as history and not very important"
and that the class would have no further use for in

So why buy it? Couldn‘t the four members of the class have
borrowed one subtly-placed reserve copy at the hurling desk? Sir,
I don't have six dollars to throw around.

Grinnell literature, history, and historical studies courses are
notorious for requiring anthologies well over two hundred pages
in length and then assigning a single twenty-page article and
nothing else from them all semester.

Couple these difficulties with a libra whose collections in
almost every area are constantly being on zed as inadequate by
faculty members; a faculty that hasn’t noticed that students are
not all Diamond Jim Bradys; and a privatelyowned bookstom
with no competition in the town, and you have a problem.

And, kiddies. you have another problem.

But it's not my problem, is it? i just point out what i see
.vcry week and get my kicks watching you when you never do
anything about it.

Of course, there is something you can do about it. Your student
Ienate has organized a committee to investigate the bookstore,

and you might serve on it . . . if you're not too busy earning cash
to buy books.

5, I find
at Grins

 

} LEGGETT

(Continued from Page 1)

go on and not be influenced by
them, time-consuming and dis
ruptive as they may be, There
was also perhaps a warning tor
the College — that the gov-
ernmental system in residence
halls, in spite of the individual
competence of hall presidents,
could nnt deal rationally with
any highly controversial com
munity problem."

Leggett had hoped to discuss,
without the pressure of emer<
gency, what changes students
thought necessary. He said that
he did not get the opportunity
he sought, due to the clamor
on the part of some house
presidents for “home rule."

Step Up To

JD'S RESTAURANT

922% Main
rum-sun 5 to in port.
sundry—Neon to lo tun.

A STUDENT OPINION

AN ANSWER T0 LEGGETT

by AL CLOUD,
WALLY KOPSA and
MARTY WIESENFELD

We are not pleased with the
content oi the speech President
Leggett delivered to the open
Senate meeting on S u n d a y,
September 24. We appreciate
his stated intention of pmvnk—
ing student thought and action
on life at Grinnell College in
general. and the nature of the
residence halls in particular.
However, several of his sugges-
tions for change will, in our
opinion, retard the development
of an intellectually and emo-
tionally mature student body.

Mr. Leggett suggests a
“South Campus of underclass
men and women, and a North
Campus 01 upperclass men and
women in a similar arrange-
ment." This is perhaps the
single most nbhorent idea of
the speech. To quote the report
of the Ad Hoc Committee,
“Recommendations pertaining
to the residence halls,” pre-
sented to President Leggett on
May 12, 1966:

“That freshmen entering
Grinnell College under the
above stated plan, not be
delayed a full year in seg-
regated freshmen housing,
but become subject to tho
inlluences of the far great-
er variety of persons and
academic disciplines than
could be afforded through
any selectlve process of
junior . senior counsellors.
We believe that the more
realistic approach to fresh
men is through the counsel<
ling of freshmen when ex<
posed to those influences in
the present system. We con-
sider that it is unrealistic
to believe that negative in<
fluences can be avoided for
freshmen by placing them
in separate residences."
Though Mr. Leggett now

finds it necessary to discount
the findings of this committee,
we would like to point But that
Dean Winters was a cit-chair-
man DI the committee,

Mr, Leggett also suggests a

A STUDENT OPINION

ON THE

The author‘s name is being
withheld by request.

There is much to be said for
”an effort to present some ba~
sic facts” about the use of
drugs by college students. In a
r a c e n t memorandum the
Deans' offices attempted to do
this and more: “to separate
fact from the mass of specula-
tion"; to “describe some of
the drugs used and abused by
college students" and to “ex-
press the attitude of Grinnell
College toward the problem."

in addition, the statement ola
Iers “the full extent of Grin-
nell College’s resources in

graduated system of rules and
rule enforcement: “a frank
recognition that underclass res-
idence halls will have more
supervision than upperclass
halls." The obvious assumption
is that age can be equated with
maturity and the ability to
make rational decisionsr

We disagree. A number of ob-
vious problems seem inherent
in any graduated system or
rules. Example: A freshman
and senior are apprehended in
illegal opens Will they receive
different penalties for a mutual
violation? Tile example as-
sumes, of course, that the sys-
tem will permit a freshman and
a senior to become acquaint<
ed. We do not accept, as Presi-
dent Leggett obviously d o e s,
the Virtue of “the principle of
the progressive withdrawal of
college authority as students
progress through their four
undergraduate years.”

We heartily agree with the
suggestion that there be “a
conscious policy of permitting
more upperclassmen to live off
campus in either private homes
or apartments." We find the
motivation behind this liberal-
lzation disturbing, h o w e v e r,
The students to reside off cam-
pus are those "who do not
choose to abide by college so<
cial regulations." We fear the
consequences of making di5<
agreement with college social
regulations the major criterion
for oft-campus living We fore-
see the regrettable possibility
that those students lnclined tD<
Ward dissent, activism, and a
constant questioning of mores
will flee to the freedom of off-
campus residence, leaving a
quiet, homogenized (milk-
toast?) society on campus — a
society which never questions
but only submits. This problem
can only be solved by liberaliz-
lng social regulations in the
residence halls so that on-cam-
pus living becomes a viable
alternative to off-campus living
for these students.

The residence hall Is Inelb
tricably linked to every aspect
of the student's existence at

DEAN'S
DRUG STATEMENT

meeting the concerns of stu-

dents."

It is not unknown for admin-
lstrators to be somewhat less
than frank in their public pro-
nouncements if the above we
present the real motivations
behind the memorandum,
it would be a welcome, al-
though somewhat unexpected,
document. Yet there is much
textual evidence for the View
that the Deans had other things
in mind than the welfare of
their students.

To begin with, the Deans are
not unaware of the favorable
publicity (paragraph one)
which could come from a
seemingly frank, objective and

Grinnell. Therefore, at a time
of questioning and examination
of the system, it would be u
mistake to restrict ourselves to
such issues as open rooms and
the residence halls. It is time
to question the entire philos.
ophy ol Grinnell College. we
suggest that the student body,
administration, and faculty has
gin seeking a general pliilosos
phy which, when concretely in.
stituted, would result in radical
changes in all aspects oi Grim
nell college.

Mr. Leggett asked for speclh
to proposals. We have ours.

1) The purpose of the col-

lege is to create an envir-

onment in which each indl-
vidual has the opportunity
to develop freely his intel.

Iectual and emotional capa-

bilities.

2) To implement this gen.

erai ph linsophy we

propose:

a) An integrated dorm sys<

tem. More specilicaliy, al-

ternating men's and wom-
en‘s d o r m s with no
separation of underclass.
men from upperclassmen.

b) The removal of all re-

strictions of open rooms in

the dormitories

c) An all campus room

drawing.

d) The abolition of all

grades and the institution

at pass — fail for all course
es.

0) The opportunity for all

juniors and seniors to par-

ticipate in an academic
program solely of seml—
hats and in d e p e ndeut
studies, it they so desire.

f) Student responsibility

for the establishment. as

well thecenforcement, of
social regulations.

Mt. Leggett called on thq
student body to have the coupe
age and energy to examine in
problems and propose some so-
lutions. We call on Mr, Leggebt
to have the courage and vision
to work for meaningful changn
es in not just the residence
system, but in the total com
cept of student life at Grinnell.

equitable confrontation with‘
the problem of drugs, Moreov-
er, in view of the growing body
of opinion in tavor of a change
in the narcotics laws (The New
Republic recently lent its pres—
tige to “the legalize pot move
ment"; in England there is a
reasonable probability that the
law concerning marijauna will
soon be amended), it seem:
likely that the Deans are trying
to avoid the mistake of defend-
ing what soon might become
indefensible.

Despite, however, a long ex.
position of the “facts"; despite
evident consultation With some
of the relevant scholarly liter-
ature; and despite some sym<
pathetic speculation into the uls
timate sociological and psycho
logical causes of recent wide
spread drug use.

Grinnell College . . . Intends

DRUGS—
(Continued on Page ll)