Wednesday. Do omliar if. 1%! Farewell to 'lhe S8tB SCARLET AND BLACK l’ags Titre! } Letters (Continued from Page 2) we became involved personally with the course; we planned the classes! Sure, it has its poor points, but I honestly think that as an experiment, it is the most ex- citing course offered on the Grinnell campus. 0n the social studies course. A lot of students have given up on it, I know; rve almost given up on the Grinnell student, how- eve and that’s my excuse for avoi ng the classes (besides the fact that I slept through a third of them. This course is an- other Grinnell experiment. Too large-scale, perhaps, not out- iined enough, perhaps, not ex- perimental enough, p e i- h a p s. But it is credit-fail, It is an attempt to give the students what they are asking for. it has offered some of the most fasci- nating assignments (i.e. going to a bar, a cattle auction, or [u the Grinnell Historical Mu- seum). It is relevant. So what if the Sumerians are dead; so will you and l and all of Grin- nell be dead one day, too. This is to wish you a merry Christmas and to say Grinnell isn’t Utopia, but it’s trying! Pearl Kadotfl Xmas Poem Gluddens Josiah Newton Tn Ihe Editor: It has come to my attention that you have written a poem about me which is appearing in the Christmas Supplement or The Scarlet and Black this week. I want you to know that I am indeed honored and touched by your action, for i never thought I was worthy of a poem. I must admit that I have not had much time to read the newspaper this semester, but it is not because I didn’t like it. Indeed, 1 hardly saw it, tor r was always busy studying, which, after all, is the duty of a student. If you have an extra copy or the poem, would you please selid a copy to my aunt. See me for the address. Josiah Newton I A Senior's Last Glance at Grinnell By ANDREW ROTHSTEIN As I leave Grinnell, I am aware of two contradictory the- matic schemes which are vying ior that honored place in my mind which will be my memory of this school, of the two, the one that expresses my disap» pointment, an inevitable disap- pointment after being told that Grinnell is the Harvard oi the Midwest," draws upon concrete dissatisfactions [or its strength. The other, the more positive re- membrances, seems composed completely of intangibles. Paramount is the decay that pervades the campus. The sick- ening bourgeois uniiormity and acceptance ct that uniformity is the primary danger Grinnell must face in the near future. Too many students have come here with either no foundations or with a rigiditied corpus of dogma that they refuse to re- view. Neither allows tor growth. The former case results in in- secure, self-conscious efforts to be "in." These are the students who cannot rebut even the most primitive challenges to their newly - adopted creed. They merely stand sputtering and em- barrassed. Opposed in suriace manifestations to those psuedu- Leitisls—Rightists, and this is the shame of Grinnell, are the inarticulate but loud New Lelt— ists and Archaic Righlists. Both are so sure of themselves that they babble on and on using erudite commonplaces. While these people have a superiicial understanding oi the terms they use, they cannot persuade any- one: simply because they either Cannot trace the fundamental roots of their belieis or these roots have long since died. Typi— cal oi this dilemma is the ire- quent resort to “You know " in any case. there is no eifnrt to come to an in-depth comprehen— sion at the problems that are to be attacked, nor are examined the contradictions that will arise irom the assumedly remedial hocus-pocus. Parallel to this stagnation of the student body is the encrust- ed ambiguity/deceit of the Ad. ministration which does not treat as students as people capable of learning from experience. Con- frontation between Establishe ment and student uncoordina- tion has been avoided as much as possible through the use or ruses and diversions that have sewed only to cloud the issues and obscure the formers Stand. The final proof of the Adminis- tration's desertion of the pro- iessed goals of this college is the new P. E. Complex that has taken precedence over the up- dating oi the Library and the expansion of the teaching staff. Still, Grinnell is in that mur- ky era through which all in- stitutions must wander. The grandeur that it was maintains a relatively high level or class- room education; but unless the etiorts or faculty and students to shore up the collapsing sys- tem and to inject new Vitality succeed, Grinnell will become the France of American higher education. Two things make me pessimistic about Grinnell's fu- ture in this respect, The faculty is [00 conservative; the students are quitters. The incident at the crosses on central campus last semester passed like some amusing joke—the students, by not following it up, gave the im» pression that the Administration was really calling all the shots; the seriousness of the matter was not driven home by repeti- tions after the first crosses were removed Even the Black stu- dents, by allowing themselves to be gavelled into submission at [he Mock Democratic Conven- tion last year, have shown a Willingness to give up. The growth of CBS plus such positive steps as the iilms that were shown and the visit by Cham- bers is perhaps only a screen hiding the fact that The Brother- hood seems to have been al- lowed to pass silently into oblie vion. Oh, but there are some posi— tive aspects. My wife, my son, and my triends. The rest 1 could have found elsewhere. Acting Good in The Dutchman By ELEONORE SPIEGEL LeRol Jones' Dutchman is not a piece of work to be taken light- ly, though it contains some hysterically funny lines, because it brings to mind serious questions about current movements among black people. From the moment white Lula (Debbie Abbott) swings her sexy little self into the seat next to black Clay Williams (Grady Murdock), she begins to mock him. She taunts his clothes, his mind, his manhood; in fact. she finds something with which to humiliate him in everything he does and says. Clay tolerates Miss Abbott’s quick and clever shifts from sexy to scornful to hateful as long as he can. He humors her outbursts and accepts her invi- tations. But even the good-humored character Mr. Murdock p0 trays has a breaking point; and Lula's taunts about his unsophis- ticated black ancestors seem to snap something inside him. Be- cause Mr. Murdock's acting is so good and because we have seen how Miss Abbott has brought him to that point, the sudden transi- tion that Clay makes from the quiet, middlerclass Negro to the angry black is believable; and the stream of abuse Clay pours torth so passionately does not take us by surprise. Whether Jones intended it or not, the play up to this point bears a certain resemblance to Negro history in America. injustice aiter injustice throughout the years has sometimes resulted in an hyster- ical anger welling up in black people. When that violent anger takes possession of a man, his worse nature. as Jones says in the play. demands, indeed needs, revenge. It is too late at that point for reason and religion to work their beneficial influence. As Jones says, if you force a man who is violently angry to submit to reason, he will only murder with rational explanations. Two questions arise troni these considerations. First, is a man who is driven to loss of self-Control by injustice culpable tor the bad actions which he does While his anger sways him? Secondly, what will the result of his actions be? Dutchman does not deal with the iirst question. but it gives some answer to the second. While Clay is pourlng out his indignation, Lula becomes more and more hateiui. When the outburst is over and clay is preparing to leave the subway, Lula suddenly slabs him to death. Violence, Jones seems to be saying, even the violence of righteous and pas- sionate anger, breeds more violence and more injustice — a point which those who wish to be in the grip of such hysterical anger might well consider. Given the play they chose, the Ex-loco players are to be com- mended ior their excellent acting. Because I have it on good authority that Grinnell actors want to be criticized on their pre- sentations, I have racked my brains to find flaws with Miss Ab- butts and Mr. Murdoch’s performances and can oifer only a couple or suggestions. Miss Abbott might have made more of a contrast between Lola's theatrical and genuine emotions; what seemed to be the real Lula Coming through in moments of diSv gust or hate did not appear very different from the sexy. teasing Lula. And, in the first act, Mr. Murdock was a little too middle- class and couegiate to be convincing. Variety Sets Tone F or Concert By MELISSA HAYS The members of the Ensemble Contemporara, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Purswell and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Zonn, played ior a small but enthusiastic audience Friday night. First on the program were iive capricoios for oboe and piano by Ursula Mamlok. Composed in 1968, these pieces received one or their first performances Friday night. Because of their variety of effects and wide range of dynamics, 1 found them more inter- esting than the Music for Oboe and Piano by Alan Stout. In the composition of Five Pieces for Piano, Pulitzer Prize winner George Coremb used the stringrplucking technique with great success. The diiiiculty in the pertcrniance of these pieces lies in the detailed notation that must be carefully followed. Also, a sophisticated pedal technique is required to sustain certain notes longer than others which have the same attack point. The first piece was played inside the instrument, achieving a myste- rious, ethereal effect, whereas the last was played both on the keys and directly on the strings, the tension increasing with the shortening of the intervals between inside and Outside playing, Mosaik, by the Swiss composer Hans Ulrich Lehmann, allows the performer more freedom than the Crumb work. Many “ges~ lures” (comparable to “phrases") are carelully notated by the composer, but their arrangement is left to the performer who seeks to give them the proper balance. This is not to say that such a piece is easily performed. The timbral qualities of the clarinet are fully exploited, and the microlonal trills and the double and multiple-stops require a great deal of mastery. A ilute solo, Se- quenza, by Berio was similar to the Lehman in its use of timbral effects. Last on the program was an improvisation, the Aksorber. Al- though events appeared and were imitated in all the parts, there were no definite pitches or time values assigned. Thus, while a unity was maintained by playing within certain restrictions, the players were allowed a great deal oi ireedom in the interpretation of their parts. Many humorous moments were provided by various whines, honks and rumbles. A tape recorder was used to either play pre-recorded sounds or to play back the music that it had just recorded. These were played forward or backward, straight or distorted. E h player showed a sensitivity and awareness at the es as they had throughout this fine perlormence.