The Scarlet & Black

Student Newspaper of
Grinnell College,
Grinds", Iowa

An 1 n d e p s n d-
eni newsmvu' pub-
llshcd weekly, ex-
cepi during now
days and examina-
xion periods, by the
Gl'lnneil Committee
on Student Publlcu,

tlons. Subscription me soon per

school year.

Editorial

Alas, with the departure of two of its members,
that august governing body, the Senate, has ap-
parently lost some of its burning zeal for moral and
intellectual virtue. Last week, they deigned to do
nothing more monumental than appropriate $300
for the establishment of a coffee-house. Recalling
their past history of unflagging service to needy
causes, one would have expected them, at least, to
have found it in their hearts, and in our pocket-
books, to 'assist ex-student Larry Frank in his pros-
ecution of Mr. Bowers.

Let us recall the appropriations made by the
Senate for the Pterodactyl last year. One wonders
whether the Senate would have been so eager to
subsidize an independent publication if, say, that
publication were a journal of right-wing opinion,
We recall the oration of one Senator last term on
the political virtues of his dog. Perhaps he had in
mind the fact that the Emperor Caligula saw fit to
make his horse a Roman Senator, It is hard to tell.

Few people realize that there are no apparent
laws which regulate Senate expenditures. This fact
was confirmed by President Leggett, Dean Walker,
and Andy Brill, Chairman af the Senate Finance
Committee. As a result, the Senate can do as it
pleases with our money. It can, say, use a part of
everyone’s money to send a few people to the
moratorium in Washington. Or, indicative of its ex-
pansive humaneness, it can appropriate money for
the construction of a dog house. Or again, it can al-
locate funds for the legal defense of demonstrators.

Lest anyone think that we are speaking of only
a few stray dollars, consider this: last semester, the
Senate had approximately $26,000 to spend as it
chose. The figure for this semester is slightly more
than $25,300. This means that the Senate’s open
checking-account contains more than $50,000 a year.
It is true that a large share of this money is sup-
posed to go to the Social Coordinating Committee.
Even in this case, however, the Senate has the
power to considerably reduce this sum. Perhaps it
will, if and when Pterodactyl comes-a-begging.

We are chary of pointing out the legal impli-
cations of this situation, for legality, as we all know,
is a minor consideration. In virtue of the Senate‘s
contributions to Pterodactyl, the college is eminent-
ly vulnerable to lawsuits by students who can claim
that their money was put to use outside of the
college‘s jurisdiction.

Although you might simply like to ignore the
Senate, that would be like ignoring a man who is
ransacking your house. We suggest that President
Leggett appoint a committee of students to create
legal principles for the appropriation of student
funds in order that the majorit. of students be pro-
tected from the capricious activities of a few.

It remains to be seen what sage resolutions and
bold appropriations the Senate will make this se-
mester. Eventually, one would hope that the stu‘
dent body will realize that the children in the
Senate do not need a $50,000 toy.

Physics Professor To Visit Grinnell

Editors

Business Manner
Murmur-l Editor
Winn Editor Bub Schumann
Spons Ballot , John Pepper

Rem"! , cauw Nelldrki
erk Subaru, are: Batman
Reggie Graham. Kathryn Home,
man Mum-Jeni, 'rom Greenfield,
M|ke slezcl, ml suich,

Ken Gordon

Dr, Stanley 0. Shawhan,
Assistant Professor oi Physics at
the University of Iowa, will be
a visiting scientist at Grinnell
College February 10th and 11th.
Dr. Shawhan's visit is sponsored
by the American Geophysical
Union.

Dr.

Shawhan will give a

general lecture on “Unmanned
Planetary Exploration" at 4:00
p.m., February lo in Room 171
of the Science Building. Hls other
activities during the two day visit
on the Grinncll campus will in
clude meetings with physics
students and faculty.

SCARLET AND BLACK

cross mun-b mum issnnn:

Friday. February 5, i970

DEMONSTRATlNG HlS

SUPER

IORITY OVER

ANIMALS.

Letters to the Editor . . .

Dear Sirs:

So the misuse of language is
dangerous to the sold, is it? i
kind oi wondered how you could
keep up the pace of sententious
pomposity set in your iirst
editorial, so i histed up my
galluses and read all the way
through the second one. The
effort was not unrewarding.
Heavyrhanded under-graduate
humor! now precious! “Arsenic
dialectic and frenetic
manipulation of previously en-
slaved Grinnell womanhood. . ."
You must have wowed them in
high school. You see, the bare
ability to parse a sentence is no
guarantee of virtue, or even of
robust common sense.

Line of the most consistent
tactics of the Schlemiel in the
public forum, for as long as i
can remember, has been the
equation oi pressing issues with
absurd [rifles of his own devising.
I am glad, sirs, GLAD. that you
can recognize a woman, in
public, even from behind, but it
has nothing to do with the
liberation of women that you can.
I will not attempt, here and now,
a man-to-man explanation of the
whys and wherefores of women's
lib., as there are many and ample
resources of information
available; should you really want
to know something. Allow me,
then, to address myscli scriatim.
to a couple oi the points men-
tioned in the above mentioned
editorial.

Oh, where to begin‘I", . .one
of the most “relevant" campus
issues. , Now why those quotes,
kids? You think, perhaps, that
something is wrong With the
word71t's a line word, you know;
latin root and everything.

I will overlook the Second,
third, and fourth paragraphs oi
the editorial. i must confess a
personal distaste for cheap sar-
casm, so perhaps 1 should
reserve comment until I can find

someone around here who likes
that kind of humor, In fairness,
all sides Should be heard.

Now about that big last
paragraph, Do you wish to
suggest that the main thrust oi
women‘s liberation is the
elimination of women as such?
What is a woman, dear editors?
You have quoted one liberated
woman's coniession that “some
of our ideas” run counter to her
nature. Which ideas? Eager as
you are to smile the heretics, try
not to be obtuse. Again, what is
a womani The only physical or
intellectual distinction that you
make or simply imply between
woman and man is that, when
all is as it should be, men lift
weights and women do not, Do
you lift weights? Do you wear
your jock a lot’! Perhaps a
“modern high school course in
sex education”wuuldbein orderr

I would advise that, in the
iuiure, you avoid humorous
editorials, You are not competent
in the genre. I would advise,
further, that you remember that
what you are working on is a
newspaper, not your Own private
potty Timothy Purges

Editors:

I will not respond in this letter
to the illogical, journallistically
irresponsible, and dogmatic 5&3
editorial on Women,

Any male or iemalc has always
been invited to Women’s Libers
ation meetings held Tuesdays at
4'00 in the religious Education
Room of Steiner. Come and learn
why the course is open to women
only

Also come and find out about
Women‘s Liberation conference
to be held this weekend Feb. 6-7,
it will involve speakers, in»
cludlng Marlene Dixon, on
Friday night. Workshops will be
held all day Saturday, with one
on male Chauvinism, for males
only Gail Chandler

Historians Discuss
Black Studies

At the recent meeting of the
American Historical Association
in Washington two black scholars
raised the question of the value
of black studies programs.

John w. Blassingame,
assistant professor oi history at
the University oi Maryland, who
presented a “model" program in
AfroVAmerican studies, said such
programs were the “best way for
American colleges to add another
dimension to the liberally
educated man who has to live
in a multiracial society.”

In opposition to this view,
Andi-e55 Taylor, associate dean
of community education at
Federal City College, charac-
terized black studies programs
at predominantly white
universities as “attempts to co-
opt the drive that is coming out
of the black community."

Mr. Taylor further added that
most black teachers in the past
had been “racial traitors," and
that the “role of the black in
tellectual needs to be redefined. "

Mr. Elassingame argued that,
“It is important that American
college students be given an
opportunity to study a group
which has iormed so large a part
oi the population oi the United

*smies throughout its history,”

“The diversity and complexity
of American society can be
illuminated by studying its long
history of intolerance, the
reciprocal relationship between
the black subculture and
America’s dominant western
culture, and the unique historical
and contemporary position of
Negroes in American political,
economic, social, intellectual,
cultural, and artistic life.”

Mr Blassingam’e said that a

Cont, on P. 3