Page Two

SCARLET AND BLACK

Frida _ Februar 20.
Y Y

 

 

The Scarlet & Black

Student Newspaper or
Grinnell College,
Grinnell, iowa

llllL‘lt An independ.
““5 W, on! newspapcr pun.
lishcd weekly, exV
crpt during hon.
days and examma.
6 non pclrlodcs, by [he
’l\ \ro Grinncl onnnincc

”0‘“ 5 on Student publica.
iions. Subscription mic soon per
school year.

Editorial

To The Editors of High and Mighty:

. Hury Fulton.
Lloyd sea-son

.lolm Brody
Steve Crow

rdlrors , . .

Ensures: Manager ..

Managing Editor .

Spons zdnoi— . . John rcppcr

Rbporters , . . . colity Newmk,
.vlilrk soblcman, Greg Butcher.
Reggie GmJlllm, Kathryn liclnzc.

We note the appearance of High and Mighty with
a certain amount of admiration. It is no easy matter
to produce a newspaper», especially when you are forced
to begin at the beginning. We hope that you choose
to continue what must he a difficult effort.

Clearly, there is room for more than one newspaper
on this campus. We are pleased that you have chosen
a territory which is, by nature, out of our range. The
establishment press, as you might call us, has certain
local responsibilities. And, in our more buoyant mo-
ments, we feel that the students at Grinnell deserve
something in addition to our much maligned editorial
conservatism.

We hear that you have requested a loan (or is it a
gift?) from the Senate. It would be sad if you chose
to give up a completely independent publication and
placed yourself in a precarious legal position, in ex-
change for a little security. If you did get money from
the Senate, would you be willing to abide by the regu-
lations of the Student Publications Committee? The
58:13 cannot be independent for technical reasons, which
you, no doubt, understand.

It is obvious to everyone that, to say the least, our
political and editorial principles are very far from
yours. But isn’t there some common ground between
us? You have apparently decided, unlike the editors
of Pterodactyl, that there are more important things
to do than to shock people or to make them cringe.
Are we wrong in this assumption?

We have no illusions about a conciliation or coalition
between us. That would only serve to compromise your
principles as well as ours. We think, though, that it
is possible for us to treat each other with respect, and,
recognizing that we are fallible men, still to act ‘honor~
ably and decently. For the present, we fight with words.
It may be the case, however, that, according to t!“
logic of human associations, rational discourse will
give way to impassioned rhetoric which will lead to
forceful action, We fear the day when we shall face
each other, fighting for opposite principle, with weapons
more deadly than words. Until that day comes, write
on, broflaers.

— The Editors

New Vistas Open for Users
01 Burling Library Facilities

oh alternate Wednesdays and
Thursdays until spring break,
Grinnell College will provide
transportation to the University
oi Iowa Library in lowa city ior
students who need it) use its
resources.

Wagons will leave irom the
Heating Plant at 12:30 PM. and
depart irom Iowa City at 5:30
PM on each travel day.

Students must sign up by 5
PM Monday of the week they
want to use the service, Sign~up
Sllccls and instructions for use
of the Iowa City Library are at
the Reference Desk in Burling
Library: first come. first served.
Nine people can be accom-
modelled per week. but stu-

dents can sign up for standby. ‘
Anyone willing to drive should
so indicate on the signrup sheet.

The college will not provide
drivers in order not to take up
space in the wagon. A licensed
driver need only to obtain a
permit train the Dean oi
Studciits' office to be eligible. If
no students are Willing to drive
[or any given week, the service
will be interrupted ior that week.

This service is provided [or
students doing independent
projects and special research ioi-
which the resources or Burling
Library have been exhausted. 0n
the sign-up Sllcel, students must
givc the name oi the iiisll'uctor

who IS dircctliig the research.

To the Editor:

In what is rapidly becoming a
tradition, I find it necessary to
correct some stated “fact”, in-
sinuations, and innuendos in last
week’s 5&3.

The “tradition” to which I am
referring is that of correcting the
numerous mistakes, half-truths,
and outright misconceptions con-
tained in this semester's 5&3, It
seems the “Letters to the Editor”
columns have had to fulfill this
function, and not a week passes
without the previous week’s 5&3
being substantially corrected.

I quote a letter to the editor

in lastweek's issue:
"‘We'd like to begin by re
marking about the general‘ re-
sponsibility of the editorial policy
of the 8&8 Since it has changed
hands. Your first editorial was
written without [actual knowl-
edge oi the position paper and
the progress the steering com
mittee had made in negotiating
with the faculty. As far as we
are able to ascertain, neither of
the editors has ever attended a
women's liberation meeting as
was demonstrated by the lack oi
insight in your second editorial.
Your third editorlal .7 and here
again we have never noticed your
faces at a senate meeting —— is
also a credit to your irresponsible
journalism. To put it bluntly, you
don't know what you're talking
about."

The writer of your fourth
editorial had even less idea of
what he was talking about. The
editorial states, “Bruce Nissen
has said that he and his friends
are ‘working tor a society that’s
above freedom 01 speech.’ “ This
statement is an outright lie I
have never made that statement;
I’m not even sure what it could
mean, and I certainly am not its
author Messrs, Fulton and
Gerson are to be thanked for their
s|rcnuous efforts to check with

either me or l-Ienry Wilhelm
about the veracity of this so-
called “quote.” Even Henry (who
apparently thought the ”quote"
up), admitted that it wasn’t a

genuine quote. However, he felt -

it cimveyed the intention or the
spirit oi my position, so it ap-
peared on his Plerodactyl with»
drawal. I laughed when I Saw
the “quotes" attributed to me in
Henry and Krys' statement;
Henry and Krys have good
imaginations, and most people
read a polemic as just that: a
polemic. However, when this
“quote" becomes reified through
repeated exposure in the EM}
when this “quote" becomes the
basis tor a (second) personal at-
tack upon me, the matter is less
laughable.

The editorial proceeds, “Pre-
sumably aiter Mr. Nissen’s rev -
lution . . ,the culture and politics
of the majority will be used to
determine what other changes
must be made in me Bill of
Rights Perhaps his society will
be above other freedoms.” It
concludes by noting that my
friends and I are” , . practically
indistinguishable from their
brothers on the extreme right."
The inference clearly is that I
endorse a facist mode of govern-
ment and politics.

Notice that all of these poten-
tially libelous statements rest on
a misquote. This failure to check
the accuracy of your “iacts” is
extreme negligence by almost
any standards oi journalistic
integrity,

The politics of this issue is not
the central point, “Collective vs,
individual rights" is a tough
political question, and I would be
happy to discuss my views on
the subject with anyone. I have
a reeling i am a stronger believer
in individual rights than either
editor of the SEA}. However, it
is largely irrelevant to the most

important point to be made here.
The main issue is that of editorial
and journalistic responsibility.
This semesters’ 5&5, since it
doesn’t bother to check its
“facts,”taresbadlyon this issue.

Perhaps it will require im-
peachment proceedings against
the editors or a libel suit against
the 5&8 and the College to re-
verse this semester's trend
to journalistic irresponsibility.

Bruce Nissan
I'Itlillii's‘ llcpiy:

We would like to answer Mr.
Nissen’s letter by making an
apology to him for the mis-
quotation on which a major
portion of last week’s editorial
was based. We assure him that
(my slight to his character was
unintended, and the mllsuse of
information was totally our fault.
To the Editors:

In your last issue, you placed
Mr. Nasser‘s inflammatory and
illogical piece of propagandistic
advcrtising in the ieatured spot
on your front page, Your position,
as I understand it, is this: to
make the sol; open to opinions
expressed from all points of View.
Such democratic tolerance is, as
a goal, commendable: it seems
legitimate, however, to question
whether one can be undemocratic
in how one presents a given point
of View, e,g., the timing, the spot-
lighting, and so on. i gather that
Mr, Nasser submitted his piece
and that you did not solicitit,

It cannot be that you are in
tlinidated by the awe oi the
faculty. {or you did not print Mr.
Christiansen’s review of the folk
concert 7 a review which it
would have been timely to print
this week but which will be dead
next week. Mr, Nasser's review
would have been more timely
alter the film was shown

Would you. now. have granted

LETTERS—
Continucd on page 4