Friday. February 20. two } Root Continued from page 8 more girls won't Join in com- petitive nthlctics, even it only iii volleyball, lt soon becomes :ircsomc to coerce girls into playing for their own benefit. imagine this — a volleyball at your fingertips (or any other convenient place) a beautiful stitrup for a team mate to spike into the net — a glorious drive for an offensive shot that misses the ball entirely, but manages to inflict tremendous damage on the knees . . . a really powerful serve by a team mate that lands in the middle of your back . . . even a head-on collision with the girl standing next to you. Al- though usually you can just stand back and Watch the ball l'lud right between the two of you — Still, it's a natural high! How can you pass it up? ,éressures E Q gglfiselp wit-l. V flfi bag 9 Getting Married or looking for a gift for someone who is? See our lines of wedding announcements. ies, and gifts. EMPHASIS 905 Main accessor- chl week: Look for a per; stiiinl interview with the Smith Smiling Six, tips on how to stay lit, and how winning has affected their lives at Grin- liell. Here are this week's offi- cial standings: Smitll 5 0 Loose 2 James 5 i Rawson 2 Langan z 2 Mears 3 South 1 1 Main 4 summuumwwrfim Concerned Citizens Sponsor Dinner Gl'innell Concerned Citizens are sponsoring a benefit gourmet dinner and entertainment program to help end the war, Fri- day. Feb. 27, at 6:00 p.m. in the Veterans Memorial Center. Proceeds from the dinner will go to pay for peace ads previously placed in area news papers and for future local anti- war efforts Dinner will be served from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. in order that persons who Wish to attend the Concert on campus may leave early. All members oi the campus community are cordially invited to attend. Tickets may be pur- chased from Mrs. Joseph F. Wall l236-4G77) or Mrs. Wayne Olson (236-3528) or at the door at $3.50 1 A“ of the for adults, $2.50 for students, and $1 ,00 for children. Entertainers for the evening will be Kim Thomas, voice, and Drew McConnomy, guitar; Karen Smith, guitar, and Celia Wyckoff, recorder, and Drs Gene Wubbels and Karl DeLong, guitar and voice JD'S RESTAURANT vzzlo Main Mon. - Sat. 5 to lo phi. SundayiNoon to lo punt Washington’s Birthday Specials CAR COATS, S-M-L, Values to $30 SWEATERS. 3440, Values to U2 New SID Now 55 VIRGINIA'S 826 59h Ave. SCARLET AND BLACK Page Three The Nature of a Liberal Education: Port 2 The Problem of Definition is Raised A definition of a liberal education is our next concern. Let us examine the essential points of the goals or definitions of such an education as given by five well-known colleges: Amherst: A broad education, knowledge of some field in depth, intellectual competence, and awareness of problems and methods. Carleton: Excellence of in tellectual training, breadth of" to require these; and as for the development of character, in eluded in the liberal education by most colleges, very little is done about it as a requirement. Again, requirements change from time to time, most Of them with respect to detail, but some of them more drastically. The difficulties may result from (a) the fact that the subject of education is so complex that t is theoretically and practically understanding, personal and? nadvisable to frame a single social responsibility, com- ' mitment to goals which extend beyond the sell. Oberlin: Academic excellence, Search for truth, a sense of social responsibility, moral integrity, social justice, service to others. Williams: Development of those qualities of the mind and of character which encourage creative, independent, and responsible thought, and a taste ufintellectual adventure. Grinnell: Aims (a) to help shape the character of the student and make him a better human being so he can achieve a personally satisfying and worthwhile life, (b) to guide him toward intelligent and respon- sible citizenship, and (c) to prepare him for a useful career. above colleges profess to have as their aim a liberal education, but we find variation in emphasis from one definition to another; and although there is something which is common in the above definitions, there are differences also. So since me various definitions given cannot be refuted (except on logical grounds), their diversity may result from something else, namely, to the differences in what is considered to be a good education for a student. Moreover, what the definitions say is one thing, what the colleges require is another. For example, nothing is mentioned in the aims about physical education, very little about the appreciative or fine arts, and only two of them include preparation for a career; yet all the above colleges seem GLASSES Made and Repaired in Our Laboratory Contact Lenses Cases and Solutions Eyes Examined Phone 235-3979 E. J. Jensen, 0.0. OPTOMETRIST Across from Post Office Closed Yiiurr. PM. and Sol, PM. definition. or from (b) unclear thinking; and if (a) is the case. then the expression “liberal education" had better be left ambiguous or undefined. 0n the other hand, terms should be clear and have definite meanings; otherwise communication becomes difficult, What is more. it is the professed function of college educators to enable students to think clearly and definitely; and if students cannot find clarity and definiteness in the definition of a liberal education, which is the first principle and serves as a guide to their various educational activities, where else would they find it? So there are arguments in favor of and arguments against a single definition, Specifically, the following arguments seem to show that a single definition is not advisable. l. Students go to colleges for different reasons, some to become engineers, others lawyers, other bankers, others teachers and so on. So why have a single defin' ion of a liberal education for all? 2, The material, intellectual. and spiritual strength and richness of a nation depend on individuals With a variety of goals. The same education would encourage uniformity and even mediocrity; and such an education is the mark of a dictar torship rather than of a demo racy. 3. Those affected by a liberal education are the students, and it is they (or their parents) who pay the bill; so it is they who should decide what to learn. If their aims and desires differ, so should their education, 4. The so~called “require ments" for a liberal education are determined by a majority vote in iaculty meetings, and the changes in those requirements are result irom changing faculty pennem ALWAVS FIRSY ouALir Spring and Summer Catalogs Have Arrived Come in and get one for your area. SELECT FROM 10,000 ITEMS FOR YOUR SPRING NEEDS. groups and changing special interests and not to any obiective standards. So the student is vic- timized by power struggles and campus politics among the faculty, and his educational needs are not determined by an objective standard. It so, there should be no requirements, but freedom of choice. 5 Usually, each professor is a specialist in one field and has no integrated knowledge of all the fields. So even if we assume that there is such a thing as a single education which would be the best thing for all, still no man exists who knows enough to re- veal it to us. In the absence of such a man, then, it would be better to leave the decision up to the student. 6, Most of the colleges include under one of their two principal aims the development of char- acter, moral integrity, and social responsibility, or the like. But what morality should be, differs from religion to religion, from nation to nation, from individual to individual; and to force upon students a single morality goes contrary to their religion or their conscience. So it appears that it is not the colleges' business to teach morality. The student should be left free to follow the dictates of his conscience. 7. Man is a changing being, and as his knowledge changes and in- creases, so do his goals. To demand a single definition is to stop progress and the quest for higher aims and values. omer arguments besides the above may be added, but these are sufficient for our needs. We may now turn to the corres- ponding arguments in favor of a single definition, 1. A liberal education Should not be like a chameleon, changing colors from place to place, from time to time, from person to person. It it is some» thing to be prized, it must stand for something definite; otherwise it has no claim to superiority over any other kind of learning, such as one gets in a trade school. Such education is general in nature, not specific; and its nature does not conflict with the specific goals; on the contrary, it adds Something beyond those goals 2. Variety has its place, but it is a bad substitute for excellence. What makes a dictatorship an evil is not just uniformity, but had uniformity. A good education for two students is better than a good education for one of them and a had education for the other, if art has principles and does not LIBERAL EDUCATION— Continued on page 4 "it‘s OVER. 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