SCARLET AND BLACK Friday, May 8. mo The Scarlet & Black A wtikly ncwwupcr published 1-H." I-riday ol on- college yzar hv the council cummincc on Moduli ruliiicdnuns Represtnlcd lnr nuliunul ndvtnlslng by Na- [lanai Educational Adeersll‘g \crviccs. .IED Lexinuton Ave. \‘cw Vork. New rpm mow, SccA (lass nostixgt and at Orin n , Iowa sunscrimion mic i500 pcr school you moo paid .hhsuipuons Student Newspaper of Grinnell College Grinnell. Iowa 5 E x" ’wriu M 7/ u I0»[\5E 0“ unions nusnvcss MANAGER unuwcmc LuiTok I:\\’0Ul IDH‘UR Harry Fulton. Lloyd Celsml John nmdy Sieve Grow Greg Butcher John pepper Tum orucniicla, are; Butcher, Mark sauicmdn, Mlke slum. Pn|l Mpnlzs. J. c. Lubuwlrz. Kpihryn llelnzc. m mister, Jon 5min. Nm M-mKlalcul. ml snslch shoals mm»: l(|,PUlll’l us “When Logic and Proportion Have Fallen Softly Dead” Tuesday at noon the faculty of this college con- vened in a special meeting to pass a resolution. That is just what they did. They did not meet to consi- der the possibility of passing a resolution, and those of them who thought so were quickly corrected by Andy Loewi when he told them that unless they passed the resolution as the student senate had drafted it, the students would not endorse it, but would have their own separate resolution. At no time was the idea of individual con- science, so loftily vaunted during the decision not to meet classes for the duration of the moratorium and the B & G strike, seriously considered, except in a single speech by John Crossett, Classical Languages. He was quickly dismissed as a coward by a small herd of individuals relying heavily on each others support. Dean Wall informed the faculty, after they succeeded with long arguments in retaining their commitment to the word ”morality” in their resolu- tion, that it would be a moral obligation for every faculty member to obey this directive from his col- leagues. The question of the legality of the action was raised, but also quickly shoved aside in the hurry to appease the student senate. After the reso- lution carried on a vote of 71-6 with strong urging DANISH MAID BAKERY El 8 Fourth Avenue The foolproof cure for the blind munchies ANNOUNCING THE T970 FIAT Come In And See Our Complete Line and Find Out The Advantages Of A Factory-Backed Guarantee SALES-SERVICE -PARTS CONTINENTAL IMPORTS 77? N. 2nd Ave. West Newton, Iowa 792-1855 from Dean Walker, who informed the faculty that they had no right to defeat a resolution on which the students had so grcatly compromised them- selves, a simple phone call to the college lawyer confirmed that the action, indeed, was quite prob- ably illegall We are aware, of course, that any indi- vidual who rises up alone to sue the college will be a coward. Shortly after the faculty gave the student sen- ate what it demanded, there began a meeting on central campus to discuss the issues involved. After a couple of hours it developed that these issues were not the real ones, or at least not important enough to involve action, so everyone sauntered over to the ROTC building for that sportiest of sports, a building takeover. After the building had been stuffed with smug revolutionaries, and Mr. Ayers, Grinnell’s first poli- tical refugee, had been driven out by fear of arson, mayhem, or worse involving his home, which hap~ pened to be in back of the building, students gath- ered on the front porch and lawn to smile warmly and chant “We shall not be moved." The festival atmosphere received a real shot in the arm when Chief Peters came by and lent his car, which he conveniently parked in front of the building, to the students as a stool, and then cracked a few jokes with students. When President Leggett and the Deans showed up, the party was complete, and the remainder of the afternoon was a protest so power- ful as to put a smile on the face of anyone. Except a thinker. Earlier that morning, several budding young fascists had decided that something had to be done in response to the deaths of the five students at Kent State. After rejecting mourning or an appeal to the sentiments of their classmates, they decided not to give their classmates a chance to express their feel- ings at all or even to think, but rather to sit down in front of the library to keep everyone from enter- ing. This upset quite a few students and faculty, and it is only due to the tendency to non-action on the part of all Grinnellians that these young guardians of our basic freedoms were not unceremoniously dumped over the rail of the library. Possibly also because they chose to leave the side entrance gra~ ciously unguarded, there was a little traffic in and out of the library in the morning. As soon as the fa- culty decision to appease the student body by shut- ting the college down came into effect, that stopped too. In the past Grinnell has been a place where little thought or reason was devoted to the process of making decisions. There have, however, been few days noted for the wholesale abandonment of reason as last Tuesday. __ The barbarians have occupied the AFROTC building. The administration has gone to Washing- ton to assuage its collective conscience. And nothing is being done. There exists a regular procedure to deal with takeovers of College buildings, The procedure in- cludes obtaining a court injunction to evict the stu- dents from the building, The procedure does not in- )clude the administration’s running away from the ' problem. As long as the barbarians occupy the building and go unpunished, and as long as a cowardly ad- ministration acquiesces in this behavior, Grinnell College remains an affront to the idea of a free aca- demic institution. We deserve better. To express our thanks for your patronage throughout the year EMPHASIS 905 Main will give you 20% a” on apparel and IOZ off on other regularly priced merchandise when you bring this ad CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATING SENIORS Letters To The Editor: This is the first time that [have felt constrained to write a letter to the editor to express my deep concern over an issue in my nine years at Grinnell College. I feel that the action of the “majority at the faculty and students" of Grinnell College sets a most dangerous precedent, As I un- derstand this action it in effect puts any minority constituency ot the institution in the position of supporting views with which they might disagree. This is a blatant abridgement of the foundational principle of an academic in- stitution as expressed in the concept of “academic freedom" which holds that each person is entitled to his own opinions and has the right to express them. Let it be clearly understood that I abhore war wherever it is fought and T likewise am sickened by violence of any kind. 1 am not speaking for or against the issues raised in the resolution adopted by the faculty at the special meeting of May 5, but rather to the deliberate and conscious intention to speak as an institution rather than as a majority of that institution. This action was most surprising in view of similar actions recently taken by a majority of the faculty such as the various resolutions concerning moratorium days. in these resolutions great care was taken to preserve the right of the individual dissenter who found himself in the minority to do his own thing and not to be labeled with the majority with which he disagreed. This careful action to respect the indmdual’s con science and freedom made me proud to be a part of such an institution. However, it seemed to me that emotions were allowed to overcome reason in the debate of May 5. This is a most dangerous situation since we often regret later what has been done under the pressures of a difficult emotional situation, The most alarming feature of this action is that it took place not in some mob street scene, but in the deliberative halls of the faculty of an academic institution dedicated to academic freedom, ii the strongholds of our freedom such as our colleges and universities are prone to the suppression of indivi- dual freedom then what of individual freedom then what hope is there for the country at large. It seems in me that the same tactics of domination by the majority which are being deplored in the actions of our government which claims to speak for the “silent majority” are being employed by the majority of the faculty and students at Grinnell College. Two wrongs never make a right. Domination of the majority whether silent or vocal over [he minority is not right or humane. Jack S. Swenson Associate Professor of Chemistry —— HELP ME, I have lost a black wallet with driver's license, money, and photographs of some very wholesome looking girls I knew In High School. ii you find it, please iind me, Tom Greenfield Box 331. 23677256.