Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SWARTHMORE. PENNSYLVANIA 19081 INCREASE IN CHARGES Swarthmore College ' s charges for 1969-70 have been set as follows: Tuition $2150 General Fee 210 Board and Room 1075 Total Resident Charges $3435 Supplement to Swarthmore College Bulletin, Catalogue issue, 1968-69, Swarthmore, Pa., Volume LXVI, Number 1, September 1968

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tf W£Sf fleW bi| chMes ipaaonL by Hank The students of the United States are at a crossroads. They n either capitulate to the oppres- sive educational system foisted upon them by the power structure or they can liberate themselves by over- throwing the status quo and setting ,p their own free high schools and niversities. WORK I say that the only viable and meaningful alternative is the latter. It is the only way we can achieve self-realization through active par- ticipation by all on all levels of the decision-making process. Moreover it liberates us so that we can study relevant problems in order to relate to the outside world. Since this is the only acceptable alternative, the only question re- mains: How best can we realize it? In other words, what strategy must we, as involved students, to bring about this new institutional restruc- turing? GET AHEAD Again we have two alternatives. We can work through the existing processes of decision-making or we can carry on a decisive clear-cut vio- lent revolution. Both methods have their distinctive merits and drawbacks. Each de- serves careful consideration and study. Only after a thorough and total assessme nt of the objective con- ditions militating against and work- ng for each strategy can we be cer- tain beyond doubt which offers the best alternatives for us, the oppressed students. As far as the first strategy is concerned this is how I see things. We face a very determined opposition among the reactionary faculties and .dministrators. They know what they Levit y want, i.e., to oppress us, and they know how to use the currently used methods of decision-making to thwart our aims. In addition, the present consciousness of the students is such that they do not know their true in- terests, nor are they disposed to working for them. In short they are apathetic. Thus a slow infiltrating process, which the first strategy im- plies, can not possibly enlist the mass of students so necessary for a sustained and successful change. STUDY Instead the correct strategy to fol- low is that of violent re volution. The possibility that it will succeed is great for these reasons. Our oppres- sors — the faculties and administra- tions — are not acquainted with the techniques of terror and violence. These can not be neutralized by soph- istical arguments. In addition, they art indisposed to the use of outside oppressors (the fascist police). The other reason why our violent revolution will be successful is that by is very nature of being fast, different and exciting will awaken the apa- thetic masses of students and will enlist them in our grand design. With the mass of students behind us our victory is assured as it is inevitable. KILL As can be obvious from all relevent considerations, violent revolution is cur way. But violent revolution can only be directed by a email group be torn apart by the oppressing class of intellectuals what have we to lose but an education? So now I call for all oppressed students to unite in revolutionary brotherhood. Together we can create a new order for all Divided we will be torn apart by the oppressing class of intellectuals what have we to lose but an education? by Charli Swarthmore faces a serious challenge to its academic free- dom and integrity. It is not an ex- ternal threat but an internal chal- lenge making it much more insidious and much more menacing. What is this internal threat? Con- trary to the most effusive dogma, it is not the despotic hand of the col- lege administration oppressing stu- dents and faculty alike. No, it is the far more tryrannical movements of black militants and white radicals — faculty and students alike. They are the ones posing the challenge by trying to force their own images on the entire college community. Those images, as is quite obvious, leave little room for the academic freedom and integrity which is too vital for a college to continue to carry out its functions. What makes this threat credible — in fact terrifying — is that it is not being met with firm, consistent opposition by those who hold academ- ic freedom and integrity valuable. In our case at Swarthmore, the stu- dents have defaulted in their respon- ibilities for defending the collgee ' s integrity. This broad sweeping gen- eralization is supported by the fol- lowing concrete examples. FACULTY ACTIO During the crisis in January when the blacks began their militant Spadoni actions, it was the faculty and ad- ministration that acted on the merits of the demands forthrightly and ef- ficiently. They did not capitulate to them because of threat. Such was not the case with the students. They were by and large intimidated to the point of insensibility. The students were in an excellent position to take a moral stand on unfounded black allega- tions of racism on the part of the administration. The students could have passed judgment on SASS ' s unjustified dis- ruption of the college, the take over of the Admissions Office (I need not give a detailed report on the vio- lation of the rights of other members of the college community which arose from this takeover). They refused even to consider the immorality of these acts and to condemn them when meeting in plenary session. Such a default of responsibility illustrates how the blacks intimidated the students with the threat of ac- cusation of racism, the mere thought of which no liberal Swarthmore student could tolerate, even though the accusations would have no basis in fact. Again take for example the recent spate of anti-Semitic material 1 am writing not only of The Freedom. Theater poem but also of Michael Graves ' explanation of this poem, The existence of special inter- est groups at Swarthmore has a significant impact on the type of community in which we live. Individ- uals acting in groups press demands on us and take actions which reflect on the entire community. The type of groups we permit at Swarthmore is thus a matter of concern to all. One of the groups whicn has the greatest impact is the Swarthmore Political Action Club. Unfortunately its existence is detrimental to the integrity of Swarthmore as an insti- tution. I intend to show why it is detrimental and I will argue that it no longer should be countenanced. SWARTHMORE VALUES The Swarthmore Political Action Club is detrimental beeause its struc- ture is not congruent with the values and traditions of Swarthmore. Un- like most organizations, its members are non-members. It is as was stated in its last meeting- — an amorphous group appending to itself a name in order to get funds from Student Council. A group of non-members can thus not be held accountable or re- sponsible. No one is liable since any action taken is taken by non-members. The confrontation of non-members with the Navy recruiters is an ex- ample of the lack of accountability and responsibility. Information an- nouncing that a confrontation would take place was unsigned. No one knew who was making plans or who would carry them out. The unfolding of events demonstrated that it was a small coterie of SPAC non-members who made the plans and carried them out. By posing as an organization of non-members it dupes the Student Council. Funds are made available to SPAC non-members to carry out ac- tivities which are not necessarily in the best interest of Swarthmore as a community. CABALS In addition, policies and tactics are not decided in the open in a large group meeting of permanent mem- bers. Tactics and policies are planned in small secretive cabals. The lack of accountability and re- sponsibility, the fradulent way of gaining money from Student Counci and the secretive nature of the or- ganization are sufficient reasons to question the integrity of the organiza- tion. They show that SPAC is alien to Swarthmore ' s traditioto of re- sponsibility, accountability, truthful- ness, and openness. SPAC ' s exist- ence is thus undermining what is essential for Swarthmore ' s integrity. There are other considerations that show that SPAC is alien to what we value at Swarthmore. The first is that SPAC ' s existence is based on the assumption that people here at Swarthmore and elsewhere do not know what is good for them. There is a lack of confidence among SPAC non-members in the intelligence and integrity of Swarthmore students Their plan to canvass all male stu- dents about the Selective Service and the military is an example of this lack of confidence. The function of this organization is totally alien to the notion endemic in this college that the individual has the capacity to de- cide his own future. A second aspect of SPAC which is detrimental to the college 13 that it presumes to act for Swarthmore. They take it upon themselves to act in our behalf. Their efforts to pre- vent the recruiters from recruiting was an effort to protect the insti- tution from the vile blood-stained hands of the military. Their eforts to protect us are not justified since Swarthmore is mature enough to take care of itself. NO CONFIDENCE A third aspect of SPAC which is not congruent with Swarthmore ' s tra- ditions is that it does not have con- fidence in Swarthmore students ' con- cern with social and political prob- lems. Apathy is the over-used word to describe the conditions of Swarthmore students by SPAC non- members. SPAC operates on the principle that no one cares or does anything about social ills except SPAC Such is not the case. Swarth- more has been and will continue to be a place where concerned students can study in preparation to work for liberty, equality, and fraternity not only now but after the brief so- journ here. SPAC does not have a monopoly on concern or action. The issue at hand is whether SPAC should be permitted to remain a special interest group sanctioned and financed by Swarthmore. I have shown that it is wrongfully insti- tuted; and that its existence is de- stroying the integrity of this college. The nature of SPAC demonstrates that it deserves neither sanc ' uary nor money SPAC has no place at Swarthmore College. and worst of all, the posting of a vicious anti-Semitic newspaper ad- vertisement on the SASS bulletin board. Here again such unacceptable action was condoned by the vast ma- jority of students by their silence. Only a few voices challenged the blacks (with the possibility of vio- lence lurking in the background) and only one of them was not of the Jewish faith. WHITE RADICALS Another dangerous situation, pre- sented this time by white radicals, is now before us. Proposals initiated by our Student Council president, if adopted, would prevent military re- cruiters from coming on campus and would center in Student Council the power to arbitrarily decide which outside people should or should not be permitted to speak or recruit at Swarthmore. These proposals represent clear- cut threats to freedom of speech, anyway you cut it. To date, clear-cut opposition to these unacceptable pro- posals has not been articulated by students. The questions remains: Will con- sistent and firm opposition by stu- dents to these internal threats to academic freedom and integrity con- tinue to be non-existent? Will cow- ardice, naivete, and stupidity pre- vail? The answer to these questions can only be given by the future ac- tions of the students of Swarth- more College.