Douglass College - Quair Yearbook (New Brunswick, NJ)

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chapel ushers

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government association For years, g.a. has been the biggest joke on campus. Students have snickered at the bombast and bumblings of the Assembly, conveniently forgetting that it was a body that they had structured and selected. The real comedy, though, is not so much in g.a., as in the fact that students would allow it to go on for as long as it has. At some point, even the best of jokes go stale. But Tuesday night saw a major turning point for g.a. At last the Assembly members seem to be taking themselves seriously. And if g.a. serves as any sort of indicator, then the student body itself must be feeling the force of a new and more potent self-image. For the first time, g.a. de- manded a consistency from itself and the Administration. The Assembly questioned the Dean's decision on parietals. But the whole act of questioning comes a bit late. It should have started with the decision on curfew, and the whole issue of the residence philosophy. But whether it comes late or not, g.a. owned up to its mistakes. And it is finally be- coming a government association in more than just name. The Assembly questioned the consistency of the Ad- ministration, not in whining or whispers, but in a calm and conhdent voice. We recognize the importance of the Dean's Commission on Philosophy, and in good faith we await the findings of the report. But it seems that the Commission is being used as an excuse to keep g.a. in suspended anima- tion. Beer. Locks. Cars. Incense. Were they merely tokens to keep the natives quiet? As part of a philosophy of student self-regulation, they certainly seem consistent. But then, so does a change in curfew and parietals. Perhaps the Douglass students are finally ready for a revolution. Or perhaps, it is another stage in revolution as the student self-image is finally forced to change. -Susan Hawkins February 7, 1969 Maybe, I said to myself as I left the g.a. meeting, it was just another long, drawn out, routine session. But there was a difference. For an hour and a half last night g.a. was what it has all along had the potential to be-it was thinking and arguing and bitching constructively. It was little by little compromising among its various members to reach a united, coherent plan of constructive, self-determined action. It was sticking its neck out, taking a chance, sensing a great need for a big change. And it was doing all of these things rea- sonably but with force, logically, non-violently, but with a new sensitivity and awareness of its potential power and infiuence as a mechanism for change. Inevitably, and justifiably, the cry of Why did you wait so long?', will come out. There is no single answer- executive board, the whole Assembly, the atmosphere, tradi- tion-any of these things could be the reason. That's not the point. The point is that we are now beginning an elementary step in any growth process-the building of a concept of self-identity. We may not do the job successfully, that's quite possible. We are working towards a big thing Calbeit a very basic, very inherent thingj-the active role and aware- ness of responsibility as individuals and as a group. We can sit around and lament our many past abortive efforts or we can say, O.K. Now we're going to create what's been miss- ing all along, whoever's fault that missing part has been . -Susan Little g.a. president February 7, 1969 11

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Voorhees assembly board