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Watching over Films

S&B Staff Editorial

It’s happened to you. After a week of philosophy class, lab reports and student group meetings, you just want to relax. You get a group of friends together and go to Harris to watch a movie. Then, you wait … for 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 30 minutes. Finally, the lights dim and the movie starts. The projectionist, however, could not quite figure out how to properly load the film, so the movie image is shrunken and distorted.

A formal complaint about the film situation on campus is long overdue. There is no reason why students who pay money for an activity fund and who fund a cabinet-level position to manage films should have to suffer through crappy movie showings every other week for four years.

Students this year have already experienced movies starting late and even watched a film burn. Whether improving movie showings requires better equipment, better projectionist training or better oversight, it’s time for the Films Chair to fulfill his basic responsibilities and get the job done.

We should make clear that we have no personal animus toward SGA or this year’s administration. The SGA cabinet has genuinely pushed to make SGA more transparent and has tried to bridge the communication gap between students and their government.

The example of the Films Chair shirking on his duties, however, is indicative of systemic problems with SGA responsiveness. At the beginning and end of every year, a new set of student politicians emerge to run for office. They promise sweeping changes, win the election and the next year, many students have forgotten student government entirely. That’s where we come in.

In 1947, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote, “A free press is indispensable to the workings of our democratic society.” While it is doubtful that Frankfurter had the press and government in Grinnell College in mind, his words are particularly relevant to our context.

At Grinnell, annual elections are not enough of a check on government power, especially for seniors, who will never be subject to the scrutiny of another election. For cabinet members, who were never elected in the first place, the potential for laziness or abuse is particularly acute.

In addition, students are only here for four years, making them more likely to feel less invested in the institution. Amid the joys and stress of college life, poring over Joint Board minutes seems like a waste of time and most campus problems appear to be “not that big of a deal.”

Nevertheless, when problems are put into a broader story of long-term neglect or abuse, students will pay attention. It is our job to tell that story. Last fall, it was our job to tell the story of a network of close friends running the SGA elections commission. Last spring, it was our job to tell the story of student initiatives failing because the SGA student service coordinator forgot to advertise them.

This year, it is our job to tell the story of an SGA films chair who does not make sure movies run smoothly and who does not release the movie schedule in a timely manner when those are his two primary responsibilities.

We should make clear that we have no personal animus toward SGA or this year’s administration. The SGA cabinet has genuinely pushed to make SGA more transparent and has tried to bridge the communication gap between students and their government.

We want to give them ample opportunity to show that this year, campaign commitments will be fulfilled. Our job as government watchdog is not to cynically criticize, but to hold them to their word and make the college better because of it.

In the same vein, we want all members of the Grinnell community to hold us accountable. At the beginning of the year, our editor-in-chief laid out a plan for the S&B to become a more reliable, trustworthy source of news. So, if you are an SGA official, and someone misconstrues your quotes in a story, tell us so that we can get better. The same goes for any student group leader, faculty member, administrator or average first year who feels misrepresented by us.

Only by holding ourselves and our government to high standards can we hope to leave this college better than when we came in.

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