Shorthand

Conservative to speak on campus; ISO elects cabinet, plans for next year; Security considers cameras at crossings; FIMRC auctions food, artwork, skills

Conservative to speak on campus

Beginning last September, the small but active Grinnell College Republicans group began making plans to bring a conservative speaker to campus. On Monday, April 19, due to the efforts of this group aided by the Rosenfield Program, Grinnell will welcome conservative David Horowitz to give a talk entitled “Campus Republicans: An Endangered Species?”

Once a leader of the New Left Movement during the Vietnam Era, Horowitz now serves as the president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. He is campaigning for the greater inclusion of conservative viewpoints on college campuses, where he believes such views are often so absent that those who hold such views are discriminated against, according to one New York Times article (April 3, 2004).

In 2003 Horowitz published an “Academic Bill of Rights” stating that academic freedom, “[a value] indispensable to the American university … is most likely to thrive in an environment or intellectual diversity that protects and fosters independence of thought and speech.”

Drawing from statements in the 1915 General Report of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, Horowitz posits that not including a breadth of political perspectives in college courses and events takes advantage of impressionable young minds “before the student has had an opportunity fairly to examine other opinions upon the matters in question.”

According to Campus Republicans President Diana Grimes ‘04, Horowitz may address issues pertaining to college faculty hiring, freedom and the war on terror and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Following his talk, Horowitz will take questions from the audience. The event will conclude with a book signing and reception. The event will take place at 8 p.m. in the Forum South Lounge.

Concerned that many students will not be receptive to Horowitz’s visit, Grimes hopes that students attend nonetheless. “It’s not an attack,” she said. “This is an opportunity for people to listen to a different view. We don’t expect them to agree with it—we just want them to hear it.”

—Leslie Boyadjian

Security considers cameras at crossings

In two separate incidents on the evening of April 11, vehicles swerved toward Grinnell College students. In the first incident, a white van headed towards students on the corner of 10th and Park Streets. “One of the students would have been hit but was pulled out of the way by another student,” read the Security report.

In the second incident, an older vehicle, perhaps a Volkswagon Rabbit, turned onto the sidewalk between Loose and Lazier Halls, close enough to make a student “jump out of the way and run from the area,” according to the report.

The Monday incidents follow on the heels of several similar episodes earlier in the semester. According to Director of Security Steve Briscoe, pedestrian harassment is nothing new on Grinnell’s campus. “Down through the years we’ve had lots of these incidents,” he said.

Briscoe is currently proposing to have cameras put up that would monitor streets crossing campus, with signs indicating that the areas were under surveillance. “With the cameras, we could detect them, and maybe even deter some of these incidents with the signs. I’m trying to solicit some input before we move forward on this.”

Briscoe urged students to be careful when crossing streets and, if harassed, to report it to Security as soon as possible, with license numbers or vehicle or driver descriptions if possible.

—Sara Millhouse

ISO elects cabinet, plans for next year

The International Student Organization (ISO), the largest student group on campus, elected next year’s cabinet this week. Over 100 people voted in the elections, electing Rohan Mandelia ‘05 president in a runoff between him and Shweta Khajuria ‘07. The election was conducted via Blackboard and overseen by a group of members nominated by the current cabinet.

Some members feel that the current cabinet brought little innovation to its activities, although it did a good job of continuing traditional events like the International Food Bazaar and Cultural Evening. Mandelia echoed this thought, but he feels that the new cabinet has “experience coupled with fresh vision,” a combination which will allow it to implement a new agenda.

Mandelia wants to expand the activities of the ISO to incorporate “more pertinent issues [that] truly represent the myriad cultures that the international students on campus are a part of.” He also plans to make the orientation for new international and domestic students less mutually exclusive to help internationals “leave that comfortable nest and become a part of the larger campus community.” Mandelia will be assisted by a cabinet of six people, including Vice President Adityarup Chakravorty ‘07, Treasurer Luzat Khandkar ‘07, Social Coordinators Misha Rittman ‘07 and Blair Brown ‘07 and Publicity Coordinators Fatma Yalcin ‘07 and Nayantara Watsa ‘07.

—Saurabh Saraf

FIMRC auctions food, artwork, skills

Shouts of “Boo!” and “Show the bastard!” kicked off the first annual silent auction for the Foundation for International Medical Relief for Children (FIMRC) held in the North Lounge on Tuesday evening. The source of the ruckus was not auction bidders, but DAG members who came to provide entertainment during the bidding. Some of the night’s other entertainers were Grinnell Swing Society dancers, the cast of Hair and some jugglers.

The auction was organized by members of the Grinnell chapter of FIMRC, Rachel Sandler ‘04, Shelly Mills ‘04, Saurabh Saraf ‘05, Sadie Sullivan ‘04, Maria Stanislaw ‘04 and Pavitra Kannan ‘07. The group, which formed this semester, also sponsored the Valentine’s Day smile-o-grams. Funds raised by the smile-o-grams and the auction will go to fund FIMRC’s efforts to bring medical support and supplies to children in developing countries.

Tuesday night’s auction featured about 40 items, including muffins baked by Dean Jim Swartz, original art and photos by Grinnell students, a George Foreman Mini-Grill, tennis and swimming lessons from Grinnell coaches and a cookout for 12 with Lyle and Roger Bauman, which received the highest bid. Sandler estimates that around 50 people participated and the event raised $553.70. For more information on FIMRC, visit www.fimrc.org.

—Amanda Davis