"Learning can no longer be passive.
You are presently reading from the first issue of a new, off-campus newspaper that intends to look at the Anderson College campus and the world around it. Our intent is to be a media sounding board for students, faculty and administration. Our goal is to provide a neutral presentation of questions and answers and we will rely on you for our materials."
Above are the first few lines of my introductory editorial for the first issue of The Brick and The Pickel, a newspaper idea that was born at the beginning of the second semester, 1967. By February our group was conducting surveys and interviews, writing articles and soliciting advervisements. We wanted a stockpile of materials to draw on for the first few issues so momentum would not be lost if there was a slow response of people becoming active in the forum. Plus, with ourselves talking about it to the public we hoped to create a buzz of anticipation.
I now believe that this buzz was what spured the letter below. But I was politically naive and did not associate the two things at that time.
During the previous semester some guys on my dorm room floor got smashed off campus and brought back a pint of cherry vodka. When offered, I took a taste, didn't like it and declined anymore. The boys got a little unruly and were busted. I did not see any harm in what I did and did not feel like I was a participate so I stupidly told the truth when questioned. So I got probation along with the others. It didn't seem like punishment; my grades were good, I never got in trouble and there seemed no reason to fear getting expelled for another offense.
The first issue was coming together and we planned to publish the first of March. We had a survey of student opinions about compulsory chapel attendance, a schedueled interview with the respected Dr. Papas about his views on education and a short reflection by long time dorm supervisor Arnold setzer. There was an article about cultural event forms like "The Happenings" as a new social art form, a record review of the new album by Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, a brief report on the movement to delete "In God We Trust" from our currency. We even had a report from a superhero, The Batpickel who discovered that the campus Mailroom routinely opened and searched packages sent to students (meant to stir resonses for the next issue).
Then came the second letter.
At my meeting with Dean Beard I was pretty much told that publishing our newspaper would be grounds for my expulsion.
At my meeting with our group of volunteers I offered to step down as editor and perhaps contribute annonamously but no one felt safe enough to take my place. So the Brick and The Pickel folded shop. There was a brief time when we considered trying to get people to mail each other their favorite bricks or pickels as a protest against the administration but decided that would only punish the students working there. So it died.