Image provided by: Library of Congress; Washington, DC
About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1918)
r P A G E 4_____________________ T H E C H E M A W A A M E R IC A N SLANG S lang and p ro fan ity are m em bers of th e sam e fam ily—cousins, if you w ill. W herever one goes he is p retty certain to hear slang, and even profanity seems in m ore ab u n d an t use th a n in the recen t past. is this? W hy T h ere is no use d en y in g th is assertio n , for it is based on tru th itself. S om eth in g is am iss. Some agency, or agencies, in th e schem e for hum an p ro gress are not reg isterin g , or fu n ctio n in g , properly. W h at is wrong? O ur public schools, o u r colleges an d universities, lay great stress upon th e ir d ep a rtm en ts of E n g lish . If one w ere to ju d g e these d ep artm en ts, and those who teach in th em , by th e lan g u ag e used by th eir stu d en ts th e ra tin g accorded w ould certain ly be low. Some of our stu d e n ts are practically unable to make them selves understood w ith o u t reso rtin g to slang. A nd again it w ould appear th a t they u n d erstan d slang b etter th an good E n g lish . In these so-called courses in E n g lish th e best books are read and th e best au th o rs and au th o rities cited. But read in g is n o t suf f ic ie n t- s tu d y is necessary. I t appears th a t ev ery th in g is on a false basis—su p e r ficial. T o m aster lang u ag e, as to m aster astronom y, requires tim e and stu d y — tim e to stu d y . Look w here you will and you w ill alw ays see th e sam e ru sh . N o th ing is im m une from ru sh . N o th in g seems of su f ficient m om ent or m erit to be given th e tim e or consideration due it. T h e stu d e n t ru sh es alw ays and never stops to give a n y th in g its value, or a fitting place in his schem e of th in g s. It is so as reg ard s his vocabulary. It is p aten t to all th a t slang is more easily acquired th a n good E n g lish , hence slang is used. From slan g to p ro fan ity is a sh o rt step. A fine list of w ords is necessary in the vocabulary of every-one who aspires to be able to express him self correctly at all tim es and on all occasions. L et no- lx)dy fancy th a t slang can ever approach in b eau ty th e flow of pure E n g lish from th e lips of one who is a m aster of th e lan g u ag e. S lan g is harsh and coarse, and is th e lan g u ag e of the buffoon, or of those who lack som ething— we will not atte m p t to say w hat. L et us all strive to acquire such a vocabulary as will ren d er it unnecessary for us to reso rt to slang. Do not use slang, do not express slang even in y o u r actions. Avoid slang on account of w here its use will place you. If slang is a first cousin of p ro fan ity , it is a second cousin of v u lg a rity . S h u n it as you w ould th e plagu e. BE FAIR Be fair to o th ers if you w ould be fair to yourself. If you can n o t be fair to o th ers it is a sure sign th at you cannot be fair to yourself in th e h ig h est sense. If you cannot be fair to yourself you cannot be fair to anybody. Being fair is being tru e and w orthy in all th in g s, both to others and to yourself. No m an in all history was ever classed as g reat if he was not fair in his dealings w ith his fellow m en. O ne who is un fair is little, m entally— can a little m ind be identified w ith a great man? N o. T hey have n o th in g m ore in com mon th a n have oil and w ater. Aim to be fair if you w ould cultivate an a ttrib u te necessary in th e develop m ent of the highest class of m anhood and w om anhood. PROGRAM FOR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS D ecem ber 22, S u n d ay N ig h t: S acred m usic an d exercises sym bolizing th e b irth of C hrist D ecem ber 24, C h ristm as E ve: C h ristm as e n te rta in m e n t. D ecem ber 25, C h ristm as Day: C h ristm as carols early in th e m o rn in g . C h ristm as tre e s in b u ild in g s an d d istrib u tio n of p re sen ts b efo re b reak fast. B and seren ad e a t 10 o ’clock. D in n er at noon, w ith em ployes in a tte n d an c e. In th e aftern o o n th e re will be a th le tic s tu n ts in th e gym : B asketball— M itchell H all vs. B rew er H all. C ontest in a th le tic gam es—Sm all Boys. C h ristm as n ig h t—Social in gym for la rg e r pupils. D ecem ber 26, T h u rsd ay : A ftern o o n —A th letic stu n ts in gym ; B asketball, M cBride vs. W inona; co n tests in a th le tic gam es; W in o n a’s b ask et ball relay ; relay races. E v e n in g —S en io r play. D ecem ber 27, F rid ay : A fternoon—A th letic feats in gym : B asketball, C arp en ters vs. P ain ters; co n tests betw een M cB ride an d W inona, b at ball; b ask etb all relay . E v e n in g —S p ellin g m atch, in a u d ito riu m . D ecem ber 28, S atu rd ay : E v e n in g —R eception by M itchell H all and la rg e r Brew er H all boys to M cBride H all y o u n g ladies, in M itchell H a ll. Social for re m a in d er of stu d e n ts in gym . D ecem ber 29, S unday: D ev o tio n al. D ecem ber 30, M onday: A ftern o o n —A th letic feats in gym : B asketball, E n g in e e rs vs. T ailors; tu g -o f-w ar. 7th g ra d e vs. 8th an d 9th g rad es; tu g o f-w a r, g a rd e n ers vs. d airy m en . E v e n in g —M cB ride H all recep tio n to M itchell H all boys an d la rg e r boys of B rew er H all. G ecem ber 31, T uesday: A fternoon—A th letic stu n ts in g ym . B asketball, B lack sm ith s vs. P rin te rs; C am panies A, B an d C will each p u t on som e stu n t. E v e n in g —C ostum e p a rty . (M asq u erad e) Ja n u a ry 1, New Y ears Day: A ftern o o n —A th letic feats in gym : C om panies A, B and C, can e w restlin g , cane tw istin g , cane p u llin g ; bucked s in g le pole p u sh in g ; cock fight; o n e-leg g ed tu g -o f-w ar siege. E v e n in g —M oving pictu res.
