ROGUE NEWS Thurs Oct. 7 1971
Pictures Out Of Focus
SO you don't care for "hippies"? Well, that's your privilege. You
don't like kids who mock the Establishment and thumb their dirty
noses at the old-fashioned, all-American virtues. O.K. then.
In that case you must like boys who play baseball, and take it
seriously. Even more, boys who play on teams sponsored by the
American Legion. How much more home-grown, old-fashioned, and
all-American can you get.
But wait a minute. Something's wrong here. The pictures out of
focus. At least in Orlando, Fla., where a 14-man teen-age baseball
squad voted to forfeit its remaining games in an American Legion
tournament rather than cut the hair and shave the beards from eight
of its members.
The tournament director, inspecting the players as they stood at
attention for pregame ceremonies, refused to let the Orlando team
play in the second round until eight of the players got haircuts or
sideburn trims. The boys all high school seniors turned him
down, and were supported by their coach, who pointed out
disgustedly that the tournament director himself "has a big
moustache under his nose."
How stupid can the Establishment get? The current fetish for
long hair is a sign of "belonging" to modern youth, a symbol of
being "with it", and nothing more. Hair long ago ceased having any
political or social or sexual significance on the youth scene; even the
squarest of squares are wearing their tresses far longer than they did
a half-dozen years ago.
This example, trivial as it is, nevertheless has importance in
indicating how Establishments invariably drive people into the camp
of the "enemy" by pushing their own conformity to a dangerous
and idiotic excess.
Boys who play baseball for the American Legion belong in the
same category as apple pie and milk; they are about as threatening to
the stability of the nation as a plastic water pistol. Yet, by
demanding that these rosy-cheeked athletes trim their hair to some
arbitrary length, the guardians of our national manners and morals
simply disenchant such lads and drive them into common company
with other dissidents.
By invoking such senseless rulings, the adult powers prove to the
apolitical youths that the activists have a real point in opposing the
dead weight of the Establishment. More converts to a faith are
recruited by the blind stubborness of authority than by the siren
song of revolutionaries a lesson Czars never learn until they are
deposed.
-Sydney J. Harris
"Strictly Personal"
Medford Mail Tribune
.T fojk luV
Enforcement Of Park Regulations
"Enforcement is the only new thing," stated Parks and
Recreation Director Garth McGuire, in regard to the leash law put
into effect last summer in Lithia Park.
This law, which restricts the freedom of dogs to roam in the park,
has existed for 55 years. Ordinance 626 was passed in May of 1916.
The unexpected enforcement of the section which bans
unaccompanied animals from the park came as a shock to many dog
owners.
Why wasn't this section enforced before? Apparently, dogs had
not caused enough of a problem to warrant enforcement earlier in
the century . Either there were fewer dogs or fewer opportunities for
them to cause disturbances.
This leads to another question. Should a law remain unused until
government officials feel it should be activated?
Ordinance 626 contains other sections which remain unenforced
at this time. For example. Section 27 states: "No person shall build
any fires at any place within the limits of any park, except an
employee of said park."
Certainly this section has been violated thousands of times in the
past five-and-a-half decades by Sunday picnickers alone, yet the
outlawed act is assumed to be legal by most visitors because it is not
enforced. Ironically, although fires are prohibited in the park,
fireplaces have been provided in the picnic area. Every summer,
however, beer is served at the Feast of Will held in the park. The
police officers patrolling the area are blind to this infraction.
Clearly only selected parts of Ordinance 626 are being enforced.
-fteY fT .IVF
ut-y n4 A U4 A
WAT ' "
fA Wt Vn W v'
Garth McGuire is the Parks and Recreation Director.
Comment
Madame Editor,
Several weeks ago, as Rick
Scanek interviewed me for his
article, "A Kids Way of Doing
Things," on initiation, I noticed
him paraphrasing and thinking
over what I said before he wre'e,
and I wondered if maybe he
wasn't just listening and .
recording what suited his taste
and ignoring the rest. It seems lie
certainly didn't let me down on
this point, as can be seen by the
article of last issue. He didn't
mention the fact that I had told
him that "organized initiation
was all in fun, or that it
prevented harmful unorganized
initiations. Instead he chose to
warp my comments about our
organized initiation to cover
pencil rolling, pantsing and just
plain brawls that had occured
the same week. But his
"comment" didn't stop there. 1
told Mr. Stanek that, and 1
quote, "... organized student
council initiations vent some of
the hostilities juniors and seniors
have toward new sophomores. If
we can keep one sophomore
from being seriously injured, I
think it's worthwhile." Hearing
this he then "Quoted" me as
having said that it "quells the
savageness in the tough groups . .
." I have to agree it's a neat trick
to convince people to your point
of view, this adding your own
adjectives to a quote. I'm
willing, as I'm sure most
students are, to listen to any
arguments, so long as it's well
presented and at least seems to
be unbiased. But when he
calls the student body, whom I
assume to be the people the
article is aimed at, "eager
sadists", he loses much of his
appeal.
Certainly, if an initiation is
harmful or destructive it is
unwanted (which, by the way, is
what Mr. Smith's quote referred
to, not our organized
initiations.) But I fail to see the
connection between Stanek's
analogy of a "hammer on the
head" and walking through a
door for four days. Rick opens
with the question of whether
man is basically peaceful or
violent, attempting to base his
reasoning on this dilemma. I
certainly have to agree that
walking through doors, passing
an orange under your chin, or
singing, is truly "violent and
sadistic." I can see Stanek
perturbed at actually harmful,
unsanctioned initiations. But the
irony is that we're eliminating
these types of instances, or at
least reducing them, by
organizing a controlled
initiation.
I can see several possible
motives for this type of writing.
But whether for sensationalism,
or because of an unbelievably
slanted viewpoint, or the fact
that the author is new in the
field of writing, my hope is that
this year of journalism will
mellow Mr. Stanek into a
slightly less biased or slightly
more experienced writer, as the
case may be.
Pat Overand
Student Body President
THE ROGUE NEWS
J CIIOLATIC J
( PKM I
Published bi-monthly, during the school months, by the
Associated Student Body of Ashland Senior High School, 201
Mountain Ave., Ashland, Oregon, 97520. Subscript ian cost $2.50
per year.
Editor Lois Hill
Managing Editor Larry Taylor
News Julie Harrison
Feature Editor Rick Stanek
Sports Editors Kevin Gandee, Mike Hocking
Advertisers Shirley Delsman
Sharon Hill, Jerilyn Lewis
Business Manager Mary Hoxie
Photographers Harold Berninghauser, Walter Vait
Illustrator and Cartoonist Dale Nelson
Reporters Rosario DeLatorre, Willie Thompson