Rogue news. (Ashland, Or.) 19??-????, November 05, 1971, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    PACE TWO
ROGUE NEWS
Fri , Nov. 5, 1971
Protest Of The Amchitka Blast
President Nixon's announcement of October 27 that the
"go-ahead" had been given to the nuclear blast at Amchitka has
brought dismay to many, including the Canadian ambassador.
Perhaps the tragedy lies not in the possible consequences of the
blast itself, but in the fact that protest from seven environment
groups has been useless. Also, a document containing the possible
effects of the blast has been protected by executive privilege; J. R.
Schlesinger, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, has
indicated that it should not be disclosed.
The warhead, despite much protest, will be detonated by
November 4. It will be just another case where action within the law
has failed; one would hope in the future the government will be
willing to wait and consider the arguments of concerned citizens.
-D.W.
Representatives By Grouping
The 20-15 vote approving Lesli Peterson's proposal for
election of Student Senators is a major step forward in
student government. No longer will student elections be
under the arbitrary control of the class-scheduling
computer.
Under the present system, students must vote from
groups which they Tiad no say in choosing. Consequently,
many students never have a chance to vote for the
representative of their choice, but end up choosing the
lesser of two evils.
Miss Peterson's plan provides freedom of choice.
Students will group according to their own wishes, and
elect a Senator from their own group. Thus every vote
would have equal weight, and large groups of students
would not be denied a voice in their government.
A second advantage of the Peterson proposal is that it
may enhance interest in student government. Hitherto
uninterested students (science, shop, or art specialists, and
other special interest groups), when grouped together,
would provide a healthy diversity in the field of interest
involved in the Student Senate.
Adoption of the Peterson election proposal, along with
the rest of the new student constitution, should lead to a
dynamic new era in student government. The student
council should be lauded for its work to achieve this goal.
-L.T.
Regulations Violate Constitution
City Ordinance No. 626, "An ordinance defining the meaning of
the words 'park and 'park, and to regulate the use of the public
parks of the City of Ashland, Oregon," is illegally vague and directly
contradictory to the Constitution of the United States. A closer look
at a few sections of the ordinance will expose this.
Section 5 of the ordinance says, "No one shall make any political
or religious address, or solicit fares or beg or publicly solicit
subscriptions in any part of the parks."
The First Amendment to the Constitution states that, "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceable to
assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances."
Section S obviously curtails the freedoms of religion and speech.
Two other sections of the ordinance circumvent the First
Amendment right of freedom of expression. Section 8 forbids
carrying any sign in the parks. The last part of Section 10 says that,
"No one shall distribute any circulars, cards, or other written or
printed matter in any park."
Vagueness is evident in two more sections of the park ordinance.
Section 16 declares that, "No person shall solicit the acquaintance of
another in any park, or annoy or follow children, or distribute
obscene literature, or in any way annoy another." The question is,
what constitutes annoyance? To many people, long hair is annoying.
Are long hairs barred from the park?
The Supreme Court has ruled that the term loiter is
unconstitutionally vague, unless defined within the statute in which
it is used. According to Section 24, "No male person other than a
child with its mother, or a park employe in the discharge of his
regular duties, shall enter a public comfort station marked 'women',
or loiter about the entrance of such comfort stations'. This is
precisely the type of law struck down by the Supreme Court.
Major sections of the city park ordinance are unconstitutionally
vague or contradictory to the First Amendment. The City Council
has no alternative but to repeal at least part of Ordinance 626.
-L.T.
Ti rui i"uiT'
Comment
Change History
Dear Editor:
The schools in the Ashland
district need a change in the
sequence in which they teach
history now. A student history
calss starts with Columbus
discovering America and
continues to, or just through
World War I. By the time a
student goes through his 12
years of public schools he has
learned about the discovery of
America by Columbus at least
four times. History is no longer
interesting to the students
because after four years it is just
memorization of dates and
places. The sequence which
history should be taught
follows:
In fourth grade, history
classes should begin with the
students inquiring about their
state. They should spend one
complete year learning when
their state was admitted to the
Union, why it was admitted, and
why it was needed by the people
of this country.
Fifth and sixth grades should
study the period from the
crusades to present times, the
first history that involves our
country starts with the crusades.
If the Arabs had not closed the
overland passage to the east,
causing the crusades, Columbus
may not have had to sail west to
get to the east and would not
have discovered America.
Seventh, eighth, and ninth
grades should be engaged in a
continuous three year course
starting with the first historical
recording of man and go to the
discovery of America. In seventh
grade a student is old enough to
understand this material. Three
years would be taken to cover
the material well.
10th and 11th grades would
be needed to cover the material
from Marco Polo to present
times. The reason for starting
with Marco Polo is to reinforce
the material about Columbus
from the previous year, and with
the students added maturity, to
better understand the pressures
behind the voyage.
12th grade would remain the
ALA)T. I
same as now a consideration of
modern problems.
Repetition cannot be
completely abolished, but in a
continuous nine year course,
repetition is kept as a minimum.
Susan Gross
Unit Needs Vary
Dear Editor:
I am writing to complain
about something that many
other people (besides myself)
have gone through, and many
others will have to go through
unless something is changed. I
feel that there is a fairly simple
solution to this problem.
School systems throughout
the United States differ a great
deal, one from another. The
requirements for graduation vary
from state to state. The credits
given for classes are not the same
in every school, thus creating
another problem.
At the beginning of my junior
year I moved from California to
Oregon and therefore, was
forced to transfer schools.
Because of the difference in the
requirements for graduation and
the curriculum, I had to take
one semester of World History
and some type of science. But,
unlike many other students have
have transferred here, I am
getting off fairly easy. I know
that others have had to take
many other courses because of
the stupid ruling that requires
certain courses to be taken
before a certificate of graduation
can be awarded to the student.
I strongly feel that the school
systems, or at least the
requirements for graduation
should be made the same
throughout our country. If no
change is made in the present
systems of school-the
requirements and curriculum, I
think that some sort of
alteration should be made in the
new person's curriculum and
requirements for graduation so
that he would not be forced to
take ad di tonal courses in order
to graduate. I know what when
these "special" cases are taken
into consideration and the
necessary alterations are
arranged in the person's
Curriculum, that the person
J CIIOLJTIC J IfCCj
THE ROGUE NEWS
Published bi-weekly,
during the school months,
by the Associated Student Body
of Ashland Senior High School,
201 Mountain Avenue,
Ashland, Oregon 97520
Subscription cost $2.50 per year.
Editor Lois Hill
Managing Editor Larry Taylor
News Editor Julie Harrison
Feature Editor Rick Stanek
Sports Editors Kevin Gandee,
Mike Hocking
Advertisers Shirley Deisman,
Sharon Hill, Jeralyn Lewis
Business Manager Mary Hoxie
Photographers Harold
Berninghausen, Walter Vait
Illustrator & Cartoonist . Dale Nelson
Reporter Willie Thompson
Researcher Rosario De La Torre
Guest Writers Janice Lynch
& Pat Overand
Advisor Clifford Brock
appreciates the favor and their
attitudes, toward the school and
administration are more
favorable. I really do think that
something should be done about
this matter as it becomes very
irritating to many people.
Signed,
Lark Herrin
School Pollution
To the Editor:
There is pollution all over the
world. At Ashland High School,
there is pollution. It comes in
many ways and forms. For
example, the students eat their
lunches outside on the grass.
When they go to their next class,
they leave the papers and bags
on the grass or they throw it on
the ground. Another example of
pollution is the incinerator. It
blows black smoke and other
little particles that cuase
pollution.
The last example of pollution
I can think of is the cars. The
majority of the students drive
cars to school. Some of the cars
pollute the air. The fumes
coming out of the cars are
polluting the air.
Pretty soon we students will
not be able to find our way to
our next class because of
pollution.
Yours truly,
Laure Barrus
State Coverage
To the Editor:
This is to congratulate you on
the improved coverage of
Ashland High School's
cross-country team this year. I
know the member of the team
have appreciated receiving some
recognition.
I know you are aware of the
state meet which will be held in
Eugene on November 6. If
Ashland's football or basketball
team was participating in a state
championship, how much
coverage would you give them?
Could we hope that the
cross-country team might receive
equal treatment?
The cross-country team has a
good chance of bringing a state
championship trophy home to
Ashland. I know they would
appreciate all the support you
can give them.
Scott Harbert