Image provided by: Ashland High School; Ashland, OR
About Rogue news. (Ashland, Or.) 19??-???? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1972)
Page 2 ROGUE NEWS Kri.. Nov. 3. 1972 At Student Council Meeting Friday Interruption Day Education and learning are not confined to the school grounds. Mr. Gaylord Smith, principal of ASH has failed to take this in to consideration when he single-handedly adopted his Friday-interruption-day policy. In view of the recent Southern Oregon College Symposium held Monday and Tusday where not students were allowed to attend, and any who attended were unexcused, this is a very poor plan. Smith's proposal is that the interruptions during the week will be concentrated on Fridays. The rationale behind this is that teachers will be more apt to teach if they know they will not be constantly interrupted. This plan was mentioned to the executive council, but it was a very vague explanation. The way it was explained was that it only pertained to pep rallies and assemblies, not to all activities as Smith has used it. Also, the way that is was executed was quite underhanded. Instead of presenting his plan before all of the student body. Smith brings it up with small groups, one at a time. It appears as if he is trying to keep his plan a secret. Many teachers were complaining about excessive interruptions which prevented them from teaching. Students were being called out of class for reasons, other than educational. Smith's misguided attempt to correct this situation has caused him to prevent students from gaining any outside educational exposure. He has, in a sense, isolated the school. Several teachers have expressed that they feel this is not the best method. If the activity has educational value, students should be allowed to participate. If such things as pep rallies and assemblies, which offer questionable educational value, can be given school time, why can't events, such as the SOC Symposium be open to interested students? In essence, what this policy is doing is turning AHS into a concentration camp for four days of the week. This may be good for the teachers w ho have the student chained to a desk, but it stifles and greatly inhibits the students search for knowledge. This policy should be brought up and discussed at the next student council meeting where changes in it should be made, if it is not abandoned. Some changes, for example, should be that if a student can make up is assignments, he should be excused for the event or activity, similar to athletes. The make-up work should be the individual students responsibility. HD Election Politics Marked by excess amounts of low flying mud, 1972, as an election year, reaches its climax next Tuesday, November 7th, election day. The presidential campaign particularly this year has been something of a disgrace to the American political system. Both presidential candidates have, throughout the campaign, used their opponents as the major issue. Rather than giving the people an idea of w hat they might possibly be able to offer as the nation's leader, the two major candidates are determined to prove that the country will end in ruination if their opponent is in office. Since we cannot seem to get any objective opinions on what good things might be done from either candidate it might be a good idea to place some kind of silence on candidates, or better yet to outlaw the unnecessary and degrading practice of making the opponent look as bad as possible. In that way the people of this country would be able to judge a man not by his opponent's ability to throw mud but on his own merits, if indeed he has any ; at this point it is debatable whether either of the present major candidates do since no one has heard of them if they exist. Let us hope that all eligible voters will go the polls next Tuesday, not to pick the better of the two evils they have been shown, but a man who by some chance, they have seen is likely to do a good job for his Merryman Attacks Ritual "It is asinine, insensitive, de basing and dehumanizing, " said Mr. Gerald Merryman about sophomore initiat.on at AHS. Merryman was shocked by the actions of Ashland's "upper classmen seeking to prove their superiority by physical demon strations of their ability to control and intimidate" the incoming sophomores. Merryman remem bered when initiation (i.e. initia tion into manhood) meant ac complishment, "true recognition as a human being'' and a step up in life. Ashland High, on the other hand, utilizes initiation to prove superiority by drumming fellow human beings into dehumanizing embarrassment. Sign of Immaturity "But they did it to us last year" is a well-known excuse used by upperclassmen to justify their "immature" way of vindicating their own initiation one year past. "It is a sign of immaturity " Merryman added, "to maintain such a humiliating tradition." "I exaggerated the problem but it was for a stronger impact," Merryman comrr.ented about his essay on initiation. He had presented it as a speech to the Ashland High Student Council, October 12. After he departed from the minutes. The class representa tives agreed to lake it to their respective classes for discussion. The majority of the classes were in favor of retaining initiation. Ironically, the sophomore class also "approved" of the tradition. "If initiation is to cease, it must begin with the present sophomore class leading the charge," Merryman said. Sophomores must show the r maturity by halting this vindictive act of harassment. Merryman has set the wheels turning. "It is up to the associated student body of country. -JH Truancy Rules Ashland Senior High to stop this act of degradation." Merryman had taught at Grant High School in Portland prior to joining the AHS faculty. As a four year high school. Grant consisted of freshman, sophomores, jun iors, seniors, negroes, Mexican Americans, Japanese, Chinese and many other divisions of Mr. Gerald Merryman people. This large variety of people are able to cope with each other in Portland. Ashland, on the other hand, has difficulty form ing unity, without bitterness, just between the different classes. Continuous competition between classes has lead to sometimes bitter rivalries. The Grant student council established a "Big Brother-Big Sister" program to welcome the incoming freshmen with friend ship and understanding. Merry man felt Grant's student council had less power than Ashland's but he concluded that that was due, in part, to the much smaller student body here. "AHS actions through the council have a much stronger effect on BOO students than Grant could ever have on its 300 students. Merryman is new to the Rogue Valley. He has taken a position as an English teacher and also drama instructor. "I may be . . . no, I AM an idealist," he commented about himself. "I have a genuine concern for other human being s," Merry man added. Comment To the Editor: I am writing this letter to recognize an unusual rarity at AHS. I am speaking of Mr. Gerald Merryman's appearance at a student council meeting, Oct. 12. has broken a taboo that no other teacher in my memory has ever done. To express your personal opinion to the Student Council as a faculty member is something AHS has not had much of. Hopefully, he has set a precedent for other faculty and administrative members to fol low. Recognizing and under standing other persons feelings toward issues is something every one needs to do. Why should faculty be excluded? and respect the opinions of our peers even if I do disagree. More communication is needed be tween teacher and student, not just concerning school work but also school and community issues. Thank you, Mr. Merryman, for opening the door for your fellow colleagues. Sharon Hill When a student is caught "skipping school" or in technical terms, truant, he is punished severely. The student must make up double the time he missed, his grades are lowered one full grade for the term and sometimes work penalties are assigned. Students, is lowering your grades one full grade point for the term a fair or reasonable punishment? The logic behind the present punishment is simply that lowering the grades is the most effective method of discouraging truancy, but this is as much a fallacy as believing that capital punishment would be the most effective way of discouraging traffic violations. Surely there are better punishments than to jeopardize a student's chances of academic success by lowering his grades one full grade point. The purpose of school is to provide an education for young people and their success is rewarded by higher grades. Truancy rules are made to insure that the students will attend school. However, with a truancy rule that lowers the violator's grades then the purpose of school is defeated because this action may prohibit an intelligent student from receiving a scholarship or cause a poor student to be disheartened and possible drop completely out of school. What can we the students do to cause this injustice to be rectified? We can assert pressure on the people responsible for this discriminatory practice until they agree to a legitimate laternative punishment such as banning a violator from school activities or increasing work activities but certainly not lowering the grades one full grade point. SS
