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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