4
October 18, 1968
THE GRANTONIAN
Editorials
Generals
^Idoter reqiitra.ti.on requeited for elections
According to Webster, democracy is “govern
ment by the people, either directly or through
elected representatives; rule by the ruled.” U.S.
Grant high school’s government is supposed to fol
low this democratic process, but does it?
Although almost every student votes (they al-
most have to—ballots and IBM pencils are “spoon
fed” to them), very few of these voters actually
know who, or what, they’re voting for. Because
they do not, they cannot vote wisely.
What our “democratic process” needs is a voting
system like the national government’s—including
vofer registration.
Perhaps voting booths could be set up in center
hall, or maybe certain rooms could be designated
as polling places. Maybe even precincts could be
set up, according to a student’s reg room, or social
studies class.
Abolishment of the election assembly would be
invaluable. Instead of an election assembly (where
all the candidates come forward and are intro
duced), let the candidates campaign for them
selves. Let them hold extemporaneous speeches
and political rallies. Let the student body really
understand the candidates and their stands; let the
student body get to know the candidates as they
really are.
Perhaps press interviews could be set up; pos
sibly a debate between opposing candidates could
be held.
The voter who participated in these things wbuld
be the voter who is concerned and does care; a vot
er who wants to accomplish something worth
while, and not just cast a vote for the candidate
who tells the funniest jokes.
What a person is now, he will be tomorrow. The
voters who participate in the high school elections
today will be the voters who participate in the
national elections tomorrow'. If a person does not
care, and is not concerned enough to know exactly
who, and what, he’s voting for now, will he in the
future?
This is a year of campaigning, convincing, and conniving on the school
scene as well as the national level. Newspapers on Robert Packwood,
Miorse buttons, and many other items are handed out on the streets and in
the classroom.
The student is playing a bigger role in politics than ever before. Hubert
Humphrey spoke at Sunset High School and many other political figures
have spoken at other schools—not Portland schools though.
According to school board Rules and Regulations., chapter 10, section B,
item M, “The buildings of School District Number One shall not be used
by individuals, groups, or organizations for promotion of political activities
of any nature during the hours when schools are usually and regularly in
session. Distribution or display of literature, posters, cards, or materials
of any nature advertising the candidacy of any individual or individuals,
and the partisan promotion of any political cause, party, or groups, or any
proposed change in our government, shall be permitted in public school
buildings only at meetings regularly scheduled with the business office for
that purpose, and in no event shall be connected with regular school
functions without consent of the Board. There shall be no soliciting of
funds, distribution of literature, or other activities for political purposes
by employees of this district while on duty.
Principals shall be responsible for the enforcement of these regulations
in the building or buildings ■under their control.”
In other words, high school students are expected to ignore politics
altogether as far as the school day is concerned. The halls of learning . . .
it makes one wonder ...
^Jiie Grantonian
Generalities
Alumnus John Luik, who took the
Published weekly by the advanced jour
Advance Placement English tests last
nalism class of Ulysses S. Grant high
year received a score of four, on a zero
school, room 203, 2245 N.E. 36th Avenue,
Portland, Oregon 97212. Phone 288-5975.
to five scale, with five the highest, and is
Printed by Modern Typesetting company
using the full year English Composition
with a circulation of 3200. Second class
credit he received with his score at
postage paid at Portland, Ore. Subscrip
tion cost $2.00 per year.
Northwest Nazarene in Idaho.
The Advance Placement Test takes
Vol. 73, No. 6 — October 18, 1968
three hours and consists of several sepa
Editor.......................................Jan Kelley
rate tests. The first exam is a close analy
Page 1 editor...................... June Ammon
Page 2 editor............................... Marlene Feves sis of a poem, and is followed by two es
say questions, which usually deal with
Page 3 editor.................. Bruce Fishback
the person’s ability to see thematic bonds
Page 4 editor .................... Martha Ojard
in literature. The student is given a
Reporters........ Debby Liesch, Katherine
McGregor, Kathi Robinson, Lisa Rose,
choice between 15 to 25 authors (for ex
Debbie Rovech, Gary Cogill
ample), and is allowed to pick one to
Photographer................ Joyce DeMonnin
answer each essay question. The question
Advertising Manager .... Kathy Walton
usually deals with some aspect of writ
Circulation Manager .... Kathy Walton
ing, and the student is expected to pick
Circulation Staff ... .Margaret Hadden,
one author and elaborate on that author’s
Mary Ann Hutton
writing style, etc., as it applies to the
Advisor..................... . ....... Willard Mohn
question.
Amendments need
'hierarchy' consent
Jack Sharpe and Chris Leuthold re
cently confronted the General Council
and Executive Council with proposed
amendments to the Grant constitution.
Under Article IV, Section I, they pro
pose that “The membership of the Gen
eral Council shall consist of one repre
sentative from each freshman, sopho
more, junior, and senior English class.
The election of the rep shall be as early
each semester as possible. . . . He may
be eligible for re-election.”
Under Article IV, Section IV, it is
proposed that “The General Council
shall have the power to pass all legisla
tion. Legislation of the Council . . . must
be signed by the Student Body President
within a ten-day period. . . . Vetoed leg
islation may be re-considered by the
General Council and if passed by a two-
thirds majority ... it shall become law.”
Under Article V, Section III, they pro
pose that “The Executive Council shall
have the power to propose legislation to
the General Council. The Executive
Council shall legislate all budgetary mat
ters relative to their duties as the princi
pal’s representatives.”
Their next proposed amendment con
cerns Article VI, Section I. “An amend
ment to this constitution may arise in
either the General or Executive Council.
If passed by . . . the General Council. . .
and by those voting in special election
... it shall become part of this constitu
tion.”
Their last amendment concerns Article
I, Section I, By-Laws. “It shall be the
duty of the Student Body President to
appear personally at the third meeting
of the new General Council to present
his legislative goals for the coming se
mester, lead all assemblies, be the offi
cial representative of the Student Body
Committees . . . and have the power to
veto or sign any legislation coming from
the General Council.”
Comment
by Marlene Feves
Eie*Nie-Mie>-Nie-Mi-Nie-Mo—place an
“X” in the candidate’s box. It doesn’t
matter if you don’t know his platform,
qualifications, or even who he is; you
have to vote for someone! His name has
a nice ring to it, so go ahead, give him
your vote.
Is this the way you vote? Is this the
way the leaders of our school, the offi
cers who serve all of us, are elected? Is it
fair that those who
don’t care about oUr
student government,
and those who don’t
even know the names
of candidates, should
be able to cast votes
that are as valid as
those cast by people
Dei setdner
who really do care?
Are these apathetic, ignorant votes
enough to decide an election?
Registered voting in all student body
elections would permit only those inter
ested enough to register on their own
time a valid vote. The actual voting
would take place in polls or in an official
voting room, thus keeping the votes con
fidential and away from the open discus
sions of the reg rooms, where voting now
takes place. Would registered voting
really be beneficial to elections at
Grant?
“No,” commented Del Seidner, a sen
ior, when asked about the voting change.
“At a school I used to
attend in Florida, we
had registered voting
and it was pretty suc
cessful,” she admitted.
“All the kids really
backed up the candi
dates and supported
them. But I don’t think
Debbie Chun«
kids are as spirited
here at Grant as they were in Florida. I
don’t think they would be willing to
give up their own time to vote,” she con
cluded.
“I don’t think you should have to vote
if you don’t want to,” commented junior
Debbie Chung. “I think we should have
to register to vote. There seems to be a
lot of apathy toward elections,” she ex
plained. “Many officers are elected only
by popularity and not ability. It sort of
makes the offices themselves look like a
farce. Registered voting would eliminate
all of the wasteful votes,” she declared.
“I feel it’s a good idea,” asserted fresh
man Craig Enyeart, after a moment of
careful thought. “Reg
istered voting would
be different and just
might work. It would
be a good preparation
for the way elections
are in real life. Even if
only a few people vot
ed, at least they would
crui« Enyeart " elect the person they
really wanted and thought was qualified.
Letters to the Editor
I understand a few years ago a petition
was raised in the neighborhood to see if
it was all right for Grant to put in lights,
bleachers, and a fence, and have a sta
dium.
I feel this should be brought up again.
Grant is one of the largest schools, and
the best school in Oregon. Most of the
other schools have football games at
their own school, and Grant has to go to
one of these schools for each game.
Franklin has a similar bowl to ours, ex
cept they have a fence, lights, more
bleachers, and a scoreboard.
I understand our bowl belongs to the
park, but would they mind if it was im
proved? The financing would have to be
through drives, sales, and other factors,
but look how well Grant did in the ML.
drive. It might take two or three years,
but I think the student body would have
even more spirit, and would participate
much more in cheering on oUr great
teanrif this were undertaken.
Sincerely,
Jiin Rahl