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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1969-11-20, Page 18Noe X8. Times-Advocate, November 2O 1949 40W ."5"Ai6 los s's.s.s,ssrsAsogssss. The Readers Write you siwt/ remember to fa 3 check the prices In 11:741„,.. 1 n the T-A before you buy? 4% " tP/AVS a.S171., Zf'' . '' f ' ' that facts tie :ascertained before publishing them. I am prepared to argue that we have had a most liberal policy regarding dances and the tone of the article referred to was less than accurate. J. WOODEN Good work 424 Main $outh 235-1331 STUDENT COUNCIL AIDS RETARDED GROUP—The South Huron and District Association for the Mentally Retarded recently received a sizable donation from the Student Council at South Huron District High School. Above Mrs. George Dobbs, secretary, and Ivan Sharrow, president of the Association are getting a cheque for $200 from student council president Paul Charrette and Ron Janke. The money was part of the proceeds of the recent Exeter to Hensall and return walk. Further donations are being made to other charitable groups. T-A photo. Definition of true soldier given at school assembly Commends students Dear Mr, Wooden: I have recently received correspondence from Mrs. Betty Dugan, Director of Public Relations of the Canadian Red cross Society re Blood Donor Clinics in high schools, I was not aware that there had been any controversy or comment regarding these clinics. Apparently the impression created was that 60% of high school donors are rejected as blood donors due to use of drugs. This, according to clinic officials, is not true. There is a rejection rate of 10% for all clinics and for many reasons. The main reason for rejection has to do with age and hemoglobin restrictions. Rejection for the use of drugs may vary from antibiotics to antihistamines and consequently are not directly related to the use of the "psychedetic" drugs that are of so much concern at the present time. It is the hope of the Society that the adverse publicity given to the student donors may be cleared up through the news media and that they can be counted on for future co-operation, and support at future clinics. Rather than deflating the enthusiasm of these young donors (who donate approximately 20% of the total blood requirements for the Province) it is my thought that they should be commended for their effort and I sincerely hope that they will continue to support a very worthy service in the future. Thank you. Sincerely, Vera M. Mason, Chairman Blood Donors Clinic Movie Review Play humour off colour Dear Editor: I was very impressed with your newspaper and I hope that you can expand the contents from one page to two pages, at least. I would especially like to congratulate Beth Cook for her movie review "Last Summer". She described the movie beautifully without really giving the plot away, and I agree with her that the movie is excellent. I would like to question, however, the article on drugs — in Exeter. I think drugs are the least of your worries because only a minority of people take them and it really doesn't influence the life of many students. If you have to print something affecting lives of students I think it would be the problem of drinking. I am not opposed to drinking, but when you combine drinking and driving, that is when people have to look out. I looked at The Times-Advocate and saw a full column of dangerous driving, drunk driving, accidents caused by drunks . . .etc. That is what you should ask opinions about. One last point —I received by mail my copy of the SHDHS yearbook. I was looking through it and I saw a picture of the prefects. During that year, I never knew that the school had such an organization. Exactly what do they do? Do they have cafeteria duty? (i.e. keep order in lunch hour WITHOUT a teacher's presence) do they keep order in the halls, dances, classrooms . . . etc. WHAT are they there for? As I said your newspaper is good and I hope you can keep it going ... with the support of the students you can. Keep up the good work and include Girls' Sports in your paper. Yours truly, the "BOLTON FLASH" Principal's rebuttal• Dear Editor: I would like to make a few brief comments in reply to the item concerning school dances. The article was misleading and erroneous. The "life of the dances" is not questioned; the reference to radical behaviour is obscure to say the least. We have during the past two years had more school dances than any school in Western Ontario, The last dance, however, saw a number of hoodlums, barbarous in their behaviour, who are in no way associated with this school or any school, attempt to enter the school. They were obnoxious and threatening. The police suggested that we have a delay before holding another dance because of the threats and possibility of trouble, It was decided that it would be wise not to have another dance for a month. Previous commitments for use of the school made November 28 the next possible date. The reference to 11 o'clock door locking is totally false. We have never followed the practice of forbidding students or others from leaving and returning at any time. The practice of not allowing people back in after a certain hour is, however, a common practice at many schools. The only regulation in this regard was the statement that non-students would not be admitted after 11 p.m. because past experience has demonstrated that after 11, arrivals are usually trouble makers. The requirement that non-students be signed in by students is a reasonable request. This is a common practice and we adopted it this year because last year we had a number of incidents involving non-students. This policy prevents the attendance of certain people that have caused trouble in the past and by not admitting them a number of problems have been solved. It seems reasonable to request Editorial FILM NIGHTS SOUTH HURON DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL Monday, Nov. 24 —7:30 p.m. "On The Beach" Monday, Dec. 1 —7:30 p.m. "To Kill A Mockingbird" ADMISSION 50c Sponsored By The English Department For TOTAL Home Comfort ... And All Your GAS APPLIANCE NEEDS Contact GRAHAM McINNES Union Gas Sales Representative DIAL 227-4112 Freedom questioned that space and time of which we like to think that we are masters by our science and our machines. Let us listen to the voice of a typical man: a murderer; a man who believed in violence; the man who killed the first Christian to be killed because he was a Christian: "CA this I am certain, that no principle of good dwells in me, that is, in my natural self. It is not the good my will approves, but the evil that my will disapproves, that I find myself doing. Unhappy creature that I am, who shall deliver me from an existence thus doomed to death? Nothing but the grace of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Remembrance Day Assembly at South Huron Three cheers for students By JUDI MALONE Editor Individuals at the high school are questioning the natural right of the Guardian to voice its opinion. No doubt these people are suggesting that the "freedom" of the press be ignored, and are criticizing their paper for lack of anything better to gripe about. "A good newspaper presents both sides of any question it permits staff members to present their comments in signed articles, even when these differ from the paper's views, and expresses its own opinion on the editorial page, It provides ample space for its readers to express their own opinion." — the Globe and Mail The Guardian is pleased that the last issue created some response among the populace of South Huron. Due to the apathetic nature of the "masses", we feel that extremes are necessary to provoke constructive agitation. By PATTI ROBINSON Three cheers for the students at South Huron! It has been quite evident in the past few weeks that our student body possesses that "something special" which we call "SCHOOL SPIRIT" and the students should be congratulated. The spirit which was shown at the football games at Huron Park was the best it has ever been and the students who are responsible for the enthusiasm shown certainly deserve a lot of credit. A school team is not a school team without student support behind it and we have proven that we have the support as well as the team. The cheerleaders would like to give special congratulations to the Junior Football Team, Mr. Ellison and Mr. Riddell. They have worked hard at winning the "Huron-Perth Championship" and we are proud of them. * * * trwt wd..dw,d wd wowed wtwt w,dwed eau wed colersvfd svti Otertvt Wts talti csat, HEY MOM! Warm them up with g a cup of hot chocolate . . . By BETH COOK Unless one is to be extremely selective and is willing to be accused of misinterpretation, Alice's Restaurant is perhaps paradoxically, promiscuous, monotonous, and effervescent with the traditional American off-colour humour. It once again exploits the terribly redundant themes of the "new" sexual morality, the apathy and the rot within our society, and also dwells on the Vietnam draft (for variety). In these aspects it completely fails to present any new constructive ideas whatsoever! Another movie on youth's discontent and the riots that result . . . Rebellion is proving to be the fad of the sixties. Undoubtedly, our contemporary society is very egotistical for it attempts to picture this innate unhappiness, caused merely by the innocence and thwarted idealism of youth, as if it were a perverted and calamitous novelty of the twentieth century. How ludicrous! The young have rebelled against a society's patriarchs for as long as organized human communities have existed. This ferment of discontent is both admirable and justified. Obviously, society is overflowing with corruption and it should be refreshing to be reassured that the younger generation cares. Perhaps Alice's Restaurant inadvertently exposes the fallacy in the glib acceptance of the division of the generations. The supposed missionary attitudes of the young are revealed unintentionally as shoddy and vulgar farces. They intend to convert and perfect the world. This is fine. However, they are ruthless and foolish, believing that enlightenment can only be obtained if a totally new morality is accepted. They reject all traditional values failing to even comprehend that there are a few dignified and worthy aspects of society. However anything and everything goes. A vacuum is all that remains in Which the destructive. reformers can institute their Utopia. They see perfection as completely unrestricted freedom. This is obviously an immature sentiment and yet it is the only outstanding difference between the rebels and the "establishment" in this picture. "Mature" men have resigned themselves to the fact that compromises and often complete surrender must be made in order to survive. They have learned to prostitute their deals in order to save others as well as themselves. The youths overestimate themselves and all men in advocating their blessed anarchy. They do not realize that even good, moral, and trustworthy men are not always reliable, Consequently, they Meet with much disillusion and finally the rottenness of their own "improved society becomes equal to that of the Establishment. And so the movie enda.... There are two things on the cheerleaders agenda for the next couple of weeks. Beginning November 20 we are having junior try-outs. All girls from grades 10 and 11 are eligible and we would like to see as many as possible out. Special thanks to the Student Council who hate offered to supply us with a mascot this year. Many people do not realize the cost of a mascot and without the Student Council's assistance we would not be able to afford one, thousand times more deadly than those of nature, is brought on by the fear and greed of man, by irresponsibility of man, - - - is maintained by the pride and obstinacy of man, and intensified by the ferocity of man. Yet, when the awful thing has reached its inevitable conclusion, when the survivors stare about them at the corpses and the ruins, they stare in bewilderment and desperation. Nobody forsaw this, nobody intended this, nobody has gained by this. Each war leaves mankind worse off than ever, Each war creates evils, evils which, it seems, can only end in war. Our present world, after two world wars, finds itself in the most dangerous state the world has ever known. And it is war that had made it so. What is the lesson of it ail? A hard one to learn, obviously. It is that the real criminal is man himself. Of all the animals to be found on this sad little planet, only one is suicidal, only one has this wild tendency to self-destruction. We don't want to believe in such a tendency, dowe? Though evidence for it surrounds us on every side. Though, for a Christian belief in it is part of his religion. Left to ourselves, we tend to destroy ourselves; we cannot help it; we tear ourselves to pieces; we ruin our own lives and the lives of those whom we can control. Left to ourselves, we kill ourselves. Yes, man is more than a little like his own supreme invention. In isolation, he is harmless enough. But the grim potentiality is there. Get enough men together, and in their most likely mood, and they can easily become what the physicists call a "critical mass." The chain reaction begins. The noisy group grows into a demonstration; the demonstration into a mob, the mob explodes — then riot, looting murder, the city begins to burn and, when all is over, it is their own homes that are gone, their own dead lie in their own streets, and they themselves are left helpless and uncomprehending, It has happened again, The supreme cataclysm of a modern war is only the same sort of thing on a larger scale. But it does not have to happen again, you know, the lesson of our past, bitter though it be, can be learned. We must not think that we have inherited a world, a world somehow out there, and which it is our duty to transform. We are the world. And the world can only be transformed by the conviction that we are the world. We have had enough of human beings who set themselves to transform something other than themselves, which they called their people, or their nation, or their world. No, it is we who are the world. The world's only source of explosive lies in us. It is we who are dangerous, It is we who must acknowledge, net that man's deadliest enemy is man, but that out deadliest enemy is self: that we cannot save ourselves; that of ourselves we will destroy ourselves; that our deepest urges are suicidal; and that there is no hope for us except froM outside So They Get All The Extra Vitamins They Need to Battle Winter Storms The Guardian is very concerned over the recent decision made by the Student Council concerning the position of Social Convener. Last year, the elections resulted in three candidates for this position. This year, two of the candidates have left the school, leaving the third to assume the role. Melanie West, seemed to many students, the obvious inheritor of this position. She displayed admirable interest and ability in her campaign for the job of Social Convener. Unfortunately some jobs within the Student Council are probably filled more on the basis of popularity than true ability. This year Melanie has shown more concern and genuine feeling for the Social Convener position than any other person in this school. She has been more than willing to fight for what she believes in, which is more than can be said for too many individuals, Some members of The Student Council, however, decided that Melanie did not have the majority of the students backing her. In the opinion of many they imperiously rejected her offer of assistance and showed a disgusting trend to group prejudice. The Student Council may feel that they have the right to make this analysis, choosing the convenient theory that the students entrusted them with the power to "appoint". If the Council feels so strongly about Melanie's inability to perform this job, then we suggest that they hold an election — next Friday! — and allow the students to decide. Surely they could not object to this, especially if they are certain that Melanie does not have the support of the majority. Their right to "appoint" a successor from within the established boundaries of their personal preferences is seriously questioned. I do not accuse the Student Council of forming a dictatorship within the system. In fact, I praise their method of governing by democracy, and I feel that they have contributed to the quality of South Huron's Student Councils more than any student government in recent years. They have made a genuine attempt to place the decision making and the power in to the hands of the student body. They have met with serious obstacles in the form of apathy and general griping without constructive criticism or assistance (obstacles, I might add,, which we all face!). I object wholeheartedly to the way in which the "Melanie West Case was handled. It was a serious, highly unacceptable blunder on the part of the Student Council. I encourage a reply from the Student Council on these observations, We all would appreciate a clear resume of the facts behind the deeisions — I have yet to hear more than excuses, appeasement, and whining for sympathy. I think it absolutely necessary that the student body be informed of this case and that the final decision be handed to them, if the Council sees any valid reasons why Melanie West should not be given the job. We need a Social Convener, we want one! We cannot accept the compensation of a vote on the Student Council, (provided she obtain fifty signatures). This is ridiculous and a mockery of the democratic InStitution. It is difficult to imagine how the social life of the school, the theme for the formal „ etc. , . can be handled by the entire student council. It is difficult to speculate the Masons behind this issue why is such a big deal being made out of something with so obvious a solution? The two other candidates for Social Convener have left — Melanie West waits in the wings. I move that Melanie West be appointed Social Convenor, by law of her right to the position — who will second that motion? By FATHER DURAND "The last soldier of Europe." This is the title given by a famous historian to St. Joan of Arc, who died about five centuries ago. "The last soldier of Europe? He may have been speaking ironically, but what did he mean? Well, what is a true soldier? He is the man who takes up arms in a great cause: who is willing to die for God and country. After St. Joan, this historian is suggesting, there was no more dying for God and country, no more great causes, no more soldiers. Wars? yes, God knows. Military men? Yes, military men in their millions. But no soldiers. Never again. The names we heard read today: they were fine young men, brave young men. What did they die for? The dreadful truth is that they died for nothing. What was that thing in which they fought? A war? It was not very different, I am afraid, from the calamity of 1914. When either of these terrible upheavals began, there were of course people who thought they saw a clear cause, and thought they recognized a true war. It may perhaps even be possible still to identify and to accuse those who started it, But what we look back upon, long after the event, is something very different from what people thought it was when it began. The ambitions of the old empires, the racism of Hitler, the militarism of Japan, may all have been evil things, and may have led to great crimes. But what cause, or what man, or what group of men, had any notion of bringing about the ghastly cataclysms which actually followed? If the politicians who, in their folly and rashness, set the armies marching in 1914, had had any idea of what was to come of it all, they would have settled for anything, rather than let it happen. It was their own destruction which they were bringing about, as well as the destruction of their world. If Hitler himself, monster that he was, had been able to foresee into what a catastrophe he was plunging himself and the nation which furnished him with power, would he ever have given the signal to begin? Thirty million dead: that is one statistic for the last war, Thirty million? No one is sure. Forty or fifty million perhaps, with waste, oppression, blood, torture and death imagination. And all for what? Who won? The very question is a mockery of reason,. Mass destruction on both sides. Mass murder oft both sides. In the end nobody cared where the bombs fell, nor what or whom they destroyed, Those two great wars has no More meaning than an earthquake. To struggle, to suffer, and to die in either of them had no more meaning than to struggle, suffer and die hi an earthquake. The great modern war, let it be repeated, has no more meaning than an , earthquake. It is not a true conflict. It is a huge destructive upheaval in which innocent and guilty perish together. There is a difference of course, a difference which makes Remembranee Day necessary for our good. This sort of earthquake, as well as being a "The girl f marry must be the outdoor type. The kind who can mow a lawn, weed a. garden, change a flat, Make it with MILK EXETER DAIRY LTD. g Phone 2352144 Exeter 404 WA tgAt t;# ON we :V:4 04 Wi4 wed eVi6 {P iz W4i W4i1tiCi 4:044 ote4 t.4