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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1970-10-22, Page 17By MURIEL ABBOTT Do you ever feel so nervous that you could just walk away from a situation except you are too terrified to do so? Most people have qualms like this once in a while. Psychologists have a pet phrase for it — fear of rejection, So now you know you are like everyone else. Some people though, never overcome their fears. How many? Does it apply to our school? Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, I would have to say only 90% of our students are like this. These are the students who don't have the confidence to find out if their beliefs are right or wrong — mainly because they don't have any beliefs. They prefer to be middle-of-the-roaders. They laugh when they don't understand the joke, don't ask questions because they don't want to admit how little they know and agree when they don't understand what is being discussed. Though you may be friendly, courteous, trustworthy and have all the other Boy Scout virtues, you are worth little to anyone else. Why? You're unreachable, vague and distant. You never say anything bold, (You don't want to be thought a fool.) You never act on anything, let alone with conviction. (You don't trust yourself that much.) The last thing you would do would be to reveal a feeling deep inside you. This way you'll never offend anybody and everyone will like you. Terrific! Only it doesn't work. You may feel safe hiding behind a mask, but forget it. Who is fooled by a mask? When people realize you are a fake, you've had it. They'll probably he insulted because you're attempting to deceive them. Which would you rather have — an unique person or a perfect empty mold? Little quirks are what makes a person special and that is what endears you to people. Friends accept differences of opinion and if they don't — they aren't such great friends after all. By not giving or taking, you'll always be safe. Don't worry! No one will hurt you! Getting involved is the only answer. It may mean making a lot of enemies, but a few close friends. It may mean you'll never be sheltered again. It may mean you'll have to meet people face to face. It may mean you'll start to feel again — pain, anger, joy, It may mean making a choice of being disliked for something you are or being liked for something you're not. It will mean you'll discover your strengths and weaknesses and give them a good working out. You'll even be rejected once in a while. But when you are yourself and people like you, you will at least know why. And for all confirmed middle-of-the-roaders, I have a word of caution. Remember, most accidents happen in the middle of the road! THE READERS WRITE Spirit dealt blow GET L1019 AWARDS - Each year the top students in each grade of the five year course at South Huron High School receive awards from the Exeter Lions club, Above, president Clarence McDowell makes the presentations to Jeff Reaburn, Anne Herdman and Sally Verkerk at Friday's commencement exercises, T-A photo. Football satisfies man the bounds of civilization, All we now lack is a lion or two to dispose of the losers and we will have fully realized the goals instituted by our noble ancestors so many centuries ago. - — SCHOOL DANCE S.H.D.H.S. Friday, October 30 Featuring MACHINE GUN Admission $1.00 MOVIE Cool Hand Luke Starring —Paul Newman South Huron District High School Sunday and Monday — Oct 25 & 26 Admission 50c WAISAK .900.WP Five years ago, wh have thought there'd be a Volkswagen this different? , The Super Beetle. Nobody did. Least of all us. Because 5 years ago, we thought the Beetle was virtually perfect, But, because we've never been a ble to leave well enough alone, over 1000 improvements have been made to it since. Like: a whole new front suspension system. A bigger, mote powerful engine. A new heating system that now has two heaters and a total of 7 different outlets. And a new ventilation system. There's now a rear window defogger. A trunk that carries twice as much as ever. A wider track for an even better ride. And bigger brakes for quicker stops. The end product of oil this nit-pick , ing? The 1971 Super Beetle. There's never been another car like it, And that includes Volkswagens. Don Taylor Motors Ltd. MAIN St SOUTIVEXEtER/235.1100 Times-Advocate, Pctober 22, 1970 Edits rial Middle..,Of4hemrOad? Page 17 4 Students give views Discuss abortion question upon as criminals because of their own feelings by government laws. Neither should physicians, who humanely feel they are not committing a wrong by aiding these desperate women, be looked upon as criminals. The government has failed these individuals in providing safety and also legitimate human conditions. Some of the feedback concerning the liberalization of abortion laws has been in the opinions as such: "I will never want my wife to have an abortion" or "I, myself, will never desire an abortion". However, these objections do not meet the real point behind abortions. When you turn 21, it does not mean you have to drink but it does make it legal to use alcoholic beverages. The same reasoning applies to abortions; they should be available in safe and clean institutions such as hospitals or doctor's offices and be performed by qualified U This sounds really great and a lot more students will be involved this year. Drama is a good'club and gives a lot of students a chance to show some talent' so thanks to the teachers, Mrs. Golding and Mr. Stephenson, and to the students for getting the first meeting underway, and make sure you're all at the next one. Simpson's scathing commentary of their book. I'm not sure whether Bruce is aware of all the planning and work that went into the book but he can be sure that he has dealt a low blow to the spirit that we of Inkspot 70 felt for our endeavour. Photography is what a yearbook is all about and no one realizes this better than those of us involved in producing the Inkspot. The fact is, we tried to do exactly what Bruce said we didn't do! We tried to improve layouts and photography so as to include as much of the school mood as we could. It's not encouraging to learn that we didn't accomplish this. Now I could harangue the paper and Bruce personally, but this would accomplish little for the Inkspot 71 executive. What would be nice would be to see a few letters to the editor letting us know that somebody thinks the book was O.K. J. D. Marshall (Yearbook staff advisor) Death of Jimi is disturbing By BRUCE SIMPSON Death is so depressing. Yet, even as life is a reality, so is the act known as death. It must be faced by all. But a premature death is even more traumatic as it represents a wasted life, all potential being lost to the grave. Death is personal and one really never becomes used to the idea of another human being departing from this earthly plane. I know I never shall. The death of Jimi Hendrix at the early age of 28 was very disturbing. Some people were grasped by a reality that could twist and manipulate minds whichever way it desired. Humans are really so impotent; Jimi's death only verifies this. Exactly why Hendrix died will never be fully known. Perhaps there was more than the question of drugs, but only Jimi can answer and now it's too late to ask. Continuing in this article, I don't want to play up Jimi's ife as that happens too many times and Jimi's can speak for itself. Joni Mitchell realized this when she wrote, "Don't you know, it always goes. You don't know what you got till it's gone." To some, Hendrix created only noise; to others he was a musical genius; to all he was a man. Hendrix wrote, played and sang the way he felt. He was honest. His life seems parallel to Robert Johnson's , the more I think about these two men. The major difference is that Johnson died unknown; Hendrix was a star. Perhaps the only real contrast was the promotional angle of our society. Still there is a very close resemblance in the way they lived their lives. Both had women troubles booze or drug problems and finally both died at an early age. No, I'm not trying to prove Jimi Hendrix was the Robert Johnson of our age. That is impossible; teachers and parents are willing to donate their time, however, this stone becomes a piece of dust, Surely South Huron can be put to more use, If people can be prevailed upon for financial and physical aids, the benefits will be visible to everyone, Why not try it, and see? About two weeks ago, Exeter physician Dr. M. Gans was at the high school, and he gave a talk and led a discussion on a film on abortion which had previously been seen. The following articles are conflicting views expressed by two students on the film and the issue. ABORTION — YES OR NO? By BRUCE SIMPSON At first, the questions involving abortion may not seem relevant to high school students. But, if the voting age is lowered to eighteen, which is another matter in itself, all of us may be affected by the abortion issue. I say this because, perhaps a future election will be won or lost on a position taken concerning abortion. "Now" is the time that we all should enlighten ourselves and look into the consequences of this issue. But lint, allow me to make my opinion clear. I, as an individual, favour the liberalization of abortion laws. In the following paragraphs, may you understand my views, Until the most recent time, therapeutic abortions have been available to only a small percentage of society. Abortions would take place if the woman had become pregnant because of rape or would suffer physically directly from the birth of the child. However, some religions even classed abortion under these conditions as immoral. The previous reasons for abortion may seem very fair, but in practice the actual performance of the operation is thoroughly unjust. Once again in our society the rich have the advantages. For example, in the early sixties in New York, one out of 250 pregnant women received an abortion in a private hospital compared to one out of 10,000 in municipal hospitals. The odds were five to one for a white woman compared to a non-white and the astonishing figure of 30 to 1 for a Puerto Rican. It is clearly seen that laws have to apply to the whole society, not just to the few with money. The statement, "A woman should have the right to do whatever she wants to her body and should not be ordered by a government in this respect" really comes to the base of the abortion issue. Women should not be driven to back street butchers or resort themselves to measures like a clothes hanger. Women should not be looked od noectios rdse.sl'ehdey. should be legal if Other objections come from the fact that some consider feticide as murder. But, then there are some, the most well-known the Moderator of the United Church, Dr. McClure, who argue that every child should have the inalienable right to be wanted and to be loved. Does it make sense if parents feel an extra child would be too great a burden on the rest of the family, to be forced to have it? Then, there are some parents who literally breed children so as a larger baby bonus may be received or, if they be on welfare, a larger cheque in this respect. What kind of life will a child in these categories have? Would you want a fellow human being raised unloved? It would be to society's benefit that the chance of a socially and mentally scarred child he removed. This may sound brutal but it is reality. If a child has been unloved throughout his youth, it would seem very likely that he would hold a strong contempt towards the society in which he was raised. Therefore, a child must have loving parents. The only fault that I can find in abortion reform, is that there would he a certain extent of misuse of the privileges, This, however, occurs in almost all areas of life. If man is to have a right, he also has some responsibility to contend with. Sadly to say, it is human nature Lo try and forget these responsibilities. But being a part of nature, they can not be ggotten. Man still has not learned. In a book that I own which deals with childbirth, the author takes the typical view at the turn of the century when this particular book was published. His stand was anti-abortion and he honestly concluded from the Catholic idea of the implantation of the soul at the time of conception, that the removal of the fetus was plain murder. Nevertheless, the writer went on later irnthe chapter to make a very good point that still applies today. "The solution to the ')'unwanted child is not in abortion but in' the prevention of pregnancy." With the world population predicted to ,double by the turn of the century, every child born should be and, soon it will be — Please turn to page 18 Through the centuries man has relied on wars, hunting for food and the struggle for survival to satisfy his hunger for violence. However, in our society, war is frowned upon, Supermarkets have replaced natural sources of food that demand killing and determination. The struggle for survival has been reduced to fight to escape the confusion and warped values of a people too long convinced of security. What is man to do? The answer of course is to put his entire self into the practice of active sports, where he can forget two thousand years of civilization and become once again a noble savage. Football is just one of the many sports invented to cater to man's greater self and it seems to satisfy most of the requirements. Naturally, it is just a game and few deaths ever occur. But there are sufficient smash Inv, crunching and general destructions of human beings to satisfy even the strongest desires for self-punishment. One problem as yet unsolved is that everyone can't play football. Some of us have to be satisfied to stand on the sidelines and cheer our champions on to victory. As in our school several days ago, all the would-be supporters are massed together in one suitably large room. Certain numbers of the group stand at the front and lead the majority in victory inspiring cheers. Music is added, the heroes introduced and a perfect rally is born. A spirit something akin to that felt by spectators at some Roman game or at a medieval jousting contest is at least temporarily created. Our goal is reached. We have returned to man a certain quality thought to have been long removed from his grasp by Dear Editor On behalf of the 1969.70 Inkspot executive, most of whom have left the school for bigger and better things, I feel obliged to respond to the article criticizing Inkspot 70. Besides my own personal feelings on the matter of the photography in the book, I think most of last year's executive would be quite disheartened if they read Bruce Let's use the school By SUE 11/14CAF FREY In Canada today, the majority of secondary schools are used a total of five days a week, ten months of the year, for the main purpose of education and occasionally, after-school activities. The rest of the time, they remain empty. However, a small percentage of the schools are making use of possible equipment and personnel, with the result that activities are available to public use throughout the entire year. This use is not primarily educational, nor in the form of specific classes. These are simply planned activities for those interested, when interested. There is also equipment and staff (if necessary) for any other activity someone wishes to participate in. Canada invests a great deal of money in her schools, and it is a good investment. But surely a school available only on "school days" is of less value to a community than one which remains open all year. Various schools across Canada have been put to a multitude of uses in recent years. A Toronto school was converted into a drop-in centre during the summer months, and it was overwhelmed with teenagers every day. The only supervision was self-given and a telephone number with which to contact a teacher, if necessary. It wasn't used once — there was no need. And the school still stands, unchanged! A school in Vancouver opened its doors, and full use was made of all physical equipment available. This necessitated supervision, covered by volunteers who were parents and teachers. Instruction was given, when desired, by the volunteers. Other schools held courses, similar to night schools yet also encompassing non-scholastic subjects. Last year, South Huron District High School offered gymnastic classes to certain age groups, and is continuing to do so this year, It also has a variety of night courses, but come summer It is closed tight. What a waste of resources? Think of the Many uses to which a school as well-equipped as ours could be put. Students are always glad to get out of school in June, but for many it means summer days that becOme endless and boring. Could not something be possible within the school framework in the physical and/or intellectual Sense? Of course, there are drawbacks to this suggestion. It would certainly involve more expense and time. But if the school is willing to do something, the results will far outshine the work and expense necessary.• Supervision may also be a large stone to overcome, if Drama club has interest The Drama Club held its first meeting of the year, last week. The turn out on behalf of the students was excellent. Many students seemed very interested in the various areas of drama such as assistant directors, props, sound effects, costumes, make-up and of course acting. At this meeting we also held election of various officers. Our president is again Bob Read, who' did a fantastic job last year and our treasurer is Bart Moddejonge. Both these boys should do a good job. As our meeting proceeded Mrs. Golding explained that there would be three one-act plays underway hopefully, by Christmas. These will be judged and one will be sent to the Stratford Drama Festival.