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t Page 2—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, February 10, 1971 Hems Come Tumbling Down If Was 23 Years Ago Women Protested Wearing Longer Skirts By SANDRA SISSON Roanoke Times Fashion Editor The last time hemlines drop ped, women did not take the fashion change sitting down, except for those who posed to give girl-watchers one more glance at exposed knees. In the fall of 1947, just as in the fall of 1970, American designers lowered hemlines to three new lengths; about two inches below the knee, mid-calf and ankle long. Women of that post-Warld War II generation organized nationally to protest against the long skirts with as much spunk as their 1970 contemporaries who campaign for “women’s liberation.” With the end of the war on their heels, they could afford a more frivolous cause. They had been “liberated” whether they had wanted to be or not when they filled jobs left vacant when their men went to war. Their national organization against long skirts was called the LBK club. LB stood for Little Below the Knees, which was where most women had ’ueen wearing their skirts. Two inches below the knee was as far as they said their hemlines would fall. The Roanoke chapter of LBK boasted about 500 members, including some from Bassett and Blue Ridge. All had signed petitions for national circulation, but on Sept. 6, 1947, they took more positive action. Some 100 members marched in a parade in downtown Roanoke — complete with a float, a band, antique cars, a fire truck, the Roanlke life saving crew and horseback riders, recalls Aubrey Kessler, now manager of the Veterans Administration office in Roanoke. He drove a truck in the parade which carried the sign “The Broke Husbands,” in protest against the new war drobes they would have to buy for their wives. Kessler remembers the demonstration as “strictly a one- day affair.” The women in his office had signed the LBK petitions and, prior to the parade, nine of them had posed for photographers in front of the courthouse to show their knees, “A cheesecake pose, like ‘take the last look’,” Kessler chuckled. An estimated 7,000 spectators lined Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street to watch the LBK parade. The Roanlke Times account said. The club members marched in costumes ranging from 25-year old- bathing suits, which designers also were trying to bring back into fashion, and 80- year-old dresses to new fall outfits, cropped to two inches below the knee to meet LBK regulations. The float, “prepared” by a Roanoke apparel shop and a company of U.S. Marines, carried several women dressed in the new longer lengths and several in the preferred short lengts to demonstrate the con trast. But their efforts failed. Fashion won out. Skirts came down. “Soon after the parade, women were coming in to buy strips of gabardine to sew on their suit skirts as yoke or as a hem border to lengthen their hemlines,” said Mrs. Lee Raney, proprietor of the Fabric Shop in downtown Roanoke. Gabardine suits were the fashion rage then, she ex plained. Now her customers laugh at the longer hemlines featured in the new fall 1970 pattern books. “They say they aren’t going to use them,” Mrs. Raney said, a knowing smile on her face. —COMMENTARY— Take a look around you. Some hemlines are falling. Hardly a day passed at Chowan College that you do not see midi skirts, maxi coats, or goucho pants. Naturally the girls like the new styles better than the boys do. Business Mirror Federal Reserve Guard By JOHN CUNNIFF AP Business Analyst NEW YORK (AP) — For 57 years the Federal Reserve System has guarded what it considers its birthright, the operation of an efficient monetary system carefully maintaining itsind a8no2 ence even of the President. During this time it sometimes scorned critics who questioned the wisdom of its operations or the scope of its vision, feeling that it had a sacred duty to maintain monetary discipline, even at the expense of shortterm political and social considerations. “The function of the Federal Reserve System is to foster a flow of credit and money that will facilitate orderly economic growth, a stable dollar, and long-run balance in our international payments.” "niat is how the FRS describes its role. It isn’t the way some critics would like to see the nation’s central bank operated. Where, they ask, are the specific social and humane goals the bank might have in mind? In particular, they ask if FRS policy regarding credit has contributed to the drain of mortgage money from housing, made funds unavailable for urban rehabilitation and contributed to the financial plight of local governments. o$nAmong the chief critics has been Rep. Wright Patman, the Texas Democrat who hea^ the House Committee on Banking and Currency. “They have contended that their job is to administer monetary policy with a broad brush without concern tor special sectors of the economy and without regard to economic and social goals,” he states. “However, in the actual application of this policy, the credit of the nation has been allocated unevenly, with the larger and more affluent elements of y 28,o; ty willing and able to outbid the more need sectors...” Now Patman has for ammunition a staff report by five researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who examined the practices 3i,foreign central banks. It is called “Activities by Various Central Banks to 7.R0M0TE EconomS $nd Social Welfare Programs. “Central banks in most countries,” the report states, “designate certain sectors of the economy that are to receive favorable treatment from the central bank...In some cases this is done to aid preferentially particular sectors and in some cases this is done to offset the uneven impacts of private money markets.” In other words, such banks to one extent or another are used to promote social and economic goals. “This report clears up the mass of misconceptions about the utilization of monetary policy to meet basic economic needs,” Patman said. “For years,” he continued, “we have heard officials of the Federal Reserve System claim that allocation of credit by a central bank is both impractical and unworkable.” report, successfully allocate credit and are an integral part of economic planning. But to the FRS, he suggested, this orUy means that all the others are out of step. Prof. Lester Thurow, who headed the study, declines to make any judgements based on the strictly factual report, but he does agree that all 11 central banks studied involve themselves more directly in socioeconomic issues. Graham Issues Auto Regulations Please pass on to students. 1. Cars of all students, boarding, day, commuting-must be registered with the college. As of this date, students have not t>een charged the $100.00 fine for failure to register automobiles. However, beginning Monday, February 1,1971 (editor’s note-this letter was not available for print before February 1, 1971) students parking unregistered cars will be fined $10.00. 2. Students are to park their cars only in the peu-king lots to which they have been assigned. This is a real problem in the parking lots in front of East and Mixon, (ed. note-lots 1 & 2) Unless your car is registered for Lots 1 or 2, you are not to park in front of Mixon or East Hall. This means that students who return to campus late Sunday night or early Monday morning with an unregistered car cannot park in these lots because every space in the two lots has been assigned. Unregistered cars should be parked in the South Parking Lot, on Union Street, or High Street. A BETTER FIT IS NEEDED t- .**1 POPULAR TEACHER—Professor William Marable stop ped for a moment for the Smoke Signals’ photographer to snap a picture. Mr. Marable is seen frequently chatting with students on campus, and enjoys his conversations with them. SCHOOLS SHOULD STATE OBJECTIVES Schools have a remarkable opportunity in this decade to establish an educational system that really works. More money, more teachers, and more buildings are available than ever before. A host of new edu cational methods have been tried or are in process with varying degrees of success. But student unrest, parental concern, and em ployer dissatisfaction with the quality of education show that most schools do not yet have the right formula for motivating students and providing the right mixture of educational opportunities. Each young person should be educated to the best of his abilities. Local control of schools is deep in our national tradition and should not be abandoned. However, each district should be required by state authorities to establish specific educational performance objec tives, to measure student achievements, to evaluate teacher performance, to establish accountability criteria, and to issue an annual public report on results. Schools must meet society’s real needs, including those of students and industry’s manpower train ing requirements. A clear statement of educational objectives is essential for students and parents to make the right choices for the future. Girls welcome a change, but boys seem to like the mini. Many male students at Chowan have, sur prisingly, admitted that longer skirts are more sensible and that even some of them look GOOD! As a reEtsonable solution to skirt lengths, no particular length should dietate. Girls will wear what they want to wear. New styles will come in every length, and most girls will end up wearing more than one length. Minis will become longer (mainly because they couldn’t go shor ter), but casual clothes wiU still be designed with above-the-knee hemlines. Fashion designers will come up with many different styles, but we do not have to be ruled by them. Wear your own personal preference in styles. Eventually designers will plan to please everyone. James Aker Serving With Naval Reserve Aviation Fire Control Technician Second Class, James B. ACKER III has reported aboard the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit (NARTU), com manded by Capatin F. B. GREENE at the Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Va., James first entered the the service in July 1966 and was released from ac tive duty in July 1970. He is a 1965 graduate of N. Chicago Com munity High School, Chicago, 111. and is now attending Chowan College at Murfreesboro, N.C. Here at NARTU Norfolk, he is a “Weekend Warrior” attached to Unit NARDIV SI which has as its mission to provide theoretical and related practical training to achieve and maintain individual proficiency in assigned billets and to (x'ovide station-squadron support in excess which con tributes to the Unit rediness in the event of mobilization. Trouble With Medical School DURHAM (AP) — East Caro lina University wUl find the road bumpy in obtaining funds from the 1971 legislature for its proposed medical school. House l^eaker Phil Godwin predicts. The Gates County Democrat, in a televised interview over Durham’s WTVD, said ECU’s chances “are very dim.” Godwin prefaced his remarks about ECU’s proposal for a two-year medic^ school by not ing that an accreditation report from the American Medical As sociation will not be available until Saturday. A major factor in his own de cision on the proposal, Godwin said, will be the availability of space in North Carolina’s exist ing medical schools for those students who attempt to trans fer after two years at East Carolina. Gov. Bob Scott and the Advi sory Budget Commission, in recommending a $4.3 billion budget for the state during the next two years, left to the legis lature the question of providing funds for the ECU school. Wish I’d Said THAT Literary Musings By PROF. ROBERT G. MULDER What Happened To Eric Segal? I’m sure that Eric Segal, author of “Love Story” (over twenty weeks on the best-seller list), is distressed to distraction over the critics’ recent attacks concerning his novel. Unless you have been meditating in a Tasmanian cave the past few months, you must have heard something of this ultra-popular work. And now that the screen ver sion is sweeping the country in the standing-room-only tradition of such movies as “The Sound of Music” this author must fan his 129-page story before more vultures. May I share with you some comments from a recent editorial in “The National Observer;” “Thetiuttingest unkindness of all occurred the other day when the judges of the National Book Committee decided that Mr. Segal’s book would tie removed from the list of award nominees because “Love Story” is “banal” and its presence on the list “would have demeaned the other books’ in contention. “Well, we hope Mr. Segal will look on the bright side, and we don’t mean only his bank ac count. In not winning the National Book Award, Mr. Segal shares at least that much with Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare — none of whom was ever even invited to write a screen-play, which Mr. Segal was. “Where did Mr. Segal go wrong? Perhaps instead of having his heroine die of leukemia, he should have thought up a more insightful climax. Perhaps the girl could have l)een hit in the head with a hockey puck and, in a lengthy dream sequence during her comatose state, she might have flown nude around the world on the back of a griffin, ol)serving the follies of mankind and returning with a profound awareness. “Nudity, mythology, and profound awareness might not be enough to win first prize, but at least they would have gotten a little respect.” Witches Still Operate It never occurs to the average person that hexerei (witchcraft) may still be a going concern. To the skeptics I heartily recom mend Arthur H. Lewis’ “Hex” (Trident Press, 255 pp., $4.95). Its purpose is really twofold — to give a blow-by-blow account of a highly publicized hex murder and to survey the current activities of witches in southeastern Penn sylvania, especially in the counties of York and Lancaster. It succeeds in both objectives. The murdered man was the admitted witch Nelson Reh- meyer, whose mutilated body was found two days after his death in a remote and thickly populated area of York County. Just after midnight on Nov. 28, 1928, according to the confessions of the murderers, he was bludgeoned to death l>ecause he refused to give up a lock of his hair and surrender the witch’s handbook called “The Long Lost Friend.” The leader of the murder ex pedition was John Blymire (age 32), himself a: witch, who was convinced that he was a victim of Rehmeyer’s spell. His com panions were John Curry (14) and WUbert Hess (18). Although they were tried separately, their common defense was that homicide was justified and that it was the only way to remove the hex. Trial Judge Sherwood, however, refused to admit into the evidence any suggestion that sorcery had any connection with the case. He was apparently convinced that the motive was robbery and, in any event, was loath to accept the idea that witchcraft was rife in York. All three defendants were convicted. Blymire and Curry were given life sentences for first-degree murder, and Hess was sentenced to a term of from 10 to 20 years for second-degree murder. None of them served the limit. As for the prevalence of wit ches in York County, Lewi^ documents his survey b||| reference to published materi^ and to his own interviews and appointments with healers and powwow doctors. He cites names and addresses of practitioners willing to “try for” warts, liver ailments and cancer; but my favorite story of his is about Mrs. Helen Bechtel, who confronted the devil himself and sent him paddling. Du Pont Expands Education Service The industrial training service of the DuPont Co., Wilmington, Del., is being ex panded to offer a wide range of industrial seminars, edu cational programs, and engi neering services. DuPont announced that it is creating a separate division to service the 156 programmed instruc tion courses applicable to in dustrial, vocational and safety training. “In the immediate future,” manager George C. Tunis said, “we expect to market our engineering services and organize seminars through out the country dealing with writing and conducting pro grammed instruction courses, as well as seminars on in strument training.” In addition to the seminars and training courses, the di vision is considering a full- scale consulting service. There is a proposal to change the present income tax structure to the effect that the more children you have the less tax exemptions you are allowed. By RONALDO A. Karunungan QUfcSTldl?:-Would you'’§dptS5«’thi§1aefer'^^*^ ♦rrohirt. WHERE ASKED: Around campus WHO WERE ASKED: ... ^ I FAYE OVERSTREET-Soph. LumbertonN.C. As it now stands it serves a a premium for having children. This proposal in effect will curve population explosion because couples will put more emphasis on family planning. A child normally will need more health care, protection, and education. These are mainly provided by the government. Why should an unmarried un^ dividual or couple without MIKE TAYLOR-Fresh. Durham, N.C. Well, if you can afford to ru^en be levied for the welfare ‘Children, you should be able of the chUdren produced by have as many as you can af- , u ford. couples who multiply like rab bits? The wife who snatches her husband’s pay-check can hardly expect the old fellow to continue to say it with flowers and candy.—N. De- Vane Williams, Holmes County (Fla.) Advertiser. Man is like a bridge. He was designed to carry the load of the moment, not the com bined weight of the year at once.—Clarin D. Ashby, The Uintah Basin (Utah) Stand ard. DEBBIE DIBLING-Soph. East Brunswick, N.J. (no picture avaUable) Yes, I support this idea as it would be a good way of controlling the population ex plosion. If the poorer people of the U.S. felt they would get in come tax money back if they have less children then they would not have 7 or 8 children that they could not support. Therefore they would be better off and the welfare would not have as many families to sup port. CAROL CLARK-Soph. Raleigh, N.C. Yes. I support this idea in flie sense that if a family has to pay taxes and yet not get anything back, then this new idea will reduce over-population. EDDIE BEACH-Fresh., Rich mond, Va. I feel that we must do something to change the American tax structure. This seems to be the best system I have heard. I think it is very important that the tax burden be spread equally among the three dasses (according to their in come bracket) and not just be placed on the upper-middle and high class. LARRY HALE- Soph. Hampton Va. I don’t support the idea, I support it partially but not totally. Logically speaking, those who have more children can’t afford to pay as much for tax revenue. What I con’t condone is those who use this against the government in thinking they are “pulling a slick one.” For this country, as a whole, this is an economical and ecological deterrant to the future of our great country. m SUSAN HUNDLEY- Soph. Norfolk Va. I would strongly support such an idea. If something isn’t done about all this over-population there won’t be any taxes-because there won’t be any people to pay them. Having large families should be discouraged. There isn’t enough space to live in or air to breathe now!
Chowan University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 10, 1971, edition 1
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