PAGE TW6
TfiE BLACKBIRD, ROCKY MOUNT SENIOR HI(Stt SCHOOL
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1957
By Law If Needed
Raise Standards of Behavior
For three years Senior High went along gathering a
minimum of scratches, broken windows, writing on the
walls, etc.,—about what general wear-and-tear would
bring.
This year, an epidemic of unnecessary breakage and
abuse to the building and equipment has been evidenced
and continues despite promises made to the school prin
cipal.
What makes students want to mar and destroy their
“home away from home,” the home that must last for
others after they have moved on the “greener pastures,”
the home many another North Carolina boy or girl would
give his “front teeth” for? In some schools in Nash
County, desks of any kind are so scarce that students
carry their desks from room to room, according to a
report given by Mr. L. S. Inscoe, Nash County School
superintendent.
Here where each person has a desk, there appears to
be a movement to do away with them. When pencil
marks, then scratches, and later cuts are found on desks,
it means that soon there will have to be a replacement of
that desk, IF the money is available. Nobody wants to
write on a desk that resembles a washboard.
Many visitors have complimented the student body on
the fine, clean, well-kept building. From a general glance
at RMSHS, this might be true. Neither student nor faculty
would like to hear the honest opinion if it were closelji
inspected (a magnifying glass would not be necessary).
House and Grounds committee cannot do all the work
they are not supposed to do so. Students only can do the
work needed to place this school in the spotlight as the
finest, cleanest, the best kept in N. C.
Student interest should do this required work. How
ever, since many do not care for anything, the student
organization in co-operation with the faculty should work
out a method of more severe punishment and a stiff fine
for those who cause the respect for the school to lag.
If a fine were set by the student council for those
caught defacing the school in any way and if the council
could recommend the punishment for an act of vandalism
to be enforced by the principal, the ;?chool might rise
froim its present position.
When a law forces respect, hatred is gained for those
enforcing such a regulation. If this be the one and only
way to gain appreciation for a good building, let’s have
the motion for such a law.
Dear
Editor
Apology Is Overdue,
Operation Pen Pals
Editor’s Note:
A citizen of Rocky Mount
writes the first letter in this
article and a student 'writes
the second.
A large 30 x 34 inch broken win
dow pane at a home on Hammond
Street in plain view on east side
Scrapbook Helps
Prepare Foreign
Exchange Student
Next year’s foreign exchange
student will present many pro
blems to the home where he lives.
To help overcome these problems,
a scrapbook should be sent to the
student b'efore he arrives, telling
him about the family he is to stay
with, the school he is to attend,
the students in the school, and
the town (its terrian, location, and
such). Plenty of pictures should
be included.
It is best to iwrite the exchange
student for it will help better ac
quaint hi mwith the people with
whom he will be living and make
the adjustment less difficult on
both sides.
Family, School Profit
Any) home having an exchange
student will profit greatly. The
family will get an inside view on
customes and the way the natives
act, but more important than this,
the host and exchange will have
a sense of fellowship. RMSHS will
benefit from the exchange stu
dent, too.
is still awaiting- replacement by
the three young men who broke it
with one of many brick bats and
rocks obtained from a pile in rear
yard, thrown in known absence
of the owner, on their last of three
such trips into the yard during
the week of December 12, 1956.
12, 1956.
They were seen on each occas
ion by neighbors, while in the act.
Will their conscience send them
forward to replace their damage?
And in the future ‘Don’t Steal.”
It is a crime t steal, to trespass,
to damage real or personal pro
perty, and these things are not
done by honest first class citizens.
Ben Blackbird Sez
Each student brings his own
type of joys and hardships from
his country, and each year brings
a different type. That’s what
makes the American Field Service
Exchange Program so interesting.
Exchanges New Here
Since Ole Askholm, Danish ex
change student, is the first in this
school, it is a new experience here;
so the students naturally don’t
know much about the program. In
the future the school will better
understand the program and the
exchange student will get more
Practice Needed in Life Saving Effort
Plane crashes in Hertford, one teacher and one student
lose lives in Mount Airy school fire, flames destroy
school in Washington, North Carolina—such world trage
dies recently struck near home.
_ When such accidents occur this close, attention is
vividly drawn to the need for alertness and carefulness.
In a school the size of Senior High, regular fire drills
and other evacuation practices are definitely in order.
At the present time when there are threats of war, all
students^ should learn the instruction for behavior in case
of atomic attack. They should make a habit of closing
all windows and doors when leaving the classroom in
1 1-11. „ „ I and better support from the whole
Many schools, including RMSHS, use the dismissal bell | school.
for fire signals, and this
method tends to confuse the
students and faculty. If a
different warning (a gong
or a siren type) were given,
then less time would be
wasted because the signal
would be instantly recog
nized.
If teachers take time to
again instruct each class
how to leave the building in
case of an emergency, if
students make an honest ef
fort to learn and carry out
the instructions, and if regu
lar drills are practiced, little
time will be lost and some
thing highly valuable might
be saved—a hu'man life!
Before you criticize others, take
note of yourself; then criticize if
you can do it justly.
Also, good citizenship forbids
being a “Litterbug.” Litter is
thrown daily by high school stu
dents along Hammond Street, in
yards, and wherever they travel.
They buy cups ofl drinks, bags
of confections, etc., and eat along
streets on their trips from school,
and throw the refuse in the yards
and on the street, which is a $50.00
fine.
Name Withheld by Request
* * *
Bear Editor,
I would like to know the names
of several girls who would like to
correspond with some boys in Den
mark. The boys are friends of
mine.
If any girls would like to do
this, please notify me at school or
at home. My phone number is
6-4872.
This would be a nice gesture
and it would certainly please my
friends.
Sincerely,
Ole Askholm
634 Piedmont Ave.
H. R. 210
- Eyeing RMSHS:
Students Want Snow and ^Ey e’
By Edward Riner
Prom the looks of the weather,
there will be no more snoW In
Rocky Mount this year.
Most students have given up
this idea, except Martha Ann
Fountain and me. Snow or no snow
the weather is still on the brisk
and chilly side with boys continu
ing to arrive at school in wool
trousers and the girls gladly wear
ing their wool skirts. This won’t
last much longer, though.
Cow’s Eye, Anyone?
Tony Floyd brought two cow’s
eyes to Mrs. Betsy Ipock’s (she’s
gone and it’s now Mrs. Callie
Marie Jackson’s) biology class, and
the eyes are still in there in
glass jars with some kind of liquid.
If you have never seen a cow’s
eje out of its socket, make an ex
tra trip to the class in 205 to see
it. It is real exciting to watch the
eye float around when the jar is
Usually the only thing about a
secret that is kept when it Is re
lated from one person to another,
is who told the secret to the
first person.
Students Want To Be Exchanges
turned upside down .
A good gag to pull on friendly
enemies is to set the jar in front
of them and ask if they, have ever
eaten boiled cow’s eye.
Miss Pat, KUl It!
Any student like Mike Womble,
Honey MacIntyre, Richard Taylor
can pass Pat Jordan in the hall at
any time and just by saying, “Kill
it,” start her into wails of laught
er.
I don’t know why, Pat gets so
excited over just a simple phrase,
but she does.
Making A Girl Angry
Jane Fountain told me recently
that if I wanted to make my good
friend Mary Brent Elmore angry
with me, all I would have to do
was call her Mary “Brat” Elmore.
I did and sure enough she became
angry with me. Mary) Brent, if
you read this, please accept my
apology.
1. Reed Nelson-sophomore:
To visit a foreign country would
be a terrific opportunity to see
how other people live, what sports
they play, their customs, and to
find out more about their school
systems and how they differ from
ours.
2. Dorothy Whaley-sophomore:
Visiting a foreign country! would
be a fascinating and interesting
experience as well as an educa
tional one. It would give me the
opportunity! to see how people live
in other countries and how their
school life compares with ours.
3. Glenn Hill-junior:
Being an exchange student
would be a wonderful experience
and would certainly be worth the
time spent abroad. I can hardly
imagine the fun experienced while
visiting a family who speaks a
language different from mine.
4. Margaret iSutton-junior:
It iwould be most interesting to
learn the customs and the ideals
of other nationalities. Ttie know
ledge one would acquire while he
was an exchange student is know
ledge that can be used in later
life. I’d like that.
5. Ole Asholm-senior;
I wanted to know you better, to
live the kind of life you live, and
to learn to speak your language.
I have learned much since I came
here which I know will be of great
value to me after I go home.
6. Frances Osborne-senior:
I’d love being an exchange stu
dent because it would provide
wonderful opportunities. It would
be exciting, educational, and
something a young person would
never forget. It would give stu
dents of different countries a bet
ter understanding of each other.
THE BLACKBIRD
Rocky Mount Senior High School
EDITOR Edward Riner
BUSINESS MANAGER
Clare Davenport
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Barbara Davis
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Ellen Joyner
COLUMNIST .... Kelsey McGee
SPORTS EDITOR Ed Justa
REPORTER .... Eleanor Bulluck
ADVISOR Mrs. T. D. Young
Member of Columbia Scholastic
Press Association