THE GRYPHON
November 2, 1977
Rocky Mount Senior High School, Rocky Mount, N. C. 27801
Vol. 4, No. 3
HomecomingQueens Picked
Beth Hutchisson and Nadine
Birth were elected Homecom
ing Queens. The homecoming
court consisted of Kathy Calla
han and Jana Lucas represent
ing the junior class and Shelli
Byrd and Brenda Lowe from
the sophomore class.
Nadine Birth stated, “I was
very excited to get the news
that I have been chosen Home
coming Queen. It was an exper
ience I’ll never forget. I’m
thankful I had the opportunity
to participate.” Nadine has
lived in Rocky Mount for 17
years. Aside from working at
the Soul Clinic in her spare
time, Nadine noted she enjoys
reading, cooking, shopping and
meeting people. After finishing
school she wants to get a job in
the field of Sociology.
Beth Hutchisson was also
elected Homecoming Queen for
Rocky Mount Senior High. Beth
stated, “I was really shocked
when I found out that I had
won. I thought they were just
kidding me.” Beth has lived in
Rocky Mount for 7 years. She
has been a cheerleader for 5
years. This year she is head
cheerleader. Beth is the photo-
sTRphe’* for TVe G’Tohon. She^
is a cashier^^ Jtonaitott. _
said she enjoys swimming, and
bicycle riding. After finishing
college, Beth plans to be a
Certified Public Accountant.
Serving as one of the repre
sentatives for the junior class is
Kathy Callahan. “I really feel
honored at being chosen Home
coming Queen. It was really a
big surprise.” said Kathy. Ka
thy has been a cheerleader for 4
years. Gymnastics, swimming
and tennis take up a lot of
Kathy’s free time. She also
plays the piano, and works at
Sunset Pharmacy. Kathy plans
to study law after finishing high
QUEEN SELECTED: Nadine Birth was selected as a Senior
Homecoming Queen. She is escorted by Freddie Woods.
QUEEN SELECTED; Beth Hutchisson was also selected as Senior
Homecoming Queen. She is escorted by Clay Harris.
school.
“I was really surprised to
have won over the other g^ls
that ran, but it was an honor to
win,” says Jana Lucas. Jana
stated she enjoys reading, and
meeting people. She has been a
cheerleader for 2 years. After
finishing school Jana wants to
be a veterinarian.
‘‘It was a shock because I
thought there were other peo
ple running against me that
were more popular and more
well known,” commented Bren
da Lowe on being chosen Soph
omore Homecoming Sweet
heart. Brenda has lived in
Rocky Mount all her life. She
said she enjoys singing, danc
ing, reading and jogging. After
, finishing school, Brenda hopes
to be a fashion buyer.
Shelli Byrd was also chosen
as Sophomore Homecoming
Sweetheart. Shelli works at
Kerr Drugs after school. She
also water skis and sings.
“After finishing college I plan
to be a social worker,” said
Shelli. She said that her first
reaction to being chosen was “I
couldn’t believe it.”
Court Hears Bakke
Presently before the Su
preme Court is a case which
could be the biggest civil rights
decision since Brown V. the
Topeka Board of Education.
The case, The Regents of the
University of California v. Al
lan Bakke, is a case of alleged
reverse discrimination.
Bakke, an engineer in the
space program, applied for
admission to the medical school
at the University of California
at Davis. The University reject
ed his application, and then he
discovered that his scores and
grades ranked well over those
of the “disadvantaged stu
dents” who had been accepted
at the medical school. Those
students ranked below him
included Blacks^ Chicanos and
Asian-Americans. Bakke filed
suit charging that his fight to
equal protection under the
Fourteenth Amendment had
been violated.
By filing the suit, Bakke
challenged the constitutionality
of the federal government’s
affirmative action program. Ac
cording to Newsweek, affirma
tive action is “designed to
improve educational and job
opportunities for racial minori
ties and women.” Bakke’s suit
charges that this practice is
unconstitutional because it un
fairly discriminates against
white men.
One hundred applicants were
accepted in the Davis medical
school. Of these hundred, six
teen places were alloted to
“disadvantaged students”
(Blacks, Indians, Chicanos, etc).
These students competed
among themselves for the six
teen places. White applicants
with an average below a 2.5
were immediately out of consid
eration. Averages of some of
the “disadvantaged students”
were 2.1 and 2.2 Allan Bakke
had an average of 3.5.
Several organizations, such
as the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare and the
North Carolina Association of
Educators, have filed as friends
of the court on the side of the
University of California and
affirmative action.
The Supreme Court must de
cide the case in one of several
ways. It could decide that the
University is right in its racial
quotas or that affirmative ac
tion is indeed unconstitutional.
In the latter case, a legal
precedent would be establish
ed. It could also approve of
affirmative action but send the
Davis plan back to lower courts
for a new decision.
According to Newsweek, The
Regents of the University of
California v. Allan Bakke asks
the question: “Is it right to
discriminate against white men
to compensate for past injus
tices?*’
Coming Up
Scholastic Aptitude Test Dates
November 5
December 3
January 28
March 11
June 3
Wesleyan Performance Dates
Midsummer Nights Dream
November 2-5, 9-12
Night Must Fall
January 24-28, 30-31
Fiddler On The Roof
April 18-22, 26-28
Student Holidays
November 4
November 24-25
December 19-January 3
January 26-27
March 27-March 31
April 10