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High Life
Volume LV, Number 3, November 27,1985
mion
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Cats
mCHUFE
News Editor
Chris Sieredski
Grimsley Seniw High
801 N. Westover Terrace
GreensbcHti, N.C. 27408
Managing Editor
Cindy Gay
EDITORS
Editorial Editor
Robert Corbett
Feature Editor
HoUi Louza
Sports Editor
Pat Goodwin
Photographer
Tracy Furman
Assistant Sports Editor
John Myatt
Advertising Manager
Leslie Estes
Circulation Manager
Wilson Winchester
Advisor
Ms, Jane Crisp
A perfect picture?
by Eugene Naughton
Thanksgiving - the wonderful reunion of the famUy. Cold weather,
crackling fires, and the smell of a Butterball in the oven (or
microwave - this is the 1980’s). Then, after waiting, the dinner is
ready. Steaming foods in rich gravies, and distant relatives accom
panied by friends, decorate the table. Father adds a few words of
thanks for the delicious looking bird (no one asked the turkey how he
felt abot it), and then the next two or three hours are spent in a tumult
of eating and slurred words. The fabulous dinner is topped by three dif
ferent kinds of pies. A typical Thanksgiving, Norman Rockwell could
have painted it.
Yet, somewhere between the mashed potatoes and the com-on-the-
cob, the ideal of thanks has been dropped onto the floor, making this
perfect picture seem pallid. Behind each of the smiling faces surroun
ding the dinner table a gnawing lack of thanks. From generation to
generation, perhaps. Thanksgiving has lost the meaning for which it
was intended. The PUgrim Fathers truly has reason to give thanks;
they had just reaped a good harvest after a brutal winter. Today, the
immediacy of starvation is not so apparent to the public, most of
whom have their basic needs met. So what is there to give thanks for in
a country where most anything is accessible?
Rudyard Kipling once said, “Teach us to find delight in simple
things.” Herein lies the simplest elements of human life. Be thankful
for the essence of Thanksgiving. Be thankful for fresh air, because
there is less of it than ten years ago. Be thankful that the rain is not as
cold as last year, or that at least, there is a warm place to go. Be
thankful that the Pilgrim Fathers did not take one look at the New
World and suddenly say^ “I think I forgot to put the fire out back home.
Let’s go back.” Be thankful that during Thanksgiving dinner, am emp
ty plate is a rare thing, and if there is an empty one, it is because the
contents are in someone stomach. Be thankful that the Norman
Rockwell picture does not reflect a typical Thanksgiving, void of true
thankfulness.
This particular Thanksgiving, November 28th, paint a true picture.
Give up the thanks for the size of the turkey, stuffing over potatoes and
yotir favorite pie. Get rid of the images painted by Rockwell and be
happy with the simple gifts of life. Oh, and tell Mr. Rockwell’you won’t
be needing him. Somehow, he’ll understand.
Sophomore Speaks
Not out to lunch
by John Myatt
Making the grade
The school of hard knocks
by Brooks Raiford
Greensboro educators are con
sidering proposals to keep
students making below a 2.0
G.P.A. from participating in ex
tracurricular activities. It’s good
to know that we’ve finally
recognized that academics come
first in high school.
Some school systems have
already implemented stringent
restrictions on student activities
based on grades. Texas, for ex
ample, has one of the toughest
programs; a student receiving
one “F” or more on his report
card is banned from participation
in any extracurricular activities
for six weeks. This seems rather
harsh, but when one considers
that 56% of Texas’ students get at
least one “F” per report card, a
tough policy may be their only
answer. North Carolina probably
doesn’t need to be quite so strict;
still, we should be concerned.
Unfortunately, there are those
who are supersensitive to
anything that might pose a threat
to athletics. These people claim
that the real motivation behind
the proposed changes is a con
tempt on the part of educators
and nonathletes for those with
athletic ability. These misguided
souls fail to realize that the rule
would apply to aU extracur
ricular activities, not just sports.
Singers, musicians, and actors
would be affected just as much as
Mr. Gridiron or Mrs. Backboard.
The simple fact is that if a stu
dent isn’t making above a 2.0,
he’s making, at the most, a “D.”
And while some people really
have to try their hardest to pass
at all, these people are (or should
be) in special classes, and should
be given special consideration.
Any other student making a “D”
or less needs to be home study
ing, not playing a trumpet or
throwing a ball of some sort.
If something as simple as
preventing “D” and “F”
students from participating in ex
tracurricular activities will
enhance their education, then by
aU means, do it!
At least give it a trial run. If the
results are not favorable, then
scratch the program. It is highly
probable, however, that the
results will show that if students
know they better hit the books in
order to hit the field, stage, or
whatever, grades will come up.
Extracurricular means just
that; once you master the cur
riculum, then you can have this
extra.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
I am writing concerning an ar
ticle that was published in High
Life on October 18, 1985 entitled
“What They Appear to Be.”
This article was directed at
twelve girls on the Homecoming
Court. I am not on the cotirt, yet I
have several friends who are. I do
not see my friends as “mommy’s
little girl” nor do I see myself as
a “victim of society” because I
didn’t make it. I am very happy
for those who made it and I think
they should be congratulated in
stead of insulted and judged the
way they have been in this arti
cle.
I think that the author is letting
her personal feelings interfere.
To be on Homecoming Court is an
honor, not a position in society. If
this article was some kind of
joke, there are people on the
court who took it seriously and
deserve an apology. May be there
are some who fit the description
in the article but it was generaliz
ed to make it sound like the entire
court.
Anapology is due to the
members of the Homecoming
Court.
Dear Whrilies,
The article, “What They Ap
pear To Be,” generated much
controversy, all of which was
caused by misintepretation. As
the writers of the article, we are
extremely concerned that some
may have taken it as insulting to
the members of the court. The ar
ticle was intended to be a spoof of
social stereotypes, and in no way
meant to deride girls, either on or
off the court. We apologize to
those who may have seen it that
way.
Sincerely,
Cindy Gay and
Carrie McCracken
The fourth period bell rings, and I hurriedly throw my trombone into.,
its case and rush out of the bandroom. Reaching the grove, I measure
the infinite wisdom of the school board in deciding to close sophomore
lunch. Imagine my joy upon discovering the new plan. I would not
have to worry about that baffling question of “Where to eat” as the
decision had already been made for me. Another problem solved was
the task of finding a benevolent upperclassmen willing to give me a
ride. Obviously, the school board knows we sophomores have no older
friends, and thus segregates us from the rest of the school.
Reflecting upon this as I enter the dining hall, I notice the room is
quite packed and the lines quite long. Always a popular dining place,
the cafeteria is swamped this year, what with the new menu of pizza,
hamburger , and the occasional chicken cordon bleu. TTie greatest plus
of our closed lunch is the beautiful unity between the sophomore class
and the administration. The S-ODC (Sneak-Out Death Corps) has a
fool-proof drag-net around the class of ’88., If it is below 50' or above
80',they decide to stay inside, giving the green light for those would-be
fast fo^ freaks.
I am not so daring, and so eat my lunch under the pretext of satisfac
tion, doing algebra qnd mingle with my own kind. And I must only wait
until next year when flie school board closes lunch for juniors.
Never the Twain did meet
by
Robert
Corbett
measure of the book’s importance that it was writ
ten a 100 years ago, in 1885, and yet people con
sider it a great novel. Ernest Hemingway once
said all American literature came from this one
great book. That is a fairly weighty judgement,
but I am not in the position to qualify it, having
never read it
I have a confession to make. Df
consider myself an erudite (read
feel guilty about it, as though I
truth. The fact is, I have never
Huckleberry Finn, and as an ,
would-be writer, I think I shou -
Mark Twain once said that
everyone wishes to have read, ..
wants to read. I am afraid this ;
true, if I never got aroimd to reaoini
The irony c it is that
te the fact I
ids a lot), I
listorting the
=’k Twain’s
■ as a
grade tear
a kid’r
tion. ' ■
first
writ'
two
°ad it t-
bur:
actuaUy had a fourth
y class. I thought it was
ly nose in science fic-
picking it up, for the
'e, I discovered it was
-y-fied dialect. Strike
ok
ig
! it in AP English
e L.ny. I would
guilty about not