Volume LV, Number 4, December 20, 1985
High Life
Page 3
Naughty, Naughty!!
by Brooks Raiford
Those of us who went to junior high school in Greensboro may
remember that there was a policy of In-School-Suspension (ISS).
Some remember better than others, but be that as it may, juniors and
seniors here at Grimsley haven’t had to deal with ISS since our 9th
grade year. Now, however, Grimsley had decided that this junior high
practice is necessary for high school students.
The primary differences between ISS and regular “Our of School
Suspension” (OSS) are that a student sent to ISS is allowed to make up
work missed and does not have unexcused absences assessed to him
for the number of days spend in ISS.
This, friends, is high school. We are not little kids who need to be led
by the hand and tapped with a ruler when we misbehave. Everyone
has to go to school through their 15th year, but at age 16, school is
strictly voluntary; you can leave at any time. The last thing a school
system should be wasting its money on is hiring teachers to sit with
“naughty little boys and girls” in high school.
There is no little children at Grimsley High School - only young
adults, and we should be treated as such. If we choose to act like small
children, then we don’t belong here, and we should be thrown out.
ISS is no real punishment. It may not be very pleasant at the time,
but it hardly hurts us in the long run. What possible deterrence to
violating school rules is a policy whereby students stay in school, are
allovfed to make up their work, and get no absences recorded? None.
In high school, kids who violate rules to the point of needing punish
ment shouldn’t be allowed to stay in school. Stop wasting time with
childish punishments. Get rid of ISS.
The gold at the end of the Rambo
by Eugene Naughton
Laughing last
An all too familiar theme re
sounds throughout the movie
theatre in the United States to
day. Those nasty Russians are
once again trying to defeat the
God-fearing U.S.A. Naturally,
this country won’t tolerate it, and
out of the swirling dust and
political claptrap comes a hero
(usually toting a weapon just
short of a ballistic missile) to
eliminate the problem, all in the
name of God, guns, and glory.
Explosions, screams, vivid
scenes of violence dominate the
screen, while our hero screws up
his face and says, “Go ahead.
Make my day!” or “God bless
America, commie pig!” The end
is the same in these movies. In
finity stretches on the horizon,
the sun majestically sets, and our
hero, now bloodied, holds an M-16
in one hand, and the American
flag in the other. A crescendo of
music. A brief, heart-warming
narrative iustifving all these
deaths (“Kill a commie for mom
my”), then the credits, the end.
Unfortunately, the public
responds to this brutally violent
formula of movie. The major
movie industries, shamelessly
prompting such classic as Rambo
Commando, Dirty Harry, and
Charles Bronson, continue to pro
duce their excuse for a patriotic
film. Admittedly, they are fun to
watch and they do allow the au
dience to participate in the ac
tion. However, the feelings of
hatred and zenophobia they
generate run dangerously high. It
should be apparent a problem ex
ists when the opening titles are
just appearing and someone from
the back of the theatre yells “Kill
the mothers!” It seems au
diences are being conditioned to
respond to these movies whether
they actually feel sympathy for
the hero or not. They feel it is
simply necessary to clap when
appropriate or boo when ap
propriate. The true respect or
hatrpH for tho rharafters is never
really there.
Some may argue that the feel
ings in the theatre stay in the
theatre. These same people are
at a loss to explain why the
camoflage pants or army jackets
are so popular. Are they related
to hatred for anything un-
American. Probably not, but they
do reflect the bias towards
militaristic and violent solutions
to problems that (wrack) the na
tion.
Why Americans should con
tinue to go see the glorifications
of death of anyone and then turn
around and accuse the nation’s
leaders of being trigger-happiy is
beyond comprehension. Our
movies do not reflect a desire for
peace. A change in attitude would
be helpful here. If Americans on
ly view others through the sights
of an assult rifle, the United
States will never truly unders
tand the people of the world.
Besides, it makes one wonder if
the Soviets have the kind of hero
the U.S. does - Ruskbo, perhaps?
5
by John Myatt
One of the basic principals our country founded its judicial system
upon is that of innocence until proven guilty. Yet it seems that neither
the seniors nor the juniors at Grimsley are aware of this rule. As a
sophomore, it is my obligation to stick up for my class.
The class of ’88 has heard for a long time about its bad reputation;
some even take credit for it. The faculty at Grimsley claims to have
heard about our antics since the third grade. What aggravates me is
the way the upperclassmen view us with such disdain. It is more than
the harmless kidding about our sophomore status; that is a part of.
school life. Thr problem is the way that they state their superiority and
label our class as a bad harvest. This has me up in arms!
A good example came when I, as a class project salesman, asked a
junior whether or not he would like to purchase Hardee’s coupons,
good for free french fries. He promptly laughed in my face. “Hardee’s
fries stink; what a stupid class project,” he stated. Now juniors,
granted, our fund raiser is slightly bizarre in concept, but it doesn’t top
your own fiasco last year. Remember those nifty T-shirts? You should,
because only about one hundred were sold. Great project, guys! And
the class of ’86 would not be labeled the Lee lacocca of sales. My ad
vice would be to think before laughing; it would help.
The juniors so desparately want to be recognized as a vintage class
such as the class of ’84 and ’79. Well, if you check your cliques, you’ll
find that this goal is still a long way off. And this year’s senior class is
about as close as the Grimsley-Page football game!
Now, I’m not trying to put the senior and juniors down. I’m only
stating the errors of their ways. Maybe the class of ’88 has its faults,
but he who is perfect can crack the first joke. After all, we’ve only
been at Grimsley for half of a year; things can only get better.
Hear ye, creative writers
We, the High Life staff, believe there is a need that is unfulfilled at
Grimsley. That is the need for self-expression, in written materials.
However, we have found a solution that will provide for this need, and
brighten up the paper at the same time. We want to run an insert, with
short stories, poems, epigrams: in short anything written by a
Grimsley student. Drawings are acceptable as well. For more infor
mation, contact Marty Kotis, Robert Corbett, or Mrs. Crisp in Room
206.
Not straight^A^ behavior
by Stephen Canter
The theme for this years
American-Education-Week
(AEW) was “In Greensboro
Public Schools the subject is Ex
cellence.” The celebration of this
event lacked enthusiasm and was
certainly wanting in excellence.
It is rumored that the breakfast
honoring the faculty served by
the PTSA, was excellent but this
of course did not deal directly
with student involvement in
AEW. The performing arts
assembly was designed to be the
climax of student involvement.
However this lack of enthusiasm
was obvious at the November
20th assembly.
The assembly was the first and
possibly the last all school
assembly this year due to the
statewide Basic-Education-Plan,
which prohibits assemblies ex
cept for educational purposes.
Unfortunately the assembly ap
peared to be lacking in organiza
tion. The students participating
in the assembly could not
rehearse because of time. This
lack of rehearsal did not give the
participants an opportunity to
become familiar with the order of
performance.
The audience was caught up in
the sense of confusion and
became uninterested. This at
titude was expressed by the au
dience’s refusal to sit back and
enjoy the assembly. The au
dience continually talked and
laughed and on occasion made
fun of the performers, all of
which is very rude. A teacher
new to Grimsley asked if this
were normal crowd behavior. She
commented that the students at
the junior high where she had
previously taught acted much
better.
Students need to be more
respectful of each other and
never deliberately make others
uncomfortable particularly those
who are putting their dignity on
the line by getting on the stage.
And it might be appropriate to
have music playing as students
file in. This could serve to cut
down on crowd noise.
More over it is a questionable
practice to open an assembly
dedicated to arts and culture with
a cheer. There are more ap
propriate ways to display school
spirit in this setting. Respect and
courtesy might be a start.
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Cass
HIGH LIFE
Grimsley Senior High
801 N. Westover Terrace
Greensboro, N.C. 27408
Managing Editor
Cindy Gay
News Editor
Chru Sieredski
EDITORS
Editorial Page
Robert Corbett
Feature Editor
Holli Louxa
Sports Editor
Pat Goodwin
Assistant Sports Editor
Advertising Manager
Leslie Estes
Advisor
Ms. Jane Crisp
Circulation Manager
Wilson Winchester
One overworked holiday
by Robert Corbett
I had stayed late, putting the finishing touches
on article about Christmas, which was rather ap
propriate: this was Christmas Eve. I looked up
from my desk, and my old writing partner,
Marlow, stared at me from across the room. A bit
of shock to me, considering he had been dead for
four years.
“What are you doing here?” I sputtered.
Marlow looked a bit under the weather, though, it
was not much different from his usual self: just
grayer.
“I have come to warn you. You have not kept
the Christmas spirit, like you should, and so you
will be visited by three ghosts who will show you
the true Christmas spirit.” Marlow rattled the
chains that his last wife had insisted he wear.
“Well, it better be quick, I have work to do.”
Marlow always had a way of messing up my
deadlines.
“Actually, only two ghosts can get to you tonight
J - ’tis the season you know,” and with this Marlow
vanished. Without a warning, a man bearing loads
of gifts (price tags still on) burst into the room.
His jolly air seemed to reek with scotch.
“You must be the ghost of Christmas past,” I
said intending to remain on guard for the duration
of this dream.
“Christmas presents, if I may correct you.” He
dropped everything, with a resounding thump.
“Now I hear you are not keeping up wiUi
Christmas spirits.” Without warning, a fully-
stocked bar appeared from nowhere. Somehow, I
thought that this ghost was not up on the
Christmas spirit, either. I think someone agreed,
as he just as suddenly disappeared.
I went back to my work, expecting another
visitor. Probably the ghost of Christmas future, as
these things tend to run chronologically. I finished
my worked, and waited a while longer. Then I left.
It was not the first time Marlow had given me a
bad lead. A thought came to me, though: maybe
Christmas does not have a future. Or maybe the
ghosts of Christmas are just a bit over-worked.