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THE ROCKETEER
Wednesday, December 20, 1967
She Is Not a Believer
Editor’s note: The following article was written by Kath
leen Rose, age 19, from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was
taken from “Seventeen” Magazine.
“I don’t believe in Santa Claus. Before you shrug your
shoulders and say, ‘So?’ let me add that not only don’t I
believe in the jolly old fellow, but I don’t think children
should be taught to believe in him either. It’s just that I
think the Santa Claus myth adds very little to the average
child’s enjoyment of Christmas, and it may even spoil the
fun for children and their parents.
To begin with, there’s the problem of explaining dear
old Santa to the child. He lives at the North Pole. Then who
is that in every department and variety store waiting to be
told what boys and girls want for Christmas? Next there’s
the ritual of going to see one of these kindly stand-ins and
perhaps having a picture taken while sitting on his lap.
Parents love this but children rarely do.
Santa’s method of transportation poses additional prob
lems. Children are told that merry St. Nicholas travels in a
little red sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer, but they quickly
spot the impracticality of this. (“How does he have room for
toys for all the good little boys and girls in the world? He
must have to make a lot of trips—how does he deliver every
thing in just one night?”)
Those who defend St. Nick and all he stands for tell us
that none of this really matters because cildren are so pleased
with the pretty presents Santa leaves for them; children just
love to receive gifts; they don’t particularly care if they come
from Santa Claus or the Loch Ness monster—all they worry
about is whether they get all the toys they ask for. Since
parents choose and pay for everything anyway, why shouldn’t
they take credit for their generosity?
Finally, and most important, there is the problem of the
child’s discovery that there really is no Santa Claus. This
can be a terrible shock, and can lead a child to question every
thing his parents have ever told him for which he has no
tangible proof.
Ironically, it is religion which may suffer most in this re-
evaluation of all that was previously accepted.
Although I agree with the motives of those who maintain
the Santa Claus myth, I think it is senseless to submit chil
dren to it only to turn around one day and tell them you
were merely joking. Wouldn’t it give children just as much
pleasure and be a lot simpler for everyone if we showed
Christmas as it really is—a religious holiday and a joyous
time—certainly the last time of year when we should resort
to deception, however well-intended it may be.”
—Kathleen Rose
Keep the Basketball Bouncing
So what if Roxboro is considered a football town. Is that
any reason to forget basketball and other sports offered at
RHS?
The basketball players put as much time and work into
their sport as do the football players. They are trying to make
a name for you—the students of RHS. It is rather dishearten
ing to play on an away court and be followed by only a few
fans.
Playing at home is almost as bad when sometimes the visi
tors can yell as much as the home side.
It really means a lot to a team to know someone is out
there yelling for them even if they are thirty points ahead
or thirty points behind.
The basketball team plays the same schools the football
squad does. Does the distance suddenly become too far to
travel when the game is played in a gym?
RHS cagers will need all of the students’ support especially
since Jordan, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Garner are rated in
the top ten of the state.
RHS has the quality, all it needs is support from you!
About Those Lunch 'Nappers'
“. . . I did it only for a joke—just for some fun. Sure I
could afford thirty-five cents for lunch but it was more fun
to eat lunch brought from home. It’s even more fun to take
somebody else’s from their locker.
The first couple of times it was hard to do. But all you
have to do is to go up to a locker and get a lunch—just pre
tend it’s yours.
The situation got so bad that the students began putting
“dummy lunches” in their lockers or not leaving a lunch in
there at all.
I was caught and suspended for a while. I hope people
will not judge me by this incident. I was only having some
fun...”
RHS Students Flunk!
Recently, the Rocketeer editorial staff conducted among
homerooms chosen at random, a survey to find out how well
RHS students were informed concerning their school.
The senior class seemed to be the best informed. Fol
lowing is a copy of the questionnaire with the answers. The
percentages given represent the percentage of students who
answered the question correctly.
Who is the:
Assistant Principal—David Barrett 40.2%
Dean of Girls—Mrs. Duncan 83.8%
Dean of Boys—Mr. Horton 83.6%
President of the Interclub Council, Vernon Williams 24.1%
Secretary of the Student Council—Carolyn Hall ....31.3%
Treasurer of the Student Council—Tommy Holt ....39.6%
Head Football Coach—Larry Dixon 69.9%
Head Basketball Coach—Reid Davis 69.3%
Athletic Director—Jim Edens 55.1%
Drum Major of the Band—Cal Berryhill 63.3%
Head of the RHS Cafeteria—Janie Aiken 45.2%
What is the 1967 Football Team’s Won-Lost Record—
9-3 20.4%
Is Mrs. Virginia Brown or Mrs. Rachel Brown Mr. Tom
Brown’s Wife—Mrs. Virginia Brown 75.5%
What is the RHS Faculty Number—52 3.9%
How many husband-wife sets are presently teaching
at RHS—4 16.1%
Who is the Superintendent of Public Schools—
Walter Rogers 73.6%
How many varsity cheerleaders are there—11 36.3%
Who is Head (varsity) cheerleader—Gayl Talbert....81.5%
Who is Head Librarian—Ruby Hester 39.9%
What is the name of the annual—Rocket 67.3%
Who is the editor of the annual—Kathy O’Briant ....25.4%
Who is the editor of the Rocketeer—
Claudia Berryhill 19.4%
How many janitors are there—4 23.1%
Who are the secretaries—
Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Puryear 13.7%
BONUS: What is Willie, the janitor’s last name—
Walker 3.3%
"Let's Keep Santa"
Say RHS Students
In accordance with Kathleen
Rose’s ideas that “Santa Claus
Should Retire,” several RHS
students were asked their opin
ions on the same subject. Here
are their thoughts:
Vernon Williams, Senior:
“Might as well. Nobody believes
in him anyway except little kids.
They need somebody to believe
in anyway.”
Cindy Woody, Sophomore:
“No. He makes little kids happy.
He is symbolic of love at Christ
mas. He is teaching people to
love.”
Randall IVIillhiser, Sophomore:
“It’s a heritage and he is sym
bolic of the spirit of Christmas.”
Kathy Coates, Freshman: “It
wouldn’t be Christmas without
Santa Claus.”
Annette Bryant, Freshman:
“He is good for little kids to
look forward to, so we should
keep him.”
Suggestion Box
Attracts Students
In response to the Suggestion
Box in the Commons Area, the
Rocketeer Staff received “sug
gestions” from “ ” to “A
job well done.”
“Have color pictures and re
duce single copy rate” were sug
gestions received most often.
This can hardly be done because:
1) it costs approximately $240 as
a base rate to print one four-
page issue. 2) to print color pic
tures, the printer has to run the
paper through the press for each
different color. Can you imagine
how much this costs?
Several students suggested
grapevines or gossip columns.
The Rocketeer staff does not
believe that the average RHS
student would really like this
sort of column. The staff feels
that the “What were you do
ing last Saturday night” kind
of fare is far below the intellec
tual level of RHS’ers. The staff
refuses to stoop to such levels of
journalistic endeavor, even to
gain readers!
The staff suggests that if you
have any valid complaints or
ideas to write them down in the
form of a Letter to the Editor
and sign it and put it in the
Suggestion Box.
Letters
Student Disagrees;
All for Privileges
Dear Editor,
I would like to make a few
comments on the article “Senior
Privileges, Yes—No” published
in your last edition of the Rocke
teer.
Concerning senior privileges,
I would ask the author of the
article in question to correct an
oversight on his part. I feel that
if he had put any research into
the facts he would find that al
most every school has a set of
senior privileges. I know this
for a fact because I have attend
ed several high schools and have
been in contact with many
others—all of these having sen
ior privileges. Many of the priv
ileges found in these schools are
the same ones we are asking for.
The same privileges we are
trying to obtain will be here
when we have left. We are lay
ing the foundation for our under
classmen to build on. To the
underclassmen I would say: Re
member you can’t build without
this foundation, so why not
help?
Vernon Williams
ROCKETEER
Published nine times yearly
by the journalism class of Roxboro
High School, Roxboro, North Carolina.
Subscription rate—SI.00 yearly
Single copies—S .15
VOL. 2 December 20, 1967 No. 2
Editor-in-Chief Claudia Berryhill
Editorial Staff Jean Dunn, Larry Forrest, Carlene McClure
Managing Editor Jean Dunn
News Editor Ann Clay
News Staff .Marilyn Day, Patsy Daye, Donna Gentry, Vince Gentry,
Jacqueline Hilton, Bennie Tillett, Charles Bowes, Diane Sallev
Sports Staff Reggie Dunn, Maxie Wrenn, Roy Roberts, Calvin Ramsey
Feature Staff Cindy Edge, Vickie Long, Barbara Martin, Jane Sanford
Business Manager Diane Carver
Art Editors Lu Anne Barnette, Joan Rogers
Photographer Bennie Tillett
Copy Editor Gail Tatum
Advisor Mrs. C. P. Johnston