Bishop Miege High School - Hart / Miegian Yearbook (Shawnee Mission, KS)

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The Reds vs. Renovation . . .a fisherman in a tiny river village can define his relationships with the Turtle totem, the Salmon clan, the Fishhawk sept, and the secret societies that criss- cross within these laboriously complex systems. In Man's Unconquerable Mind, Gilbert Highet cites this fact concerning a Tibetan tribal member as an example of people arranging their lives in order not to think about the essentials. We cannot say that our thinking and worrying over class officers, English exams, or homecoming is wrong or even unnecessary, but if such items are all we ponder on, something is out of kilter somewhere. The Reverend Father Stitz, U.S. Papal Volunteer Director, forcibly hits this point home as he expounds his beliefs on the state of the world as regards the strangling serpent of Communism. In his war against lethargy Father tells us that the United States is certain to be overcome by the Soviet Union. What evidence is there, he asks, that the average man would resist? We find it hard to keep a retreat silence or to continue studying when a teacher leaves the room. We can ask ourselves, 'fWhat evidence is there The Decline of the American Character Ancient Rome began as a small community of poor shepherds on the banks of the Tiber. In time the hard and frugal life of these people molded what is now known and revered as the Roman Character. The pride of Roman citizenship carried the eternal city to an un- paralleled position of prominence and power. Grad- ually, however, the Roman came to be characterized by his complacency, extravagance and apathy- the mighty civilization of Rome crumbled into ruin. A quite reasonable comparison may be drawn be- tween the conditions of fifth century Rome and twen- tieth century America. No longer does the tough and resourceful pioneer spirit serve as the necessary factor in the making of important decisions. The love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life, so vehe- mently denounced by Theodore Roosevelt have de- veloped from the national wealth and power of the United States. Huge industrial achievements, marve- lous scientific and technological advances have made available to the average citizen fantastic products be- yond the wildest dreams of men. The result? A false assumption that life under the status quo will continue as such ad infinitumg a notion that no power on earth is capable of destroying the American way of life. Of late the United States has been characterized by a conspicuous failure to strongly assert its position in major crises. No longer does the America nation use as its credo the Don't tread on me of the colonial period or the Our fiat is law doctrine of the late nineteenth century. Now the American eagle musters the courage to say, Please, sir, I believe you're stand- ing on my tail feathers. The only remedy for this situation is a strong dose -11 5- that we will fight for that in which we believe? It is advisable and mandatory that we become stronger in what we are and this can only be accom- plished through acquiring mental dexterity in vital areas rather than in chain-reacted areas of gossip and chatter. An example of this gossip: This bus driver is nearly as snippy as that sixth-grade substitute teacher, the one who had to go to a psychiatrist, my aunt went to one, too, but she got well and then married that darling doctor with all the money, and that reminds me, I didn't get my allowance this week. It sickens the soul to think how many good minds have been stulified or discouraged or misguided. Like- wise, it sickens the soul to think that in the opinions of prominent authorities our children will live and die under the hammer and the sickle. This disaster is seemingly unavoidable as far as human means are con- cerned, but concerning the divine side the Irish have a saying: God is good and He has a good Mother, so everything is going to work out all rightf, But are society's threats going to be remedied? Yes, if we refuse to panic and if we employ the little steps that can win the world. ' Susan Roche of personal responsibility, to be taken by every person in the United States. With the cure will come a well- informed public, a diplomatically strong government and the continuation of our American way of life. Dan Furst Editors' note: Comments on the Miegian and all views expressed therein are welcome. These will be printed in a Letters to the Editor column. Please bring all suggestions and comments to the Miegian staff room. The Reverend John Stitz conducted the retreat for freshmen and soph- omores. The Reverend Curt Lanzrath was retreat master for juniors and seniors.

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, l - T27-Q AA' ,rf f- 'X 7. , if 5 Q5 rt 5 is ,L S KNIQUEFN KC X 0, MB? 11' fl C if 'Y R22 ' ffrf 'I RZXAJ-h'F L43 . -vi R2 , ff iff, Ov,gC0ML,VG N W' Nliriigixycs - , '1 csv' K Af 1 ks. ,Q G. l Q, , if Af ? cc 9 XX,-ff 1 L tk .QQ Wh f fy ,--id Syst if se C Pg., K M fi?-4 5 X, 'T ' iffir J.. 1 CW? f4 Q5 5-Q74 g Jay Walsh John Birch Society - A Menace To Our Country As American citizens and as Catholics we are aware of the menace of Communism. I would like however to call your attention to another frightening menace - the John Birch Society. The purpose of this society is in itself noble, the pre- venting of Communism. Many of its members are sin- cere and patriotic, but their means cannot be justified. The direction of their purpose is to viciously attack and slander those whose views differ from their own, and to hurl upon them the label of pro-communist. John Birchers believe that the evils of Communism are covering our shores. As scapegoats for this evil they choose domestic Communists, over forty million of them-you-r neighbors, friends, business associates, leg- islators, presidents, leaders, and clergymen. They di- rectly accuse these people of either being Communists or stooges of Communism. Among the most prominent victims - Dwight and Milton Eisenhower, the nine Supreme Court Justices, Dag Hammerskjold, Presi- dent Kennedy, and other legislators. The John Birchers make these following irrational statements: the Supreme Court is a nest of socialistsg our foreign aid and defense programs are part of a Communist plot to weaken America, segregation of the races is good, the present welfare programs are Com- munistic. John Birchers would correct all these er- rors by impeaching all of the Supreme Court Justices, doing away with all aid to foreign and impoverished peoples, keeping the negro in his place as a second class citizen, abolishing the United Nations, and leav- ing the poor of our country to wallow in their misery. Anyone who disagrees with their political or social views is subject to their slander. Although Pope John XXIII has expressed in his recent encyclical that it is our duty to alleviate misery and disease, the philo- sophy of the John Birchers is to let the rich get richer and let the poor help themselves. 114 Jed Kee The seeds of Communism spread best in an atmos- phere of fear and hate. This detrimental atmosphere is created by the John Birch Society. Too many conservatives slit their parties' throats by subscribing to the ideas of the John Birch Society. Even the very conservative Los Angeles Times has said that the John Birch Society is a peril to conserva- tives, and subversion whether right or left, is still subversion. We do not believe that any argument can be won by smearing as traitors and enemies those with whom we sometimes disagree. To those conservatives, that are duped into believ- ing that the John Birch Society is doing good, I say - join the followers of the Society such as Dan Smoot, cry out for the impeachment of the Supreme Court Justices, slander President Kennedy and other past presidents, and in doing so ignore the words of Father Rolf Gorman who spoke in Sign, August 1961, We don't think that the ingredients of the JB Society help towards making a true Christian or a real American. aim:-'nga ,gf THE MIEGIAN if S 'I ' Published every three weeks by the students If of Bishop Miege High schoolg Mission, Kansas. Staff Co-editors ....... ................... J ed Kee, Dan Furst New Editors. . . ........... Larry Alley, Dave Fortin Feature Editor .... ................ D on Bollard Sports Editor.. . ................. John Wheeler Photographers .................., .Bill Humphrey, Dave Proffitt Editorial staff .................... Susan Roche, Rodney Vickery Typists .... Deanna Brown, Pam Blanchard, Dorothy Snyder, Theresa Ferkenhoff, Connie Armenta. Reporters ..,. Kathy Connor, Peggy Halloran, Kathy Walker, Kathy Johnson, Shirley Johnson, Dave Crawley, Mary Kooh, Patrice Krampff, Vicki Erickson, Mary Lu Doll, Paul Keenan, Kay Mork, Jackie Roehrig, Julie Dold, Vicki Koch, Julie Ladesic, Carol McAvoy, Larry Rouse, Elaine Hunter.

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Rusty Scholtes. Rodney Vickery, Jed Kee, and Dan Furst check yearbooks for new ideas at the workshop held at K.Il. Below: strolling the K.ll. campus. Bill Hum- phrey took the pictures. Thoughts from Sandburg if If someone asked you if teaching and learning were snyonymous, your answer would be an immediate and emphatic, Noi But stop and consider. lsn't this sometimes the attitude we allow ourselves to hold in regard to our schooling! As long as an instructor is before us talking, explaining, expounding, we are learning. But are we? How about the passive Patti's and Pauls staring unknowingly at the teacher with blank, uninterested faces? ls this how to get the fullest measure of knowledge and experience from the time and effort it takes to go to school. Of course not! And however reluctantly we admit it, we know that learning cannot be a one-way process: a teacher doing all the work. Carl Sandburg, America's great poet-historian, as a young man said, I will listen and read and ask, and maybe I will learn. Indeed, he has learned very well. He is a famous poet, novelist, historian, bio- grapher, and has two Pulitzer prizes to his credit. Yes, learning is a two-way process: we must do our part, also. Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect. But curiosity and awareness are attitudes, they have to come from inside. You'll discover, if you keep your mind alert and inquiring, that the world grows more interesting as you grow with it. From The Plainsette, St. Mary of the Plains High School, Dodge City, Kansas. Staff to Workshop Five members of the Miegian and year- book staffs attended a journalism workshop at K.U. on Thursday, October 5. Over 200 students from a number of schools in Kan- sas attended the program presented by the William Alien White School of Journalism. Representatives of .vliege were co-editors of the paper, Dan Furst and .led Kee: year- book editor, Rodney Vickery, yearbook staff member, Rusty Scholtesg and photographer, Bill Humphrey. The opening address was given by Hurt- on W. Marvin, dean of the School of Jour- nalism at K.U. Following this speech, stu- dents spent the rest of the day listening to talks given by various professors of the School of Journalism. These were held in the Kansas student union building and were divided into two sections: one for editors of papers and the other for yearbook editors. Dan and Jed discovered many different ways to write articles and to develop the editorial and sport pages. They plan to use many of these ideas in future issues of the Miegian. Rod and Rusty reported that many of the ideas received at K.U. would be used in this year's yearbook to make it more lively and interesting. Bill commented that he would utilize the helpful aids that he learned to shoot unique pictures for both paper and yearbook. CSPA Convention Set for November The Catholic Press Association Midwest- ern Regional Convention will be held at the College of St. Teresa on Saturday, Novem- ber 18. Dan Furst, Miegian co-editor, will chair one of the sessions of the convention. Members of the staff plan to attend and to get pointers on Catholic school papers. Miege will also submit one of the copies of The Miegian for display before the dele- gates to the convention. The delegates will be from Catholic schools all over the Mid- west. P.S.A.T. TO .IUNIORS AND SENIORS The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test was administered to 110 juniors and seniors on Tuesday, October 17. The students, equipped with a supply of soft lead pencils, rushed into the recreation room and cafeteria. Two hours and three pencils later, they emerged exhausted from the strict concentration. Reaction of some students: Math was easy, but the first part was hard. The first part was easy, but I had trouble with the math. What does 'diatribe' mean? Well, now I know what to look forward to! P.S.A.T. provides an indication of one's verbal and mathematical abilities. Also, a number of sponsored scholarship programs make use of these test scores. Results will be announced sometime in December. The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test for juniors, and the Iowa Silent Reading Test for freshmen will be administered in the near future. Rusty Scholtes 116-