George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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Cut,and BS Cutting is one of America's favorite pastimes. As a matter of fact, it fits in right between apple pie and Chevrolet. But due to its popularity and widespread flse, there are many different approaches to it. For the bold, the challenge of skipping the whole day is the most exciting. For the beginner, however, it is advisable to start slowly, following these step-by-step instructions until you feel up to the ultimate challenge of ducking an entire school day. Remember: Once you decide, there is no turning back. 1. Decide on the class you want to skip. 2. Be sure to avoid that teacher. 3. Next, decide what to do instead of coming to school. If this means leaving school, prearrange transportation. 4. Make up a temporary excuse, in case you run into your teacher. 5. After the period is over comes the toughest part — you must now decide on a permanent excuse. 6. When you come back to class the next day, you must live the excuse. Do not blow an otherwise perfect plan by forgetting your excuse. These methods are somewhat outdated, however, as the institution of computerized absentee passes has necessitated the devising of more modern methods. Which all goes to show that necessity is still the mother of invention. An intimate knowledge of the art of BS-ing is necessary to leap many obstacles encountered at school. But perhaps BS had its finest moment when a Marshall student, faced with an hour-long oral English presentation during second period, was sans idees, as they say in gay Paris. As the time drew near, the student hit upon the perfect topic. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and walked into his English class, where he presented a sixty minute speil on the art of BS-ing. Such triumphs gives one goose pimples. But BS-ing does not always take such obvious forms. It can come disguised as two-and-a-half inch margins on term papers or as random numbers scribbled on a math worksheet to represent complex calculations. However, one must strive to be discreet, as all teachers are specially trained to spot even the slightest discrepancies (See fig. A-3). Almost any student can BS, but only a few truly share that great feeling of pride one experiences when a paper totally founded upon the basics of the art is returned, proudly displaying the scarlet letter! Ecstacy! 31

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How to Cheat, Mastering the art of deception, in the forms of cheating, cutting and BS-ing, is a major accomplishment. The person who commands the most respect is the one who comes up with original and ingenious plans to thwart, defy and defeat the spirits of the administration. These people are antischolastic heroes and are the real rulers of the school. Members of this elite group are headed up by the aces who have successfully cheated, cut and BS-ed their way to the office five times in one week. These bold and fearless leaders are entitled to sit on the radiator in the hall any time. After observing the habits of students, one notices a definite pattern (see Table A). Cheating starts off very slowly, especially on Mondays, because of the tendency to oversleep, thus reducing planning time. This is also the reason for cutting starting off at a snail's pace, as one place to sleep is just well as another. BS-ing is always high on the chart. There are many forms of cheating going on in the duration of one school day. One is buying a copy of a test. This can be costly but is usually a sure way to get an A”. For the more adventurous soul there is the ever popular stretch-the-neck-to-see-the-neighbor's-paper trick (See fig. A-1). This is merely glancing at the paper next to you for an answer. It is advisable that you sit by a smart person, however, as this trick does not work for both people. Another method is the old cheat-sheet-under-the-cuff trick (See fig. A-2). This takes more preparation than the previous two, but is safer and has a lot more class. To do this, you must first learn to write and read very small writing. Then you take a piece of loose leaf, available at any drug store, and cut it into a tall, thin sheet. Now take all your notes and information and print it as small as possible to still be legible. If needed, you can fill out two of these and put them under both cuffs, but remember what is on each sheet, as looking from wrist to wrist is slightly obvious. If it takes more than two sheets try one of the other methods. Another idea is that of the cough-sneeze code. This is used on yes-no and true-false tests. The length of the yawn tells the other students which number is in question; if a cough is returned, the answer is true or yes, and if a sneeze is returned, false or no. This method is only for the most alert person, for all watches in the class must be synchronized, as a difference of a second could be disastrous.

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Show a variety Where could you see Brenda Ponsford including the Lord in her income tax returns, Cathy MacDonell and Felicia Bulka locked in a Salem prison, Tara Price returning from the dead to yell at Janice Lindberg, and Jerry Keys blowing up Jeff Crenshaw and Steve Bender with dynamite? At the seventh annual One-Act Play Festival. On three nights in January the Drama Department presented thirteen plays, each directed by a second-year drama student. Tryouts were held after school, and were open to all students, regardless of previous involvement in drama. Rehearsals were also held after school, and as the performances drew closer, the rehearsals lasted well past late buses. The student-directors were in charge of everything from setting rehearsal times to building sets and props. This was no small job, but each play was a combination of creativity, frustration and fun. Autograph seekers surround a prospective new star in To Bobolink, For Her Spirit, directed by Kathy Kinsolving. 32