Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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Oc itciial A NEW POLITICAL POLL Allan Howe ’65 This election year has been indelibly marked, not by the victories of certain candi- dates, but by the mistakes of the pollsters. I am sure that many people stayed up late on the nights of the big primaries, not to find out who won, but to see how wrong the pollsters were. Polls definitely can affect the outcome of an election. These miscalculations by the pollsters give the underdog an advantage. When the polls show him trailing miserably and not likely to carry a single district, the candidate can boldly proclaim, “They were wrong in New Hampshire! They were wrong in Oregon! They were wrong in California! They will be wrong on November 3!!” A lopsided poll can give the leading candi- date so much confidence that he and his staff sit by and wait for the day of victory to come, while the opponent and his crew work dili- gently to prevent this fiasco. Many people will believe that their favorite candidate will win handily and that their vote will not matter, so they will stay home on election day. Also, a large segment of the American people always vote for the underdog no matter who he is. The sympathies of these people are aroused by the “poor loser . Keeping in mind these disadvantages and the failures of the past, I, destined to take my place in history with George Gallup and Lou Harris, have devised what I believe is the foolproof political poll. I think that this poll adequately reflects the will of the people and that it will revolutionize polltaking. This poll will be known as the “bumper-sticker poll . After extensive research on the Southeast Expressway, the Central Artery and the Mid-Cape Highway and after scrutinizing the bumpers of Chevrolets, Chryslers and Cadillacs, I bring you the results of this poll. Please bear in mind that I was completely unbiased in taking this poll and the results do not necessarily reflect my opinion. Here are my predictions for the national and high state political offices. For the Presidency, it seems that Lyndon Johnson will carry Massachusetts but not by a landslide. Barry Goldwater shows surpris- ing strength. “AuHO stickers are riding around to the delight of all chemistry teach- ers, but they are not quite as numerous as the “L.B.J. for the U.S.A. stickers. I cannot make a prediction on the U. S. Senate race, because I have seen no stickers for either Ted Kennedy or Howard Whit- more. Perhaps neither will win. In the gubernatorial race, Francis X. Bel- lotti should win the governor’s chair easily. John Volpe shows very little bumper strength. Richardson should beat Costello for lieu- tenant governor, but most of Richardson’s support comes from the Mid-Cape Highway. Although it seems illogical that we should have a Democrat for governor and a Repub- lican for lieutenant governor, the bumpers can’t be wrong. Brooke will be the only other Republican to win statewide office. He should beat Hen- nigan handily since I saw only one Hennigan sticker and that was on a hot rod. Those are my predictions on the Nov. 3 election. If they are right, I will have ob- servers on every highway in the nation in 1968. If they are wrong, I will join the ever- increasing group of red-faced pollsters on November 4. Nine

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DISASTER DRILL Dale Triber ’65 There we were scattered around the floor of 149, “Please, make sure you tell them I’m back here. Remember I’m supposed to be in shock, and I can’t speak! If I just lie here without making a sound they’re sure to pass over me.” “So what, you think you’ve troubles! My whole left hand is radioactively burned and it’s sweating buckets from the moulage. I forgot all those method acting tricks, and I’m finding it very difficult to come out with any really convincing screams.” “Will you please start screaming so they’ll be sure to find us, and please DON’T forget to tell them I’m back here in shock.” This may sound rather comical but it was serious business on October the eighth. There were scenes like this throughout the east building of the High School. On that day Somerville High School participated in a city- wide civil defense alert. Fifty-five students had been chosen to act as casualties in a simulated plane crash at the High School. The whole student body, excluding these fifty-five, was evacuated from the building shortly after 10:00 o’clock. Within minutes after the alert was sounded fire engines, police cars, and ambulances had rushed to the campus. The fire department was assigned to locate and extricate the fifty-five “injured” pupils. Each one of these students supposedly had a specific injury. Some wore moulages, plastic coverings that look like real injuries, while others were painted up with lipstick to look as though they had bad cuts and lacerations. The firemen found the students, and got them out of the building according to the seriousness of their injury. Those who had leg injuries or were very seriously hurt, such as my pal at the back of the room who was in shock, were taken out on stretchers, while others were helped out by the firemen. The students were placed in ambulances and rushed to the two Somerville hospitals. Each hospital had a special disaster area set up with all the necessary medical instru- ments and preparations to take care of the wounded. Doctors had been called in as if for an actual emergency. The staffs examined, diagnosed, and prescribed for each of the fifty-five “casualties.” The pupils were taken care of according to the gravity of their injury. Those who had only small injuries were given first aid and discharged, while the more serious casualties were admitted to the hospital and put in wards. After everyone had been patched up, the students congregated to have lunch at the two hospitals. Somerville is one Greater Boston city that has a complete and efficient disaster plan. This drill was carried out to see just how effectively the community’s emergency facil- ities could operate in case of such an emergency. For those of us who actually took part in this mock disaster it was an exciting and informative experience. The entire school has been commended by the press and T.V. for their maturity in the face of so serious a drill. Some of us even got a chance to watch ourselves on television because all three Boston networks had film coverage of the drill. Everyone certainly wants to take their hats off to the firemen, policemen, and the doctors and nurses of the Somerville and Central Hospitals who did such a magnificent job in making the drill realistic and success- ful. Thanks also to the hospital dieticians who made those delicious, unlikely, hospital meals, such as spaghetti, and submarine sandwiches. Eleven