Stoughton High School - Stotonian / Semaphore Yearbook (Stoughton, MA)

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PAGE 4 SHS KNIGHT MAY. 1977 OPEN FORUM: POINTS OF VIEW A Final Word I realize what you ' re about to read seems like a crock of bull, but I feel it must be said, so please bear with me. Speaking on behalf of my fellow seniors I would like to thank SHS for a rewarding four years. With a class the size of ours (431 students) it is difficult for the needs of every student to be filled. Guidance counselors, teachers and other faculty members have donated much time both during and after school to our individual needs. Students have gained much from their efforts. The opportunity for help was available; it is hoped every student took advantage of it. A senior leaving Stoughton High has learned much about himself and silent meditation. Even if you hated the school, at least you now know what to avoid in life. A president also learns how to use his head. And, SHS, give us credit, too. Our actors, actresses, athletes, musicians and classroom clowns have kept you enter- tained these past four years. Our false- alarm pullers have shown they ' re human when the weather is right. At no time did the school have to go out in the rain or snow. Also, I have never heard anyone complain about getting a stale Swiss Roll. I hear many students clamour and moan about how they can ' t wait to leave. As I write this, we are all counting down the days, hours, and minutes until that final bell. High school has been the best bargain yet, but from now on the party is over and we have to go to work, or at least I think we ' re supposed to. School has not been all fun however. Miss Hamilton, Mr. LaVelle, Mr. Nassise and others have challenged our tolerance; and the school lunches have challenged our digestive systems but through it all we ' ve come out all right. We ' ve made some very good friends here and we are taking away some great memories of Stoughton High. May the rewarding times never stop! Mark Rodrigues President, Class of 1977 No Smoking at SHS One year has passed since the no smoking regulation began at Stoughton High School. Time flies when you ' re having fun? One year since the (accidental?) fire alarms rang continuously during E-hour. Since lunches were left on tables in the abandoned caf or brought out on the lawn for improvised picnics. Remember when mobs congregated out in the streets, chanting militantly: The Good Old Days ' ? For 12 months, students who couldn ' t hold it any longer had to venture into the smokey, crowded world of the basements. No need to waste a cigarette, just try to breathe. Guaranteed to contract cancer within one short year. Aside from infringing upon students ' rights to use the facilities, the bathroom smoking circles are causing a lot of static between teachers and students. Teachers assigned to basement duty are abused by students and resented by students who desire to go to the bathroom without being under the scrutinizing eyes of teachers. What better time than the first an- niversary of the switch of smoking from courtyard to basements to make another change? Stronger enforcement of the no-smoking rule, (Ha! Ha!) at Stoughton High won ' t work. It will just cause more student unrest and more embarrassing, televised incidents on Pearl Street. Making smoking legal again and moving it back outside, though it will satisfy the students, will not solve the problem at all. It has been tried before and failed miserably. Smoking was banned because students were smoking things other than tobac- co. Well, it ' s still going on, as anyone who walks through E-building, C-lst, and other secluded areas of the school can tell you. Obviously, non of the problems the school committee proposed to solve were solved by the ban on smoking. Though some mertibers of the admin- istration may have visions of saving students from the evils of tobacco, it is a fact that some students will smoke. You can make smoking unlawful; you can slap their nicotine stained fingertips; you can even suspend them; but it won ' t stop them from smoking. Smoking should be allowed at Stoughton High School, but it must be controlled. Courtyard and patio smoking areas were taken advantage of by students and it is doubtful these rights will ever be returned to the students. But other alternatives are available. One idea is to have a set-up somewhat like the smoking rooms in colleges. These would be places where all the students who desire smoke-filled lungs could go. Of course, these would have to be watched by teachers, perhaps those that enjoy smoking, to satisfy the administra- tive concern that nothing but tobacco will be smoked. Naturally, some students will insist on smoking in the basements, just as they did when the courtyard patio areas were open to them. This idea won ' t solve all the problems of the smoking issue at SHS but it will at least leave the basements to be used as they were intended. Susan Mooney ' 78 Health Fair Makes Debut When do you go to the doctor? When you ' re ill? When your mother makes you go? Stoughton High seniors learned that preventive medicine is just as important as curative medicine at the First Annual Health Fair on May 4. The first event of the day was a film on Hypertension, or high blood pressure. The film was followed by a blood pressure clinic. Students could have their pressures checked free of charge. If a student ' s pressure was high, he was referred to his doctor. If you saw someone have a heart attack, would you know how to keep him alive until he could be brought to a doctor? Seniors who attended John Fallon ' s (Stoughton Fire Dept.) program on cardio- pulmonary resuscitation would. Mr. Fallon demonstrated CPR to the audience on dummies complete with heart, blood, and inflatable lungs. Senior girls were shown films on the importance of the Pap test and breast self- examination. The girls were given a quiz to see how much they knew about breast c ancer. Mrs. Genevieve Glennon, RN, went over the quiz with the girls, most of whom scored well. The American Cancer Society was one of many organizations that presented booths with pamphlets and short films in the gym. Students who smoked could test the carbon monoxide level of their breath. A display of lungs with cancer and emphysema was enough to make most people think about quitting smoking. Mr. James Gormley (Soc. Stud.) and Dr. Margaret Sorenson (Science), who organized the Fair, hope to continue it each year so that all the students will know the importance of health care. Lesa McGarvey ' 77

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MAY. 1977 SHS KNIGHT PAGE 3 She fey Soncranf . CARTOON CORNER Julie Aronson . . . Barbara Vihife, .11 MAY p t Hit!

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MAY. 1977 SHS KNIGHT Stoughton Beauties Oh, yes, we come in all combinations. Label us according to your own unique classification. Some are pretty; other are ugly. Still others we label fair, homely, and beautiful. We all try to be decent in our appearance even if we lack cosmetic surgery. Some of us get up at the crack of dawn, and begin to prepare for our facial operation. We start with a pure, clean, innocent face. That ' s the one we try to avoid, better known as ours. Some of us tend to tape a paperbag over our mirrors, for fear of the ultimate thrill of having to participate in the creature feature tryouts. We move out from the realistic world, turning the pages ot a Glamour magazine. We believe that we are that cover girl with the perfect teeth and nice smile. Deep in our hearts, we know we have a dentist appointment that could lead to mouth malfunction. Our combinations vary from glamourous girl to that unfashion- able broad. Stamped by company (boys ' ) labels, we are passed through group inspection. They say some of us have it and some of us don ' t. Which one do we qu alify for? Both. Stoughton High girls are the perfect example. Some of us need detailed work on how to apply the cover girl image. To make sure we capture the essence of it all, we flip the pages for the directions and try to follow each word step by step. We began to form an imaginary look at ourselves, believing we come close to a cover girl image. Some boys think it ' s passable. There are so many varieties. It ' s like having a split personality. During our observation of others, we notice how different we look from them. It ' s an inconvenient multi-pack of insecure feelings. The girl who wishes to be glamorous goes home and paints herself as if Halloween was an everyday event. She who prefers to wear nothing relating to her face may feel great, health-wise, but she lucks out on What are you doing tonight? or Do you want to go to the movies? While the other girls are swamped by the attracted eye of a male. Then there ' s always the one caught in the middle of it all. She usually ends up envying both sides of the matter. Here ' s where the contest begins. You ' ll notice how great the competition is, when its Glamours against the Healthy Homely. Naturally Glamour wins. She is the most popular and best liked. But how does she score as an individual? We know how the story goes from this point. The sad Healthy Homely puts herself down and turns on to a magazine image. The wrong thing to do is to make a switch your appearance decision. If you feel you ' re really unbearable and want to go out for dog chow commercials treat yourself to a specialist: you. yourself. Make a list of what you like and don ' t like, then work with it. You ' re bound to look better. And for those of you, who are satisfied with what you have and thankful like me, you will find there is no contest because you are a winner. An Ex-Cover Girl PAGE 5 In Response 4?? OPU U)ILL G€T Ai AV F0tOA IT ALL f ft In my opinion whoever wrote the article on jocks should have had the guts and common decency to sign his her name. In the first place, no one person has the right to put down another group unless that person is above criticism. The point that person tries to make is that once jocks leave the school they are just another face in the crowd. Well, once any person leaves this school he she is just another face in the crowd also. It does not matter if you ' re a jock, freak, drama person, or a member of any other group. The point I am trying to make is directed to the person who wrote the article. I ask you, what gives you the right to criticize others and give others advice? In my opinion you are high on yourself, much more high than any jocks I know. I feel sorry for you because in my opinion you are suffering from a serious in- feriority complex. You must put down others and give them ad- vice to make yourself look bigger. Well, this may lead to a problem for you in the future and I hope you can control it. Also I would like to know what the must-have-cool walk looks like, and also the sprint leg stand. If you have any self pride and guts you will give those of us who are less fortunate than you in knowing about these matters a demonstration of how to act cool lik6 3 jock I hope this puts an end to the put down another group type of column because it is not worth the trouble it causes. Jerry Galizio ' 77 V e ' ve got a but no Abril o no vers Anadon River Andrews Julie Bailey Barnum Barer Yogi Barros Wheel Bishop Cardinal Blum Grapes Blye Captain Boc Ernie Brady Bunch Brooks Streams Brown Charlie Bruce Lenny Burnie Bridget Cain Mayonaisse Callanan Tunnel Campbell Soup Carl Marx Carrol Christmas Carter Peanuts Christopher Columbus Churchill Winston Clarke Kent Cummings Goings Daily Weekly Divine Holy Doody Howdy Ferandes Market Frank Beans Franklin Ben Gardener Plumber Gilbert 0 ' Sullivan Gill Fish Haley Comet Hanna Barbara Uo ' V A. nxz V c but no Hoffman Dustin Holmes Sherlock Hudson River Jordan River Kennedy Edward Kilday Doctor King- Queen Lane Lover ' s Leef Erickson Lennon Sisters Livingstone Stanley Lyons Tigers Mann Woman Manson Family Miller Beer Moody Blues Uelson Ozzie I ess Monster North South Patrick Saint Perry Mason Peter Rabbit Phillips Screwdriver Palmer Arnold Price Tag Rodger ' s Hajnmerstein Shaw Robert Shipps Boats Thomas Muffin Tracey Dick Troy Helen of Turner Ike or Tina Welch Grape Juice West East Woody wood Pecker