G R A Action Starts Friday Nite at M S The first G.R.A. Sportnite this year will be held on September 26, 7-9 p.m. and is open to all girls at Maine South. The Sportnite wiU feature open play in basketball, volleyball, badminton, and swimming. A progressive games competition will also be included towards the end of the evening and prizes such as record albums and McDonald's certificates will be awarded. There is fc no admission price and refreshments will be served. The Girls' Recreation Association has decided to sponsor " three Sportnites this year. There may be a co-ed one later in the year, but according to Miss Finneran, G.R.A. sponsor, this is doubtful "since we can't get
men to help supervise." The service-oriented club organizes and sponsors -girls' intramurals and tournaments throughout the year. Skin and Scuba, cross-country, golf, and basketball are all on the intramural program. To pay for the trophies awarded at these tournaments and ones for the interscholastic teams, G.R.A. has several fundraisers. One of these is the concession stand for home football games run by board members. Miss Finneran and the board hope for a big turnout at the Sportnite next Friday. She concludes, "The board has been working real hard to try and make this evening a success and get a lot of girls out."
Beckman in Thailand "Sa-Wa-Dee-Ka" is the Thai word for hello. Sharon Beckman '76 had the opportunity to use this word often during her stay in Bangkok, Thailand as Maine "South's AFS student. AFS (American Field Service) is an organization that al- lows students from different countries to visit different cultures during a school year or over the summer. Before embarking on her trip, Sharon first tried to find out about the country. Needless to say, after arriving, she found a totally different place. Being the first westerner that some of the Thai people have ever seen, she was often stared at by the curious people. They - were also amazed at how tall she was according to their standards. This past summer, Sharon ' lived with a family of ten with two servants. Her AFS father, Mr. Surapol Asavavitoontip owned a middle class Thai home which allowed Sharon to see the country not as a tourist but as one of the people.
Sha»'on soon found the people of Thailand truly warm and kind. She was always treated with openness by the generous Thai people. In some ways certain asoects of their society were similar to the U.S. such as television, traffic, and Coca-cola. But mostly Thailand offered a completely unusual experience. The people were quite shy and quite unlike Americans. The schools were much more disciplined and the Buddhist customs were sometimes hard to get used to. At first Sharon had felt like a visitor, but as she lived among the people she soon felt like a member of the culture. The exotic but delicious fruits added to the wonderful meals. Due to the low prices, an average meal would only cost around ten cents. About her trip, Sharon says, •'Before going, an AFS experience was just a vague expression. Now when I think of AFS, I remember my family, my school, the neighborhood, and the things I love there."
College Night Heads East Have you been wondering what you'll be doing after high school? What about college? As another year unfolds, sophomores, juniors, and seniors are urged to attend the annual Fall College Night on Wednesday, October 1, at Maine East, from 7:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. Over two hundred public and private colleges will be represented this year, including local community a^eges, state universities, and the University of Illinois. Spokesmen from various vocations, including s e r v i c e academies and hospital schools of nursing, will eagerly await
students' questions. Since the late 1950's, College Night has met the needs of those students who wanted to know what college was all about. Last year this event accommodated close to 3,000 people, one of the largest college nights in Illinois. Mr. Kenneth Reese, Career Counselor at Maine South, commented, "College Night provides an excellent opportunity to explore many types of colleges and to seek the answers to specific questions regarding college attendance."
southwords Vol. 12, No. 1
Maine Township High School South, Park Ridge, III. 60068
Sept. 19,1975
Scottish Exchange Student Comments on MS Lifestyle While the foreign exchange students in the past three years were from Portugal, Italy, and Sweden, this year's AFS student is from ScoUand. Ruth Leask arrived a month ago from Glasgow and now lives with the Fisch's in Park Ridge. In Scotland, Ruth attended an all girls school of 600 with ages ranging from 5 to 18. Though Ruth already graduated, she doesn't mind another year of school. Upon her return to Scotland, she will enter college to study art. Of all the classes Ruth is taking at Maine South, Art IV is her favorite. She also speaks French fluently and is in French V here. Ruth, commenting on the differences between the schools, states, "At home we didn't have different people in every class. Also, the schedules weren't the same every day." She also adds, "Another contrast is that at home we are a little more serious about our schoolwork." When discussing her school
hours versus ours she stated, "I'm used to an hour lunch with a coffee break at 11 a.m. There, we only go to school four days a week." Her favorite sport is hockey. Others include: football, soccer, and rugby, the last of which is a combination of both football and soccer. Besides sports, she's interested in creative speaking and debate. For some extracurricular viewing Ruth enjoys "Kojak". When comparing American food to Scottish she says it is similar except that in Scotland they use vinegar on their French fries. "Scotland has a traditional dish. Haggish, made from sheep stomach stuffed with brains, liver, kidneys, and oatmeal. It's good!" she adds. In Scotland, 17 is the legal age to drive. Ruth explains, "We don't need cars so much because Scotland is much smaller." Ruth has never been to the U.S. before, but she has travelled to France, Italy, and Bul-
garia, in addition to many of the Asian countries. She's involved with much volunteer work at home and often works in her father's store.
Feichter, Heerman Tolice' New Course by Amy Peterson '76 Mr. Patton Feichter, Social Science teacher, spent a lot of time in a squad car this summer. He wasn't under arrest, but gaining experience and information for a new social science elective course, Law In American Society. Both he and Mr. John Heerman, also in the Social Science Dept., spent time at DePaul University taking special courses to prepare for their new class. But why a police car? Mr. Feichter, along with Mr. Robert Schultz, signed up for a police ride-along. They were not exactly prepared for what awaited them. Mr. Feichter especially had expected a very tame evening of minor calls. Instead, he and Mr. Schultz ended up in Cabrini Green, Rush Street, and Old Town. Granted, their first call was to rescue a cat in an air-conditioning system, but from there they progressed to a knifing, a mistaken robbery-in-progress, a
heroin and gun possession arrest, and a few peace disturbances. Mr. Feichter was given a car-tour of Cabrini Green, and became vividly aware of the conflict between certain people and police when, following up on a call, the men returned to find two of their tires flat. Being out in a real police car is not the way TV portrays it. The cops are real people and are not out to get everyone, although some do enjoy arresting and meeting quotas. But the work involves a great deal of plain common sense as well. Mr. Feichter and Mr. Heerman are trying to relate what they have learned in the two to three years of preparation for this course to Maine South students. The goal of the class is to relate American Law to student interest. The teachers plan to accomplish this through simulations, role-playings and a variety of guest speakers. Speakers will probably include a representative of the Maine South administration, police officers, judges, state's attorneys, criminal lawyers, public defenders.
New Magazine
Th« National Merit finalists for Maine South were recently announced. To achieve this honor yoo nnujt rank in the top Vi of 1% on the PSAT taken last fall. Front row; W. Nunne, D. Chan, B. LeMay, B. Sherry, L. Seleen, P. Stevenson. Back row; B. Lobue, L. Pontow, P. Chung, P. Dardi, E. Priest, J . Heinrich, B. Eberle, N. Burns.
This year the creative writing magazine will come out in four issues instead of the usual one. Each issue will be shorter and less elaborate, but students will be getting more for their money. Mr. Ken Beatty, sponsor of the magazine, hopes to sell 800 subscriptions at one dollar for all four copies. The magazine is expected to come out around the end of each quarter. Mr. Beatty stressed that students should start submitting stories to v-106 or their English teacher. He emphasized the need for humorous writing, cartoons, and editorial cartoons.
and probation officers. At least nine guest speakers are the goal for each class. Mr. Heerman and Mr. Feichter plan to attend a plea-bargaining session in Chicago on Saturday to still further their information. With their dedication and five classes of thirty responsive students, Law In American Society should be on the curriculum for years to come. Councilwords
SC Begins Student Council had its first meeting this week. Cindy Winston '76, AFS Committee Chairman, announced that the AFS fund raising pizzas would be made by council members, and possibly sold at football games. The subject of Student Council sponsored concerts w a s raised, but no definite answer was given. Marty McGrath '76, felt that this year's first concern should be the choosing of a homecoming theme. At the Friday meeting, it had been voted that the theme will be "Patriotic Melodies." Students are encouraged to participate in the homecoming activities of float building, painting, music selection, and float designing. The new Bicentennial Committee in Student Council is designed to organize activities pertaining to the Bicentennial. Mr. Morris, social science teacher, asked for volunteers at the meet ing. The students to be on this committee are Dan Nocchi '77, and Greg Krueger. President Sharon Beckman asked for nominations to Quad Council, the four school meetings with the district administrators. These delegates will be chosen at the next meeting.