Three South Elements Come Together in Triangle Maine South has been offered a new way to solve problems. In January of last year, preliminary steps were taken to found the "Triangle of Power." In this school year, the whole group has begun to come together. "Triangle of Power," was the phrase used last year when the idea was proposed by Student Council to the Faculty Associati<m. The teachers elected representatives to the Triangle on the basis of years of service. Teachers adopted this policy to promote diversity of ideas and backgrounds in the group. The elected representatives were Mr. Lange, Miss Virginia Feurer, from the group having five to nine years experience; Mr. John Kilucullen, nine to twelve years; Mr. Stanley Bentall, thirteen to sixteen years; and Mr. Arthur Johnson, over seventeen years. These teachers represent a broad sampling. They not only differ in length of experience, but also in kinds of experience. The group contains faculty members from the science department, the industrial education department, and the social science department. A counselor bnd a department chairman are also members. Plans made for the Triangle included at least an equal number of students and some representatives of the administration. Last year, however, no further action was taken. Before the first meeting this year, Mr. Lange stated that he wasn't sure of the Triangles exact function. He said. "The Triangle should be people working and talking to understand." Mr. Lange also stated, "I don't want to see bad feelings towards each other among stu-
dents, faculty or administrators." He felt that the more people had to say about their destinies, the better they would feel. At the first meeting of the Triangle of Power, the students were represented by Steve Amador '72, Bill Baumgartner "73, Judy Groves '74, Connie Merril '73, Marianne Zdeblick '72, and Lynne LaJone '72, who moderated the first meeting. The administration representative was Mr. Robert Simonson, assistant principal of students. Student representatives in the group were selected by last year's Student Council Secretary, Pat Bach, after an interview with each applicant. Lynne, the present secretary, stated later, "We are trying to remove all Student Council jurisdiction from the Triangle of Power. Student Council chose among the applicants because the idea was Student Council's. But the members of the Triangle want to be as independent as possible." This meeting was a discussion of purpose and organization. Few conclusions were reached, though a diversity of opinions were expressed. An agenda committee consisting of Marianne Zdeblick. Mr. Simonson and Mr. Lange, was appointed to plan the next meeting. Suggestions were made on possible topics, the use of open meetings and on the possibility of some parental participation. According to Marianne, the agenda committee decided that the meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 28 would be concerned with appointing a temporary chairman, drafting a statement of purpose and outlining the basic organization. After the first meeting, Mari-
Council Bill Asks End To Office Eligibility Rule Student Council last week passed a resolution introduced by Bill Baumgartner which would repeal the office eligibility rule. According to Mr. Robert V. Simonson, assistant principal, "Student Council does not have the authority to repeal its 1964 ruling. Administration approval is needed for a repeal of Student Council's previous rulings." Bill Baumgartner said that his main reasons for introducing the measure were " 1 . the insignificant advantage in prohibiting occupation of two or more leadership positions and 2. the unjust forcing of studentsanctioned leaders out of their rightful positions." Although Mr. Simonson agrees that a re-evaluation of the office eligibility rule should be made, he feels that before any cction was taken, a study should have been conducted by a special committee. Then the committee's findings could have been given to the administration and to Student Council. "Last year," Mr. Simonson adds, "students were asked to suggest changes in the Student Handbook. About 95 per cent of these recommendations were incorporated into this year's Student Handbook." In the explanation following his resolution, Bill Baumgartner stated "that the number of students that would occupy several leadership positions would be so small as to negate any significant advantage in prohibiting such an occupation of positions." Mr. Simonson disagreed with Bill's logic in formulating his resolution. Mr. Simonson said, "Since there are so few important positions, they should be made available to the maximum number of students."
Bill Dickens, Student Council president, said, "Any student who wants to become active in school activities can find a place for himself since we have so many clubs. Any person can overextend himself, but this office eligibility rule should be handled by the individuals responsible for installing the person."
anne stated, "I feel that the quality that Triangle members need is to be able to understand another point of view." Miss Feurer said, "I think it can work because the people on it are enthused." She also felt that even though the committee was willing to work, success was dependent on response from faculty, students, and administrators. Mr. Simonson felt that the success of the venture depended on how the Triangle was formulated. His idea was that the group would be purely advisory and would not be involved in "judicial review" of disciplinary cases. He worried that this committee might step on the toes of Student Council and that the proposed open meetings, instead of being a source of information and topics might become a gripe session. To publicize the group, Lynne
Vol. 8, No. 2
would like to see the minutes of the meetings published in the local papers. She would also like the Triangle representatives to give reports in two homerooms, "Triangle should be more than just a committee to communicate," declared Connie Merril. "We have to get down to it, and make way for some of our more needed changes, like open campus." Steve Amador, who at the original meeting felt that the newer group might be a more than adequate substitute for CoFac, later stated, "I don't know what to think about Triangle, since we haven't done anything yet." Dr. Clyde K. Watson, principal, agrees with Mr. Simonson that the group should not become a gripe session, which he felt would defeat the purpose of the group. "The purpose," he felt, "should be to discuss the mutual problems of students.
Maine Township High School South, Park Ridge, 111. 60068
Oct. 1, 1971
'Rah Rah Wonderland' Dropped; Homecoming To Have No Theme During the past two weeks, controversy has arisen over the choice of this year's Homecoming theme. Two weeks ago, Rah Rah Wonderland was voted as the Homecoming theme by Student Council. Later that week objections arose as to the suitability of the theme. A motion was passed to hold another vote on the theme after the homeroom representatives had taken an opinion poll in their respectiv homerooms. After taking the poll, the Student Council representatives and complex leaders voted again in favor of Rah Rah Wonderland.
After announcement of the final tally, Mr. Norman Anderson, one of the Student Council sponsors voiced his opinion. He said that for only the third time in his six years as sponsor, he would have to nullify the vote. He said that traditionally in many high schools and colleges in the coimtry, homecoming was held to salute sports. Mr. Anderson also said that Rah Rah Wonderland is a "slap in the face" for the athletics department. "Therefore, there wiU be no homecoming theme this year. Floats will be judged on individual merit and appropriate-
Little Litter Problem Grows Lot Larger
and they'll go on home, leaving a trail behind them
teachers, and administrators. It has to deal with problems that concern the general welfare of the school." Some topics Dr. Watson suggested were the student activities and the question of student participation in them, the duties of department chairmen, the effectivness of student government and the function of Student Council. Dr. Watson reaffirmed that the function of Triangle was advisorj- only. He did suggest, however, that the group might consider the purpose of the Board of Education, and the question of who really makes policy. Triangle is incorrect, Dr. Watson felt, since there are five factions involved. Not only the three originaUy named groups, but also department chairmen and counselors are represented. The name might be changed to "Pentagon."
According to Mr. Robert Simonson, assistant principal, the main problem in lounge this year is the litter. Lounge rules state that no food can be taken outside, but residents whose houses adjoin the school have voiced complaints about the litter outside. Student Council told Dr. Clyde K. Watson, principal, that Student Council would take care of the problem. They also apologized for the litter problem. The officers visited the homeroom complexes this week to talk to the students in hopes of resolving the litter problem. Mike Goerss, Student Council vice-president, felt that the administration would be justified in closing the lounge for a set period of time if the problem doesn't clear up. There is no opportunity to clean the cafeteria during the day. Usually, there are two teachers per lounge period for a minimal amount of control. Mr. Simonson said that the teachers try to allow complete freedom and to keep order with a minimum of interference. The administration put a garbage can out by the bicycle racks, but as Mr. Simonson said, "Every student must cooperate."
ness to the general theme of homecoming," he commented. Al Jahn, senior homeroom representative, who suggested the theme said, "I wasn't trying to make a mock trf Homecoming. People just took it the wrong way." Mr. Anderson added later, "I can't believe that a majority of the students wanted Rah Rah Wonderland as their homecoming theme." Miss Gloria Dattulo, also a Student Council sponsor, said that one of the homeroom representatives had taken two polls in order to get Rah Rah Wonderland selected. She also said that most of the representatives thought of homecoming a s "nothing but a joke." Miss Dattulo stated that, as one of the advisors, she acted in the name of the majority of the people who were going to do the work during homecoming. Al Jahn said that the sponsors were "wrong to have waited so long before nullifying the vote. They could have given us suggestions before we voted." Al wonders now "does our vote really count?" Lynne LaJone, Student Council secretary, stated that the representatives claimed that the majority of students wanted Rah Rah Wonderland. Lyime said, "The truth is, the majority of the voters wanted that theme. Most people didn't vote." In response to Al Jahn's comment that the sponsors waited too long before they took any action, Mr. Anderson replied, "We wanted to see what course Student Council would take." Mr. Robert V. Simonson, assistant principal, explained that the sponsors' action "is not broad censorship. They were trying to prevent slander or libel. "This year there will be no Homecoming theme," he said, "though any organization may use Rah Rah Wonderland. Every opportunity was given Student Council to reconsider the theme of Homecoming."