CRIMSON AND WHITE
VOL. XLII, NO. 1
THE MILNE SCHOOL,
S.U.N.Y., ALBANY, N. Y.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1971
Cross Country Begins
by J. L. Lapidus
Cross country, possibly one of the
most difficult high school sports as
far as endurance is concerned, is
currently underway here at Milne.
‘The team, under the direction of
Mr. Fred Lyon, will be looking for-
ward to defending their Class D-E
championship which they have held
for the past nine years.
The varsity team will be made up
of seniors Dave Slawsky and Wayne
Elsworth, junior Tim Barker, and
sophomore Paul Farmer. The rest
of the team will be picked from the
grdup of. Irv Dunn, Scott O'Neill,
John McAuley and Steve Krakower,
with the remaining boys making up
the J.V. squad, The freshman team
will consist of Tom Malone, Ed
Phelan, Hal Welch, Paul Dillelo,
and Mark Smith,
One of the biggest problems fac-
ing Coach Lyon is a lack of runners
going out for the team. Of course,
graduation has taken its toll with
the team losing five good runners,
but there is also the problem of
those who went out for the sport
last year but didn’t return, This,
according to Mr, Lyon, will hurt
the team quantitatively but not
qualitatively. He added that the
people who are running this year
are doing a very good job. When
asked if he had any predictions for
the coming year, Mr. Lyon said he
had none at the present time. He
is hoping for a good year, but real-
izes that it is too early in the season
to know how his runners will react
to actual meet conditions.
The team’s first meet will be the
Milne Invite on Sept. 25, in Wash-
ington Park. It is hoped that there
will be a good crowd on hand to
encourage this team on.
Horse-Play
by Gerald Murray
At the first meeting of the Milne
Student Council for the school year
1971-72, President Larry Fuld stated
that “the biggest horse betting room.
in the school, outside the cafeteria,
is in Page Auditorium.” He also
added, that the operation was “com-
mon knowledge,” and further com-
mented that bets are taken in the
Industrial Arts shop, in the Guid-
ance Office, and in Page Gym.
When questioned, President Fuld
said that he didn’t know exactly
where the betting parlors were
established, but replied, “They were
there five years ago when I was a
seventh-grader, and nothing much
has changed.”’ Larry also alleged
that fifty to sixty percent of the
gambling in the school occurs in ad-
ministration offices, and in rooms
under faculty supervision,
When asked why the student body
hadn’t acted to eliminate the gamb-
ling, the President said that the
students had no authority to chal-
lenge actions of lunch-time super-
visors, or to enter administration
offices without the permission of the
faculty members concerned.
As to his own jurisdiction, Larry
said that he didn’t know of anyone
playing the horses in the Senior
Room in the past twenty-five hours,
Rap Room Revived
by John Polydouris
The last issue of East Greenbush’s Columbia High School paper “The
Crossroads Gem” contained an article by its exchange editor entitled
Changes in Format.
In the article was mentioned the establishment of a
“Rap Room” in the Milne School of Albany. The reasons for its creation
were briefly outlined, emphasizing the need for a place designed to give a
student the opportunity to talk about anything on his mind in an un-
structured atmosphere.
The project started when Dr. Armlin was carrying on a conversation
with former senior, Lance Kurland,
Lance shortly thereafter introduced
the general concept to the junior and senior classes during their homeroom
periods.
Other prime movers of this new form communication link were
Ann Greenbaum and George Jeoney.
In the opinion of many, including Dr. Armlin, the project was very
successful last year,
The Rap Room was not confined to the presentation of students’ prob-
lems; it was also a place where a person could exchange any views, and
hear other people’s responses and reactions.
The room was student-moti-
vated, a place to reach out to others, to find ones’ self, to leave friendly
cliques, and join together.
All th
is still exists. The Rap Room will be continued this year, accord-
ing to Dr, Armlin, provided of course there is support for it.
Last year
the room was operant the first period of every day. This year the room
will emanate vibrations for an extra period, forming a schedule of operation
of second and sixth periods, Dr. Armlin is on the lookout for some “student
regulars” who would attend one of the periods on a regular basis,
If you feel like “getting together” and talking to some individuals who
will honestly listen, the place to go is where students, teachers and ad-
ministrators will be congregating: the Rap Room,
Join A Club!
by Margaret Ray
With the start of the new school
year comes the start of some new
and exciting clubs. The Bicycle Club
is for you if you'd like to save
money while keeping in shape; you
may even learn to fix your own
bike. For more information, see
science supervisor, Mr. Pruden. (Mr.
Pruden will also be running the
Fencing Club again this year, which
will meet once a week, usually on
Thursdays.)
Anyone who has taken Latin may
join the Latin Club. Meetings will
be announced in the bulletin; the
first one will take place sometime
this month. Dues are twenty-five
cents per month,
If you're interested in taking and
developing your own pictures, stop
in at the next meeting of the Pho-
tography Club. Dues are four dol-
lars per year,
NHS Plans
Projects such as tutoring under-
classmen and reading to the blind
will highlight the coming year for
the National Honor Society. Trying
to discover the reasons for apathy
at Milne, and possibly scheduling
some Lincoln Center performances
will be other goals,
NHS members have already signed
up for subjects they think they are
qualified to tutor in, The Guidance
Office will contact underclassmen
who are not doing well in a certain
subject, ask them if they want tutor-
ing, and try to work out a schedule
if they do,
The program to help the blind may
be slightly delayed due to an acci-
dent which has temporarily bed-
ridden the speaker at last year’s as-
sembly who was to help coordinate
the program. NHS has a list of
thirty students who volunteered to
help last year.
Hwa You Issa—What?
by Merle Bachman
A boy named Sue? Mr. Robert
Ponzi met one—when he was study-
ing in China! (To be fair, the boy’s
name is spelled “Siew.”) ‘Mr. Ponzi
and Miss Patricia Hughes, both
methods students for the Third
World social studies course, studied
together at Nan Yang University in
Singapore; they talked with me
about their experiences there.
“The girls’ dorms were surrounded
by barbed wire,” remarked Miss
Hughes. The dorms, called “hostels”
(hostiles?) were made of concrete;
in her room was a wooden bed with
mosquito netting, a desk, and
spiders and other creatures “like in
the Bronx Zoo.” In Mr, Ponzi’s
dorm, the toilets were Asian-style;
ie, a hole in the floor. After this
somewhat grim description, both of
them assured me that the dorms,
once gotten used to, were no worse
than the ones at Albany State! What
they did find difficult was to adjust
to everything at once—the new
country, their surroundings, the
language, and so on.
Unlike the University of Singa-
pore, where Chinese is a second
language, Nan Yang is a_ totally
Chinese University. (A small seg-
ment of the University population
is from Malaysia.) Both students
took an extensive course in Man-
darin Chinese, the dialect that the
government there is trying to make
the most widely-used,
I asked them if the students at
Nan Yang are vastly different from
college students here, and got an
emphatic “yes!” Chinese students
there are very conservative. Respect
for elders is very strong, and stu-
dent-teacher relations are quite
formal. The students never question
the words of their teachers; they
consider them to be much more
learned than themselves. Not much
mixing occurs between the sexes,
unless a boy and a girl are engaged;
there is little time for social life
(Cont. on Page 2)
PARENTS UNITE
by Jon Soffer
“Hey Ma... they’re trying to
close our school!” That clarion call,
repeated in hundreds of homes, saw
the beginning of the.Milne Parents
Assogiation. This association, formed
officially after the legislative ses-
sion of 1971 which almost brought
campus schools to a swift end, came
about informally in response to the
need to act with strength, MPA is
pledged not only to provide an or-
ganization to fight for the contin-
uance of Milne ,but to aid in the
further development of the school
by the use of the school for innova-
tive programs and research projects
proposed by different departments
of the state university.
Parents of students who former-
ly smiled at each other as they
passed in the halls of Milne on
Parents’ Night, are now meeting to
discuss Milne—their common inter-
est, and much good can be expected
from these discussions,
The Executive Committee of MPA
met recently to report on a meeting
with the President of SUNYA, where
the willingness of the Association
to cooperate with the University in
expanding the role of Milne was ex-
pressed. He was also advised that
the parents intend to continue their
forceful stand to keep Milne in
existence.
A meeting of the Association is
scheduled for October 5, In most
schools, students are urged to get
their parents interested enough to
attend. At Milne, students are asked
to remind their parents of the meet-
ing date ... the parents have al-
ready shown their interest and their
willingness to work for the best
interests of the school. If they can,
they'll be there,
COURSES DIFFER
by Libby Derrico
This year finds some new courses
at Milne, and some new course di-
rections. The third semester of the
two-year Models of Man course is
being taught for the first time; this
semester concerns “Economic Man”
and the remaining semester is about
“Governmental Men.” \
Juniors taking American Studies
have found it different from the
traditional American History class.
Instead of stressing general chrono-
logical dates, the course will investi-
gate areas of significance such as
“What Is an American?”, “The His~
tovy of American Political Parties”
and “The History of American For-
eign Policy.”
Classical Heritage, taught by the
Latin Department, will study the
various aspects Of Roman life in
eight mini-semesters. Those taking
Latin at the upper levels are able to
study an area of interest to them.
The eleventh grade Health course
is being taught by Mrs. MacDowell,
the school nurse, instead of Mrs.
Peters as it was last year. The course
will provide informational movies
and guest lectures. The course grade
a person receives will be based pri-
marily on their investigation of an
area Health Service. Knowing where
to go could help people with their
problems.
PAGE 2
CRIMSON AND WHITE
SEPTEMBER 17, 1971
Master Plan
by John Polydouris
This is the time of year when
clubs and classes are contemplating
various measures for adding to their
coffers. I also have been thinking
of possible sources of revenue for
my own very dear, beloved Senior
Class, Here are some of them:
—Ask Mayor Corning to let us in
on some info concerning the horse
room at the Capitol. Better yet,
since Milne is a state building we
can bet while in school. What is
the.e to bet on, you ask? Take bets
on when the South Mall will be
completed!
—Have Coach sell Phillips’ screw-
drivers.
—Sponsor a Tanzanian type safari in
Washington Park to hunt Lyons.
—Why not hold a turkey shoot for
Thanksgiving? Let 500 turkeys loose
on Page Courtyard and mount
shooting galle.ies on the third floor
in the Social Studies department. If
iurkeys were to run out, 7th graders
could be gobbled up instead.
—Open up a topless restaurant in
the cafeteria; away with all the
frills—give only the bottom slice on
the sandwiches.
—Try selling the C&W to unwary
and innocent members of the class
of 77, Sales would earn the Seniors
a truly imaginary number. Really,
it’s hard to imagine that you could
possibly pass this off to anybody for
money.
It is of sufficient importance to
note that if all the stated ventures
fail, class officers would still not be
forced to hijack a Mohawk airliner
to Cuba, There are yet other al-
ternatives, simple and easy to do,
yet dignified and commonly used by
our nation’s giant corporations,
—Fix” the books,
—Declare last year’s projects’ ex-
penditures as all 500% cost over-
runs, admit bankruptcy and request
a student government bailing out
process.
The executive in the class could
set the pace by introducing these
new forms of enlightened capitalism,
These actions are designed “to nur-
ture and stimulate that competitive
spirit” so needed in a class. ‘They
will help us revitalize that faith in
ourselves, that “spirit of '72.”
In conclusion, after many of my
suggestions become established in-
stitutions, why not try something
radically different like a dance or a
car wash?
Singapore...
(Cont. from Page 1)
any way, Miss Hughes noted that “I
never saw a Chinese student with-
out a book.” She went on to ex-
plain that science and technology
are emphasized, and that the science
texts are all written in English,
making it doubly difficult for the
siudents—who are determined to be
the best in their fields,
Although the students that they
knew were very serious about their
work, they were also the most con-
genial people that the American
students had ever met. Sincere and
frank, they proved to be firm and
invaluable friends. They were also
very patient, helping Miss Hughes
and Mr. Ponzi with Chinese, and
taking time to answer their ques-
tions. If they couldn’t come up with
an immediate explanation, they dis-
cussed the question among them-
selves to be sure they could answer
it well. They were pleased to know
of the interest in their culture, and
wanted the Americans to learn more
about it.
Both Methods students were im-
pressed with Singapore. Miss Hughes
found it “amazingly efficient, clean
and well-developed for a South
Asian country.” There are fewer
poor in Singapore than in other
parts of Asia that they visited, due
to the fairly even distribution of
wealth, Once, in a class discussion
of the Third World course, Miss
Hughes noted that the “Chinese take
care of their own;” if one is poor,
one’s family or social group is sure
to help. If a Chinese is in some
way stranded in a different part of
his country, or even in a different
country entirely, all he need do is
look up someone with his surname
—who is considered “family” and
they will take care of him!
Though both Miss Hughes and Mr.
Ponzi know enough Mandarin to be
able to converse in it, it will prob-
ably take years before they know
how to speak and write it fluently.
They explained to me that there are
different tones in the different dia-
lects of Chinese; in Mandarin there
are four: rising, falling, level and
curved, A single syllable, spoken
with four different tones, may have
four different meanings. This is one
reason why Chinese is so difficult
to master, And to be able to read
Chinese requires knowledge of at
least ten thousand characters.
After talking with Miss Hughes
and Mr, Ponzi, I am ready to con-
clude: “Hwa yu hen you—yissa”—
Chinese is very interesting!
‘Old’ Quebec Far Ahead of US.
by Stephen Benko
The highlight and most relevant experience of my 6-week sojourn in
Quebee City, Canada, during the summer was an insiczht into the most
modern and innovative system of seconda y education with which ™ have
ever come into contact,
Canadian education has always been left almost comple’ely in the hands
of each individual one of the ten provinces, as I learned from ‘a'ks with
students and with an administrator in one school. The Province of Quebec
lagged far behind what could be called a high quali y schoo! system until
a number of years ago, There was an elilist group of doctors, lawyers and
clergymen at one end, and masses of unskilled labor at the other, with
amost nobody in between.
Then a new system was introduced wherein CEGEP (an acronym) came
into being. CEGEP is an intermediary school between hizh school and
the University which provides many options for a student who wants ci‘her
to go to work with a valuable skill or who wants to continue on to the
university,
A student in Quebec must decide at the end of 10th grade whether to
enter into commercial, scientific, or general studies for the remainder of
his high school career, which he can complete in another two or three
years, depending on if he wants to take things with slightly less pressure
or work hard and get through faster, He may then enter into CEGEP,
again for two or three years. A person who goes for three years normally
goes to learn a skill and go to work, meanwhile getting some good liberal
arts background, while a student who enters for two yea’s takes liberal
arts and becomes well-prepared for the university.
The Quebecois realize that this educational process may tu n into quite
a long grind for students who want to go to the university and then possibly
even into graduate work. They are therefore working on a plan to elimi-
nate the 7th grade. Many of them see the primary education institutions
in the United States and Canada as mere babysitting cen’ and feel that
the educational program could be made shorter with no il &
Quebec has obviously made tremendous advances in the field of educa-
tion, It is my opinion that the United States would do well and learn much
in experimenting with a similar system. The elimination of 7th graders
would be a fine place to start!
Student Leaves ‘Part of Self’ in Israel
by Marta Rockwood
When I first found out I was going to spend a summer in Israel, my
homeland, I couldn’t believe it.
I went on my Israel Pilgrimage with a group called Uniled Syna7oque
Youth, We started our seven week tour in Jerusalem, the historical heart
of Israel. For seven days we toured both the new and old parts of the
city, spending a few hours by ourselves each day in order to experience
the light of this holy place. We walked down roads and through churches
where Jesus himself supposedly walked. Our group climbed a citadel that
was built at the time of King David, and prayed at the Western or Wailing:
Wall. That first week in Israel was certainly a memorable one!
Next it was north to the Gallilee valley and the beautiful coastal port,
Haifa. The Mediterranean is beautiful this time of year and a moonlight
tour of the many caves and grottos of the area marked a highlight of our
visit there. Haifa is also the home of Israel’s only technical university as
well as its own University of Haifa,
Tel-Aviv, Israel’s most modern city, was the next stop on our tour. It
was so much fun browsing through the huge department stoves and eating
a quick meal in a sidewalk cafe. Tel-Aviv holds many of Israel’s best
colleges and universities. Beautiful, picturesque campuses which are flooded
every fall with students from all over the world,
Back in Jerusalem, we spent a few days preparing for a tiring, four day
escapade in the Negev. While there, most of our hiking had to be done in
the very early hours of the morning CIN eee
because of tie heat Sunsuoks was CRIMSON AND AMINE
a common ailment, Our last day Yoi, KLM Sep 17, 1971 No. 1
in the Negev began at 1:30 a.m. so pULRLE TN AEN eat AES
Let Our People Go (Home)
School is not the only place where one can learn, This is pretty obvious
to any student, but less so, I fear, to the administration. Some people
would rather have a student remain in school for aftevnoon study halls
than leave him to his own devices—although he might have something
worthwhile to do in his free time.
I think that, for seniors at least, there should not be a certain number of
courses he must take (provided he has enough credits to graduate, which
is true of the majority of seniors). Then, if the student has all his subjects
in the morning, there should be no question about his leaving school after
his last class.
I realize that seniors are being allowed to leave if they have jobs. For
those who can present an outline of out-of-school activiti theve is also
hope (if the student is patient enough to wait till the decision is handed
down from the administration.) However, I feel that seniors should be
permitied to leave whether they work or not, and without having to explain
what they will do with their time. I find it hand to believe that a student
will learn move vegetating in the senior room than on his own, whether at
home or somewhere else.
In addition, I think that senior privileges such as eating lunch off-campus
should be automatic; that is seniors should not have to request them every
year. Seniors should be allowed to demonstrate their maturity rather
than be judged on the basis of past classes, who were possibly less mature.
that we could climb historic Mt.
Massada where a small group of
Jews once fought off an entire
Roman legion for three years before
being defeated. At the top of this
fortress lie the ruins of the elegant
castles built by none other than
King Herod.
The rest of our visit included trips
to the Kennedy Forest, King David’s
tomb, and the Israel Museum. One
of our final excursions led us to the
southern tip of the country and the
city of Eilat, Here we took a ride
on the Red Sea in a glass-bottomed
boat before veturning to Tel-Aviv to
prepare for our final journey back
to the United States. My trip sadly
came to an end, an end filled with
teary goodbyes to good friends and
promises to write. As long as I live,
I will never forget my summer in
Israel, I left part of myself there
and I shall always be caught be-
tween America and Israel, wonder-
ing where my real home lies,
Published by The Milne School,
S.UN.Y., Albany. Address co
pondenice to The Editor. od
Member
Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.
Coope:a.ive S.udent Press
cr
Edi o.s Merle Bachman,
Steve Benko
News Jon. Soffer
Fea‘ure Nina Feltman
Editorials John Polydour's
Sports Joe Lap'’ ;,
Ann Greenk 1
Exchanses Elizabeth Free’
Staff—Sava Boomsli‘er, Marta
wood, Larry Clyman, Libby D«
AdVi80F wooo: Mr, Richard Le
