The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, February 12, 1954 Page: 4 of 8
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THE THRESHER
FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 12. 1954
Ihe
THRE
EDITOK «" m KM.
Bm oort«
RS!aw-fditor Mary Anne MeWhlnney
Roorts Editor j, Fred Duckett
Society Editor Dorothyle Nicholl
feature Editor Jonce Johnson
Editorial Assistants Henry Johnson. Jane Warner
Cartoonist john Alcorn
Staff Writers: A1 Beerman, Scott Clark, Joel Erdwinn, Bill
r euror, Freddie Frederick, Jayne Heyke, Jo-Anne Hick,
"'an. Charles Lantrford, Cheryl Madison, Mark Morris,
Dick Prets. Forest Ralph, Hubie Rawlins, Bobby Sheridan,
Barbara Veyon, Kenneth Vinson.
BUSINESS STAFF
BUSINESS MANAGER Gloria Shaft.
Advertising Manager Tom Oleott
Circulation Manager Irwin Groner
The Rice Thresher, written and edited by students of
The Rice Institute, is published weekly in Houston, Texas,
except during the summer. It is not published during holidays
and examination weeks. The views presented are those of the
staff and do not necessarily reflect administrative policies of
The Rice Institute.
Entered as second class matter, October 17, 1016. at the
Post Office, Houston, Texas, under the act of March 8, 1879.
Subscription Rate $2.00 Per Year.
Represented for national advertising by National Advertis-
ing Service. Inc., college publishers representative, 420 Madison
Ave., New York, N.Y., Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco.
News contributions may be made by telephone (JU-4141,
Ext. 220) or at the Publications Office (B-45) located off the
Student Lounge in the basement of the Fondren Library on
the campus. News deadline is 12 noon on Wednesday.
MEMBER
Associated Collegiate Press Intercollegiate Press
There Is No Doubt About This Decision
I walked through the Cerebral Palsy Center last
week, feeling a little queasy at first, to see what good
could be done with the money from the Rice Charity
Drive. I wasn't sure of anything: maybe there had
been a mistake in selecting this charity. Decisions
always seem wrong at one time or another.
I saw a lot of children there in the center and,
to me, they all seemed pretty hopeless. Stricken in
various ways with cerebral palsy, they were scattered
about the different rooms learning to move their
fingers, to walk and to talk.
One little girl bent over a plaster birthday cake
and tried to blow out the candies on top. If she could
learn to do that, I was told, she could learn the
"blowing" letter-, of the alphabet, and thus improve
her speech. Her throat muscles were not coordinated,
however, and although -he tried, the candles didn't
flicker, and I wondered.
In other rooms boys and girls were pushing carts
to learn- forward balance, trying to sit in a stabilizer
to learn to hold themselves in a sitting position, or
grabbing at the seeiT;inr-!y elusive strings of a play
shoe ... to learn to tie the knot.> A small boy
grinned at lh ns he took awkward, slamming steps
forward in huge "duck shoes?' The attendants told
me they were learning but I couldn't see that there
was any future for them.
A little girl about 8 years old let me know
wh t their future was. { only glanced at her as we
passed through an almost empty room. She seemed
to be staring up at us as we walked along talking,
A ,tS we pn«s« d ?he said "hello." not in the drowned
to"of a child without muscular control, but co-
t.-'k.
I was embarrassed. We kept walking but I was
embarrassed at having flicked only a pitying glance
toward her, for having thought "hopeless." I was
embarrassed because I had not recognized her as an
individual, a person with feelings and expressions and
potentials just like anyone else with a good mind.
I asked what these children ever amounted to
and I was told several almost fantastic stories of
what they do and can do after years of training.
1 here was "the story of one girl who never learned
to use her fingers to write but she was determined to
have an education and to teach. She attended Florida
University, typing all her lessons, and earned a BS
degree in psychology. From there she went to Colum-
bia where she received her masters and a teaching
certificate. There are other examples, some here in
Houston, of victims of' cerebral palsy who were
trained to use their minds, if not th&ir bodies, and
who struggled through public schools and colleges to
become teachers, technicians and handi-craft workers.
I hesc people do have a potential, a great one,
anc! I was sorry not to have seen it. 1 he money
from the Rice charity drive will do good work for
an organization half of whose patients are not able
to pay for their treatments. 1 was worried about
having chosen the right charity. Now the only
worry is to raise enough money to meet a quota which
has never before been attained, .a poor record for a
school with so many good*records. We are proud of
our scholastic and athletic records, and we must see
to it that Rice can be just as proud of its charity
donation this year. This is a fine cause: this drive must
not fail.
Charles Tapley
Charity Drive Chairman.
□ Parking In Unauthorized Zone
Staff Polls Views On 18- Year Old Vote
By DICK KARIG
"Your recent campaign against
the Bricker Amendment shows
plainly that you are not in favor
of patriotic Americanism or con-
stitutional government as instituted
by our founding fathers."
"No true American can be op-
posed to the Bricker Amendment."
"In the minds of tree patriotic
Americans . . ."
"Late in January pro-American
gioups . .
"Every red-blooded American . ."
It is becoming increasingly ap-
parent during these trying times
that a person must support the po-
litical views of a certain minority
group, or be faced with the possi-
bility of being assailed as a second
Benedict Ai-nold.
As illustrated in the above quo-
tations, taken from articles and let-
ters to some of the local newspa-
pers, anyone who opposes the Bric-
kef Amendment is treading on ex-
tremely unstable gx'-ound.
Unfoi'tunately for the bill's pro-
ponents, the president of our na-
• tion has expressed his opposition to
the proposal; a stand that has not
been reconciled with the fact that
such a view is obviously traitorous.
The Bricker Amendment is only
one of many issues on which the
sides one can take have been clearly
defined. A view in opposition to a
certain stand can bring a veritable
treasury of choice cliches down upt-
on oneself. Phrases containing the
words disloyal, unpatriotic, un-
American, etc. descend without mer-
cy-
The dialectical terminology pe-
culiar to this ultra-conservative cult
has but one purpose—to appeal to
the emotions. A person that is cat-
egorically pegged as an enemy of
society before he has said more
than, "I oppose the Bricker Amend-
ment," faces a psychological disad-
vantage.
With so many people, including
our president, having been placed
in such categories, it is unusual
that a large portion of our popula-
tion is not suffering from some
form of mass psychosis. How long
will it be before the population will
collapse as a result of a mass guilt
complex?
IJ> THRESHER FEATURE
ST A FF
The question, "Should the legal
voting age be lowered from 21 to
18?" is one that has. been popular
in discussions and debates for some
years now. Recently, however, the
movement to jme the 18-year-old
the right to vote has gained impe-
tus. The question above was asked
.seme of the students and faculty
at Rice, to see how they elt, and
why, about the voting acre. '
Herbert Simmons advocated 18 as
the legal age. In his opinion, the
;• oung people are bettef qualified
than many older people because
they are more open-minded and bet-
ter informed. Too many older peo-
ple have the attitude of an ac-
quaintance of his who said, refers
ring to the Bricker Amendment,
"Don't confuse me with the facts,
I've already made up my mind
against it."
J. L. Dickey, Instructor of Eng-
lish, also favored lowering the vot-
ing age. His opinion w.as that the
condition of biological maturity does
ra>t guarantee a maturity of politi-
cal wisdom. "T^here is as much
chance for the average 18-year-old
to exercise responsible political
Judgment as for the average older
person. Irresponsibility is not ex-
clusive! • confined to 18-year-olds
nor is political maturity to middle
age."
Others favoring eighteen as the
voting age, and their reasons for
their stand are:
Harriet Goldstone: "They should
have the right to vote, because at
that age. they have just finished
civics in high school, and are thus
more interested in politics than
most older people."
Tommy La whom: "If anyone is
able to pull a trigger, he ought to
be able to pull a handle on a voting-
machine."
Elizabeth Parker: "The advan-
tages outweigh the disadvantages.
Some people will vote poorly no
matter how late they start. 18-
year-olds are just as competent to
vote as 21-year-olds."
Lou Israel: "If the 18-year-old is
capable of beinj? a soldier, he is
capable of voting. Being fresh
from civics courses and the influ-
ences of school discussions, he is
more aware of government prob-
lems than he will be at 21."
Fred Duckett: "The age require-
ment of 21 was passed many years
ago. Now with more education, it
i.s possible to vote at 18." He advo-
cates educational restrictions to the
right to vote.
Herb Hill: "If a man is capable
of «t>einpr a sergeant and leading
men in a battle, he is capable of
choosing his own political leaders."
Gus Schill and Paul Bower: "Most
people ar^, as mature at 18 as they
are at 21, and some are maturer at
18 than others are at 45."
Charles Cree: "18 - year - olds
should have the right to vote—
though perhaps with some restric-
tions". At least all service-men
should bt enfranchised."
Those students who do not fav-
or lowering the voting age are:
Gretchen Ferris: "At 18,, the av-
erage person is unaware of politics.
Besides, having to wait until 21
makes the right to vote a goal to
be attained." f
Paula Cargill: "Not mature
enough at 18. Also, the average 18-
year-old wouldn't even vote, if he
could, because of a lack of inter-
est."
Ned Fox: "18-year-olds would not
give enough consideration to voting,
except possibly for soldiers."
Judy Garland: She did not feel
herself sufficiently informed the
first time she voted, let alone at 18.
George Zook: "At 18, a person is
not settled enough and can come
under the influence of dema-
gogues."
Mary Ida Hubbard: "18-year-olds
are too young to fight." As for giv-
ing them the vote, she has no real
opinion, except that 'She feels th£y
should be allowed to vote on qU£S-
Threshing It Out
Uniforms Wanted At
Games By Sutton
To The Editor:
Though I am aware that for some
time the Rice Cheerleaders have
not worn uniforms at basketball
games, I feel that they should. I
believe that they could command
much more attention and get a lar-
ger response if they did. As it is, it
seems that they are no more than
students called in at the last mo-
ment to lead the yells. Cheerleaders
should have an important part in
any athletic event. Their importance
however, drops when it appears that
tions concerning them, but realizes
that this is not practical.
Nancy Boyd: "While college stu-
dents would be sincere abo'iit vot-
ing, the average student of 18 is
too silly."
Bob Cargill: "A person at 18 has
not had enough experience to vote
intelligently."
Two students expressed "no opin-
ion." Herbert Mills feels that intel-
ligence, not age, should be basis (*f
determining right to vote, although
he realizes tHis"would not be practi-
cal. Bill Manger, who also had no
opinion, said that he thought the
argument was old and trite.
they do not cane enough for their
school to wear their uniforms.
Rice is a small school and it
should take every advantage it can
to call favorable attention to itself.
The cheerleaders are calling atten-
tion, all right, but I feel it is the
unfavorable kind. To me it suggests
ja lack of interest on their uniforms
at all gatherings in which they par-
ticipate.
Walter Allen Sutton
0
ODE TO ENGLISH CLASS
I came, I saw,' I slumbered,
While still the prof he mumbled.
Good Lord, he's dull!
Like a graceful gull
He tacks and hovers,
And never covers
Any of the most somnambulent
Of the poets and their fraudulent
Verses.
Curses.
I sat, I sigh, I suffer,
Listening to the duffer
In excruciating pain,
While his words beat down like
rain,
Trying to soften up my brain.
And I fight with might and main
To try to keep from going to sleep;
Mutter curses at this deep
Pit of Hell.
Ah! The bell.
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The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, February 12, 1954, newspaper, February 12, 1954; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth230958/m1/4/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.