Southington High School graduation - Southington Library and ...

opinion &. commen
6
The Observer
an independent newspaper, open to all parties, influenced by none.
published by The Step Saver, Inc
. n .. ,, I l' 'ill prod.dent Jennie M. Uriilo, secretary/treasurer
James J. Senich, editor
News & editorial
P O Box 648, 132 Main St
Southlngton, Corm 06489
Telephone ( 203 ) 621-6751
Advertising & circulation
P O Box 548, 213 Sprmg St
Southlngton, Conn 06489
Telephone 203 628-9645
Covering a graduation
Another high school graduation has come
and gone. and in this week's issue of The
Observer we are able to bring you a
vaneb of candid photographs taken during
theceremony
Those published on our pages are intended
to give graduates and their families
a close-up glimpse of the students' last day
together as classmates, of their last
moments together before venturing into the
adult world
We are proud to provlae tnis service to
our readers, and beueve that it is not only
our right to cover pubhc high school
graduation ceremonies, but also our
obllgahon
Unfortunately. it appears some factions
of the high school do not feel the same way
Press representatives were at first told they
could not cover the graduation ceremony
from the athletic field, and must stand
outside the fence to photograph and report
on the event
Cited as the purpose for this new policy
was a series of "incidents" at past
graduation ceremonies which caused
graduates to become "over-enmuslasuc
No further explanation was given as our
hotograpber was asked to leave the field.
ut we wholeheartedly disagree with such
feeble reasoning and urge that such a behef
be re-examined
During the past four years, an Observer
photographer has covered graduation
exercises on Fontana Field and has not
noticed any "incidents" due to the press
coverage Rather. most students were weu
mannered, well behaved, enthusiastic and
vibrant during the ceremony Press
presence later allowed these students to
relive their graduation in stories and
photographs published in local and area
newspapers
To say that all students will "act up"
because of the press is an insult and
disservice to the hundreds of good kids--or
should ,e sa.', young adults--who want to
savor and make the most of their
graduation da , They should not suffer
because of th unthinking acts of more
immature students, students whose immaturlD
will certainly be a part of any
graduation ceremony with or without the
press
It s not lhe purpose of the press to 'incite.'
but to record Although we believe
Southlngton probably has too many fine
youngsters for anything to get out of hand.
the press must be allowed to record events
Our photographer and reporter were
able to gain access to the athletic field
eventually, and one result is photographs
which we sincerely hope graduates will
enjoy Without access to the field, a proper
recording of the da? ,ould have been
almost impossible
' pohcy of not
It is imperative .ha, a
aiiov, lng die pie . onto the_ athletic field tv
cover graduation ceremomes be dismissed
It seems to us that any administration
which denies the press access to a public
athletic field, where a public high school
graduation is being held. directly affecting
the lives of over five hundred students is
bordering on violating the first amendment.
Ireedom el the press
Respond with vigor'
When the four t' S Marines killed in El
Salvadore returned home to the United
States last Saturday they were greeted In
Washington b? the'Supreme Commander.
President Reagan And just before the
president made a shrrlng speech of both
sympath.', for the famdms of the Marines.
and a vow to avenge their deaths, a Marine
chaplain deh',ered a prayer to those in
attendance
The chaplmn v, as Capta 'n Ell Takeslan.
brother of reporter V E Takeslan. of The
Obserrer The Rex' Takeslan s a
Presbyterian minister, who has served the
Marines for some 26 year He wa with the
Marines n Korea, Vmtnam twice and
Beirut, Lebanon
Captain Takeslan's remarks were
soothing, Coming at a most difficult time.
v, hen a civilized nation attempts to accepl
its fate at the hands of terrorists whose
philosophy s d vergent 1o ours
The Marines ',,,'ere all m their twenties
They v, ere gunned down unarmed A senseles
lost of hfe
President Reagan and his staff could use
some prayers, too. as they attempt to come
up w th solutmns in E1 Salvadore and
Beirut. where, as we went to press.
We again urge that this matter be
reviewed in order that it does not become a
future problem Our graduates, many
taking part in their most important "rite of
passage" to date. deserve more They
deserve to be treated as young adults as the
young adults most of them have become.
and they deserve to be able to look back o,
the day and to reminisce with their trlends.
while looking through the newspapers
The public, those many people who could
not attend the ceremony, also have a right
to be informed about the day and its hapaanlngs
The',' have a right to read a firstnd
accoun{ of the ceremony and to see
p|ctures of the graduates in all their glory
Again. we urge the high school administration
to review its policy regarding
press coverage, and then communicate it
not only to the press but also to iLs staff
prior to graduation morning
There s no reason why the press and high
school administration cannot work
together, as long as ground rules are laid
out. an agreement is reached and everyone
involved in the ceremony knows that plans
have been formulated
All this should be done without "gagging"
the press, without denying graduates and
the public their right to vice, what has
happened at a public event held on public
school property We believe the school
system should think again before trying to
put sanctions on working reporters and
photographers
hostages from an airplane ere still confined
A recent column by James J Kllpatnck
took a quote from the Bible Exodus 21 23
Let us match "life for life. eye for eye. tooth
for tooth, hand for hand. foot for foot.
burning for burning, wound for wound.
stripe for stripe "
This kind of hitting back stance wouldn't
be novel for the United States as Kdpatnck
related an mdlcent from the summer of 1904
when kidnappers in Tanglers seized an
elderly American citizen Ion Perd caros
Behind all this skullduggery was the
brigand ch|eftan Ahmed ben Mohammed
Raisub. an enemy of the sultan of Morocco
The then-president Theodore Roosevelt.
dealt with the situation quickly and
aggressively his style, to say the least He
dashed off a cablegram to Morocco
reading "Perdlcarls ahve. or" Ral, ull
dead "' Perdlcans as freed
Kdpatrlck also wrote of a situation in
World War II when the Germans mdlscnmmalely
bombed targets m England
The Alhes responded by saturation bombing
of German cthes
Calendar House Corner
Stephen Karp, executive director. Calendar House senior citizens center
Thoughts on my first year
Well, it',-, been a year since
I came to Calendar House, so
it seems only appropriate to
use this column to reflect
back on the last twelve
months. It's also a good time
to look ahead, and outline
some ideas for the future
For me, personally, the
past year has been an exciting
one The first job at
hand was getting to know our
membershm and the Center's
operahon While I came
with some pro-set aotlons.
my philosophy has always
been that Senior Centers
belong to the members, and
their lnxolvement on
programatw decision
making is essenhal to success
This led to my spending
lots of time h tenlng to our
members, and seeking out
their ,deas
Besides hstenlng, the ?'ear
did haxe ts accomphshment%
At the
classes .ffered
To]e painting ('reatlve
Wrlhug', Porcelain Doll
Maklng, and a mml class on
Stress Reductmn Further,
eight classes v, ere extended
m order to offer courses
bevond our previous twenty
w ek schedule, which took u's
through the first week in
June
Our emphasis over the
past tear has been to offer a
XdI leb of programs, in order
to meet the diverse interests
of our members Thls proved
one of the most challenging
tasks, part cularly balancing
OIAI hll|Ited resources, to
Stdl. we v, ere able to provide
rograms in the areas of
ealth, nutrition, recreation.
and social services
Even with these services.
he'd, ever many of our town's
On and Off the Record
by Bob l)ough
The Observer, Thursday, June 27, 1985
seniors have chosen not to, or
due to various limitations,
cannot come to Calendar
House Stdl I feel we have an
obligation to provide information
and assistance [o
this group as needed This
left us to starhng an outreach
program, plus conducting a
needs assessment, both
through the services of two
social work students Out of
this effort we identified the
need for a friendly vis tor
program to the homebound
elderly, which has so far
been most successful Unfortunately,
with the
students now gone. our work
in the commumty has been
greatly curtailed
Clearly this past year has
been an active one Still. we
must always look to the
future, conhnumg to seek
ne ways to meet our
members' interests In the
coming year, ! plan to -,ork
with our memher to develop
some new programs One of
lhese wl]l be a series of
lectures on topics of concern
to senior citizens The first of
these series will be held this
Jul.v, consisting of four talks
on health issues, in
collaborahon with Bradley
•, "...... I Ll ,tt'al ,AJ 'O set
for July s the start of a diet
support group, in affihatton
with Take Off Pounds Sens
bly ITOPS) I also hope to
offer several new classes,
plus we will be expanding
some of our classes by an
additional ten weeks
As for our work m the
commumty, we have once
again applied to have two
social work students placed
with us It is my hope that
our request is successful, as
our present staff level at
Calendar House makes it
very difficult to reach our
members at home
It is w th high expectations
that I look forward to the
coming year As always. I
am open to new ideas and
nvite both our members and
non-members to contact me
if there are programs you
-'ou!d hke to tee us offer
Wh ]e we ,-, nncd aeeomodate
all needs, our success is due
to the involvement of our
members, partlcu]ar]y our
volunteers, and thew ideas
are always g ven careful
consideration
Inspector General just isn't the answer
It's hard to vote for
government v, aste and
corruption
So t xxas eas? for
lap, makers, thinking about
re-electlon next . ear
for creahng an office of
specter general to root out all
that perceived waste and
corruption In government
The real questions are
these Does CoIl[It't't I( UI
need an |nspector general
and s the measure passed bx
the General Assembl) reall
worth t" The viev. here is
that an office of respecter
general, which sounds like a
step to ard good go,,ern
mont. s probably a waste of
time
After three tears of effort
by Bop Maureen Baroman.
R-West Hartford. the
positron has been created b?
the legislature
Under a compromise
xxorked out during the final
hours of this year's session, a
10-member" legislative
panel dl name three candldates
for the job Then the
tate' a rid i I or'-. a
l)emocrat and a
Repubbcan wdl pick the
The inspector general is
supposed to find government
aste fraud, corruption, and
state and make the culprits
pa) Whistle-blowers will
presumably have a friend.
and a few allegations against
the state or those working for
the taxpa. ers ill go unchecked
, th the problems
unearlhed m recent years
x thm the Department of
Transportation and other
agencies of government, it
as polttlcall.', difficult for
lap, makers to vote against
hax ing an inspector general
Critics say the office mn't
needed and that the action by
the legislature creates
another bureucracy that will
only get b gger There are
also those legislators who
suggest the inspector
general's office will cost
taxpayers mflhons And
almost before the ink on the
legislature's bdl had time to
dry. one of the state's most
,,_ ,.,, d employees has
called the measure "a pubbc
deception" and that he wdl
not take part in
State Auditor Leo V
Donohue says he will not
participate in picking an
inspector general if Gov
William O'Neill decides to
sign the bdl Donohue. the
Democratic auditor, and
Republican State Auditor
Hen ' J Becker have both
opposed the creation of the
office of inspector general
There are also many
Nancy Johnson's Congressional Report
lawmakers who voted for the
bill. but privately
acknowledge they would not
be unhappy if Gee. O'Neill
killed it If Gov O'Neill votes
the bill. he faces attacks
from the Repubhcan
leadership charging that he
failed to support a bill that
sought to do more to keep
state government clean
The fact that the ball plngponged
between the House
and Senate during the last
days of the session suggested
that lawmakers couldn't
agree on the wisdom of the
measure It died on the last
day of the session last year.
and that nearly happened
again th s year
Gov O'Neill has to
seriously think about a veto
Connecticut deserves more
than just a knee-jerk reaction
to a public concern over
corruphon in state government
Strong conditions on chemical weapons PrOduction
The ttouse of Representatives
last week approved
legislation placing strong
conditions on the production
of chemical weapons as a
means of dramatlcall?
improx ng public and
m lltarv safety while
malntalr lng a responsible
deterrent The overwhelmmg
bipartisan support
for the me,q, llre indicates
that there to bl ,,ad
recogmbon in Congress of
the need to adopt a sounder.
long-term plan to preserve
and manage our chemical
deterrent, which all s des
agree we need
I am sohdly against
chemical warfare, but oppose
as well the threat that
chemical weapons pose to
the c vfllan population The
legislation passed last week
by the ftouse is a responsible
effort to ncrease the safet?
of the deterrent, redlcally
reduce our chemwal
weapom, stutkptles, and
possibly provide the catalv, t
for suc 'essful arms control
Our current chemical
deterrent is corn.posed of
thou, ands of lethal military
munitions stored at elgl(t
sties tn America and six m
Europe These weapons
countaln deadly active
agents that are as much as
4t ) times more toxic than the
methyl isocyanate which
killed more than 2.00 people
m Bhopal. India. last year
The prospect of binary
munitions means having two
v, hlch are stored separately
and only become deadly
when they are mixed on the
v, ay to (he r target These
wea on are safer to store,
handle and transport. and
consequently wdl improve
safety for both American
cities and towns, and our
soldiers
The conditions that must
be met before producing
these v, eapons are strong 1
The course of action this
legislation lays out will
enable us to reduce the
number of cbelmcal weapons
m our stockpile by as much
as 80 percent This five-toone
"build down" and the
replacement with the more
versatile b nary weapon will
better serve our nation
Further. it assures two full
years to pursue efforts to ban
all chemical weapons before
the new binary weapons are
produced.
2 They require that the
binary modernization be
necessary for NATO
security, that the binary
weapons meet both perf
rm noe and safety
SpE ltlCatlons. anu that a
plan for total destruct|on of
our current stockpiles is
ready to be implemented
Once the Pros|dent reports
that these conditions are
met. Congress has 60 days to
agree or disagree, a,nd
3 The leglslahon requires
that after their product|qn
the two components making
up the b nary weapon must
be stored in separate states.X
and transported separately
and by different means to
ensure maximum safety
Schools cited
I am very pleased to announce
that two schools in
• the Sixth District are among
seven statewlde to be
recognized by the U S
Department of Education for
thew excellence Avon
M ddle School and New
Fawfleld H gh Sc" lool were
among 509 senior, middle
and jumor h gh schools
nationally to be nominated
for thin recognition In the
final round, each school had
to undergo an exhaustive
evaluatmn, including a
uay on-site ViSit Oy a team el
educators
The schools were
recognized for thew overall
excellence as reflected in
their academic goals.
teacher ethics, discipline,
positive school atmosphere.
opportumty for student
success, community support,
attendance, and numerous
other cnterm Applications
were first reviewed by two
panels and teams of
educators then v|sited the
flnabsts Congratulations to
Avon Middle School and
Fairfield High School
teachers, students, and
administrators, and to these
communities