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Image provided by: Niagara County Community College
Entricy HERALD Vol. VI, No. 2 Niagara County Community College, Niagara Falls, N. Y. December 17, 1968 LET US VOTE! By WALTER SHUBSDA \Do you think you are ma- ture enough to make a re- sponsible decision in regard to voting?\ The college stu- dent contemplated a moment before answering and then replied with a firm \Yes.\ Do you like the way the govern- ment is being run? His an- swer came back without the least hesitation: \No! But what can I do about it? I am not eligible to vote because I am not 21.\ This is precisely the problem. Young people across the country are ready, willing, and able to \ote, but all the enthusiasm in the world does little good if they are under 21. Why is 21 the magic age to qualify a person for voting? When a young man becomes 18, he im- mediately becomes eligible for the draft. If he is going to college, he receives a temporary lIS defer- ment. If he is not, he becomes classified I-A providing he is phy- sically and mentally fit. A 1A classification usually re- sults in being drafted into the Army, and later stationed in Viet- nam. The over-used, but totally valid expression is: \If he is old enough to fight, why isn't he old enough to vote?\ The irony of the matter is, this person may die to keep his coun- try free, yet he cannot take part in one of the most cherished pri- vileges he is fighting to preserve, the right to vote. To be able to vote for the person one regards as best qualified to hold office, is the inherent right of every Ameri- can. This past election was a deter- mining factor in the lives of sev- eral eighteen year olds. The man elected in November will probab- ly influence the 18-year-old age group a great deal more than the generation which elected him. Twenty-one has been the \tra- ditional\ age when a boy becomes a \man.\ The origin of this tra- dition is not definitely known, but is thought to have come from Roman times. This tradition has descended through the ages to the present. There is no specific rea- son for upholding the 21-year-old voting law, other than tradition. Tradition becomes so imbedded, that anything attempting to change the \status quo\ is met with opposition. This is definitely true, in relation to the voting law. Even though a change is needed, the procedure to make that change becomes drawn-out and involved. No matter how urgent a situa- tion is, people are reluctant to make a change because the \new never seems as comfortable as the old.\ Once public opinion does become aroused for a change, (as it presently is) laws must be changed. This procedure is not as simple as it may be believed A majority of the New York State legislature must vote in favor of such a law This majority, in the past, has not looked with favor upon the right of the 18 year old to vote, but have given no specific reasons. If YOU are under 21, and are for an eigateen year old voting law, YOU have to show your sup port. YOU have to inform the gen- eral voting public, the people with influence, and YOUR repre- sentatives in Legislature. Only YOU will benefit if the voting age is lowered, and suffer if it isn't. If you don't care, no one else will. Use of 'Pot' Questionable Should Cigarette Smoking Be Outlawed, Too? Marijuana in our society is the most controversial drug that is on the list of those drugs classified as narcotics. The reason for this controversy is that marijuana, by itself, is purportedly not in anyway harmful to the individual user. To leave the last statement just as it stands, though, would be unfair and in a way untrue. Those who oppose the use and legalization of marijuana base their whole case on one concept: Once a person has en- tered the realm of experience created by the use of mari- juana, that he will be driven to a new and more lasting ex- perience through the family of addicting drugs. This is not just a blind statement; survey after survey has shown that almost every drug addict and \acid head\ at one time previous to their present kicks had smoked mari- juana and then gone to something stronger. One thing that is often left unsaid by those who oppose marijuana is that most of the group smoked cigarettes before taking dope. Does this mean we should turn our attention to outlaw- ing cigarettes? No! It simply means that no one can come up with a concrete reason for or against the use of marijuana so it still remains a matter of personal choice. But those who choose to indulge in the use of marijuana must keep in mind that marijuana is listed as a harmful drug and is against the law. After all, laws contrary to modern philosophy are not made to be broken but repealed. SGA 'Faculty Must Pay Tiff Explained NCCC's Student Govern- ment Association, faced with a stormy response by some members of the NCCC faculty to an eddict issued by SGA stating that the faculty must pay admission to SGA-spon- sored events, has modified, .its stand, according to a me- morandum distributed to the faculty. The memorandum reads: \We. the Student Government Association of Niagara County Community College, would like to express our deep concern over the response we received from the faculty regarding our letter of November 8. 1968. An unfortunate breakdown in communications has developed which urgently de- mands repairing. As a result of our drastically limited budget and a correspond- ing expansion in social, cultural, and athletic activities, it was de- termined that we would, out of necessity, require remuneration for our activities. For some ac- tivities, only students are ex- cluded from making a donation; with other activities, all those in attendance must pay the cost of admission. In this latter instance students, who are required to pay a $15.00 activity fee per semester, in reality are making double pay- ment. Therefore, in theory all ac- tivities should be free of charge. At present this policy is mone- tarily unrealistic. Unfortunately, we are now forced into our pre- sent unweclomed situation in or- der to maintain the stability of our budget. We are fully aware that many faculty members are deeply in- volved in assisting our activities program the faculty coaching our ahtletic teams; the advisors to clubs; the advisors to classes: the advisors to publications; fa- culty who chair our standing com- mittees and advise Student Court; those faculty members who chap- erone our mixers and accompany us on our conferences. We are deeply grateful to these indivi- duals, and we will continue our policy of admitting advisors and invited guests, free of charge, to our activities. We hope that these Establishment Hit By 'The Pendulum' Play Premiere Tonight \The Pendulum,\ purportedly a hardhitting anti-establishment play written by Gerald L Miller, an NCCC* assistant professor of speech and drama, will premiere tonight at the Niagara Falls Lit- tle Theatre. The two-hour production, first of the 1968-69 season for the NCCC Stagecrafters, will be re- peated Wednesday, Thursday. Fri- day and Saturday evenings. Stage - filling scenes of free- thinking, \let's change the world\ hippies, dominate the two-act play which utilizes striking group script In stark, setless simplicity. While vaguely reminiscent of the New York stage hit \Hair.\ the avant garde environmental theatre production bombards the audience senses, emotions and in- tellect. The 14-member cast includes Ruth Andrews, Roger Broecker, Stuart Gross, Ronald Hewitt. James Martin, Louis Martinez, Cheryl Mathews, Barbara Neno, Patricia Quinn. Marc Simmons, TeiT) Slobodzian. Charles Sterner. Frederick Stone and Morton Welft \T h e Pendulum\ represents Prof. Millers first efforts as a playwright. The 31-year-old mo- dern theatre advocate is also listed as director of the plav. NCCC students will be admit- ted to \The Pendulum\ without cost upon presentation of a stu- dent identification card. Admis- sion for the general public has been set at one dollar. (Continued on Page 3)
