Tiger Topics, Dec. 17, 1969

              Freshmen Find English Class is Murder When Students Write and Produce Plays
by   Bobbie   Smith
At precisely 9:20 a.m. Tuesday morning a student was stabbed to death.
Of course this is nothing to worry about, considering the fact that the victim was not actually dead. That's right. Not dead! You see, the murder was only a scene in a play, the second in a series given by freshman students in the Enghsh class of Mrs. Judith Francis. The plays the students wrote and produced were based on short stories they had pre¬ viously read in their literature books.
Though there were continuous interruptions they managed to get the plays on in two week in an organized manner. First of all, the   students   were   placed   into
Tarrants Honored
three groups. Everyone in each group wrote a play. The plays were read within their groups and the students discussed them. After a brief period of discussion the decision was made, and one play was selected for dramatization. Next the characters were picked and the rehearsals began.
At first the students rehearsed by themselves, and later began re¬ hearsing before the class. In this way criticisms were made, and certain rough spots were smooth¬ ed over.
The first play was a version of the story "Charles". The second play was an arrangement of *'The Tell-Tale Heart," and the third play was another version of ^'Charles."   The  students   invited
City Teens Sponsor Toy Shop For Londy Mental Patients
During the Christmas season, when the community is busy de¬ corating, shopping, cooking holi¬ day foods, and exchanging gifts, the lonely life of the mental pa¬ tient changes very little.
He may get a gift from home. He will have a party on his ward and will receive gifts from the Gift-Lift, but he cannot join his family's Christmas celebration. He can never send them presents because he is unable to leave the hospital to shop, and often he has no money. He feels that he has neglected his family and brought them shame. He worries about what is going on at home, whether his children or grand children will remember him. Christmas can be the saddest time of the year when you have the lonely disease of mental illness.
The Teen Toy Shop is an at¬ tempt to bring the mental patient a little closer to his family and to outside life.
Students from high schools all over Marion County collect new toys and gifts from friends and groups in their schools. The day after Thanksgiving^ they brought
them to Central State Hospital and set up the first Toy Shop. Any student that contributed a gift could come and join in the fun of decorating and stocking the shop. The next day the patients were brought to the Toy Shop to select gifts without charge to send to their relatives and friends. Students volunteered to help them choose and gift wrap their selections. The gifts are sent all over the U.S. and also overseas. The patients look forward to the fun of shopping, and feel that they have joined in the Christ¬ mas festivities. Their families are surprised and grateful to receive a gift from their hospitalized rela¬ tive.
Key Club president, Eric W. Tarrants, made a tape for the WIFE radio station concerning the Teen Toy Shop. There were three other students involved in the taping, one from Shortridge, one from Decatur, and another from Roncalli. Eric was awarded an Honorary Degree as a WIFE Honorary Announcer acting in the interest of the Teen Toy Shop along with the other three repre¬ sentatives from the other schools.
Mrs. Marie Pierce's English class to this engagement. They were also fredimen and seemed to en¬ joy the performances very much. Many times there was such a tre¬ mendous burst of laughter, the performers had to pause until the audience calmed down.
The cast of the first version of "Charles" consisted of Valerie Vaughn, Marsha Webster, Radine Terry, Orlando Gurnell, Warren Enghsh and Cynthia Black. The cast of the second version had Audrey Jones, Sabrina Hayes, Patricia Smith, Neyon Humphrey, Harry Coleman and Angeline Shaffer.
Acting in "The Tell-Tale Heart" were Jerry Perkins, Harvey Por¬ ter, Beverly Gilbert, Theresa Mar¬ tin, Realtha Bullock, Bobbie Smith and Terry Kelly.
"THAT CHARLES!" exclaim three budding actresses in one of the freshman skits. L. to r, the three are Radine Terry, Audrey Jones and Valerie Vaughn,
TOPICS
Vol. 2, No. 3 ^-Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis, Indiana-
-December \7, IMt
Merry Christmas
Counseloi^ Offer School Added Service
from the Topics Staff
Because Attucks counselors are seldom able to contact parents of students during the day, due to job commitments, the school's counsehng center will be open every Tuesday evening. The addi¬ tional hours from 6-8:30 p.m. will allow deans and counselors to be more available for consultation by parents and students.
William E. Jones, vice-principal in charge of pupil personnel, had considered the idea several years before proposing it so the coun¬ seling staff, all off whom volun¬ teered to take on the additional commitment without extra pay. Mr. Jones hopes that as the pro¬ gram develops, funding from other agencies may reimburse the counselors.
At least two members of the counseling staff will be on hand each Tuesday. If no one comes for consultation on a given night, the staff members will use the time
Students Analyse Air Pollution
HURRY UP SAINT NICK! As Attucks 4lh period Art Class students Franklin Pittman, Doris Jackson, Magalene Smith, Alston Evans did it to the bone on the Christmas tree.
How dirty is the air in Indi¬ anapolis?
Freshman biology students of Mr. Junius Bibbs and evening school health students made an experiment on air pollution in the city. The 30-day project, extend¬ ing from Oct 3 — Nov, 2, was suggested by the mayor's Bureau of Air Pollution Control.
Students exposed gallon glass jars to the atmosphere in their backyards to measure the dust fallout in their neighborhoods. First, rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol was put into the jars as an antifreeze and then the jars were propped up with stakes or stones so they would not blow over.
As the jars collected dust, they also collected water, bugs and leaves. At the termination of the exposure period, the bugs and leaves were removed and the wa-
until the water evaporated. The residue of dust was then mea¬ sured in milligrams.
Since Attucks students come from all over the city, results of the experiment provide a cross- ter put into beakers to be boiled section of fallout in the city. Re¬ sults of findings will be deter¬ mined by the Bureau of Air Pol¬ lution Control.
One student who worked on the project said, "The air we breathe will be as clean or as dirty as we are." Mr. Bibbs claims, "From what I gathered there should be an effort of some kind to educate the people about the hazards of breathing the air we pollute."
High schools in the city were invited to participate in this ex¬ periment by W. F. Benson, chief chemist of the Bureau of Air Pollution Control.
to phone parents of children hav¬ ing difficulties, informing them of the center's services and invit¬ ing them to the school.
Mr. Jones aims to expand the center's activities into a commu¬ nity service, assisting not only Attucks students and their par¬ ents, but also others, many of whom do not know where to go for guidance in getting jobs, or selecting a college or trade school. Some such assistance beyond the school is already given in a limit¬ ed manner.
students Consider Blacks on Campus In Trip to Purdue
Approximately 125 students departed at 12:45 p.m. on char¬ tered buses for a visit to Purdue University on Nov. 14. The stu¬ dents visited the campus to dis¬ cuss the University, and also to discuss job opportunities in major business areas.
First of all students from At¬ tucks, along with students from other Indianapolis high schools met with several black Purdue students, and black counselors, to discuss the situation of blacks and whites on the campus. Also dis¬ cussed was the academic program at Purdue.
Job   Representatives
After all questions had been answered, all comments made on Purdue, the students were interested in finding out about job opportunities. There were representatives from 25 ma¬ jor businesses in the United States. The representatives an¬ swered various questions about their companies, and also the amount of education needed to get into these fields.