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Show : 1 j I , i i i . C rfr-3 (Q 0 tS. ' ':.Vv. J. Officials of Debate Tournament Weber College officials who are in charge of the high school debate tournament going on now, are Cluster Nilsson, E. Carl Green, H. E. D. Bedford, Grant Reese, Bob Mikkelsen, Victor Hancock, Larry Evans and Thatcher Allred. VOLUME XVIII OGDEN, UTAH, FEBRUARY 25, 1955 NUMBER 9 Now Hear This! Should 18-Year-0lds Be Allowed to Vote? x'JA Vf CON By George Davlantes Many of you reading this article understand our government, the way our government operates, the various par ties that make up the government, and what policies J "J by. Now, what about, the majority of teenagers that never go to college, and some of those who do go but never learn anything about our way of government. By George Davlantesm y previous statement I didn't mean that all the people who fail to go to college are ignorant about the government. Suffice to say, some of these people know more about government affairs than some college graduates. Public opinion polls indicate that there are many mature adults who do not understand our government. If so, what about the teenager? Voting has become an increasingly complex problem, and I believe that teenagers are not sufficiently mature enough to vote. Inexperienced They are inexperienced in this sort of thing; they do not understand political problems; furthermore, I do not believe that many of them are concerned about political issues. True, boys my age are concerned about any new bill that might alter the draft or income tax but how about the rest of the political problems. Ask any teenager who thinks that the voting age should be changed to eighteen why he thinks that this should be so, and he will say, "If I am old1 enough to fight and die for my country, then why am I not old enough to vote?" Fighting and voting are two very-different things. Voting needs ma- Continued on Page 2, Column 1)1 , V V ' f i : I k ; ; i PRO By Paul H. Schneiter The question of whether or not 18-year-olds should have the right to vote is both a vital and far- reaching issue facing the American people . to- day. It is vital because it is another attempt by a its endorsers to ; improve the stat us of their nation anH ' nf itc riti- i: I it xnnl J ull serve as a mo- mentous e x a m-Paul H. Schneiterple, animated upon the billboards of the world, of democracy in action. Foremost, we must realize that regardless of outward appearances, our young people have a perhaps dormant, but nevertheless alacritous interest in the functions of their government. A poll taken of Georgian Teachers (Georgia is the only state in the union allowing 18-year-olds to vote) reveals that students are eager to evaluate issues and candidates, learn about the operations of their government, and to examine current issues. They have such enthusiasm because their futures are at stake in the policies their lawmakers decide upon. The only problem lies in that this interest is not being stimulated into conscious meditation and action. Providing our youth with the right to vote would be a step toward such stimulation. High School Curriculum Teenagers are propelled further to an interest in governmental affairs by reason that the curriculum of most high schools lays heavy stress upon the constitution and its workings. The tragedy emerges in the failure of this curiosity to be realized, partly through denial of our most cherished privilege a privilege that too many people in too many parts of the (Continued on Page 2, Column 4) Cellar Production Tonight, Is Third Of Three-Night Run Tonight will be the third performance of the Cellar Theatre play, "You Can't Take It With You," given in the Cellar Theatre, Bertha Eccles Hall. The final performance will be tomorrow night and the play will begin at. 8:30 both tonight and tomorrow.The play is an interesting and entertaining three-act comedy about a family, each member of which is completely uninhibited in their actions. This makes for an unusual and hilarious state of affairs.The play is directed by Mr. H. E. D. Redford and the cast includes: Verl Brower, Allen Flem-ming, Ilsa Jean Hull, Nolan Jones, Gary Peterson, Lerene Richards, Ronald Smout, Colleen Tarns, Therald Todd, Doris Van de Graff, Darwin Van de Graff, Sharon Wallace, Don Warner, Marianne Wood, Mark Wood, and Hollis Young-blood. Mary Lou Palmer is student director. Tucson Chorus Will Perform On March 2 Filled with color, variety and song, the famous Tucson Boys Chorus will appear on the Community Concert series, Wednesday, March 2, in the Ogden High Auditorium.Led by their very informal director, Eduardo Caso, the boys are fascinating with their superb harmony and program of folk songs, Mexican novelties, classics, carols, and' westerns. Guy Hurst, who is in charge of the Community Concert series for Weber College, saw themuch-talked-about Tucson Boys in Seattle, Washington, and was so impressed that he recommended them to the concert committee. eon eta fie Both Campuses Pressed Into Use For Mammoth Forensic Tourney Upwards of 800 young high school speakers from Utah, Idaho and surrounding states converge today on the Weber College campuses to participate in the 19th annual Weber College Debate tournament and to compete in oratory and extemporaneous speaking. lvu(B The Weber College affair is one of the largest forensic tournaments in the United States. Leland H. Monson is general chairman of the event. Other English faculty members working with the tournament are Messers Green, Evans, Mikkelsen, Nilsson, Allred, Hancock, Reese, Redford and Miss Read. A trophy will be presented to the winning school in each division, which is determined by a point system. Points are received for the different places received. The four finalists in each of the divisions are to be given suitable medals. Both Campuses Women's division and "B" division activities will be held on the upper campus while men's division and oratory and extemp competition will have headquarters in the Gymnasium building on the lower campus. Every available room will be in use for the first four rounds in each division. The upper campus will provide 117 rooms and offices, and the lower campus another 50 or 60. Headquarters for the women's division will be in the registrar's office and the "B" division in the choral room, both on the upper campus. The men's division will be on the first floor of the gymnasium building on the lower campus. Offices for the oratory and extemporaneous competition will also be on the lower campus. In the debating contests, four rounds are conducted before any eliminations are made. Those with three of four wins will then go on to the fifth round, where the winners will come back tomorrow for the final rounds. The place of each individual will be determined in the first two rounds of oratory (Continued on Page 2, Column 3) Forensic Event Requires the Help Of All Involved Although this annual forensic tournament has become one of the largest of its kind in the United States it would not be possible if it were not for the cooperation of every person involved, from President Miller on down. Teachers, students and men and women from the business and professional world are called upon and volunteer their services as judges for the "A" division. An approximate figure shows that the students and professional people alike spend a total of 259 hours, respectively, in the debate tournament. In the oratory and extemporaneous speaking events about 75 student hours are donated. Students Help Many students are engaged in secretarial work for the division chairmen and spend nearly 12 hours each working on the tournament. Debate teams must be matched, decisions tabulated and teams paired for the final and decisive rounds. The members of the English faculty spend many hours previous to the tournament in teaching the fundamentals of judging debates. Held in Classrooms Debates are held in many of the classrooms so the students will learn just what makes a successful debate and how to be fair in their judging. They also learn to fill out judging cards correctly. The scope of the tournament demands that all school be dismissed at the college by 10:00 a. m. |