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From the archives of The Earthquake.

The fourth year of the paper consisted of this editorial board:
Editor: Diane Gottlieb; Associate Editor: Sue Stokes ’77; Business Manager: Ann Osborn; Art Editor: Howie Coale; Business Editor: Ann Rhoads ’77, Amy Wilson; Circulation: Sarah Bansen, Laura Sharpless ’78; Copy Editor: Carey Perloff; Editorial Page Editor: Michael Kuby; Features Editor: Abby Reifsnyder; News Editor: Peter Evans; Political Affairs: Bill Starrels ’77; Photography Editor: Ricky Endo; Rewrite: Laura Mustin, Aaron Temin; Sports Editor: Michael Kleiner; Technical Advisor: Jonathan Stern; Faculty Advisor: Parvin Sharpless; Advertisors: Emily Johnson, Leslie Berman.

The pages of The Earthquake were not only a source of news about the school, but articles on local and national political issues. Each issue had at least one Howie Coale cartoon.

The debut issue of senior year hit The Front Hall on

Friday, October 10, 1975

with the following headlines:
Front page:

Four More Years?: Articles about Frank Rizzo, Tom Foglietta (then a Republican) and Charles Bowser, all running for mayor in the November election. College Advising Scrutinized, Meeting Returned to Former Hour and 1975 Book Fair to Open October 14 were the other big stories.

Pages 2-3, our bubbling Op-Ed Pages included: Varsity Football Missing in Action: (disbandment of football); Usefulness of SAC (Student Advisory Committee) Questioned; Student Denounces Camping Trip Decision: (school refusing to sponsor class camping trips except 7th grade Outward Bound following drug incident on 9th grade trip during the previous spring); Consideration Urged in Scheduling: (special events scheduled on Jewish holidays); Clean-Up Situation Needs Reevaluation, and Sound Advice for Troubled Times, a review of Eric Johnson’s new book, How to Survive Junior High School

To Pages 4-5, the midsection: Are We Informed? was a Peter Evans’ poll, that asked 8th-12th graders about the role of student government in the administration, whether students ever ran or would consider running for a position on SAC, whether students should be represented on the School Committee, whether students knew what the School Committee is and does, and if students could name three members of the School Committee.

The School Committee: Where the Power Lies was over on page 5 to help us perhaps be more informed after the survey. The other articles on the inside pages were by faculty members. Bill Koons writing on Salvaging the Bicentennial; The Other Half of the Campaign Fight, Pat Reifsnyder discussing the other races in the election, including two runs by members of the GFS community, but also criticizing the “apathy or antipathy felt among the GFS community toward the election.” Lucy Bell-Sellers announcing that 50 students, teachers and parents would be attending the Drama Guild series at Walnut Street Theater; and in Chicken Little Was Right, Herb Bassow discussing the danger of aerosol spray cans to the ozone layer.

Page 6 featured a review of Woody Allen’s movie Love and Death. John Rossheim began his seemingly monthly evaluation of the curriculum with A Revolutionary Course, a seminar on the Bicentennial, and complained about the workload between that class and the regular American History course. Students Explore Southwest rounded out that page.

Which brought us to Page 7 Sports, where this headline greeted us:
Women Top Men, about the new girls lockerroom built at the fieldhouse above the boys lockerroom, which promised to be a great improvement over the previous girls facility, except that it would infringe on parking. Summer Basketball Has Successful Season and previews of the varsity soccer team and the girls “A” field hockey team (not varsity) filled out the page.

The back page included a trivia quiz, a story about Outward Bound, a calendar of events, request for submissions for a student, faculty, parent and alumni photo exhibition that would take place in January, 1976, and a story welcoming new faculty members Roy Farrar, Michael Loewy, Jeff Averick, Donald Kawash, Brian Haley, Adrienne Sachs and John Emerson.

(Who remembers going to a dinner at Jeff Averick’s house?)

November 14, 1975

The front page offered Piecing Together the Election Puzzle, Massie Journeys Home, Yearbook Aims for Total Participation and English teacher Pat McPherson’s article on The Changing View of Women in Literature. Massie was author Suzanne Massie, a GFS grad, who had written a book, Journey, about dealing with her son's hemophilia, and co-authored Nicholas & Alexandra with her husband, Bob. She spoke at an assembly.

Nina Davenport’s op-ed piece on the role of student government in the October issue sparked response with articles entitled Students Voice Must Speak Out and Introverted Student Body Loses Power. Other opinions of the November issue included Bicentennial Exposes Urban Revolution, Big Apple Goes Bust (about possible default of New York City), Special Day Hopes to Fill Camping Trip Void, and Committeeman Faces Dilemma Over Loyalties.

The middle pages featured SAC minutes, Crucible Predicted (to be a) Smash, (George) Wallace Appeals to Middle Class, Jamaican Rocks for Philadelphia, a review of a Jimmy Cliff concert, Tailgating America’s Past and Experiment Leads to International Understanding. The tailgating story was about trips to historic South Jersey towns led by Pat Reifsnyder and Bill Koons. International Understanding provided students a chance to live in and observe another culture. Six GFS students participated, with Emily Johnson going to Switzerland and Nina Rappaport traveling to Belgium.

This month’s Page 6 movie review was Give ’Em Hell Harry about Harry Truman. There was a summary of faculty achievements, and an article The Grass Is Greener introduced us to Richard Ohliger, the new groundskeeper for the fields.

Sports led off with Dan Shectman’s Like Phoenix from the Ashes, about how the JV football team -- dubbed The Dirty Dozen Plus One because it only had 13 players -- went 7-2 and led to the revival of the varsity football program. There was A Running Challenge, to see which class in grades 7-12 could run the farthest distance as a group during the school year. One could also walk, cycle or swim. Hockey Improves With New Style and Soccer Still Has Chance for Championship filled out Page 7 sports, but Page 8 included JV Soccer Has Success Despite Injuries. An article featuring new teachers Craig Putnam and Roy Farrar, a trivia quiz and a summary of some interesting Bicentennial events finished the November issue.

December 19, 1975

The Crucible did prove a success as the lead story on page 1 declared Crucible Stuns Enthusiastic Mob. Ozone: The Great Debate, Rediscovering Society Hill and Urban Studies Explores City were the other headlines of the front page.

The editorial pages were full of school and contemporary political opinions. GFS issues included Girls Need Athletic Association, Whatever Happened to Pass/Fail?, Dances Nurture Community Interaction, and School Opens Doors to Germantown. Some students in the Lower School polled LS teachers whether they felt Karen Ann Quinlan, who was in a vegetative coma state, should be removed from life support systems and allowed to die. Most teachers favored pulling the plug and the three students agreed.

Speaking of polls, to the right of that survey was a headline GFS Prefers Liberal Democrats to Ford. Among GFS faculty and students, 18% preferred Edward Kennedy and Mo Udall; 12% Sargent Shriver; 10% Hubert Humphrey and Jimmy Carter; 8% Milton Shapp and Henry Jackson; 4% Fred Harris; 1% Lloyd Bentsen and George Wallace. In the Republican race between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, 21% favored Reagan, but this was attributed to an anti-Ford vote and the feeling that Reagan was easier to beat than Ford. In a race between Humphrey and Ford, 74% preferred Humphrey, 21% Ford. Above this article was Presidential Race: Shapp Gains Recognition. The major Op-Ed piece was Zionism Resolution Reveals Change in U.N., referring to the U.N.’s Nov. 10 vote equating Zionism with racism.

Choir Continues Outstanding Tradition, Parents Association Auction, Recipe for Perfect Chocolate Cake, Architecture: An Artist Struggles in the Business World, and Commonwealth Acts Raise Suspicions took up the middle pages. The latter story dealt with state acts that provided non-public schools with free instructional materials, textbooks and other services. This legislation would not directly effect GFS because it had the same benefits as the public schools, and the acts were more directed at Catholic schools.

A restaurant review, The Rusty Scupper, was on Page 6, along with an article about movies being shown upstairs at The Walnut Street Theater, while the nearby Bandbox Movie Theater Reopens With New Format.. On Page 7, we read SAC Determined to Make A Difference and an article by a student in the Class of 1982 who told how Vertical Grouping Teaching had helped him.

Back page Sports previewed the winter season with a banner headline The Tigers In Winter. Girls and boys basketball and wrestling were previewed. In a sign that times were changing, a 10th grade petition drive led to girl athletes receiving letters like the boys. The Penn-Jersey League soccer standings and all-league team were listed, with a notation on the standings that because Hun School refused to play a make-up game against us, we missed the playoffs. The sports section was not confined to GFS sports as there was a piece, NHL: A Rough Business.

January 23, 1976

We’ve reached the Bicentennial year and one of the lead stories was John Rossheim’s Revolutionary Lectures Elicit Mixed Response. Joining that article on the front page was (10th grade) Greek Night: Two Plays and Some Baklava; Ailing Economy Retards Wealth of (GFS) Admissions; Harvard Collegium To Perform With Choir, and Pearson College: Flying the Coop. The latter article was Carly Evans checking in about her experience at L.B. Pearson College of the Pacific of the United World Colleges in Canada, a “two-year program with an international student body that prepares its students for college through the International Baccalaureate program.” Carly had passed up her senior year at GFS to apply to the school.

The Op-Ed pages led off with GFS Mood: Lethargy Prevails, a topic that would come up in future issues. College Boards Undermine Confidence and Superpowers Clash in Angola, accompanied by a Howie Coale cartoon, closed off Page 2. The Presidential race received attention with Peanut Farmer Challenges Stodgy Opponents, in which Aaron Temin wrote a favorable piece about Jimmy Carter, but felt Carter faced impossible odds of being elected. New Courses Invigorate Elective Program highlighted seven of the new English Elective classes offered to 10th-12th graders. There were 16 classes overall. Among the new offerings was “The Literature and History of the 20th Century Black Freedom Movement.” Semester Day ’76 discussed preliminary plans for the day run by students while teachers graded exams. There were to be seminars on Women Against Rape, Transcendental Meditation, Teenage Arrests, and Dance, and activities such as a talent show, group problem solving, stage make-up demonstration, ceramics, volleyball, floor hockey, two-on-two basketball, and an auction to benefit the Earthquake.

Pages 4-5 debuted Earthquiver, the Lower School’s literary contribution to the paper. This would cause some debate in future issues.

January’s film review was King of Hearts, playing at the TLA. In The Scottish Are Coming, the senior class welcomed Alexis MacKenzie from St. George’s School for Girls in Scotland, who would attend classes with us for the rest of the school year. Two ninth-grade girls from St. George’s would arrive later. This exchange program had been in existence since 1967. GFS students had also attended and would attend St. George’s. In An Apple A Day... an alumna discussed the benefits and dilemmas of being a doctor.

Page 7’s lead story, Chorus Strikes Again was a glowing review of the Christmas concert. Young Wrestlers Work Hard was about the junior high team. A list of Bicen Events and the SAC Minutes were also on the page.

Winter Sports were in full swing as Page 8 showed. Tigers: Tough Team to Tame summarized the boys basketball team’s 6-2 start. Steve Hilton was averaging 27.4 points and 15.2 rebounds a game. A highlight was a win over visiting Sidwell Friends of Washington DC, who had Dan Rather, Jr. on its team. Robin Rather played for the Sidwell girls. Speaking of girls hoops, Girls Basketball Progresses Rapidly documented the rise of the team from a “joke” a few years before to a 3-2 start under the direction of Helen Marter and Barbara Longstreth. Part of the success was attributed to many of the starters attending boys coach Dave Felsen’s summer camp and weekly scrimmages against the boys JV squad. Jinxing the NHL included Pat Reifsnyder’s predictions for the hockey season, while David Sauerman discussed the potential demise of the Germantown Hockey League, the intramural Saturday indoor floor hockey league which had been initiated a couple of years before by the Classes of 1975 and 1976. Pat Reifsnyder served as commissioner.

(Remember in 10th grade, watching Game 5 of the Flyers-Boston Stanley Cup finals at the Reifsnyders? Of course Mrs. Reifsnyder was rooting for Boston since her Les Canadiens had been eliminated.)

February 20, 1976

The controversial story on the front page was Judiciary Committee Goes Into Action about the Administration’s approval of the rough draft of the Disciplinary Advisory Committee. It culminated five months of controversy, debates, proposals and compromises by the SAC and Administration. The article provided “the inside story of how the DAC became a reality...give you an idea of how the SAC functions, how it deals with the Administration, and why it takes so long to get something done...and tell you how the DAC works.” The other articles on the page dealt with performances: Choirs Harmonize Admirably reviewed a joint program of the GFS Choir and Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum; Musicians Gather to Perform Early Pieces previewed a “day devoted to early music...refers to music composed before 1750” with performances by Westchester Consort from New York and Musick for the Generall Peace, a group originally from Amsterdam; and Drama To Sweep Stage previewed the Upper School plays The Contrast and She Stoops to Conquer.

The Disciplinary Advisory Committee issue spilled over to the Editorial Page, where D.A.C. Compromise Fosters Intra-S.A.C. Controversy presented pro and con opinions. Fan Questions Cheerleaders Motives called for the abolishment of cheerleading because “more often than not (they) chat among themselves or with people in the stands, paying little attention to the game. They give a cheer once in a while, when they feel like it, rather than choosing a moment when the team and the fans need a pyschological boost...” Student Sees Party Guidelines As Infringement on Private Life complained about guidelines/rules for parties in students’ homes that were printed in the directory.

The Presidential race continued to receive coverage with articles (Mo) Udall Works Unseasonably for Change and (Henry) Jackson Opens Phila. Headquarters. In Blue Book: Unnecessary Namedropping, Carey Perloff and Diane Gottlieb attacked the practice in the Blue Book of having married female faculty members having their names followed by their spouse (Mrs. John...), whereas the married male teachers did not have their spouse’s name listed. How to Buy Picasso Originals for Peanuts advertised an exhibit and sale of 600 original prints from the Ferdinand Roten Galleries, including works by Picasso, Goya, Renoir, Hogarth. Proceeds would go to purchasing prints for the Art Department.

Page 4 stories included Lecture Series Ends Forcefully about the final Bicen lecture on art and artists that evolved between the 15th-18th centuries; Paradise Gained: Trekking Nepal; Semester Day Exorcises Exam Blues; a preview of the Craft Show to benefit The GFS Community Scholarship Fund (admission was 25 cents), and a review of Tippy’s Taco House.

Page 5 was an interesting mix. There was an article about the Choir’s rehearsals with the Harvard Collegium prior to the concert; a student’s volunteer work at Voyage House, which “..provides counseling, housing, legal and medical aid and other assistance to runaways and throwaways between the ages 13-18...” and an announcement that the literary magazine, Polyphony, was due out in April. Mixing food, pleasure and business, there was also a recipe for a Bavarian dessert, and Bill Highsmith detailing his experiences working at Gino’s, while noting that Abby Reifsnyder and Mary Henderson also toiled for the fast food chain.

This month’s movie review on Page 6 was Dog Day Afternoon, while Earthquiver took up the rest of the page.

The Sports pages contained some controversy. In January, the Flyers played an exhibition game against the Soviet Central Army team. The Soviets left the ice after what they perceived to be rough play by the Flyers. They later returned. Pro and con pieces highlighted Page 7. Former Phillies “Whiz Kids” coach Maje McDonnell was to speak at the Father and Son Athletic Banquet, while a “unique skit never performed before in the Philadelphia area” would be one of the highlights of the Mother-Daughter Athletic Dinner.

The back page focused on Tigers Keep Shooting Toward Championship,as GFS was 12-4 overall, 4-2 in the Penn-Jersey Conference, with four regular season games remaining. Steve Hilton reached the 1,000-point plateau in his career with a 25-point performance against Pennington. Coach Dave Felsen had 99 career wins. Sneak Preview: The Ultimate Experience explained the game of Ultimate Frisbee and announced the creation of the intramural Ultimate Frisbee Organization (UFO) at GFS. Squash Interest Booms in U.S. had its effect at GFS, as turnout for the boys team, as well as for the recently added girls team, was large.

March 15, 1976

The front page featured reviews of The Contrast and the Early Music Program, the previews having appeared in the February issue. Corrine Kyle, a member of the State Democratic Committee and committeewoman in the 22nd Ward, explained explained the Presidential delegate selection process in Pennsylvania in A Primary Look at Delegates. A story inside mentioned that GFS teacher Joan Countryman and Mercer Tate were running as delegates, and parent Sue Rappaport had planned on running as a Shriver delegate, but the campaign had failed to get enough signatures. The final story on Page 1, Lower School Foresees Change detailed a plan by Lower School principal John Harkins and approved by the School Committee to “...eliminate two of the three first through third vertical classes, change transition to a vertical transition-first grade and add three vertical classes (a first-second, third-fourth, and a fifth-sixth, each for 20 students...making it possible for a student to enter or leave a vertical class at any age after kindergarten...(meaning) addition of two classes...and 31 students...”

On the Opinion Page, the Earthquake editorial staff railed against the lack of contributions to the paper from non-staff members in Earthquake Rates Low on Richter Scale. “...Did you ever stop to think who brings you this pleasurable experience, or how it comes to appear at the Front Desk every month? To put it more bluntly, do you have an article in this issue? For most of you, the answer...is ‘No.’ In fact, the bulk of the Earthquake copy is written by only a handful of the school’s population...Though these people enjoy writing, the Earthquake staff does not want the paper to be a semi-private enterprise. Are we the victims of oligarchic egomania? Or should some of the blame rest with the students?...As usual at GFS, apathy reigns supreme. Unsolicited contributions to the Earthquake, which should make up a great deal of the paper, comprise such a small percentage that it’s hardly worth mentioning. Getting articles written by direct solicitation is quite often harder than pulling teeth (without anaesthetic!) We literally have to beg initially on bended knee, and keep cajoling, prodding, goading, right up until the date of publication to get the articles written. On top of this, we even have to supply a topic. Spoon feeding! At such an intellectual school?! Blasphemous! Yet, unfortunately true...Remember, the Earthquake is by and for the students of GFS. It can only be as good, as diversified, as interesting, as YOU make it. So, think not what the Earthquake can do for you, but what YOU can do for YOUR Earthquake.

In less seismic opinions, John Rossheim claimed Science Classes Lack Challenge and Amy Bernhardt stated Senior Projects Pose Challenges, which dealt with the conflict of late proposals and the worthiness of the project. On Page 3, Students Confer About Religion discussed students attending a meeting of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the usefulness of the SST was attacked in Concorde: “Blind Stupidity” Threatens Environment.

Across Pages 4 and 5, were articles seeking help for the stage crew; Lawyer Explains “Approximate Justice” by Bill Coleman ’69; Republicans Find Security in Ford, and Learn Spanish the Fun Way. It was hard to know how things would change four years later. In the Ford article, Aaron Temin noted, “...Reagan is even less appealing than Ford. In contrast to Ford’s ‘wet noodle’ image, Reagan thinks radical decisiveness is called for. Hence, his ‘$90 billion proposal,’ which would transfer the responsibility for many services from federal to state and local governments to either drop many current programs or raise taxes proportionally. Obviously, a plan like this turns a lot of people off. One finds it hard to be neutral about Reagan...Most folks would rather have a wishy-washy Ford than a decisive Reagan. Ford is a safe candidate. Most Republicans remember the last time they ran an ultra-conservative candidate. The President won’t let them forget it...” An ad appeared for the yearbook, which would go on sale on April 1 -- for $4.50.

The March movie review was of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

The winter sports wrap-up was on basketball and squash. In Attila Rides by Tigers with One Point Win, yours truly wrote of the bitter 47-46 loss to Hun School in the semifinals of the Penn-Jersey Conference playoffs on a shot that bounced three times on the rim and fell in with six seconds left. We had dominated the game and had great fan support at the contest played at Pennington. GFS finished 16-5. Hilton had 23 points and finished his career with 1,181 points and 980 rebounds, while Coach Felsen ended the season with 103 career wins. Four seniors started: Hilton, Tom Loder, Jon Magaziner and Peter Baur. Meanwhile, Girls Basketball: Best Season Ever noted the varsity, JV and Third Teams each posted 8-1 records, which also indicated the great discrepancy in the number of games played by the boys and girls. The girls teams also wore skirts. Varley Paul captained the varsity, and Abby Reifsnyder and Cindy Bansen were key senior contributors. Squash: Not A Game For Vegetables indicated GFS’ 4-8 record was four times as many wins as in the past, and the success was due to “...we played at Squashcon, a beautiful facility with seven courts, which enabled us to have twice as much practice time as in previous years. We also finally had a coach who knew of squash as something other than a vegetable. John Emerson brought a fair amount of expertise...” Rick Endo captained the senior-dominated team. The seniors had helped start the sport at GFS. Girls squash, which had only been offered since 1974, was showing progress according to the article Girls Squash: Team Ripening. Bobbie Konover was “...coaching the girls twice a week with individual instruction as well as court time for intramural competition...”

An ad on the back page alerted readers to order Earthquake T-shirts, “...designed exclusively...by the renowned GFS artist Howard S.L. Coale...” The price: $2.75.

April 23, 1976

The Final Word on “The Final Days” was a pre-publication review of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s The Final Days, a controversial account of the last months of the Nixon Administration. The book was a sequel to All the President’s Men, the Washington Post reporters’ book about how they uncovered the Watergate scandal which led to Nixon’s resignation. To the side of that article was Composer, Conductor, Choir Create Vespers which told of the choir’s performance of The Ancient Vespers at Walnut Street Theater. One of the highlights of rehearsals was when The Ancient Vespers composer Michael White stopped by. Bristol Sends Its Best described the two-week visit of eight students from Bristol, England, conducted under the auspices of the English Speaking Union, which was devoted to promoting friendship and exchange between English speaking countries. A group of GFS students would be visiting Bristol during the summer. Show Benefits Scholarship Fund related the Black Parents Group sponsored theater trip to see Guys and Dolls at the Forrest Theatre as a benefit for the Community Scholarship Program Rubenstone Fund. Around 205 people attended the performance which was followed by a reception with the cast.

The Op-Ed pages were almost entirely devoted to local and national politics with Presidential Race Attracts Motley Crew, Woodward & Bernstein: Investigative Reporters Deserve Freedom, Speakers Detail April Primary (Corinne Kyle, Charis Bowling, John McAuliffe and former Senator Joseph S. Clark spoke at GFS), and Specter Fights for Seat, about Arlen Specter’s campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate against John Heinz. The lone non-political piece was Philadelphia Art Museum: Changes For The Better, about the museum reopening after 10 months in order to have air conditioning installed, new wooden floors put down, draperies cleaned and re-hung and the walls repainted.

Reviews in this issue were the movie Swept Away and the GFS production of She Stoops to Conquer, which was directed by David Bauer ’77. Progress in Prints introduced the Prints in Progress workshop located in the old Center for Evolving Education. One could learn silk-screening, printing, painting on T-shirts and fabric for free. The workshop was used by children of all ages and from different schools. Tutoring Recommended As Worthwhile Experience related a GFS program sponsoring students who wanted to tutor at Pickett School. Tom Loder discussed his personal experience. In How To Bloom This Spring, “Earthquake fashion consultants” Susan Stokes ’77 and Carey Perloff evaluated GFSers’ spring fashions, dividing styles into five main categories: The 60s Leftovers; Preps; Soon-to-Be Collegiates; The I’m A Jock Look, and The Back-to-Nature Look. An article on Music: Lonely Traders Rewards closed out the midsection of paper.

Mode of Transport Reflect Lack of Energy was results of a Peter Evans’ poll of 130 seventh-12th grade students on how they got to and from school. The results showed that 88.5% indicated they had access to public transportation, but only 35% used SEPTA or the train; 80% could carpool, but only 16.3% did so, and 8% walked, jogged or cycled with some of those saying it was faster to walk than take SEPTA. Of the seniors, 54.8% drove to school. In another story, the Drama Guild series was reviewed as inconsistent.

In Sports, was The Art of Tennis: A Study in Angles, previews of the senior dominated baseball, track and field (led by Mike Bird and Tim Sellers), girls tennis and girls lacrosse teams (headline: Girls Return to Cradle). Kevin Porter, our resident badminton tournament player, explained how a tournament works in Badminton: New Birdie Flies in Phillie, while we also learned that Co-Ed Gym Here to Stay. The classes for 11th and 12th graders had been introduced during the year under the direction of Dan Shectman and Timmie Marter and proven a success. Electives such as rock climbing, tennis, archery, hockey, squash, badminton, orienteering, and occasionally folk dancing were offered. The writer said that the teachers found that “...the boys in the classes have become more considerate and also receptive to the idea that the female sex is not as frail as previously believed. Girls who were once timid have become more aggressive and confident as a result of their experience in co-ed activities. Perhaps, the most important effect of the co-ed gym classes has been the decline of competitiveness in team activities. Cooperation rises in its place, and a willingness to help is a most important factor. Each individual regardless of sex, finds that he or she has something to offer and each comes to know the pleasure of helping another person to succeed in a given activity...”

June 3, 1976

Accomplishing the feat just before deadline and graduation, the news of the Tigers Penn-Jersey Conference baseball championship was blasted across the top of the front page. The senior class finally had a championship and what a miracle it was. First, GFS needed a win in its final regular season game to even hold out hope for a playoff spot. Freshman Vinny Ross’ triple drove Evan Post home in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-7 win over Girard. PSD won the same day and had to beat George School, who had just one win, the following day to earn its ticket to the post-season. George School delivered GFS’ ticket with an 8-6 win. That earned the Tigers a trip to first-place Hun School, which was undefeated in league play. The Tigers rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit with four runs in the second, two on a double by Peter Evans. Ross plated another run in the sixth and Tom Loder, who in the preseason was expected to be a spot starter, shut Hun down on one run after the first and GFS had a 5-3 win. Two days later, the Tigers were at second-place Pennington, and Loder again took to the the hill. The first inning was again a problem for GFS, as Pennington scored five runs for a 5-1 lead. Once again, the Tigers tightened up the defense and GFS chipped away at the lead. With Tom Myers providing a key hit, GFS scored three runs in the third to create a 6-6 tie. Post, Eric Stone, Peter Evans and Ed Glendinning made some outstanding defensive plays, the Tigers took the lead on another Ross double and added insurance runs in the seventh. The final out set off a wild celebration.

Certainly there were ironies. The championship took place yards away from the gym where the basketball team had suffered the bitter playoff loss. In that game, Loder in trying to ensure the victory went for a steal and the Hun player’s shot bounced three times on the rim and fell through. Now, Loder was clearly the MVP, pitching twice on a day’s rest. Wrote Graham Robb ’77: “...I had the honor to sit with Tom Loder on the way home. His knee was bleeding badly, his arm was in extreme pain, but in his heart there was joy. For Tom wanted this victory more than anyone on the team could even imagine. Here was a man who had just pitched two complete games in the space of three days. How he did it I will never know, but one thing is for sure. This was a championship won not by the most talented team, but by the team with the most heart.”

Yes, there were other stories in the issue, as well as a new masthead. Three of the front page articles dealt with reviews of school productions, ‘Anything Goes’ Tops Record, which praised everything about the Upper School production from the acting to costuming to music to the orchestra. Elsewhere on the page, kudos were given to the faculty production of Major Barbara in Faculty Handles Dry Play Well. Music teacher Don Kawash thrilled the audience with an evening of ragtime and turn of the century music titled “Scott Joplin and His Friends”. City Hosts Alaskans told of the visit of 26 Alaskans from the small fishing island of Craig to a second, third and fifth-grade class.

Page 2 of the Op-Ed page included a pro-con exchange about the decision that independent projects should be done sometime during the sophomore, junior or senior year instead of as Senior Projects. One independent project would be a requirement for graduation, and could also be done during the summer. Press Needs Good Conscience was the other editorial piece on Page 2. As for Page 3, there was Teaching Methods Stifle Students, which outlined the “humiliation”, “intellectual”, “rush” approaches, and the new teacher method, where they “...grant students all sorts of rights and freedoms...students unused to this treatment, can’t deal with the extra responsibilities, and ultimately abuse them...”; B-1 Bomber to Weaken Nation, and an interesting letters exchange which basically outlined the mission of the Earthquake.

A parent and student responded to the Earthquake’s editorial about lack of contributions to the paper. The student submitted a poem and suggested “...an occasional piece of creative writing would lend variety and dimension to the paper...” Responded editors Diane Gottlieb and Sue Stokes: “...The Earthquake is intended as both an attempt at serious journalism and a more efficient means of providing communication between the various branches of the school community. The paper aims to enunciate the diverse ideas, opinions and activities which are prevalent in the school...Past and present editors have felt the Earthquake is not the proper forum for creative writing. The Earthquiver...is an effort to involve a wider range of writers...Although we appreciate the spirit in which your contribution was made, we feel that works of its kind do not really have a place in our newspaper. However, this does not mean that journalism inherently lacks creativity. Like all writing, it is an attempt to express ideas and should be done in the clearest most enjoyable way possible. It is our hope that those who are interested in more creative endeavors will not shy away from journalism to pure literature, but will instead look at writing for the paper as a challenge to their creative instincts. Perhaps, with this in mind, future writers will seek the Earthquake as an outlet for some of their creative and intellectual energies.”

The mid-sections of the paper included Heath’s Magnetisim Captures Audience, about the talk on Friends Day by Douglas Heath, a professor at Haverford College; Dean Discusses Validity of SAT; Humphrey Hides His Hand; Carter Forces Party Unity? (following his primary victories, including in Pennsylvania); Plays Highlight (10th grade) Medieval Day, and Where They Are Headed..., the senior class’ college choices.

On Page 6, in Highlander Battles American Tongue, Alexis MacKenzie related her encounters between her British English and American English. “One of the very first things which I saw when I arrived here was a beautifully lettered notice: ‘In case of fire turn left and proceed to graveyard.’ My first view of the school was therefore a place obviously harboring many people with acute senses of humor, if in somewhat dubious taste. Although, this was at the time a mistaken impression, it has since been proven justified. It is I, however, who for some mysterious reason seem to have become a cause of much mirth...” Elsewhere on pages 6 and 7, were a review of a concert, and student-produced play, Interview; an account of the Senior Prom and a few “satirical pieces.” One was about a proposed grade change to BPE (Best Possible Effort), CBB (Could’ve Been Better) and YNT (You’re Not Trying). The others were in somewhat questionable taste. As for the prom, the first dance number was the Theme from S.W.A.T., and John Rossheim noted that “...the promenaders looked smashing at this point, their varied tuxedos and long evening dresses electric with the music. Actually, the male attire included a number of dapper suits, as well as a few less coordinated and more casual outfits, reminiscent of Sunday dinner at Mom’s...”

The last issue was 12 pages. Pages 8 and 9 included reviews of Barry Lyndon and All the President’s Men, the list of Senior Projects, and Student Values European Correspondence, about letter exchanges with friends he had met the previous summer in Northern Italy.

As for Page 10, the school bid adieu to Parvin Sharpless, who was leaving for The Park School in Baltimore, and Ruth Field, who was retiring as a Lower School teacher after 31 years. She had taught second grade and transition. One of the highlights of the page was the announcement that the Earthquake had been awarded first place in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Newspaper competition for the Central Region for the third straight year!

In DES Threatens Second Generation, an alumna wrote of the link between diethylstilbestrol (DES), a drug often given to pregnant women between 1939-1972, and the incidence of vaginal cancer in the female children and genital abnormalities in DES exposed males. Leaving Teachers Seek New Challenges noted the departures of Jeff Averick, Ann Brubaker, Deborah Courter, Mary Ann Davis, Susan Dundon, Helen Fareira, Ruth Field, Lois Keates, Michael Loewy, Barbara Longstreth, Bill O’Neill, Al Poor, Linda Salness and Helen Stark. A wrapup of the JV baseball season finished off Page 11.

Page 12 Sports summarized women’s lacrosse, track and field, boys and girls tennis. At the Penn-Jersey Conference track and field championships, GFS finished fourth, but Tim Sellers won the mile and half-mile. The mile relay team of Greg Simpson ’77, Mike Bird, Paul Reynolds ’77 and Barry Claxton ’77 won the event. The highlight of the lacrosse season was a victory over Springside, the first varsity win over Springside in any sport in four years. The boy’s tennis team was 8-3 entering the league tournament, and one highlight was Roger Mallery ’77 defeating his Hun School opponent who was ranked 32nd in the country. Among the seniors on the team were Kevin Porter, Ricky Endo and Mike Kuby. Girls’s tennis was plagued by weather that postponed several matches, chorus musical rehearsals and Senior Projects, which meant Linda Johnson was unable to play. The other senior on the team was Ann Osborn.

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