Of course the news went over big in the media.
Now this is small potatoes in the annals of politicians behaving, let us say, *in their own best interest*, but it took me back to my days as a high school senior and editor of the Beverly Hills High School Highlights. To my chagrin I'd discovered that one of my duties as editor was to attend student council meetings. Bo-ring.
And then when I went to one. I was especially interested in a motion that was approved to spend $75 (as I recall) on a can that would stand at the door of the school's auditorium to collect... trash.
$70 in 1964 is the equivalent to $700+ in today's dollars... so it seemed like rather a lot of money to me and my co-editor, Tom Linden. So of course we dashed off an editorial with the headline: $75 CANNED!
The piece ran, and the morning after, we were trundled up to the principal's office, along with our wonderful advisor, Mr. Gelms. Apparently the principal's office had been getting phone calls that morning from parents who'd seen our editorial and were (I like to think) similarly shocked and appalled by such profligate spending.
We sat there smirking as the principal reamed us out and proclaimed that any future opinion-expressing editorials would have to be vetted by his office. An edict which we promptly ignored. (Remember, mine is the generation that rioted at Columbia four years later.)
Do you have any memorable moments in your past when you stood up to... or ignored authority and lived to tell about it?
Good for you, Hallie! In college, I worked in the cafeteria where I generally ignored the silly [in my opinion] rule about not talking to the students coming through the hot food line [other than to ask what they wanted to eat] . . . the boss would glare at me, but being friendly didn’t seem to me to be such a bad idea . . . .
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a very good rule to ignore. There's altogether too little warmth in the world.
DeleteThat's great, Hallie! Hurray! Don't you love when someone tells you what your opinon has to be? GAah And I fear I have done this many times--but I have just arrived in gorgeous Aldeburgh England after an overnight flight and my brain is not working well enough to tell you! (DEBS! It is SO beautiful--we drove from London, and I was almost in tears of joy the whole time. I kept taking photos and the driver was laughing at me.)
ReplyDeleteYAY, have a wonderful time on the documentary panel. Take more photos, lol.
DeleteHave a ball, Hank! Stay hydrated!
DeleteHave a wonderful time, Hank!
Deleteglad you got there safely Hank!
DeleteEnjoy every minute!
DeleteI have dear friends who live in Aldeburgh and operate a lovely restaurant called Regatta which you should visit if you have the time. ~Emily
DeleteWhat a wonderful trip, Hank! Can't wait to hear all about it....
DeleteSavor the moment! Memories make great 'photos'! (Flora)
DeleteHank safe travels!
DeleteHank, I am SO jealous!!! Did everything go smoothly at Heathrow? Have a wonderful time, take LOTS of pics!!
DeleteSounds to me that yours was a good kind of rebellion, Hallie. As for mine, I don't want to talk about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you sister:)
DeleteHa ha ha... LUCY?!?!
DeleteI remember attending a sit-in with by BFF Debbie in front of our high school, protesting to have the right to smoke during our breaks. Outdoors of course. This was back in 1974. We lost but we tried.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, not such an estimable cause...
DeleteSure, as a Canadian federal government employee, I saw plenty of wasteful, frivolous spending. But whistle blowers were not tolerated, so I didn't speak out. And the cycle of belt tightening regimes sometimes went to crazy extremes. While other departments spent billions of dollars with little accounting, I could not order a pack of pens for my team without a director's approval. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteWe think of Canadians as far more principled than US-ians... Who knew. Somehow this is reassuring. And somehow not.
DeleteWell, I don't know many Canadian politicians with a squeaky clean reputation.I see financial mismanagement and abuse at all levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal) in Ontario and Canada.
DeleteI love this story, Hallie! Let's hear it for spunky high school journalists (I was also one).
ReplyDeleteAt mostly conservation UC Irvine, the few anti-war folks among us in the early seventies marched out from campus to MacArthur Blvd and stopped traffic for about half an hour. And we spread the word about war tax resisting. I wrote for the college newspaper and imagine I covered those actions, but I can't actually remember.
DeleteCalifornia (like NYC) was a hotbed of dissent.
DeleteHallie the Rabble Rouser! Loved your story. And one thing that you didn't mention about the 19K lectern is that the Arkansas liar-in-chief has refused to say where the damn thing is as well.
ReplyDeleteI got into a lot of trouble in school for standing up for myself. While there were occasions where I actually did do stuff wrong, I always owned up to those incidents. However, when I was right there was no backing down on my part. I didn't care who you were. Once, I was told to serve a detention for something I was right about (a very long story). I refused and was told that I would be suspended if I didn't. They were shocked when I said, "Fine, I'll go to work tomorrow."
The day I went back to school, I got accused of skipping a class (on the day I was suspended). I told the guy making the BS accusation, "Are you going to suspend me for the other 6 classes I skipped yesterday too?" Then followed up with, "I was SUSPENDED yesterday, don't you FN people talk to each other?"
When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But be damn sure about it because if I'm right, hell hath no fury like me worked up into a righteous fury. :D
Jay: I salute you for your approach -- and your self-awareness re. "When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But be damn sure about it because if I'm right, hell hath no fury like me worked up into a righteous fury. :D". I'm right there with you!
Delete"When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But be damn sure about it because if I'm right, hell hath no fury like me worked up into a righteous fury. " Love this!
DeleteOh, Jay - you must've given your poor mother palpitations.
DeleteHallie, actually I didn't. At one point in 7th grade, my mother was so sick of the homeroom teacher throwing me out of class for such BS reasons as opening a door and then the very next day for refusing to open the very same door, that one day I was in the office by 8am and she told the principal to clear a room, she was bringing the boxing gloves. His response, "Are you kidding, Jay would kill him."
DeleteWhen I got that suspension mentioned above, the school called and told her. I got home from school, she asked what happened and I told her the unvarnished truth. She looked at me and said, "Have fun at work tomorrow."
And while this didn't have anything to do with me getting tossed out of class, she once wrote an excused absence note for me after a family trip to the Ramses exhibit that was in Boston during my senior year. "Please excuse Jay from being absent yesterday. We took him on an educational field trip". The teacher refused to accept the reason. So I said, well I'm 18, I can write my own note. This is what I wrote: "Please excuse Jay from school yesterday, he had a fictional dentist appointment." THE SCHOOL ACCEPTED THE NOTE!!!!!
My high school had a rule about the width of girl's tank top straps (this was in the 90s when this was all the rage). Girls had to wear shirts that completely covered their shoulders, nothing strappy at all. But this rule only applied to the girls. The boys were allowed to wear basketball jerseys, etc that were just as revealing as a tank top. This is a public high school, not a private school before anyone wonders about a uniform!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper (remember those?) complaining about how unfair it was. The newspaper called both my parents and the principal to make sure it was okay to run it. To his credit, the principal said it was fine. He was an absolute turkey and the living embodiment of the Peter Principle, so I was shocked. My parents both said it was fine and told me later they were proud of me.
Nothing changed (it wasn't that kind of place or time) but I know as students we all felt a little better that we had at least said our piece. Someone l knew from high school contacted me years later and said she still had my letter to the editor clipped and thought about when I had given the principal "what for" (she probably used more colorful language, but I'll spare everyone the details!)
Yay, Jill!!!
DeleteWhat a great story, Hallie. As Edith says, let's hear it for HS journalists! I didn't write for a school newspaper until my uni days. As for questioning authority -- yes, always. I remember an early example from school when I was about 14. My whole class was being reprimanded by our home-room teacher for something (I don't remember what) and I thought this was unfair, so I shot to my feet and said so. The teacher was taken aback, but the positive feedback I got from my classmates for standing up for us collectively fueled my interest in representing others. The roots of my feminist politics, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Amanda. I about ten, the shortest and youngest in my class, when the teacher asked a couple of boys to go fetch books from the book room. I shot up my hand and said, "Why can't I go get books?" Proto-feminist in action!
DeleteAmanda, wondering if you've ever ended up running for office?
DeleteNice.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to protest the firing of all adjunct professors as a "cost-saving" measure in college, but there wasn't any backlash from it.
Saving by firing ADJUNCT?!? Good heavens. They make a pittance to start with.
DeleteYeah, it wasn't popular and didn't happen. We understood the university was desperate, but...
Delete$70! My rent in 1972 was $85. So that would be equivalent to an entire months rent even today which is (in our city) over $2,000.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Hallie. An independent press is the key to democracy.
YES... and it breaks my heart to see so many local newspapers going under or being bought by mega-publishers.
DeleteHank, I love England, such a wonderful country and people. Are you there on assignment or just as a visitor?
ReplyDeleteAh ha! I think I answered my own question. Reporting on the cinema festival? Looks like great shows.
DeleteGood for you, Hallie! With many of my classmates, I wore a black armband to school. The college counselor and principal hauled us in and announced that unless we removed the armbands, the counselor would tell the colleges that had accepted us that we were "dissidents," and our glowing recommendations would be withdrawn. Did I stand up for my principles or decide I could make more of an impact as an educated adult? I chose the latter, though I still regret it.
ReplyDeleteI told my kids the story and they were astonished that a HS counselor and principal could wield such clout! But this was the era of routine locker searches and school administrators, accompanied by a police officer, ringing student doorbells without a warrant, asking to search a student's bedroom.
OMG... wonderign what part of the country you grew up in. This sounds pretty draconian.
DeleteYou made the right choice Margaret especially since the other students most likely saw you and your classmates with the black armbands and knew what you were protesting. To go to a good college and to then to be educated was your payback to the principal and counselor. So in the end you won.
DeleteI always laugh when school administrators or teachers thought I was supposed to be afraid of them. My dad was a cop and my mother was the chief law enforcement officer of the house, who do you think I was more worried about upsetting?
DeleteKind of a minor thing but when I was a parent volunteer in a 5th grade classroom, the teacher was taking a vote on the next classroom president. The kids nominated a few kids but the class favorite nominee seems to be Jordan a sweet boy who has Down Syndrome. The kids had to put their heads down and close their eyes and put their hand in the air when a name was called out. When Jordon was overwhelmingly elected the teacher clearly didn't want him to win so she looked at me for support to name the second place winner. I gave her a blank look like no way. She reluctantly announced he had won. This meant a lot to his family and to him to know he was supported by so many friends. He still lives with his parents on my block.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story and what a great group of kids!
DeleteThat's a great story! Sometimes the right thing to do is... nothing.
DeleteNot a minor thing at all, Jill! (Flora)
DeleteSo, Hank, no beans on toast for brekkies? :-) Have to admit, I don't get that one, either!
ReplyDeleteHallie, you were fierce! You have to wonder how the school got scammed into paying that much in the first place. I bet you embarrassed somebody there.
I can't think of a single instance where I made a stand, until the first Women's March in January 2017, and again in 2018. It's too bad some of our politicians didn't pay attention to the millions of women, LBTQIA, and other supporters of women's rights who marched during those not just nationwide but WORLDwide events.
Good for you, Karen!!
DeleteKaren, thanks for reminding me. I couldn’t think of any rabble rousing from my youth (I was pretty much a rule follower), but I participated in the January 2017, 2018 marches as well as the one that followed the M.S. Douglas school shooting in March 2018. It seemed like the very least we could do. — Pat S
DeleteKaren, I had forgotten about that march. My sister flew in from Hawaii, and in-laws flew in from PA, and we all had pink knitted beanies, and we marched in San Diego along with thousands of others.
ReplyDeleteIt was truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
DeleteAnon, I was with you in San Diego that day! (See above) — Pat S
DeleteGood for you Hallie! When I was in college, President Carter re-instituted selective service registration and I turned into an activist.We called ourselves SAD--Students Against the Draft--and marched around campus and helped organize a bigger march in downtown Portland. From that beginning, I learned that it's always more hopeful to be doing something, even if it's futile than just watching. I went on to activism around Central America policy, anti-nuke, labor issues. My activism pales in comparison to my twin's though. She worked in the labor movement her whole career and spent much of it as director of a coalition that brought people into the streets to support workers' struggles. In retirement, she's a climate activist and I've been her jail support person --they built a Victory over Fossil Fuels garden on the railroad tracks of a dirty oil processing company. She'll probably be arrested again at some point, but I think I'll stick with being a support person.
ReplyDeleteA support person is very important too! Kudos to your sister.
DeleteI am in awe of people who take risks and ACT the way their conscience dictates.
DeleteGillian, Three cheers for your sister. She sounds amazing. You marched on the campus in downtown Portland? Must have been PSU. My son-in-law is a tenured prof there. Great school.
ReplyDeletePortland is a great city and so many are climate activists. My PDX daughter is quite engaged in climate issues with the city.
Actually I was a student at Lewis & Clark, and we marched on campus there and then in downtown with other student and activist groups. My dad was a librarian at PSU, so I spent a lot of time on campus as a child--kind of a faculty brat (like Nick Kristof--my dad knew his dad). That's cool that your daughter is involved in climate issues. The situation with Zenith Energy (where my sister was arrested) is unacceptable. My sis is active with Extinction Rebellion and my brother-in-law with 350PDX. I show up for stuff, but am not involved in the organizing.
DeleteThis was a minor thing for sure. First semester in grad school, lucky to secure a graduate teaching position. The professor had a reputation for being a ladies' man (married, and as sleazy as that sounds). I'm teaching a lab section with some young women who laughed and chatted throughout class. I (gasp!) gave them zeros for an assignment that they all failed to turn in. Cue the tearful visit to the professor. He comes into the TAs communal office and informs me that I'm to accept their late assignment. I tell him I will do so if he initials the assignments so the other students, who all heard the due date and turned in completed assignments on time, will know that I'm not showing favoritism. NUCLEAR EXPLOSION! Sucked all the air out of the office, not a pin drop or rustling paper could be heard. Not funny in the moment, but I don't think anyone had ever dared oppose him before. I accepted their assignments, but still docked them a grade for being late. Not the last time I had to go head-to-head with overbearing a**holes. Once it was with a Texas oilman from Egypt and his cohort of big husky underlings, the latter of whom all took one step back when I drew a line in the dirt and wouldn't cross it.
ReplyDeleteThat's me, Flora, above.
DeleteWhat a great story Flora! It is difficult to go against a tenured professor especially when you were a grad student.
DeletePower trip... and good for you, Flora, for standing up to him.
DeleteI had something like that when I was supervising student teachers... one of the students was doing a practicum in a pre-K... I got a call from the classroom teacher that when he was working with a few of the 5-year-olds he shared with them what he had in his pocket: a folding knife, a bullet, and pills. For me that was enough to pull him from the placement but I had to stand up to the woman who ran the department and thought he should get a second chance. I threatened to go to the dean.
Holy cow, Hallie!! Sure, let's give him a second chance--maybe next time it would be an AR-15 in his backpack!
DeleteNPR has a story this morning about the singer PINK (one of my granddaughter's fav) is giving a rock concert in Florida. At the concert she is giving away 2,000 banned books (such as Beloved by Morrison, Girls Who Code, etc). And the books are being provided by one of my favorite authors - Judy Blume who owns Books & Books in Key West along with PEN. Maybe Hayley Snow will be in attendance Lucy!
ReplyDeleteJudy Blume is fantastic - there's a great documentary about her now on Netflix (I think) and she talks at great length about her books being banned.
DeleteIt is so hard to imagine how Judy Blume's books would be objectionable. In so many cases banning such books (including about LGBTQ+ kids, etc) is downright cruel for kids to be denied books that can change their lives for the better.
DeleteI couldn't stand long meetings when I was working in tech. As soon as the topics started being repeated, I'd get up and leave. My boss would say, "Where are you going?" I'd say, "I have work to do." Never got fired. But I did get fired once by a summer boss. He was a notorious curmudgeon. He told me I was fired. The next day I went right back to work. He asked what I was doing there. I told he him needed me. He laughed and said okay.
ReplyDeletePretty cheeky!!
DeleteGreat story Terry! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHallie, what a great post encouraging us to tell about our moments of glory. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's stories! I guess my best moment might be when I was about 27 and stood up to my boss, who was in her fifties and quite a well-known activist (Peggy Charren, head of Action for Children's Television). I actually liked and respected her very much--most of the time. But when she lost her temper, she yelled, and I hated being yelled at. So after a few times of this during my first year working for her, I finally stood up to her, this much older and somewhat famous person, and said, "I'm not going to talk to you when you're out of control like this. When you've calmed down and can have a sensible discussion, I'll be in my office." My voice shook, but I did it. About twenty minutes later, she did come to my office and talk to me calmly, and I don't remember her ever yelling at me again. Since I loved that job, I'm still glad she didn't fire me.
ReplyDeleteBrava!!
DeleteKim, did she apologize to you for yelling? Good for you. People will behave the way they want until someone says “no”. You were very brave! And what a cool job! — Pat S
DeleteYou go, Hallie! Standing in a great tradition of defiant (and news-breaking) student journalism. By the way, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE,) which promotes free speech on campuses (without favor to left or right) has a whole legal team, the Student Press Freedom Initiative (SPFI) which backs student journalists, in court if necessary, against overbearing administrations.
ReplyDeleteFIRE does such important work! All sides need to go back to promoting free speech.
Deletehttps://www.thefire.org/
DeleteGo, Hallie!!! Yes, I made a stink (wrote letters to the university president and board) about my chemistry professor and her professor husband requiring all 300 students (the number of students in my class) to buy their $50 lab book (it was 1988 - pricey!). I figured between them they taught the class 5 times/semester that's 1500 students forced to buy a $50 lab book that was a garbage mimeographed packet of sheets stapled together (self published?) from the campus bookstore. The professor went ballistic! Small wonder given that I blew up their passive income stream of $75K. When the next semester rolled around their packet was replaced by a traditionally published workbook. Neener neener neener.
ReplyDeleteJenn, that must have been a practice that professors all over passed along to each other! That happened at my large state university around the same year, where professors were doing the same thing. Notifying the president and board was smart as they are the ones who can actually change that practice. Smart move on your part.
ReplyDeleteJenn, there's a story going around on the internet about a professor whose students were required to purchase books from the university bookstore; this professor told his students they weren't allowed to use free copies downloadable from X-website--making sure they all knew exactly where to find free materials for his classes. (Flora) And yes, neener, neener, neener indeed!
ReplyDeleteWow, what admirable rabble rousers you all are!! I am in awe since I don't think I ever did anything more rebellious than wearing my dresses shorter than the middle school dress code allowed. (Remember when the staff would use rulers to measure the distance from your knees??) Such a milquetoast!!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar moment at Yale back in the early 1990s when my union (Local 34, the Clerical and Technical Workers) were on strike and Yale had just purchased brand new trash cans to place outside my office at the cost of $500/each. As we marched on the picket line in the cold in front of the main library you can bet we had something to say about that. I think we went for more than a year without a contract, but Yale finally caved when we shut down a main intersection in New Haven and hundreds of union members got arrested along with the president of our international union. That was long ago, but there was one union on that picket line that was not then recognized by Yale--the graduate student teaching assistants. It has taken all these years, but Yale finally recognized that union (local 33) and they are in the middle of negotiating their first contract right now. In the meantime the university has continued to spend big on things that don't matter or don't endure (a dozen thousand dollar flower arrangements, for example), but rabble rousing has continued.
ReplyDeleteGreat story! What part time faculty are paid is a travesty... Thank goodness unions are beating the drum and getting some action.
Delete