SPRI NG HAS

OFFICIALLY
THE
LIFE
BACK
MRS. KRIENDLER
SCHOOL
Members of the faculty and
e police continued to search the
,tire building, and when they
id uncovered no trace of a
tmb, at 11:18, the normal school
I y resumed.
This is not the first time that
Fi has had a scare of this type.
During one of the late-night
meetings Mr. Smith attended, a
similar ' call was placed.
precautionary measures wnicn
are required by the State of New
York. This, however, was not the
reason for the building' s
evacuation.
At 10:50 the same morning,
Mrs. Dorothea Anderson, a
member of the office staff at
school, received a telephone call
faculty. Many students became
anxious because of the bombing
of the Capitol and the New School
building of the previous night.
Half-hearted jokes about
extended Spring Vacations,
books and notes within the
building, and other irreplaceable
personal belongings began to
ci rcul at e a s t he school
However, on that occaafion the
caller continuously annoyed the
meeting until the persons
evacuated the building and
searched for possible explosives.
As with this most recent
occurrence, t hat search was
futile.
Fair: A Triumph
from an unidentified man, who
had said, in what Mrs. Anderson
described as, "somewhat of a
muffled tone," "There is a bomb
planted in your building." Mrs.
Anderson quickly transferred the
call to Mr. Longley's telephone
community waited on
Schermerhorn St.
During this waiting period,
two neighborhood policemen
were found, and they, along with
Mr. Smith, Mr. Martin, Mr.
Dwight, Mr. Longley, and Mr.
Vuoso, searched the entire school
building for evidence of a bomb.
At 11:07 all members of the
School were ushered into the
For Social Action
Motives?
by. Wendy Grabel Many reasons have been
given for possible motives of the
false alarm. One faculty member
was heard to remark, "You
extension. However, a t t hat
moment, the Head of the Middle
School was not in his office.
Mr. Asch, whose office is
directly in back of Mr. Longley's,
said to Mrs. Anderson, "He's not
here." Whereupon Mrs.
Anderson urged Mr. Asch to pick
up on his extension. As the Upper
School Head did this, a heavy
breathing noise was all he heard
In order to raise money for the Pakestani relief fund, "Save the
Survivors," the Sixth Grade held a "fair" in the gym on Friday,
February 26. The event had been universally declared the charitable,
financial, and social highlight of the year.
The class had been working and planning for the fair since Oc-
tober. Publicity campaigns began in early February when a few girls
stood up in meeting and yelled, "Ba!" (for bazaar). After this
mystifying incident only posters and coherent announcements were
employed.
know, the guy just may have
wanted to have the power of
gym. The reason for this move
was that its floor was easily
checked for parcels of explosives,
and the sturdy surroundings of
the gym provide a natural shelter
area.
seeing so many people evacuate a
building at his order." Others
linked the call to the man's being
influenced by the political
bombing in Washington of the
preceding night.
The class a s a whole decided The Fair was destructive a s
to make this kind of financial well a s rewarding. Mr. Knies who
contribution at one of their arrived with a calm, objective,
1 School
scheduled cl ass meetings.
Pakistan was chosen to receive
the proceeds because it was, a s
one boy puts it, "...in the news
and in more trouble than the
yearbook." Mr. Begleman, the
Sixth Grade' s homeroom
teacher, disclaims any credit.
The students planned, organized,
and "made" the Fair almost
"It looks a little wild," was later
seen grating his teeth over a
playing board and muttering, "I
am going to stay here till I win."
At the end of the Fai r he an-
nounced, "I won three coupons.
I'm proud of myself ."
Hitchcock Introduced in
1 Happenings
Film Course
the winter film festival was made
up of 3 comedies, 3 westerns, and
3 mysteries. Each category was
explored and each movie in each
category was compared. There
were more requirements than
The film course, taught by
Mr. Knies, will again be offered,
due to a remarkable response in
the previous t ri mest ers.
However, unlike the first and
second t ri mest ers, t he film
course will entail a concentrated
study of only on9 director -
Alfred Hitchcock.
In the first trimester, the film
course, being a newly established
course, floundered in a series of
problems: it was scheduled for
only once a week, lacked a
classroom, and only had the back
of the meeting house a s a habitat.
The course given was an
introduction to film and to the
various methods different
directors employ in their films.
The only real requirements for
the course were viewing the
movies and attending at least one
discussion group per week. These
discussions were rewarding and
certainly enjoyable, however, the
ext reme informality which
prevailed, (that of wandering
discussions and no real
classroom,) prompted Mr. Knies
to look for a more planned, if not
formal cl ass in the second
trimester.
In the second trimester, the
film class was scheduled to meet
on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday at eighth period in a
classroom. Tuesday was set as an
optional day for those students
who wished to learn how to
operate a movie camera, and
learn how to run the school's
projector. Monday was set aisde
to discuss the previous movie and
Wednesday was set aside for the
upcoming movie. The second
trimester class was more formal,
a rigid circle was the desired
formation of seating by Mr.
Knies, but the not-too-well-
coordinated film students found
this hard to achieve. Actually, the
film course was more planned;
Retrogress ions '
completely on their own. The ai r was filled with
Bake sal es and pri vat e
donations provided about fifty
dollars which was used to buy
prizes. Winning coupons and
tickets (costing five cents) were
printed, the 'booths and refresh-
ments set up, and at one o'clock
Friday afternoon the Fair began.
bubbles and t he ringing of
triumphant trumpets. Everybody
laughing about nothing. Evan
Thomas nodded wisely in ap-
proval of t he, "nice little
retrogressions. "
Hidden characteristics and
failings were harshly revealed.
Guy Sparks murderously
that of the first trimester's:
viewing the movies and attending
class discussions. There were
various assigned films out of
school and each student was
required to see 5 other movies in
each of the three categories. The
Unwed Mother basic idea behind this was to see,
for example, what makes a
comedy a comedy. However, like
the first t ri mest er, it was
rewarding, enjoyable and had
cert ai n problems. The third
trimester will concentrate on
Alfred Hitchcock. Director
Hitchcock was chosen by Mr.
For two and a half hours, the
gym looked like a scene out of
' . Fellinni Satyricon. The school
seemed to go wild, releasing all
pent-up emotions. The result was
terrifying chaos. Everybody
seemed to be having a ball.
The games of "chance and
skill" included skittle pool,
racing cars. a fortune-telling
brandished a knife a s he moaned,
"I've lost every game." The
mi serabl e fai l ures of Juni or
Varsity high scorer, Eddie Katz,
at the "ball through the tire"
game destroyed him for a full
minute. Tim Smith, tyrranical
overseer of the nerf-ball game,
wrung his hands and screeched
insanely, "Only six have won -
The most beloved member of
the whole school, Norman, gave
birth to five kittens, who look
exactly like their mother. Formal
announcements were not sent out
because the father could not be
reached for comment.
Anyone interested in
adopting one should get in touch
with the Seventh Grade.
Knies for many reasons; one
being, as Mr. Knies says, that
Hitchcock does not waste a
moment of film by his precise use
of details. Another reason for this
booth,and a very wet "douse the out of four hundred. " Mr.
candle." The gym was bursting Begleman collected money.
with masses of st udent s, The "fantastic, ingenious,
teachers, and parents who all and challenging" Sixth Grade
seemed to be in a state of per- Fair made a totally unexpected
petual motion. It also smelled 130 dollars. As one girl said, "The
like a monkey-house. whole thing was beautiful."
The Sixth Graders, in an
effort to amel i orat e t he
lunchroom situation, staged a
strike during one of their lunch
periods about three weeks ago.
choice is his popularity with both
Mr. Knies and the class. The
third trimester will differ in that
it will have a textbook, Truffaut's
Hitchcock. The third trimester
course has the objective of giving
students a greater knowledge of
film : all aspects, understanding,
making, ordering, use of details,
Others were seen desperately
pleading with their fathers to go
home and relax.
Fat her s who visited Mr.
Vuoso's math classes found it a
pleasant relief not to be
confronted with a quiz in which
their child always did better than
they.
Coffee was available
throughout the day in t he
cafet eri a. This provided
excellent opportunities for the
fathers to converse with each
other and with teachers. Lunch
was served to any father who
desired it.
The purpose of this day is to
involve th'e fathers in the school,
for the mothers have more
leisure time to come.
February 15 was no ordinary
Monday. Students arrived at
school very puzzled a s to why
nobody was on the train and
everyone else in the world was
asleep. It was over this Lincoln-
Washington birthday holiday
weekend that Friends chose to
keep the school open and hold the
Lraditional annual Fat her ' s
Day. The objective was to let the
fathers observe a normal day at
school.
Some fathers arrived early
enough to sit in at Morning
Meeting. Comments such as,
"What are they doing here,
haven't they graduated?" or
Look Wall Street i s invading,"
could be hear d whispered
throughout the Meeting House.
Initiated by Erica Goldman, the
protest concerned the filth of the
silverware and trays. With the
cooperation and endorsement of
some teachers, about five Sixth
Grade girls convinced virtually
all the Middle Schoolers to refuse
to use the trays and silverware.
and showing.
The film course on the whole
is very popular and is now being
offered to the entire Upper
School. Moreover, the film class
i s still beset by some broken
equipment and equipment
Miss Donnelly, who
interpreted this act a s crudeness
and a s a destructive measure,
sent the five girls to Mr. Longley.
shortages.
After discussing their
feelings with the gi rl s, Mr.
Longley spoke to Mr. Smith about
the filth. Upon realizing the
validity of the protest, Mr. Smith
had fifty new trays ordered and
had Miss Donnelly return to
silverware from plasticware.
The Hitchcock Festival is
open to everybody, parent s,
teachers, and students, and the
price of admission is only 50 cents
a movie. The movies will be
shown on Thilrsday at 2: 30 and on
Friday at 3:30 in the Meeting
House.
^1 T H E LIFE
1 - 112 Schermerhorn Street
1 A School of the Religious Society of Friend*,
New York Monthly Meeting
STUART SMITH, PRINCIPAL
1 "01. XL MARCH 1971 NO. 9
Sunday Meeting
-
bv Norma Terrin
Recently, after attending a ~ md a ~ mo r n i n g meeting, I changed
some of my opinions about these silent gatherings.
There were certain factors about the meeting which I expected.
Most of the time the Meeting House was very quiet and, during the one
hour meeting, three people got up to speak.
However, I was somewhat nor by a speech, but by the
surprised by t he meeting.
Surprised, not in the sense of
shocked, but in a much milder
sense. I realized that I was going
to have to change some of my
prefabricated ideas on
gatherings of this nature.
When I first entered the
Meeting House a woman came up
to me, shook my hand, introduced
herself, and welcomed me to the
meeting. This gracious behavior
did not surprise me. I have been
lead to believe that people of this
religion a r e uncommonly
friendly. I then proceeded up the
stairs and took a seat on one of
the benches. There were about
twenty people were there at the
time, and approximately twenty
more came later.
Thus f ar , everything
happened as was anticipated, but
after about ten minutes the
silence was broken. A man stood
up and, staring straight ahead of
him, sang a hymn. I was aware
t hat during these meetings
participants often spoke about
what they were thinking of or
read some literature. Singing just
never occured to me.
Then, after a few minutes, we
heard from another man. What
he said was more of the nature of
what I expected to hear. He spoke
of imprisoned monks in South
Vietnam and their efforts to
demonst rat e their convictions
concerning peace.
It was a long time before the
silence was broken again. But
time was neither sons
entrance of several young (aged
from four to eight,
approximately) Sunday school
students. I couldn't help but smile
at their efforts to be quiet as they
tiptoed around the Meeting House
to their parents.
Just shortly before people
st art ed shaking hands and
leaving, someone else spoke. He
said that a different way of
saying that there is a little bit of
God in everyone would be to say
that there are certain things for
each person which he simply will
not do. If he means by this that
God is interchangeable with
restraint, I find this statement
somewhat unusual, because,
according to my former
standards, I would not consider it
a Quaker-like belief.
When the meeting was over,
the woman sitting in front of me
shook my hand, invited me to
come back, and asked me how I
had heard of the Sunday morning
meetings. She also asked me to
sign the guest book, but I
refrained from doing so.
These people gather every
Sunday morning for silent
worship and meditation.
However, despite several
attempts, I was unable to engage
myself in deep thought. I spent
most of my time observing
ot hers, a couple of whom
appeared to be in the same boat I
was in.
Although I prefer to do my
meditating in solitude, perhaps I
shall go back sometime just to
see whether anything comes of it.
Krishna Comes to B.F.S.
by Susan Green
Thanks to Sophomore
Frederica Brown, the Middle and
Upper Schools were provided
with a stimulating occurance
during an assembly period. On
March 5, members of the Hare
Krishna came to speak.
The assembly opened when
Mr. Smith introduced the four
speakers. Pati, who seemed to be
the spokesman for the group, said
that they would chant for ten
minutes, and then a lecture-
question and answer period
would follow. He tried to teach
the Hare Krishna chant to the
students. "It's easy," he said,
"Just say Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
Hare Hare Rama Hare Rame
Rama Rama Hare Hare over and
over." They then started their
chant which seemed to consist of
verses and then having the Hare
Krishna etc. as a chorus. Pati
seemed to be the most vivacious.
He and the other mal e
representative were dressed in a
sort of pink sari. The two girls
were also in sari-like draperies
but these were pink and yellow.
I thought there was a climax
reached at one point in the
chanting, and the words became
very loud. After fifteen minutes
of this chanting monotone, the
audience began to fidget. Then,
just as abruptly as it had started,
the chanting reached a
conclusion which was then
followed by a prayer.
The discussion st art ed
immediately after, and as before,
it was led by Pati. The Krishna
religion was founded in India
about 5,000 years ago. Krishna
appeared and is recognized as the this
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of saints because he
came to understand the beauty of
leading a life of devotion. His first
follower was Lord Setanya who
devoted his life to preaching
about Krishna. He compiled his
teachings into a book to show that
God is not just anything. "That's
why we say Krishna the
supreme."
Lord Setanya, he went on, "Is
not just anything-he is the
servant of the servant of the
servant of the servant." Moving
quickly from that, he added "We
are all eternal because we are
part of God." He then went on to
say, "In a materialistic world one
has to realize death. I accept it.
But what am I after death? Who
is that person who is gone? That
is a very important question.
Therefore, 1 will tell you a story."
Before he told the story, he
asked for the most intelligent to
stand up. A ripple of supressed
laughter ran through the
audience as each tried to make
his neighbor stand up. "You're
all very humble," said Pati,
"Now I shall tell you the story."
It seems that there was a boy
in Sunday School, who, when
asked if he were the most
intelligent, said yes. The teacher
pointed to different parts of the
body and asked the boy to
identify them. The boy did so and
then the teacher stood up and
said, "You know all of the parts
of the body, but where are you?
For this, the boy had no answer.
Pati then repeated something
that Mr. Smith had said earlier
"There is that of God in every
man. Within me there is soul
Lord Setanya said that he was the
servant of the servant of the
servant of the servant and he did
not wish things in a material
sense, but rather in a spiritual
one. These," he explained "are
Who, What and Where. But if we
wish to become perfect we should
Radical
by Shari Stirling
When you're in the Sixth Grade, you're a schlemiel, the Seventh an
. k. kid, and the Eighth Grade a teenybopper. But when you get to the
qinth Grade, you've finally made it. You're a radical. In some schools,
vhen you reach high school, you get G.O. cards, but in our school, you
oin the ranks of those warriors against oppression, those fearless
ighters of evil, and those general do-gooders. No, not the Boy Scouts
r the Camp Fire Girls, the B.F.S. radicals.
But exactly what does being a radical entail? The casual observer
night ask. Could one be picked out on a crowded D train or perhaps, on
I Saturday afternoon in the Village? Well, to be perfectly honest,
probably not. I mean, can we help it if everybody copies our clothing
ityles? What can we do when we turn around and find that
verybody's wearing flannel shirts, overalls, work shoes, and work
hirts. I mean, even construction workers copy us. Why do they want
o wear clothes like that for?
But, let's face it, clothes are the least of it. You don't judge a
person by how he looks but by his thoughts and actions. And again to
he casual eye it may not seem like there's much action. So let's come
pack to that, and we'll go on to talk about words. Well, as f ar as
ipecific words are concerned, again, we at Brooklyn Friends must
ontend with plagiarism and imitation.
THE LIFE
Editor-in-Chief Deborah Bernstein
Associate Editor Shari Stirling
Assistant Editors Wendy Grabel,
Susan Green, Norma Terrin
Sports Editors Nancy Chang, Robert Honig
Photography Editors Marc Coltrera,
Beth Farber, Marvi n Steindler
Staff: Janet Christenfeld, Liz Cohen, Cathy Cohen, Beth
Farber, Michael Plust, Andrea Salwen.
Once during a basketball game, the score was 65-64 when a certain
player on the Fighting Quakers was felled by a particularly
aggressive opponent. The B.F.S.'er lay on the floor in a semi-
conscious state muttering "Right arm. Right arm." (His of course,
had been smashed in the scuffle.) However, everyone thought he was
saying "Right on. Right on! " which, as we all know, was subsequently
adopted by B.F.S. and has now gone on to gain wide usage in the
outside world.
Other well-known phrases such as "Off the pigs! (Which got its
start in Tenth Grade biology when a fetal pig fell on the floor), "Cool
It" (said to Miss Donnelly by a Fifth Grader after having purchased a
half melted ice cream cone.) and "Truckin"' (a vain attempt at
cursing by a lisping member of Intermediate A) all got their start at
B.F.S.
And now we return to actions. Well, sure we haven't changed the
world yet, but that's just it: we're in the planning stages. I have heard
many a critic say, "Look at those hypocrites, on the one hand they talk
about pollution and doing things for the school, but when one goes
down into the rec room, all the furniture is being thrown around."
Silly, what will happen if the revolution comes and we're
not adept at throwing chairs through windows? Did you ever think of
that? There are similar reasons connected with people standing on
tables in the lunchroom (preparation for future inspiring speeches),
nulling the buttons off the benches in the meetinghouse (making
believe they're stones to be collected and then flung in the faces of
foes) and, leaving school immediately after your last class (to go out
and seek the mood of the nation).
So you see, the B.F.S. radical is an original, dedicated, modest,
person who is committed to what he feels is the common good even
though a stranger might think he is a slovenly dressed, irresponsible
slob who is only intent on having a good time. So remember, the next
time you are walking down the street with a student from Brooklyn
Friends and he casually throws down the cellophane wrapper from a
pack of Marlboro's, just keep in mind that he is no doubt practicing to
be a good citizen by giving some newly sworn-in sanitation man the
practice that he needs.
-- -- - - --- r - - --- - - - - - - -
go to God."
He then spoke about an
imitation which to him is also an
illusion. He then cited an analogy
to being a teacher-how could he
be one when he was not trained,
not cut out to be a teacher. "To
clear away the illusion is to
realize that I am not God but
there is a small particle of God in
me-in everyone. Our problem
stems from the fact that I think I
am God and I am more aware of
my materialistic body and less
aware of my soul. God is so
powerful that every soul is more
powerful than the sun. Lord
Setanya chanted Hare Krishna
and chanced to pass a tiger. He
asked the tiger why it was not
chanting also. The tiger then
opened its mouth and began to
chant."
To prove his point he read
from a teaching that said "No
more do we suffer any
tribulation. No more do we have
to decide to take birth again. To
understand real knowledge is lo
understand the real soul.
Knowledge does not mean
knowing how many insects there
are. The Holy Name is really the
solid incarnation of God."
After all this is attained, one
reaches a state of transcendental
bliss. "Transcendental bliss
becomes a happy serene
moment. Krishna is like the
ocean. I cannot become the whole
ocean but I can taste it. It is only
tastable if I let go of my body
completely and turn my whole
self to God."
He concluded with saying
that he hoped at the next Silent
Meeting, the members of the
meeting would chant the words of
the Hare Krishna over and over
to themselves. "Being lifted up to
God is the top most yoga."
Before questions were asked,
food and literature was passed
out; Oranges, apples, and a sort
of coconut pasty without the
coconut. Upon my questioning, I
was told that the food was for the
"Sweetness of the spirit" and not
for the sweetness of life as I had
originally thought.
There were a few questions
asked and the answers that were
given seemed evasive. In
response to one question, Pati
said that the members of the
Hare Krishna shaved their heads
lo prove their sincerity in their
devotion to God. Someone asked
whether God existed and it
seemed to startle Pati but he
quickly regained his composure
and answered, "In the beginning
it is difficult. In the beginning we
have faith in the spiritual
nature-we have yet to realize.
But we do see his beauty
everywhere."
As to the relationship
between men and women, Pati
replied that they act accordingly
in a materialistic world and that
it is simply for the purpose of
raising children. Women are
exactly the same as men but man
is the "Spiritual Master of the
wife."
When asked what causes evil,
Pati replied, "As long as we have
a materialistic world, there will
always be evil. Look around for
something. I believe we are
architects of our own destiny. If I
take my birth, death is certain.
But while I am alive I have a
choice-what can I do? It's Evil
versus Goodness. Do I cultivate
these qualities? If I develop godly
qualities by chanting the Holy
Nameof God, then that is my own
choosing."
At the end of the meeting,
everyone was invited up to the
front of the Meeting House where
one could speak to the four
members of the Hare Krishna
and discuss things with them on a
one to one basis.
MARCH 1971
THE LIFE PAGE 3
Valerie Warm:
Locust Valley
Visits
Teacher Who
On Wednesday, February 10,
a student faculty group from
Locust Valley Friends, Locust
Valley, Long Island, came to
Ful f i l l s Goal s
Brooklyn Friends to observe a
typical school day. The excursion
had been the idea of a student-
faculty council at Locust Valley
by Wendy Grabel
"She's definitely the most
jolly teacher in this school" says
one admiring Sophomore of Miss
Warm. "Eh, she looks too
healthy," adds a nasal Junior.
Miss Warm is deserving of
writing poetry." Poetry had
always been a major interest, she
had never stopped reading. Now
was the time to write. "It was
just something I wanted to do."
Days were spent seeking a
living at an office job. Spare time
was devoted t o poetry. An
acquaintance finally asked her to
send some of her work to him and
a poetry reading on radio station
WNYC resulted. Although the
reading was aired at an odd hour,
due to the controversial subjects
dealt with by some other poets,
"People did hear it." One man
requested a copy of Miss Warm's
work.
Miss Warm had even another
occupational fling-as a critic.
For a year or so she wrote,
without salary, reviewing plays
for a new magazine, Abel.
"Money's not always the most
important thing ... I just wanted
the experience."
Her first teaching
assignment (also phys-ed) was at
Barnard School for Girls in
Washington Square Heights. Miss
which is presently examining
their school -- a traditional,
relatively conservative prep
school - to see in what way it
could be improved and what
measures would have to be
instituted for this improvement
to take place. Therefore, they
decided to visit Brooklyn
Friends, knowing that B.F.S. had
gone through a great deal of
change and is now a totally
praise. Despite all, she faces
scores of half-crazed, screaming
junior athletes each day with a
constant, gleaming smile. Miss
Warm enjoys her work, truly
enjoys it, "Otherwise I wouldn't
be doing it. ' '
This simple credo has led
Valerie Warm into unusual fields
different school than it was three
-or four years ago. Thus, they
came to see if, why, and how
Brooklyn Friends is functioning.
and exciting experiences. "If you
want to do something, you have to
do it-so I did it."
Unfortunately, they were
pressed for time since they
arrived late, around 11:00, and
left before 3:00. They started out
with an indoctrination meeting
with Mr. Asch and Mr. Smith at
which they were given the basic
concept on which both Smith and
Asch felt the school ran. This took
about an hour, and then the group
audited a few classes. Some of
these were Mr. Nissen's
American History class, his
Presidents course, and Mr.
Norregaard's Creative Writing
Class.
On the whole, the students
from Locust Valley were very
favorably impressed with
Brooklyn Friends and envied the
Photograph by R. Bellak
- T
After graduating from
Freeport High School in Long
Island, Miss Warm decided to go
to school in Manhattan. "I was
infatuated with everything about
it." She chose Hunter College
Free Lance
Photographer
because of its dance program and
its location. "I'd spend hours at
the Frick Muse um... they have
two Rembrandt's there."
Richard Bellak
by Deborah Bernstein
After college, in which she
majored in English, Art, History,
I, like countless other New Yorkers, had not heard about the work
of fellow New Yorker, Richard Bellak, until he received a paragraph
in Smith's "Scenes" column in The Voice. The work that this photo-
journalist does seemed interesting, consequently, I set up an interview
with Mr. Bellak, wherein I hoped to ask him detailed questions about
his work.
The project which Mr. Bellak is currently engulfed in is a
photographic essay concerning street musicians in the state of New
York. He is working with the financial aid of the New York Council on
the Arts. He was able to procure the necessary money from the council
with the help of Alan Schoner, the man who did the "Harlem on My
Mind" exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969. As Mr.
Bellak puts it, "Alan (who is on the committee in charge of finances)
and I thought that the art was going in basically the same direction,
therefore I received the grant." This grant, a sum of five thousand
dollars, is currently pending renewal.
great guitarist who hangs out
there." But Richard Bellak is
only interested in the musical end
freedom the students seemingly
possessed. They feel their own
privileges are manifested by the
fact that the boys still have to
wear ties and jackets, while the
girls are not allowed to wear
pants. Since they arrived at
school at the beginning of the
break, some thought that the
school looked like "complete
chaos" since everyone is usuallv
Taking photographs tor an
album which he will compile for
the Council, Mr. Bellak has found
it veryeasy to find material in the
New York City area. Some of his
candidates include Victor
Bradey who plays steel drums in
the vicinity of Bloomingdale's
and Richard Wexler, the violinist
who haunts the theater district at
curtain-time. The qualities that
these men have in common are:
playing in t he st reet , and
soliciting for money with which
to continue their studies. They
are also waiting to be discovered,
and refuse to make their debutes
in the traditional fashion.
The reason that Richard
Bellak is doing this study of street
musicians is that he feels that
musical concerts, along with
other forms of artistry, are
becoming more and more
spontaneous and personal.
Whereas the only music one could
hear some ten years ago was in a
concert hall or cafe, now many
park concerts, corner happenings
and festivals occur. In addition,
Mr. Bellak feels that recordings
are rapidly taking the place of
traditional concerts, and soon
many more people will prefer to
listen to tapes of their favorite
works in more intimate
surroundings, rather than attend
a formal type of concert.
The article in the "Scenes"
column requested information
about the location of more street
musicians in, or preferably,
outside of the city. When I asked
Mr. Bellak what sort of a
response he had received, he said
that most of the calls were of the
publicity type. That is someone
would call and say, "If you can be
at such and such a corner at a
specific time, I know this really
of the job, and therefore is not
equipped to sponsor aspiring
amateur musicians. He simply
wants to take pictures of unusual
musical occurances in the cities
and villages of New York.
running around at this time and
about twenty-five students were
disembarking on a French trip.
The faculty members
expressed what was almost
disbelief that the school was
functioning as well as it was.
They didn't really quite know
how to cope with some of the
aspects of school. One teacher
questioned Mr. Smith on the
drama department. He replied
that the yearbook had needed
money so The Glass Menagerie
was presented, The Life needed
money so The Life Benefit was
presented, and that Jane
Although he had no pictures
of musicians available for
reprinting, Mr. Bellak did have
many photographs which he had
taken before this assignment. His
work has been mainly for
magazines, when he has been
given specific assignments, or he
has submitted his freelance work
to photographic journals. His
Coach Val
first story of great importance
was for the magazine Escapade,
for which he did "The Incredible
Pl ace of Tompkins Square
Park." His most recent long-
range undertaking has been to
live with four different families in
different parts of the world, and
photograph them in their natural
daily surroundings. This work
has brought him to the Sierra
Madre region, to Southern
migrant labor camps, to
Guatemala, Mexico, and finally
N.Y.C.
Warm was not very pleased with
the job. "It was very rigid ... they
wore uniforms ... it was more
pretensious than most
schools ... and it's just good to be
co-ed" About Friends, Miss
Warm has "no complaints."
Yet despite her contentment,
Miss Warm's interests have not
flagged. Next trimester she will
teach an English course,
Freedom in Literature. "It's
something you don' t think
about." Miss Warm would like to
remain at Friends for a while, but
not 27 years. "To be in one place
and Dance, Miss Warm took
some time off "to think ... I was
looking for a job, but I didn't want
to sit at a desk doing nothing ... no
one I knew who had jobs like that
were happy." So she decided to
teach dance, continue her
lessons, and perhaps make
professional dancing her career.
Miss Warm smiles happily as
she remembers what to some
would seem a futile and difficult
period. "I wasn't going out, I
wasn't eating, I wasn't seeing my
friends," and teaching "boiled
down to a part time job."
Dancing was not her career. "I
need a much more balanced type
of life ... dancing took too much."
"I just couldn't go on
anymore. I almost burned my
leotards." But Miss Warm
regrets nothing, nor is it at all a
painful memory. "It' s not
unusual to go through a time to
Schweitzer is currently trying to
put together a play. "Yes," said
the man, "but what about your
drama department?" Another
faculty member had wanted to
know how many religion courses
are offered. When she was told by
Mr. Asch that there are none
because the students have shown
no desire for one, she was greatly
shocked.
But the day ended with good
feelings on all sides and
sometime in the future, B.F.S.
will orobablv return the visit. Photographing under t he
philosophy of "Whatever moves
me is art." Mr. Bellak's most
recent single assignment has
too long is to give up ... there are
some ideas that have to change."
Present outside interests
include sewing, painting, and of
course dance and poetry. Miss
Warm does not find it unusual
that she has done so many things
in such a short space of time (she
is twenty-five). "You hear people
saying that they wish they were
For the exorbitant price of 5
cents students will be able to see
another presentation directed by
Senior, Jane Schweitzer. For her
independent study project, Jane
is directing "Under Milkwood, A
Play for Voices," written by
Dylan Thomas.
She is commencing work on
the play during the two weeks
allotted for the Senior
independent study project but
will employ much of her time
during the third trimester for it.
been coverage of the Youth
Conference held in Washington
D.C. in December. Here, as
Mr. Bellak terms it, "There were
three thousand people:
p o l i t i c i a n s , n e ws me n ,
photographers, administrators
and analysists, and not a single
find out whether you' re
dedicated ... it takes time to see ... I
still love dancing." The lessons
still continue.
"After I stopped dancing and
started to eat again I began
twenty again so they could do so
and so. That's a cop-out. At
twenty I was doing it ... There are
no limitations to anyone. I had to
get it all out of my system."
young person.''
Such is the extent of the work
of the thirtyish Heights-dwelling
photo-journalist, Richard Bellak.
PAGE 4 THE LIFE MARCH 1971
Thi rd Quar t er J u mp vs. Frankl i n
Basketball Season
Draws to Close
by Robert Honig
On January 26, after a poor first period, the varsity came back to
defeat Walden 50-38. Walden was outscored 20-2 in the third quarter.
The varsity suffered their second loss of the season three days
later, when they played Baldwin. BFS was outplayed for the balance
of the game and lost 72-56. Baldwin is expected to win the league title.
The team then won two close games at home. First they came from
behind to defeat Elizabeth-Irwin 81-77. Roger Antin scored 52 points
and made a 4-point play by scoring a field goal and putting in two foul
shots after an intentional foul. Next they defeated Browning for the
second time this year by the score of 71-64.
On February 18, after a tough on the bench until the second
first quarter, the Varsity came quarter, but in spite of this
away with an easy victor3' Over chances for a BFS win looked dim
Birch-Wathen. Richard Kaplan's after one per i d, and they were
hot hand early in the first quarter completely out of the game by
helped BFS open UP a quick kad. halftime. BFS could only muster
But Birch-Wathen came back to 7 points (to Seminary's 23) in the
Cut the score to 17-13 at the end of first period, and they did little
the period, and they went ahead better in the second. Eighteen
early in the second quarter. After BFS turnovers in the first half
that, BFS totally dominated the also helped Seminary build their
contest. They led 34-27 at the half, large lead, which stood at 25 at
and 56-41 after three quarters, on halftime. The debacle continued
the strength of Robert Ekrn- through the second half, and only
stein's rebounding, Roger Antin's a strong fourth quarter (against
shooting, and good team play. S e mi n a r y ' s s u b s t i t u t e s )
With the reserves playing most of prevent ed Seminary f r om
the fourth period, Birch-Wathen doubling the BFS point total. The
cut the lead to a respectable game ended with Seminary
margin, one which made the leading by 35, 94-59.
game seem closer than it actually
was. The final: BFS 70; Birch-
Three Game - - -
Wathen 57.
The next evening the varsity
Streak
went to New York Friends to play
On February 26 and 27 the
in the third same of a BFS-
BFS varsity played their second
Seminary triple-header. The BFS
Middle School and Junior Varsity
teams had lost in the first two
games, and the varsity hoped to
beat the odds to get one win for
the day. However, this was not to
happen. The game was simply a
case of a taller and better
shooting Seminary team running
BFS off the court. Seminary was
forced to keep their best player
and third games in a row against
superior t eams. When t he
two games were over BFS had a
three game losing streak. The
first game was against Franklin,
and was played a t Friends
Seminary. BFS has always had
trouble in large gymnasiums,
such a s that of Seminary, so that
Franklin jumped to an early lead
and held it throughout the game.
BFS managed only four field
goals in the first period as they
were outscored 22-8. The second
quarter was the only strong
period in the game for Friends,
outscoring Franklin 16-14.
However BFS was outscored 35-
30 in the second half, losing 71-54.
The next, BFS played an
afternoon game against Oakwood
in Poughkeepsie. Oakwood i s a
very well drilled team that relies
on speed and outside shooting on
offense. Defensively they em-
ployed three different setups, one
of which was a three man half-
court trap which forced many
BFS turnovers. Also, Oakwood's
6'2" center clogged the foul line
and helped Oakwood out-rebound
BFS throughout the game.
Because of these factors, BFS
found itself down 49-32 after three
periods, and only made the final
score respectable (64-52) in the
fourth quar t er against the
Oakwood substitutes.
vs. Franklin (at Seminary)
FG F Pts. PF
Kaplan 1 3 - 5 5 2
Bernstein 3 0-1 6 3
Antin 8 3-7 19 2
Branche 5 1-3 11 4
Goodman 3 1-1 7 3
Lovett 0 0-0 0 1
Magagnini 1 3 - 4 5 0
Safdeye 0 1-1 1 0
Levy 0 0-0 0 1
at Oakwood
FG F Pts. P F
Kaplan 1 1 - 2 3 4
Antin 6 2-5 14 2
Goodman 3 3-4 9 3
Lovett 0 0-2 0 1
Bernstein 2 2-5 6 4
Magagnini 0 1-2 1 0
The Victorious ones, Assembled
Basketball
Blunders
by Nancy Chang
Where have all the cheerleaders gone? Ah, 'tis the Great Mystery.
A job for Sherlock Holmes! It was reported that they were last seen at
thegame with St. Hugh's on the evening of Jan. 19. It was thought that
they had seen their sins and decided to repent, but would a convent
take Jewish girls? It has also been said that after the game against
New Lincoln on Jan. 11, they went on a murderous rampage and
decapitated all of the New Lincoln cheerleaders. They ar e now
heading the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and a reward of $5000 is of-
fered for each - dead or alive. Yet, other testimonies contradict these
Levy 0 0-0 0 0 stories.
Safdeye o 0-0 The intentions of a suspicious
Branche 5-7 l 9 character known as "Big Al"
Middle School
by Bill Per r y
The Middle School basketball
team is on a streak, un-
fortunately a losing one. The
team, coached by Ken Lightell,
has lost its last four games to
Downtown Community, St.
Anne's, Walden, and St. Luke's.
The team is hoping to make a
strong comeback and win the rest
of their games. High scorers in
the last four games were Joel
Berg with 18 and 11, and Bill
Perry with 6 and 14.
February 26 was the final
game played by the Middle
School basketball team this year.
They ended the season against
Walden, who had beaten them by
12 points earlier this year. This
time the game was closer. After
BFS had led for most of the first
three quarters, Walden came out
with a height attack. Walden's 6-
foot center, ineffective for the
first three quarters, led the at-
tack. With three minutes left,
BFS led by six; but Walden fed
the ball to the big man and ended
up winning by one point, 40-39.
for: PTC Boutique,
Dinner, Faculty Follies
have been classified a s dubious.
Ring Bells!
Sing Songs!
Disguised as a referee, he is said
to have kidnapped t he
cheerleaders and is holding them
for a ransom of 2847 basketballs.
A less heartbreaking version is
that they a r e now a t
Cheerleading Clinic and a r e
vigorously competing for the title
of "Cheerleader of the Year."
When Miss Warm was questioned
about their disappearance, she
broke down in tears and said that
she believed that they had been
abducted by agents of Joe's Pimp
Palace and had then been sold to
a sheik who wished to add them to
his harem. Will they ever be seen
again? Until more is known,
people can only pray and think
(tearfully) of the days when they
could hear t he Cheerleaders
shouting, "Marx, Lenin, Stalin,
Trotsky, Brooklyn Friends is
really Hotsky !"
The Girls' Basketball Team
has been having a, well, not-
quite-so-victorious season. On
Feb. 8, we went out to Staten
Island - were driven to Staten
Island! This was indeed the
highlight of the day. And so we
had a very pleasant trip eating
Tootsie Roll Lollipops and talking
to the driver who we had thought
was Ricky Ricardo. Un-
fortunately this bliss came to a
sudden halt. The end was near!
'P-
The gym, the fiberglass back-
boards, their height, the game -
what can be said? We tried. But
alas. We tried everything, even
tap dancing out; all we got was a
punch in the stomach. And so
after a long hard day. we came
back to Brooklyn. Yes they had
beaten us, 71-8.
On Feh. 10, we met Kew
Forest determined to win. And
we were winning until the third
quarter. During the third quarter
we furiously tried to regain the
lead but to no avail. By the fourth
quarter even though exhausted,
we set out to at least decrease the
gap in the score and ended the
game with a score of 8. And so
aft er the t ear s had ceased
flowing, we decided that we
would win the next game or die.
And die we did when it was
heard through secret sources that
Berkley had lost to Staten Island
by "about ten points." But we
still set out with confidence on
Feb. 24. In the first quarter we
got off to an early lead and by the
end of the first quarter, the score
stood at 4-0. Then Berkley gained
the lead as "The Midget" and
"The Muzzled Canis Familiaris"
went in. The second quarter
Berkley had a clear lead. Our
offense was tired and the game
ended with a score of 42-15. We
could be consoled by only one
thing - Eats.
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