12/01/21 INFO Edition

2. student body. Currently, we have no easily
accessible outlet in which all students can
regularly publish their art and ideas
pertaining to the school. INFO will publish
all work that has not been given a platform
at Little Red in the past. In addition, we
hope this medium will encourage us all to be
more critical of the systems around us, and
to begin to think of solutions to problems we
observe. Most importantly, we hope INFO will
facilitate a process in which the student
body can engage with each other, through our
writings and art work.
We intend to preserve many of the
traditions within the magazine. The first
page of each publication featured a letter to
the editors, in which a member from the
student body responded to content in the
previous edition. The following page featured
a response from the editors, as well as an
introduction to the following publication,
just as this letter is doing now.
The letters to and from the editors
allowed INFO to function as a never-ending
conversation between members of the student
body. INFO will only work with student
engagement, and without it, the magazine will
inevitably end up stored away in the school
archives. In addition, we have written a
series of goals/tenets concerning the
magazine, which can be found in the article
following this.
In order to illustrate the types of
articles, drawings, and editorials seen in
previous editions of INFO, we decided to
Letter from the Editors
Dear Students of LREI,
We are excited to announce the first
edition of INFO!
INFO began in the 40s and served as
LREI’s primary school newspaper through the
70s. The magazine regularly published
students’ writing, artwork, articles, etc.;
similar to a combination of the Knightly News
and the LitMag. However, the most important
difference between INFO and the Knightly News
or the LitMag is that INFO was really created
by and made for the students. Unlike the
Knightly News or LitMag, INFO’s intended
audience was not the administration or
admissions tours. The magazine provided
students with a platform, and the ability to
share their unfiltered work with the student
body. INFO was, and hopefully will continue
to be, a space in which the student body
could openly criticize and question LREI’s
administration. Old articles frequently
featured students discussing the ways in
which the school did or did not live up to
its progressive values, and articles usually
tied these discussions to greater themes of
progressivism. However, the magazine was not
limited to critical and journalistic
articles; as previously mentioned, many works
of poetry, creative writing, media reviews,
comedy, and student art were published.
We believe that the open structure of
INFO is needed now more than ever by the
1 2

3. include a selection of archival writings and
illustrations for our first publication. The
work spans from the late 1950s to the late
60s, and the author and date of publication
is included when possible. The first article
included is a letter addressed to the LREI
student body imploring them to use INFO as a
medium for their criticisms pertaining to the
school. We hope this article will serve as
our own voice as we begin the process of
urging the student body to submit their own
work for future publications. The following
two articles demonstrate the political spirit
of the magazine; the first is a letter from
a student at Swarthmore, asking the EI
student body to become involved in a National
Student Strike in 1966, and the second
details the information about how LREI
students will attend the Youth March for
Integrated Schools in 1958. The subsequent
article was published in 1969, a period in
which the views of EI students regularly
clashed with those of the staff and
administration. The article details the
senior class’s distrust towards the
administration, and proposes more open
communication as a solution to the growing
tension. In the following article a student
proposes LREI start a Political Action
Committee. The final article is a transcript
of an interview a student conducted with Joan
Baez, a legendary folk singer of the 1960s,
about her views on drug use, the war in
Vietnam, and pacifism. All of the
articles included feature student
illustrations that were found in the
3
archives of the magazine. Additionally, we
would like to say that in the future we hope
INFO will include creative writing and poetry
created by students, and the exclusion of
these writings from this edition was
accidental.
We would like to thank Yukie Ohta and Ann
Carroll for preserving and allowing us to
investigate the INFO archives. We would also
like to thank the members of the senior class
that attended our initial meeting concerning
the future of the magazine. Finally, we want
to thank you, the readers and hopefully
future contributors to the magazine, as we
all begin the incredibly exciting process of
creating INFO.
Sincerely,
Piper, Rhyus, Tilda, and Z
Scan here
to submit work!!

4. Editorial by V.I. Wexner
Published in 1959
Anybody there? Come on, I know you’re out
there. I see you walking, talking, and
eating. Yet no matter what we do with this
paper, you seem dead. I begin to wonder if
you talk, or think, or care about INFO at
all.
This school paper is your voice, and it
is virtually your only organ for comments
about school. From personal experience, I
know that you have many constructive
comments. I’ve even heard murmurs of dissent
as to several of the articles and policies of
this paper. Yet, to be perfectly frank, for
an energetic group of students, your reaction
to this paper has been surprisingly
apathetic. To be more specific, the editors
have received exactly two letters thus far,
and one was merely a rehash of a Council
discussion. That boils down to approximately
one thought per term, a very impressive
total.
The editors hoped to make INFO
thought-provoking and entertaining. We have
no way of telling if we’ve succeeded, or in
which direction we have failed. If you have
reactions, either this paper, or to any
relevant issue, please do not hesitate to
write us a letter.
Should your point be well presented and
of extreme importance, we will gladly issue
an INFO Bulletin with your ideas. Let me add
here that we hope that the members of the
staff, too, will be kind enough to express

5. 1. Student Council might send a few
representatives to the Planning
Conference at the University of Chicago,
Dec. 28-29.
2. A committee might be set up to contact
newspapers in all high schools in the
city, and political groups in them, to
work with.
3. Discussion might begin as to the most
effective use of the strike as a focus to
rallying NY students to change our city.
Good Luck.
Paul Leavin
Swarthmore College
Desolation Row by Bob Dylan Illustrated
their written opinions.
INFO cannot be directed towards the
student’s desires unless it is informed of
them. I’m sure that the readers themselves
will enjoy seeing the reaction of others to
an issue of importance to all. Please help us
make INFO the kind of paper you’d like.
(Remember, if you hand your letter to your
INFO representatives, you’ll save postage.)
Letter from Swarthmore
Published in 1966
To the Editors:
Americans walk in the shadow of our war
in Vietnam; the draft, inflation, academic
administrative greasing of the War machine,
cutback of Federal funds from domestic
development, intellectual suppression,
etc., are among its domestic forms.
A National Student Strike is planned for
next spring to make Americans aware of the
cause of these problems, and to organize
against the war and for a nicer society.
Students and teachers from hundreds of
colleges and high schools are involved
already; the possibilities of political
action by thousands of striking students in
NY are virtually unlimited. It would not be
a strike against the EI administration,
rather to support the national effort to
use the day for creating new forms of
protest and organization in NY. If I might
suggest some initial moves:

6. eighth grade or younger groups must have an
adult chaperone. There will be immediate
adult supervision provided by the march
organization. A fifty cent supper will be
served before the return trip to New York
that will arrive back at the Polo Grounds at
about 11PM. A committee of counselors will
meet the buses to see that anyone under
eighteen is driven home if not met by an
adult.
We spent an afternoon working at the
headquarters, and from merely talking to the
leaders, we feel that the march will be a
success. They need volunteers and marchers!
If you are interested in either participating
in the demonstration or helping with
paperwork, see Ellen Fried of the tenth grade
for further details.
We at Elisabeth Irwin have done a great
deal for integration by contributing money to
the NAACP, and by standing up for our ideals
and principles when questioned. Now, in the
midst of this seething turmoil, we have a
chance to do more.
Operation Integration By Ellen Fried
Published October 1, 1958
On Saturday, October 25, students on
hopefully well-filled buses will set out for
Washington, D.C. in a Youth March to
demonstrate their desire for integration in
public schools. The buses leave from the Polo
Grounds at 7:30AM, and will arrive in
Washington at approximately 1:00PM. A
thirty-five cent lunch will be served at a
specific church until 2:30PM, at which time
the procession will begin the march up
Pennsylvania Avenue.
The marchers will then split up, some
heading towards the White House demanding a
conference with the President, while the rest
continue on to the Congress to protest
against segregation. When the delegations
have finished their respective missions, they
will proceed to a rally at the Lincoln
Memorial where prominent integrationists will
speak, and a program will be presented by the
young participants. Among the speakers will
be Mrs. Daisy Bates, president of the Little
Rock Chapter of the NAACP, Lillian Smith,
famed author noted for her critical views on
the living conditions of the Southern Black
man, and Reverend Martin Luther King, proved
that he has recovered from his recent stab
wound. The march has already been postponed
once in the hope that Rev. King would be well
enough to make the trip.
The cost of the round trip is $5.50 per
person. Anyone may go, although those in the

7. and the project idea was just a cover up. All
the arguments that followed were a direct
result of this distrust.
Whether they may be justified or not,
both groups have this feeling of distrust.
The effects of this distrust show themselves
in many ways. The students, distrusting the
staff, will speak out against many ideas that
the staff might have without really
investigating them. This anti-staff feeling
increased into a smouldering rebellion. Kids
become overly loud and raucous in the halls
and outside; once some kids upset the desks
and chairs in a classroom; when students
wanted to play records in the cafeteria and
the staff said no, students started a meager
chant demanding the music; students look
around and get the general feeling that if
they ask for something somewhat out of the
ordinary, it will be turned down. A feeling
of hopelessness with EI in particular and
education in general becomes prominent.
As the students are making their distrust
in the staff known, the staff seems to be
becoming more reluctant to listening to the
many students who make their feelings towards
the staff very obvious. Many times, in my
dealings with the staff, I have had to
sacrifice speaking my honest opinions so the
idea I was trying to sell to the staff could
get approval.
This mutual distrust makes any progress
towards students and staff working together
in real harmony very hard. One gets the
feeling that maybe it isn’t worth it to have
to fight hard for relatively so little. The
Editorial by Tom Hendel
Published in 1969
Recently, the whole senior class had a
meeting with all of its teachers to discuss
senior projects for the rest of the year.
Like most meetings of that sort, the meeting
failed to accomplish anything and ended in
confusion. Afterwords, many kids were asked
to describe the emotions that were obvious in
the meeting:
“Hate.”
“Fear.”
“Resentment.”
“Distrust.”
“Yeah, that’s right, distrust.”
This year, especially in the upper
grades, there has been a great deal of
dissatisfaction with school. One of the major
reasons for this, I think, is the strained
relations between the student body and the
staff as a whole.
There is a great deal of distrust within
the student body towards the staff. For
example, last year when the plans for a new
government were being discussed, the question
running through the student body was: what
happens if the staff disagrees with what the
students say? The students made their own
answer: the staff would veto it.
I, as a student, have felt the staff’s
distrust in me. For example, during the
discussion of senior projects, the general
feeling in the staff seemed to be that the
students were just trying to do less work

8. whole know more accurately how the students
feel, there should be student representation
at the staff meetings. If the school is going
to succeed as something useful all should be
presented honestly and regarded as such,
otherwise the gap between the students and
the staff, which presently is very hard to
cross, will become impossible to cross.
students have given up on making changes in
the school because they have the feeling that
if they suggest something radically different
it will be depleted into virtually nothing if
it comes into effect at all.
If relations in EI continue as they are
now, the school will eventually cease to be a
useful experience and kids will wander
through classrooms with no real interest (as
many are doing now). Education in school can
only succeed if communications are completely
open between teachers and students and a
distrustful atmosphere is hardly very good
for open communications. Communication
without fear is necessary, especially when
students feel that what they have to say will
help the whole school.
Individual relations, however, are much
less strained. Some teachers are trusted and
respected by the students as some students
are trusted by the staff, but these
relationships, while helpful to the
individuals involved, play a very small part
in the general feelings of the two groups as
a whole.
What students and staff have to do is
listen to what the other group is saying and
consider it carefully before they condemn it.
Also, they must get together on ideas so the
feeling is not one of students v. staff. More
town meetings must be called, even if there
isn’t a strict agenda, for the people in the
school need a place to speak their minds and
ask questions. Also, to help erase the
feeling of distrust the students have towards
the staff and to let the staff as a

9. on peace can join the Peace Group. Presumably
many would join both groups.
This idea is an experimental one. The
political Action Committee can be whatever
interested students want to make it. If you
wish to take part in its formation, or see
what ideas other students have, come to the
first meeting.
Political Action Committee by John
Bancroft
Published in 1962
In the last two weeks, political
demonstrations have followed each other
almost daily. Student participation in the
political field has reached its highest peak
in twenty-five years, and it has become
increasingly hard for students to keep up
with all the actions going on around them. In
many cases there has been confusion as to
which groups to join and which routines to
follow when supporting a cause.
I think it is time for Elisabeth Irwin to
form its own Political Action Committee to
work on any political issues that students
consider important. The function of this
group would be:
1.To discuss any political matters which
its members consider important,
2.To keep the school informed as to what
activities are taking place, and in
what ways students can participate,
3.To discuss action that might be taken
by the committee (such as circulating
petitions and supporting marches) and
organize such activities if a majority
of the committee feels it is correct to
do so.
There exists now an Elisabeth Irwin Peace
Group. On any actions concerning peace which
both groups have decided to support, the two
groups can work together. In this way those
wishing to work on a variety of political
actions can join the Political Action
Committee, and those wishing to concentrate

10. is sort of messed around with, and I’ve seen
people get in bad shape from it. I don’t
know. I get enough of a bang out of life
without having to take drugs. Maybe if I took
them once I’d think, “Wow, what have I been
missing all these years,” and I might want to
get hung up on it too. But at this point I
don’t.
INFO: You have stated your opposition to the
war in Vietnam many times. Perhaps the most
notable was when you refused to pay your
taxes. You did, however, finally pay them.
What made you change your mind?
Baez: No, I did not pay them. That was
somebody’s misconception.
INFO: It was printed in the New York Times.
Baez: It was printed everywhere, and it
really is annoying because there is nothing I
can do to fight it except answer it when the
question comes up. I think they may have
sincerely thought that I paid it simply
because they don’t understand the government
has the power to take it. So they figure if
the government got my money, which is what
happened, that I must have given it to them.
But the point of the matter is that the
Internal Revenue can walk into the bank
literally flash his little-I don’t know what
it is they flash when they walk in-and take
it, and that’s it. I think that people might
not understand the power the Internal Revenue
has.
INFO: What do you think of draft card
burners?
Baez: I don’t know any right off the bat.
INFO: I mean the principle. Let’s say -
Folkus: An Interview with Joan Baez by
Thomas Lubart
Published in 1966
Miss Joan Baez is one of the most popular
vocalists in the country today. She has
released five albums so far, all of them very
big sellers, and her sixth one is due
sometime in June. She is also one of the
leading celebrities in the peace movement,
and her views about the war in Vietnam and
American foreign policy in general are widely
publicized. The following is an interview
with Miss Baez, conducted by an EI senior,
Tom Lubart:
INFO: On a somewhat social aspect, it’s no
secret that more people than ever are using
drugs. What are your views?
Baez: I’m in a funny position on that because
I’ve never used any drugs at all, and I think
that most people pretty much suspect that
I’ve done the field. I’m not in a position to
put it down, but what I’ll say about it in
general is that people who get into a rut of
taking one drug or another don’t seem to go
anywhere. A person who’s taken a few trips on
LSD is so hung up on the fact that he’s done
it, so this is all he can talk about. This is
my personal experience. The people who
usually come to me and talk about it take it
for granted that I know all about it. I think
LSD is probably a very important drug taken
properly, but for the most part I think it

11. begin. I’d like to end war, if I had the wish
of all wishes, I’d like to end war and start
in from there with a clean-up job.
INFO: The only thing I’ve heard about your
school is what I’ve read in the Times which
is that you dance ballet to Beatles music,
and it’s used to train civil rights workers
in the art of non-violence.
Baez: Oh dear! The lady who did the New York
Times article was very sweet in that she
didn’t say anything rotten about us, but I
also feel that she missed the entire point.
Now, whether or not she could print it if she
got the entire point - Well, her story was
very sweet. It was like a little fairy tale
about this lovely little school where
everybody sits around like marbles and dances
to the Beatles. She didn’t say anything that
wasn’t true, but these are all sorts of
little side things that she mentioned, and
the object of the school is to study and
learn about and try to live non-violence. It
is an entire way of life, which I think is
probably the only way of life, if people take
it seriously that can get us out of the mess
we’re in, and probably continue the world
for, I don’t know, another couple of hundred
years. But think if people don’t use
non-violence, we’re all going to blow
ourselves up. That’s why the school was
conceived, to try and find an alternative to
the way the world is being run.
INFO: What is your relationship with Dylan?
Baez: My relationship with Dylan! That’s a
pretty nosey question! What did you mean?
people who say “Would Christ carry a draft
card”?
Baez: Well, if somebody is burning his draft
card on the spur of the moment thing and next
week he knows he’s going to get reissued
another one, knows he’s going to go on and
still be drafted and so forth, then it’s not
so good. But if someone’s made up his mind
that he wants to be a conscientious objector
and he doesn’t want to cooperate with a war
which he thinks is as lousy as for instance
this one is - and I think they are all lousy
- and he decides to by the way this is what
I’m going to do to prove it, I’m going to
burn my draft card, I don’t see anything
wrong with it, if the guy knows what he’s
doing.
-
INFO: If you were president, what major
changes would you make? Do you have any
solutions for anything you think are
problems?
Baez: I would imagine your question would
come out of wondering if pacifism is kind of
a nice idea or whether there’s a possibility
of it working, because this often comes up if
you don’t know anything much about it.
INFO: Well it wouldn’t matter if you were a
pacifist or a facist. If you were president-
Baez: Well a pacifist would probably never be
president, so first of all I can’t say if I
really were president. If I had some wishes -
I don't know where to begin. I’d try to
eliminate violence, and I’d try to set up
some society where you wouldn’t have
to have a president. I don’t know how to

12. INFO: Is there anything you want to do that
you haven’t done yet?
Baez: Oh God yes. I want to end war.
INFO: I mean that you yourself could do. Like
climb the Empire State Building.
Baez: Not today! Oh, I’m only twenty-five,
and I can’t probably begin naming the things
I’d like to do. I think they’ll come up as I
go along. I mean, I never wrote a list of
them when I was ten and set out to do them
one after the other.
INFO: Well is there anything you can think
of?
Baez: Well, for instance, the movie thing
would be somewhere on the list. I don’t know
when exactly it will take place. I’d like to
have a baby somewhere along the line.
INFO: You’re planning to get married then?
Baez: I don’t know. That doesn’t seem to work
as well as just having babies.
INFO: Thank you, Miss Baez.
INFO: What do you think of his music? When
you get together do you go over his songs or
just have a good time or what?
Baez: What do I think of his music? I think
his music is very good rock and roll and very
degenerate music. Does that answer your
question about music? I mean now. I like his
rock and roll if I feel like feeling sorry
for myself and crying and wallowing around in
my own muck.
INFO: Dylan’s main message in his latest
songs seems to be that life is absurd. Do you
agree with that statement?
Baez: Yeah, it is. I agree that it’s absurd,
but I don’t agree with the general feeling
that I get from most of his songs that it’s
hopeless. I mean, I think there’s things to
be done, plus that, though, you have to do
them. My objection to the music he writes now
is that an artist with his kind of power can
take a lot of people down with him, get them
down in the hole he’s in. And if he feels
like saying to so many screaming teenagers
that nothing matters, it’s all a lot of crap,
and they’re willing to listen, and I don’t
think he doesn’t want to bear the
responsibility of saying anything else like
maybe something does matter, in which case he
would have to prove it, and I don’t think he
wants to have to do that. He left it all on
my shoulders, the bastard. And really Dylan
and I saying, in effect, the absolute
opposite of what we’re trying to say and what
we’re trying to do.
-