Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 10

THE HARTFORD CO RANT: Sahirday, D.c.mb.r 27. 1969 10 Spirit of Woodstock Marks 1989 eens wmmmmm mmmmmmm. twenties Communication Proves Paradox Hartford youths and a Glaston- a si fey Outskirts of the Rally A University of Connecticut student wears his peace sign as he stands listening to the speakers on the outskirts of the October Moratorium rally held on the Storrs campus to protest the war (Courant Photo by Maurice Murray). bury student as proof that all hallucinatory drugs are danger ous and should bring drug users heavy punishments. The sensitivity group, or T- group, was used all tnrougn tne year to prepare youth leaders, Young people who have partici pated is the popular sessions say a rare feeling of trust and openness develops between group members.

In these groups students learn there are several ways to convey emotions and thoughts and the most effective way of doing it. "Unfortunately," Dr. Veeder said, "history tells us violence is usually the best way to change things." But this is the generation of flowers, peace and love a phe nomenon, Dr. Veeder says, of an unpopular war and the exist ence of instant annihilation. A University of Hartford stu dent termed radical by many adults said there are two ways to change the system: one is by talking and the other is by con frontation.

"I've never seen students demonstrate except when nor mal channels of communication are closed to them," he said, The War Show Active what a nice feeling it was to share your half sandwich with the guy who just squished down next to you. And it was different to be unafraid someone was going' to steal from you. And it was comfortable somehow to rap with a stranger and find he was for real. You just figured things were so bad they were good. Like disciples, the Woodstock festival goers came down from the southern Catskill Mountains spreading the word they had heard in the White Lakes mud.

sis of the program. The department how deals mainly with juveniles or other children and young people in trouble. The reorganization and a lack of communication among state members put the state's Youth Council near collapse earlier in November. CounciJ President T. J.

-Donahue called on members to express a real interest in the group or vote themselves out of existence. The crisis came after two state-wide conferences sponsored entirely by the council On Wheels Wish Denied By JACKIE ROSS TNT Editor The year was characterized by something that didn't happen until August But the spirit of Woodstock had been building through the months until it came into its own during the three days of music at White Lake, N.Y. It was the help-a-friend, share-the-wealth feeling which was reflected in the music, the projects and the causes of youth during the year. Nobody knew what to call it besides a happening until 350,000 music lovers jammed into a muddy field with insufficient supplies and few inhibitions. They had come from all over the country to sit under the sign of dove on the neck of a guitar and listen to Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, The Who, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens' and many more.

And when they had gathered in the rain and chill of Aug. 15-17 the young music lovers were the third largest city in New York State and the promoters of "the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, an Aquarian Exposition," had not prepared for jthe multitudes. There were very few arguments, few arrests, no large fights and little complaining. Young people who had walked miles to the festival, after being forced by traffic or the police to abandon their cars, sat next to each other in the mud and shared a cup of small meatballs which sold for $1.50. The outlook was so bleak New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller was asked to declare it a disaster area.

But when Sunday dawned in New York, America was holding its breath this time in amazement. All those thousands of kids Courant Photo by Maurko Murray. Communication was the key word this year too much of it from the mass media and little of it on a people-to-people basis. Dr. Raymond Veeder, a gen eral psychiatrist at the Institute of Living in Hartford, says the lamented generation gap is normal.

Young people today are more inclined toward change which their elders resist because of the sophisticated com munication devices that bring in more information on any given subject than even the most intelligent mind can absorb and use. He agrees with noted anthro pologist Dr. Margaret Meade that this generation and the one before it have experienced a tremendous number of changes in daily life. The result is a fear and resistence to change on the part of the adult; a basic inse curity which keeps him from properly guiding youth. The youth in these times of change have a desire to do things now, a desire which is heightened by their fear adults will squelch then- ideas.

Dr. Veeder suggested both sides of the generation crevice could ease the tension by keep ing tne lines of communication open between them. Often, he said, the two sides agree in principle but not on method. "Young people sometimes think their parents put the em phasis on the wrong things," he said. Young people have repeatedly said, for example, that educa tion is not relevant to today's world.

They rebel against being denied a voice in tne adminis tration of their college and uni-versties. Even high school students have sought the right to a mire meaningful voice in government. To a certain extent administrators have listened to student cries for more representation. A University of Connecticut law student, Walter Marcus, is a voting member of the Board of Trustees and the "Rocky Hill Board of Education has two high school ex officio members, for example. In an attempt to establish more meaningful lines of communication between each other young people have tried just about everything from marijuana cigarettes and harder drugs to the natural highs of sensitivity groups, or T-groups.

A national survey of college students shows that 4 of 10 have at least tried While most young people claim pot isn't harmful in itself, adults point to the deaths this year of two West Arsonists Sentenced BOMBAY (AP) Fourteen Indians have been sentenced to be hanged and 38 to life in pris on at Rudgi village for setting fire to a house in which 17 In dians burned to death. The vic tims had taken shelter there in a land dispute. J2l This Woodstock spirit punctuated the moratoriuni marches most of all because they came to mean about the same thing. Woodstock was an immediate concern' for the welfare the person next to you and the Vietnam protest was Woodstock for the people further away. Now the feeling had a name.

The concern young people had been expressing for the poor, the uneducated, discriminated against had a handle the spirit of Woodstock. Youth and the prospect of participating in the 1970 White House conference on youth, to be held in December. Superior Court entered the long hair controversy and declared it to be a matter of personal choice. Keeping a student out of public school because of bis hair is an invasion of privacy the court ruled, so Gerald Yoo of East Hartford went back to Penney High and administrators were forced to drop references to hair length in the dresi I have a 196S Mustang sit with 6.50 13 tires. I want to put 14-inch chrome reversed wheels on it.

But I don't know what size width tires are best. Would 775 or 8.25 be too brd on my engine? Would they clear my wheel housings. -SWICHEROO As I recall, 1965 Mustang Sixes use 4-bolt lug patterns and 13-inch wheels, while '65 Mustang V-8s use 14-inch tires and 5-lug wheels. So the first thing you have to be sure of is that you're getting 4-lug 14-inch wheels. As for tire size, any that'll fit a Mustang V-8 will fit your car.

All you have to watch for is the reverse effect. This will determine your wheel-house clearance. What would cause a right rear grease seal to leak after three of them have been replaced in less than 36,000 miles, this in my 1965 Pontiacu LEAKY Sounds like something 's wrong with the axle itself. It might be bent or have a rusty spot or perhaps a burr. (You can write, to Mike Lamm at Room 601, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NT 1C020.) -Z: Outlets Number of Gears Doesn't Help Speed caused less trouble than an average football game, authorities admitted.

The marchers were more than pleased. They were showing by example what kind of feeling they wanted to rale the national policy. "I think people are beginning to realize it's more fun to share than hoard. That's what the march was all about," said a. 20-year old protester.

"If I didn't think this would do some good I wouldn't be out here," said a UofH sophomore. In November the feeling against government policy in Vietnam drew over a quarter of a million young Americans to Washington, D.C. Two days of protest in front of the president's home with only sporatic acts of violence by the most militant demonstrators brought no public notice by the It did bring marchers closer together and drew more international attention to the vocal young people working for peace. This time there were few jeers Bruce Johnston of Glastonbury said he saw soldiers throw down their gloves and scarves to protect marchers from the cold. While older people shamed the lack of patriotism in such demonstrations the youthful demonstrators carried American flags.

"You know why I've got this flag?" asked a Hartford demonstrator. "I'm a patriot too" If their parents think it is treason, young people who are against the war feel it is their patriotic duty to protest. Cold weather hampered December demonstrations although there were several, at Trinity College and UofH this month. Young people didn't get their first wish for 1969: An end to the Vietnam war. A survey of college students on the nation's campuses last year showed peace was the fondest hope of nine out of ten interviewed by the Greenwich College Research Center.

But in Connecticut, as in 'other parts of the country, the peace effort went beyond wishing and into demonstrations and marches for many. Participation in the demonstrations have grown ivery month. The National Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE) organized mass outpourings of frustration on the part of 8 out of 10 students in the nation. Their first attempt at a large scale demonstration in 1969 was the inaugural of President Nixon. Gary Weindruch of Bloomfield, who went to the counter inaugural in Washington, D.C.

in January, said there were moments of fear and confusion among the crowd estimated at 5,000. He added the marchers were sometimes were jeered by spectators in the Capitol for the presidential inauguration, But by October, following a summer of local protests and minor peace demonstrations, MOBE coordinated a nation-wide Moritorium slated for every month until there is peace- A march of area students which started at the University of Hartford and wound its way down Albany Avenue to Bushnell Park brought 10,000 people together to vocalize their opposition to the war. Some 30,000 gathered in New Haven to hear speeches and make the peace sign. Many other protesters rallied in their towns and schools. All in all, the Hartford Moritorium IP" I Hi I I 44 Vvte were walking away from that scene with smiles and people wanted to know why.

"There are a lot of us here," observed a Woodstock manager from the stage on Friday, "so you damn well better remember the person next to you is your brother." That is the spirit of Woodstock and that is how close to half a million kids averted i al tragedy in White Lake that weekend. When it was all over people who had been there glowed just to remember One of the most important youth bills to come out of the state legislature in 20 years was passed in 1969. -V Both houses of-' lawmakers gave a three-fourths vote of approval to a bill putting the question of lowering the voting age to 18-year-olds before Connecti cut residents. Surveys taken by lawmakers at the time of the vote on the bill putting the question on the 1971 ballot show most voters would oppose the law. Lawmak ers themselves privately admit to having reservations about it, and the most outspoken say they voted to put the question before the people so the young lobbysts who have been plagu: ing them for years will stop.

One of these lobbyists is. a Yale University senior, Ed For-and of Wethersfield. He has been working with the 18-year- old voting effort smce his fresh man year. Forand organization, Let Vote 18: Connecticuticut Citizen Coalition, hopes to carry out a successful person-to-person campaign to convince Connecticut voters 18-year-olds are mature enough to vote. By conducting a house-to-house survey the Coalition will put young people in close contact with adults.

"If nothing else comes of this," Forand said, "we will have at least talked to each other." The state legislature was very concerned with youth in the 1969 session. They lowered the age for obtaining a license to drive a school bus from 21 to 19 going on the theory of a 19-. year-old could keep his eyes on the road, he was mature enough to handle the kids riding on it tOO. The legislature debated and then reorganized the Commission on Youth Services into a Department of Services for Children and Youth. John Lukens, former commission head and now working in the new department, said the Commission bad ly needed the revision, but he regretted changing the empha ed helpful experience for beginners as the program began to mellow.

Camp counselors at the state camp in Danielson and young workers in state hospitals came up with new ideas on treating the mentally retarded. Most of the administrators involved with the program praised the Corpsmen, who came to the state from across the nation and several foreign countries to participate. Teens on Parol (TOPs) kept their beats so cool the Charles Parker Memorial gave several members of the police sponsored group a trophy of appreciation. In their second year, TOPs a 1 1 the neighborhoods with police officers and won the respect of their peers. The TOPs are not police informants or even police officers with legal authority to prevent fights or any other kind of trouble on the street But, said one police official, because they are kids "who know what's happening" people in their neighborhoods respect them and trouble is often avoided.

Laws By MICHAEL LAMM Once again, let's devote the column to the week's most pressing questions. Got a problem with your car? Jet it down, send it in. And if you're not a teen-ager, sad, but I'll try to answer your question anyway. First, this quickie to Eddie in Yes, it's possible to use a 6-volt Sun tach in a 12-volt car. You'll have to buy a 12-volt transmitter, that's all- Your 6-volt head will work.

Now to new business. I have a 1963 Chevrolet half-ton pickup with the 292-inch six and 3-speed. I w0uld like to know if I can install a 5-speed transmission in place of my present 3-speed. -GEARS Interesting. Where to get a 5-speed? And why, anyway? I know of no 5-speed made for Chevy pickups; 4-speeds yes, 5-speeds no, I suspect you'r laboring under the demon delusion that the more speeds, the faster you'll go, right? Wrong.

High is high no matter how many gears the tramission it a 1:1 ratio and in high everything's equal whether the tranny a 3-, or 5-speed. (I'm talking now about U.S. transmissions, not foreign-made ones.) Next question. Youth '69 Youthful Enthusi asm for Service Projects Finds Community More and more responsibility opened up to young people in the state as they repeatedly told adults they wanted to make some immediate and meaningful contribution community life. The Revitalization Corps, Supplementary Program for Hartford Education Reinorce-ment and Enrichment (SPHERE), the state Department of Mental Health, various church organizations and the Hartford Police Department responded with programs giving young people pivotal roles.

Various tutoring programs operating in the North End gave tutors an opportunity to get closer to their students. Many felt as one Operation Bridge tutor did: "I just hope the kids I'm teaching are learning half as much as I am." By helping their pupils at home the' tutors had an i-sight into the lives of families in the North End. It changed some of their attitudes and one of the Revitalization Corps goals was met as many tutors admitted they had a better understanding of ghetto life. On the other hand a program offered through the University of Connecticut attempted to show students on Urban Semester that life in the inner city was not just a different way of living, but in the words of one student "almost another country." Private schools like Hotch-kiss, Loomis, Renbrook and Ethel Walker found another problem in relating their students to the inner city. Money was the biggest stumbling block to understanding admitted a Hotchkiss student tutor-v ing in Hartford Public High Annex.

The private schools in the Greater Hartford area in SPHERE bused inner city stu-dents to their suburban buildings and gave young people a major role in teaching and counseling the youngsters. Adult educators involved with the program reported excellent results for both students and teachers. Returning counselors in the State Department of Mental Health's Service Corp provid fy 1 '1 Neighborhood Meets Police Teens On Patrol (TOPs), an experi- Waiting to try on their Teens On Patrol mental program of the Hartford Police De- jackets are Peggy Crowe and Frank Miller, partment, didn't disappoint many people this a TOP supervisor (Courant Photo by Harry summer as their work in the neighborhood Batz). veas helped police get closer to the people. SPHERE Counselor One of the counselors at Ethel Walker lines up contestants-for the day's races part of the recreation time arranged to bring the counselors for SPHERE and their charges closer together (Courant Photo by Jerry Williams)..