The Saga of Volume 2, Issue 3

by James Norton

Considering the seditious nature of the Liberator – particularly in its early incarnations – it's sort of surprising we didn't get into much (if any) trouble. But West had a long tradition of rabble-rousing, and the Liberator was just one of four different student publications, including the West Word (an alternative school paper), the Regent Review (the administration mouthpiece school paper), and Tapestry (the arts magazine.)

Volume 2, issue 3 was the one that got us into a bit of hot water. Student Council (usually gorgeously do-nothing, like Student Councils everywhere) had decided it was going to hire a computer dating service that promised to bring in a fair chunk of cash for the Student Council and charity. Students would fill out a questionaire, and based on their answers, they would receive their list of top matches from other participating students. It was $2, or some other nominal fee, but interest was high.

The morning the service was supposed to be filled out and run (we'd contracted with an outside firm to run the computer aspect of it), Libby hopped on the PA and announced that it was cancelled. Why? Because one of the questions mentioned a teacher, and in a fairly respectful way.

Student Council was infuriated, and I blasted out a Liberator editorial that ranks among the more confrontational stuff I've ever penned.

The night we went to print was a long one, and it was a Wednesday (or some other such school night). We wound up folding issues at Country Kitchen until 3 a.m., and when I arrived at school the next day, I was a zombie.

Libby called me into the office, the first (and last) time I was to receive an official dressing down for Liberator content. She started in about how she was disappointed in me and the Liberator, and how it was an unfair characterization and some other things that are just a mushy stream of phonemes at this point. About 5-minutes into her talk, I stood up, said "I have to get to math class," and left.

I don't know how surprised she was, or whether she was shocked by my strolling out. But at the time, it wasn't an act of defiance; I was just too tired to pay attention, and I knew if I didn't get to math class, I was in a world of academic hurt. So I left.

Other than the editorial, issue 3 also has a cartoon from Evan Dorkin, and indie cartoonist who has long been a personal favorite of mine. I wrote to him saying that I represented a flat-broke underground high school paper, and said that I was hoping he could send us a cartoon to publish. Lo and behold, he did. Warms my heart to this day.