features Battalion/Page 21 January 27, ’Rockabillies’ behind latest California fad Crewcuts making California comeback - ’ - United Press International LOS ANGELES — The times they are a-changin’ all right, changing back again. ' -1 The cloud of hair that was -once the very embodiment of adolescent identity, the crown ing symbol of youthful defiance of the old guard, has long gone the way of tie-dyed shirts and Viet Cong flags. Now, some Southern Califor nia teen-age boys are carrying the trend to shorter hair to a new length. 1 he crewcut. ' ; From the skull contoured Army recruit look to the meticu lously levelled flat-top, crew cuts .are showing up again in local high schools for the first time ; since the Kingston Trio split up. • ■V Not the raspberry and char- treuse-dyed Mohawks that erupt from the heads of punk rockers, but real crew cuts, the kind that made groups of nor mal teen-age boys in 1955 look like a squad of Marines. They are still few in number — administrators guess about 2 or 3 percent at some high schools — but observers say the number of bristly heads is grow ing. And teen-age fads that be gin in Southern California often spread nationwide. “Close to 5 percent of the boys at our school have them,” said John O’Brien, activities director at Torrance High school. “They started showing up back in Sep tember and it’s spreading.” “I was just about the first at my school and I got all kinds of ribbing about it,” said Michael Mathias, 17, a senior at Notre Dame High School, who had his blond hair cut in a flat-top style a year ago. Mathias said that about 15 or 20 of the 800 students at the high school now wear the short hair cut. “It’s a real clean cut look, easy to care for and more stylish.” Mathias and many others who have adopted the look share a fascination with the 1950s. He wears ‘50s teenage styles and listens to ‘50s teenage music — Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and of course, Elvis. “The number is increasing — it’s definitely a trend,” said Cheryl Barker, who cuts hair at Rubens’ Hair Design in the Toluca Lake district of Los Angeles. “I went five years without doing any crew cuts at all, and I’ve done several recently, most ly on guys about 16 and 17. It’s your basic military haircut they want.” “We’re getting more and more inquiries,” said the shop’s owner, Ruben Plasencia. “Our customers seem to be working up their nerve.” At Miraleste High School, boys with crew cuts are probably in the group called ’rockabillies,’ said John Letcher, director of student activities. “It’s a whole movement that goes backito the ‘50s of kids who are into ‘50s music. They wear T-shirts with the sleeves rolled up to the shoulder, high water Levis, that kind of thing. “The girls wear long skirts almost down to the ankle and bobby socks and loafers. They cut their hair short and pile it up on their head. Remember the old beehive hairdo? They try to copy that. “Rockabilly is kind of a reac tion to the preppy look that dominates the campus. The school’s about 70 percent pre ppy so the rebels identify with kids in the ‘50s and dress like them.” “The rockabilly scene is really popular,” said Kathy Botica, who wears ankle length skirts and bobby socks to school. She described her hair style as “stick ing up on the sides and down on my face and kind of penny on top, kind of like a ducktail in the ‘50s.” “We had a rockabilly day in September,” said O’Brien of Torrance High. “The boys came in blue jeans, white T-shirts, white socks and penny loafers. “The girls wore those big skirts. bobby socks, saddle shoe! man sweaters and ponvij Rare as they are,crenq already too common foil dividualists who pionet return to visible scalps “1 got a crew cutM ago, the first person-I school,” said MattMcClaJ senior at Miraleste Higl I’ve let mine growoutaJ front because so mam; are getting them. The oil know what’s goingonartl w.n ahead of the othmf other people start doinjj stop." ru ba wi fo Veggie diet may lower blood pressure * * * * * * -at. I* * * :•* *- :* > :> WANTED For Expert Automobile Repair Dan waskow Wayne Pritchard jf These two men can no longer be found at the Texaco Station on Jersey Street in College * Station. | Hours: THEY ARE NOW AT ■i Mon -Fri 111 ROYAL - BRYAN :J 7305:30 846-5344 if* r* ;; 3 •* ^ UPl^O/? € R VI VISA MASTERCARD JUST ONE MILE NORTH OF CAMPUS Welcome Back Aggies * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * United Press International WASHINGTON — Austra lian researchers report that a small group of healthy hospital workers developed significantly lower blood pressure when they gave up meat and switched to a vegetarian diet for six weeks. Just what it was in their milk, eggs and plant diet that was re sponsible for the drop in blood pressure during the study is not known, but the scientists said it apparently was not related to Enginooity Import sodium or potassium intake. The scientists who conducted the vegetarian study are from the University of Western Au stralia, Royal Perth Hospital and the National Health and Medic al Research Unit in Perth. They reported the findings in thejan. 8 issue of Lancet, a British medical journal. The study was prompted by several population studies sug gesting that vegetarian diets had a blood pressure lowering effect. The 59 test subjects between the ages of 25 and 63 were selected from 93 volunteers on the staff of the HToyal Perth Hos pital. One group was randomly put on an omnivorous diet for 14 weeks while two other groups were put on an omnivorous diet for the first two weeks and then on a vegetarian diet for one til two six-week experimental periods. There was no change in the blood pressure of those who re mained on the meat diet, but the scientists said there were signifi cant drops in blood pressure in the other two groups when they were on a vegetarian diet. The upper or systolic press ure dropped an average of 5mm to 6nmi and the diastolic, or low- pressure dropped 2mm to er, Welcome Back Aggies in Tan.