Great Neck North High School - Arista Yearbook (Great Neck, NY)

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10 -p i-epMf'A) Student Organization The Student Organization, this year worked to become an effective force for educational reform and, although it suffered from an in- difference to school affairs that seemed to affect many students, it nevertheless enjoyed limited success. Many of the SO's educational proposals either died upon reaching the ad- ministration or emerged slowly from the tangles of red tape, However, the SO came closer to its goal of an equal partnership for stu- dents in educational decision-making, as teach- ers and administrators realized that student participation was much more than a short- lived, titillating fad. Early in the year, the student body discarded the outmoded constitution of the General Or- ganization by voting for the new Student Or- ganization constitution. The most significant provision in this document was the establish- ment of a participatory democracy in the Gen- eral Assembly, the SO's main legislative branch. All students who came to General TOP: Dan Laskin. SO President; ABOVE: SO meeting underway in room 7. 25

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LEFT: Miss Sonders conducting her Italian class: FAR BELOW: Dan Wartenberg working on his study of guppies: BELOW: Mr. Love teaching A.P. Physics. Under the leadership of Mr. Lewis Love, the Independent Study Program at North Sen- ior is continuously expanding. This year, the program involved approximately sixty students who pursued various fields of study individually. Independent Study was originally established to aid students who felt that they could com- plete a course in less than the allotted time or who were interested in a subject not offered as a regular school course. A student, if he feels that he is capable, may take Independent Study in lieu of almost any regularly scheduled subject. Course titles ranged from Russian Literature” to The Ecology of a Bog. Under the auspices of the Independent Study Program, several students were able to take courses which were not normally offered at North, Advanced Placement Physics and first year Italian were only two such courses. In addition, the entire group undertook a sociological study of Great Neck and its stu- dents. The Independent Study Program, through the diligent efforts of Mr. Lewis Love and the committee, has become a permanent institu- tion at North. Hopefully, it is the forerunner of future education in Great Neck. Its success depends upon the responsibility of the involved students. So far, the future is bright.

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Assembly meetings were voting members of the Assembly. The new constitution also created a student court to hear complaints and make appropriate recommendations to the administration. The court was disappointingly inactive all year. The SO sponsored the election of student representatives to numerous district-wide and school-wide committees. One student served as a voting member of the Curriculum De- velopment Council, while three were on the Building Curriculum Group. The school system s new Instructional Council seated four student members, two of whom were from North. In addition, the SO chose to continue its relation- ship with the Board of Education and elected three delegates to the Board. The student government initiated discussion which led to the creation of a new committee, the Student-Faculty Advisory Board. This group, composed of four teachers and four students, dealt with a number of important programs. Hopefully, the role of the SFAB will grow until it eventually becomes the chief advisory body to the principal on all matters of school policy. Many people, especially students, have ques- tioned the effectiveness of the seemingly count- less number of committees in the school dis- trict. It is true that students' committees are often slow and inefficient. However, the fact that students have served so well on these groups has improved student-faculty relations and has won greater acceptance of student viewpoints. This year's SO fought continuously to im- prove education in Great Neck. Its proposals were great in number and variety. It strongly supported the establishment of a high school draft counseling program which eventually was instituted by the Board of Education. At the request of the SO. the Board also terminated the school's role in registering students for the draft. Students' freedoms and rights also concerned the SO. For the first time ever, a Student Bill of Rights was written. Also, the SO continued to provide Principal’s Passes and Open-End