John Adams High School - Clipper Yearbook (Ozone Park, NY)

Page 9 text:

First' and Las+ First. tl1t-re w.1s only hl.1t'l4 coltl. Anil the thin, voiceless .1ir Ut' the void. .1 spmgle ol' st.1t's Witli xrhite, tinseeing st.11'e. Deep in .1 vortex of tl.1111e The Birth of li.1rtl1 takes place Se.11'i11g .1 t1'.1il through the d.1rl4. 'lhere .tre men on its face, But their knowledge comes slowly Anti passing yC.lfS .1re t.1ll, Antl their span of life is short Then too, lD.lHlilf1d is s111.1llf'- Yet .1 tll't.lI1'l still tremlwles behintl their eyes, And towers of rryst.1l .md gold will rise. IJf1ri,r Kfmff

Page 11 text:

A Message From The Skipper N a 'Few days, a group of some five hun- dred of you will galher in our audi- lorium in The presence of paren+s and friends io receive +he diplomas +ha+ are +he oulward evidence of 'lhe complefion of your high school work. For mosf of you, +he exercises +ha+ nighl' will mark ihe end of your formal educafion and lhe word commencemen+ will mean for you enlrance in'I'o 'lhe hard school of experi- ence. Wi+hin a few brief years, moreover, all of you will be called upon 'lo exercise +ha+ priceless herirage of our democra'ric cifizenship, +he righr fo vofe. You will help 'ro decide +he policies +ha+ will guide or deier our progress and +o choose lhe men who will make 'lhose policies e'Flec+ive. Seldom have +he lessons of experience been harsher, and rarely have decision and choice in civic and in'l'erna+ional mal'- 'rers been more diFficul+ +han now. A+ 'lhe momen+, our group responsibilily looms larger 'lhan ever. The rapid growlh of means of communicafion has served +o mulfiply +he +ools of propaganda in such agencies as newspapers and magazines, 'I'he movies, +he s+age and, par+icuIarly in our fime, lhe radio. Wi'I'hou+ some meas- ure of crilical mindedness, wi+hou+ 'I'he be- ginnings, a+ leas+, of +he habil of weighing and considering, wi+hou+ some healfhy skepricism in fhe 'Face of ex+ravagan+, con- flicfing, and self-in+eres'fed claims, +he generous impulses of your you+h may only serve +o make you readier dupes for 'I'hose clever enough fo hoodwink you, and un- principled enough fo exploi+ you. A cerfain wariness seems essenrial, if you are fo profecl' yourselves in individual dealings and +o serve +he irue communiiy in+eres+ in your acfivilies as cifizens. ll would be a fragedy, however, were you +o permil' +his caurion, wholesome and neces- sary as i+ is wifhin bounds, 'lo srifle your presenf readiness +o see lhings in fheir road implicafions and 'lo make sacrifices for +he common good. If is my earnesf hope +ha+ our program of inslrucfion and ac+ivi+ies has 'lrained you +o mainfain a frue balance be+ween fhe habil' of sus- pended iudgmenf ihal' is a mark of fhe infelligenf mind, and fhe readiness fo ac+ courageously and generously iha+ char- acierizes your presenf years. WILLIAM A. CLARKE, Principal 7