Lincoln High School - Quill Yearbook (Jersey City, NJ)

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Confidence When John Burroughs graduated from school the calamity-howlers pro- phesied the end of the world. They were so sure of the collapse of civilization and so imbued with the spirit of despair that they even appointed a day when :his thing should occur. On chit day John Burroughs went to school as usual. A terrible storm arose, Some boys and girls, greatly excited, regarded that as a sure sign of the approach-. ing end. As the forked lightning played across the sky and crash after crash of thunder broke over their heads, as ominous clouds darkened the heavens and the rain in heavy sheets completely obliterated the mountains on the opposite side of the valley, the terror-stricken girls trembled and paled and wept. They feared each crash would prove the last. Some huddled in frightened silence, others screamed and groaned, a few prayed, as peal after peal crashed over the little schoolhouse. And when they saw a huge black cloud come driving across the sky from the east, they shrieked, There it comes! , and buried their heads in their arms, in abject terror awaiting the end. John had heard, unmoved, this talk about the end of the world, but he grew solemn as that ominous cloud came driving toward him. If indeed this was to be the end of the world, he wanted to see what it was like. He planted his feet firmly, determined to see it through. The cloud was no chariot. No strange, grotesque monster came riding on it to swallow up all creation. It was just a cloud. It held only water. The lightning ceased, the thunder died away, the valley was again flooded with sunlight, the girls grew calm. Then and there this observant lad, putting that experience into his mental pipe, smoked it, reducing it to what it was worth-ashes. And that's the cheese of it! was, in the vernacular, his sensible conclusion. In this critical period, when there seems to be no end to adversity and misfortune, should we join the throngs of the terror stricken? Should we bury our heads in our arms and weep? Should we proceed as if there is no economic crisis? No. We should plant our feet firmly, yea solemnly, and consider thoroughly the obstacles which stand in the way of our success. We should face reality. We should view stalwartly and face courageously the worst. When we have done this, We can proceed, cautiously, carefully, confident that our efforts will prove successful, that many of the promised calamities will fade away and the valleys again be flooded with sunshine. Let us be resolute, purposeful, unrelenting in our efforts. Above all, let us have CONFIDENCE. dagg er 1' 97

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ReeeeeeeefeefeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeggA ma it iaefeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeaeeeb Reason It was the Chinese philosopher Confucius who said, Let our reason, and not our senses, be the rule of our conduct, for reason will teach us to think wisely, to speak prudently, and to behave worthily. To us who are about to leave this school, these words should have a special meaning. We are in a world of many different currents and undercurrents of opinion, and' we are in danger of being caught in treacherous eddies of thought and feeling. So much unscrupulous propaganda is circulated and so many base means are undertaken to impress opinions upon the masses that it is essential that we have some principle by which to guide ourselves. Reason should be that principle, for if a person can subordinate passion and emotion to his reason, if he does not allow prejudice, jealousy, or hate to influence his actions, if he can always seek truth and can recognize it when he sees it, he will find intellectual and spiritual enlightment. Moreover, he will become independent of other people, he will not, because of lack of vision, become the instrument of evil-doersg and he will create for himself a sense of security and responsibility. Such a person, since he is properly equipped, is always prepared to face any crisis. His mind has been trained to recognize the problem of any given situation and to solve it. Thus it becomes apparent that the qualities of leadership can exist in a man only if he is endowed with reason. It also becomes evident that even a race, if it desires to retain and protect its traditions, its individuality, and its initiative, must be rational in all it does and must impress upon the minds of its youth the value of this attitude. Otherwise, intellectual stagna- tion results, and, in time, out of an open sky the demagogue will swoop down and with his talons seize the people in their stupor. The tyrant will smite them mercilessly with his iron list, crushing them. There have been men who have fought to the bitter end the battle of the human intellect, attacking the superstitutions and false traditions of law and religion, and proclaiming the supremacy of the mind. Those men held this standard high above all other authority. Perhaps their dream is too bright for immediate realization, but surely it is a worthy ideal for which we must strive ceaselessly. 96

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Student Participation We are dismayed to find the lack of student participation in Lincoln High. Wfhy, we ask ourselves, does such a condition exist? This last term a number of clubs have not even held a single meeting, and most of the others have been poorly supported. We find ,many who feel that joining a club is a waste of time. When we recall that the forming of a club is the result of a desire of a group of students to further their interests along certain lines, it is difficult to understand such an attitude. Whose fault is it if meetings are not interesting? If students really want something interesting, it is up to each of them to be ready to contribute information and ideas. The wide variety of clubs furnishes an opportunity for the furthering of many diverse interests. A member of a club is taught initiative and a sense of responsibilityg in other words, club members are trained in those qualities which are necessary to success. We all know that in Lincoln the turnout for our sports has been woefully inadequate, even though the coaches have emphasized that anyone who is physically fit can with training perform creditably. We realize that the co-operation of a student body is directly reflected by the performance of its teams. Yet how many do we find who complain of the poor showing of the teams yet who, themselves, never went out for any sports? How can we expect our boys to win victories when the student body does not enthusiastically support them. Though the faculty permitted the students to elect officers to the L. A. A., the sale of L. A. A, tickets has been miserably poor. The only way we will have winning teams is by having a student body with a sense of responsibility and co-operation. Too, we find almost inconceivable lack of class responsibility. In the case of The Quill, members of senior classes have refused to exert themselves by contributing, securing advertisements, or otherwise aiding, unless they were given some prominent distinguished position. Whom de we respect more, the man who helps his fellow men merely through a sense of responsibility or the man who must have a news reporter present to record the fact that he is aiding some needy peson? We know that The Quill is the product of the senior class, yet it is surprising how many seniors feel their Work is done when they elect a Quill Boardn. We deplore this unthinking attitude and can only hope that co-operation not irresponsibility will be the keynote of the attitude of succeeding classes. A student organization should be in charge of all school activities. We feel that such an organization is beneficial, but the student body can not hope to obtain permission for such an undertaking unless it shows by a new spirit of responsibility, initiative, and participation in school activities, that the students of Lincoln High School are ready for self-government. 98