William Howard Taft High School - Senior Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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the priests of The Facultyl' were stricter, the collection of Exams,' took place twice a week. The Taftites were completely suppressed and the class of forty six, in the depths of misery, realized they were nothing but Serfomores. Education was almost a thing of the past. In fact the world might have lost entirely the remarkable culture of the classical period if not for a small, cloistered group, called Arista. The members of Arista retired from the society of the world to their quiet, sheltered home on the third floor. Here they at- tempted to revive learning. Groups of ordinary students entered their midst to be tutored and taught by the learned Arista members. Thus was the light of education kept burning. Perhaps the brightest spot in this dark age, was the existence of a group of knights called The Holy Order of the Presidents . This group of handsome and valiant young warriors was known and respected by all the neighboring feudal estates for the remarkable deeds they performed at the annual tourneys. It was, in fact, The Holy Order of the Presidentsl' which first instituted the tradition of chivalry. Once every year the knights of this order, would make a crusade to the holy and sacred ground of the Principalfs office. During this time, the rest of the world was steeped in ignorant super- stition. And once again strange animals roamed the face of the earth, one of the most feared being the dragon lVlidtermH. Much time passed during which the Taftites gradually rose from this cultural slump. Very slowly, there emerged from the Dark Ages a faint light of learning. Once again, classes were attended and teachers were employed. There was indeed a rebirth of learning. But this period did not resemble the Classical Period in that now, there was no time for leisurely discussion. The Taftites were too busy trying to revive their culture, too busy chiseling, writing, and painting to meet socially and analyze the problems of the day. During the Renaissance, there developed an entirely new type of student. Formerly, a pupil was considered quite gifted if he excelled in one of the arts. But now, many members of the class of forty six excelled not only in one cate- gory, but in all of them. As an example we might take Ben Venuto, known principally for his chiseling. Yet, when his memoirs were published it was found that some other fields dominated by his skill were: money coining, pass forging, class cutting, and homework dodging. Certainly a society composed of students with similar talents was bound to be a brilliant one. The Facultyn still played an important role in society, despite the fact that after much education, the students realized that their omnipotence had been greatly exaggerated. Now during the Renaissance The Faculty became the center of the court intrigues. A certain Lucy Pnorgia made remarkably delicate, poisoned rings and was a master at disguising phials of the deadly liquid. These were used freely by both the students and members of The Faculty in an un- ending battle to do away with each other. Perhaps the most famous case of this type occurred when Gio Vanni was flunked by a particularly foolhardy 4 1 QQ y I l - A .X ri. lvl 'KX l .ldglfi lg:.Flg'1i U E4 f w, , - W j WIA, gl' if l

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All these people differ from one another in language, customs, and laws. Of them all, the Freshmen are the bravest because they are the furthest removed from the civilization and requirements of the departments, and because they are seldom vi.ited by things that have a tendency to weaken their fighting spiritf' There arose great literature in which the learned men told of their deities. The gods of English and Physical Education ruled the heavens while the many headed dog Math, guarded the entrance to the dark regions, and Science, son of Charon, ferried the doomed across the river Styx to the caves of judgment. Perhaps the most important events in the lives of the Taft youth were the contests of physical prowess. Taftis discus team was known in all the far corners of the earth for their great skill, and bards sang of their valiant deeds on the court. The beautiful girls of the tribe crowned the winning athletes with laurel wreaths as signs of their love. During this time art developed greatly also. Sculpture was one of the greatest forms and the majority of Taft students were master chiselers. The Taftites had a simple and beautiful court in the center of their building in which they spent much time worshipping nature and writing of the wonders of the world. Here, placed in small tubs of rich earth, were handsome shrubs around the cloistered walks where the young intellectuals found peace and quiet. In the spring, their toga'd forms reclined on marble benches while slaves hastened back and forth with pops and Dixie cups, and in one corner an old crone vended her pretzels. The Taft Preview also made great strides of progress. From a small cube of rock, rudely inscribed, it developed into a four-page, hand-printed circular. ln it was printed all the news concerning sports, government, sculpture, litera- ture and the theater. And of course, the Taft Review never forgot its prime purpose. ln every other issue they printed a beautifully decorated editorial warning the populace of the evils of noise and dirt in the large lunch room. And so the Taft tribe made progress. They no longer feared the elements and had made considerable advances in the elimination of natural hazards. But as time passed, the citizens of Taft became more and more self- satisfied and complacent. Surrounded by luxury they were loath to exert them- selves and spent most of their time reclining either in the main hall, or the lunch room. Classes became smaller and smaller and education began to ebb. Bad influences from the hostile outside world seeped in, and the Taftites, used to soft living, were unable to fight them. VVithin a short time the gates of Taft fell, and the greatest civilization the world had ever known was almost com- pletely wiped from the face of the earth. The Facultyn, a group of deities the class of forty six had once worship- ped, suddenly rose to become the greatest power in the land. They ruled with an iron hand, and soon the Taftites were in their power. Every week f'The Faculty levied a tax called the Examl'. The students crammed in order to pav it, but in many cases could not meet its requirements. ln some quarters, where Bvil.. i. 4 :- ,u. i x .ann k 'Tlx sl, is ' nl' t'IN lllli if ll l' A :lr 1 I'I1l 1 I M I T 'X l T' ttf , 'FQ - . ,Q 1 1 vf '-x if 'ICI' . 5 X Q 'ri ' - , X lh ost X I

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S S Z ,l member of The Pacultyf' Alex Sandro. VVhen Cosimo, Gio Vanni's brother, heard of this, he retrieved the honor of the family by assassinating Alex Sandro, whose son Lorenzo immediately challenged him to a duel in which both were mortally wounded. Gio Vanni, embittered by these events, proceeded to poison Lorenzo's family and after several homicides, was accidentally poisoned himself when the drinks were switched. During this time, the Taft Review had grown to a four-page, well printed newspaper, and a new literary-art magazine, Portfolio, had made its appearance. Education spread and once again literature bloomed. And then came the discovery that revolutionized the world. Previous to this, new lands had been discovered and the school had been mechanized to a great degree. But now that the means of smashing the atom had been discovered, a new world was opened, a world dominated by science. The cafeteria no longer served food. Instead, atom-activated vitamin pills were distributed by slot machines, thus eliminating dishes, and the need for washing, drying, and sweeping them up. Of course schools at this time no longer served their original purpose. Some time ago, a famous scientist had invented a serum, which when injected into an infant, gave the child all the knowledge formerly acquired through long years of study. This would seem to eliminate the need for The Pacultyn, but the members of this organization refused to relinquish their hold on the youth and continued with their jobs under the pretense of preparing the students for Life , Perhaps the greatest development of this period took place in the office of the Taft Review. Always sticking to the original purpose of this paper, one of its reporters invented a machine which automatically turned out brilliant editorials on behavior in the cafeteria. Sports were changed. Une of the first innovations in baseball was the lengthening of the distance between the bases. This was necessitated by the super energy of the players, which made the former ninety foot length a mere skip. The class of forty six reached the greatest height of civilization. Now they easily recognized themselves as far above The Pacultyn. Indeed, they ruled the rest of the student body until Taft became too small for their intellects. And so, leaving Taft, the fruits of their genius were benevolently be- U7 f-e O 4 C G fs .-.4 ,.,.- ,J C -4 v-3 f-f ,1- -J C ff C' A V . rx ..... ,-4 v L44 f-r- ,-. -1 C VT C