Assumption High School - Assumption Yearbook (Davenport, IA)

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Seniors 'Tilt-em Totem' At Assumption “Why are they being so good to us?” students, especially seniors, are asking. What’s behind the new feeling of cooperation between faculty and students? The most powerful force is Assumption’s new ad- ministration composed of Fr. Robert Walter, principal, and vice principals Sr. Mary Ann Esther, BVM, and Fr. Charles Mann. Seniors this year will be big wheels both on cam- pus, as the elder statesmen of the school, and off campus, since they alone have the privilege of leaving school if they have eighth period study hall. Father Walter explains, “We think that seniors should have some privileges,” but warns seniors against abuse, in- dicating privileges can be withdrawn. The gym shoes you see the majority of students wearing are not the sign of a rebellious student body breaking Guidepost law, but rather an indication of the administration’s consideration. And perhaps the most dramatic example of the new feeling at AHS was exhibited at the opening Mass last Wednesday, when seniors, using the new Student Council Mass books, led the student body in congregational sing- ing. What better way to ally the high and mighty seniors and their even higher administrators? But why all this cooperation among students and faculty? The administration’s purpose is best illustrat- ed by Father Walter. “We hope to increase and build up one spirit of unity,” the heights of which students at Assumption have not enjoyed since the 1961 state basketball tournament. However, a school must be united in all forms of school life: spiritual, academic, and social, as well as athletic. Sr. Mary Ann Esther expects that the idea of a unified school will make for “easier discipline and smoother running of the school.” This is one reason why the dreaded demerit system has been temporarily dropped from the girls’ division. But the girls won’t get away with murder, since Father Walter emphasized that any faculty member has authority over any stu- dent in any division. With all these new rules and privileges — partic- ularly for the seniors — this year’s class could serve as a high school ecumenical council, revolutionizing Assumption’s spirit. Who knows? If we cooperate this year, Assumption students may still be wearing gym shoes in 2062!! djj Consequences Thugs Mug Knight At Night “DAVENPORTER ATTACKED BY UNKNOWN BOY,” headlined a Morning Democrat article. “Joe Nahra . . . told police he was beaten early Thursday by an unidentified youth who approached him as he was walking on West Central Park Avenue. This incident nearly put Joe Nahra ’63 out of As- sumption. When other students heard about it, they remarked, “Why would anyone want to do that?” The youths in the above incident had a car and wanted some fun. But such juvenile antics — although sup- posedly humorous — should be termed “stealing, drunken driving, and assault and battery.” Following the “chicken code” is preferred over choosing what is right. Teenagers can follow, but they can also lead in good as well as in evil. Al- though conforming isn’t always wrong, it’s usually the easiest choice. The teenagers who accosted Joe were in a car by themselves. Would they have been involved if they were not together? Would they have done it if they had considered the consequences? Driving a machine weighing 2000 pounds and worth several thousand dollars down Third Street at 70 mph isn’t the action of a person accepting adult responsi- bility. Hitting an unsuspecting and innocent boy isn’t either. Most high schoolers and teenagers don’t realize that when this so-called fun involves them with the police, they affect themselves, their parents, schooling and most often their future. For example, if a youth was convicted of a felony in which he acted before he thought, he would be unable to become a lawyer and would have difficulty entering the Armed Forces or a professional field. On the recommendation of leniency by Joe’s father, the judge postponed sentence for 30 days. The boy who hit Joe and the youth who drove the car face these alternatives: the judge might possibly sentence them to the juvenile reform school in Eldora, or put them on parole. Although Joe was hit in the face only once, he suffered a partially severed nerve, a chipped tooth, and a possible cracked face bone. There are doctor and dentist bills, and an x-ray fee. These bills must be met too. 5

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KNIGHT BEACON At Henom in the Night' The Knight Beacon is published eight times a year by students of Assumption high school. The yearly subscription rate is |1J0 I. Since the Knight Beacon is a student publication all material will be student written. II. The successful portfolio format will continue this year to serve the students as both a yearbook and a high school paper, using informative feat- ures and picture coverage. III. The staff will cover all facets of school life as well as broaden their scope to include the Cath- olic student’s role in the world today. IV. The editorials will develop a fair and complete view of school issues, stressing the new spirit of unity. V. Editors will welcome material submitted by non staff members, with publication subject to edi- torial approval. VI. Acting as a “beacon in the night” the Knight Beacon will spotlight school spirit in the knowl- edge that the student body will cooperate in all fields of school endeavor: academic, spiritual, social, and athletic. VII. The staff will engage in a competition with the staff of Pius XI Journal, Milwaukee, Wis., to publicize the Ecumenical Council. by Mike Townsend Let’s take a Roman vacation! Why not? All of us can be in Rome by October 11. Don’t pack a suitcase or make any reservations, for, unfortunately, we won’t be going in a true physical sense, but we will be present through our Bishop at the Second Vatican Council. However far we might feel from the colosseums, villas and pizzas, we should take an active part in this upcoming council. In fact, we are the council in that we are members of the Church and, as mem- bers, will be affected by it. But what can we do as students? Our Bishop asks that we stay informed hy keeping track of radio, TV and press coverage and that we pray often for the success of the council. These suggestions can be our “passports” to true participation in the upcoming council in Rome. A rivederci! Council Summons Assumption to Rome Get an invite? To the Ecumenical Council that is. No? Well, since Bishop Hayes will act as our repre- sentative, you needn’t feel that your Church has slighted you. Moreover, in his talk to us Sept. 5, he outlined something very definite the student body can do to make this the year of the Ecumenical Council. (See news story for details.) Taking steps to comply with His Excellency’s sug- gestions, the Knight Beacon has challenged the Pius XI Journal of Milwaukee, Wis., to a trial based on how well each has presented the theme of the Ecu- menical Council throughout this year. Since it is a mirror, the Knight Beacon will reflect the efforts you and your fellow students put forth. Consequently the pressroom is open for suggestions and ideas that you students might have concerning your involvement in the Ecumenical Council. Although the administration has planned no spe- cial assemblies other than the trial, our principal, Father Walter, has expressed “hope and trust that it (the Council) will be discussed in religion and history classes.” To help in these class discussions and give the students background, the Knight Beacon will carry various informative articles — such as the Msgr. Con- way interview in this issue — with the hope that stu- dents will strike out on their own to learn more about the council. Another valuable source of information for the stu- dent is our Catholic Messenger. The outlines of topics considered by the Central Preparatory Committee of the council that have appeared in recent issues con- firm what Bishop Hayes meant when he said that the Messenger was “in the forefront” with articles con- cerning the Council. Since there will undoubtedly be religion book re- ports again this year, students might read books con- cerning past or present councils on which they could report to the class. If teachers will submit such re- ports to us, we will consider their publication. Even if our Bishop had never mentioned the Coun- cil, we as Catholics should show interest in its pro- ceedings, for the decisions handed down will affect us all as lay Catholics. Just as the Council of Trent (1545-1563) provided the Catholics of its day with a practical tool to deal with current evils, the present council will attempt to better define the role of the layman and his standing in the Church. While one of the main accomplishments of the Council of Trent was the establishment of the seminary system, per- haps this council will authorize parts of our opening day Mass to be recited in English or for the Confirma- tion age to be lowered. Whatever the decisions will be, we can assure our- selves that through them the Church is striving to solve the problems posed by our ever-changing world. And though we have not individually been invited to the proceedings, our Bishop has invited us to make this “the year of the Ecumenical Council.” PD 4

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For Tuition Scholars Dig; Scrub; Sub NEW MANN-AGE- MENT . . . Fr. C. Mann, new assistant principal, gives “two cents worth” to contented students. For statistics on sen. ior employment, see page 7. Hospital orderly, dishwasher - cook, candy striper, cashier, and grave dig- ger . . . are some of the jobs AHS stu- dents had this summer. Some were just summer jobs; others will be held throughout the school year. On the fifth floor of Mercy Hospital, from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday, this summer you could have found Gene Jerome ’63 dressed in the white uniform of the hospital or- derly. Fifth is surgical floor where Gene usually worked. He liked the job very much because later he hopes to become a doctor. He also said that a chance to meet and help people gave him a feeling of satisfaction. According to Gene the job is unique inasmuch as he sees things that the average high school student doesn’t. The pay is good too. Shuttles Patients He began his day by shuttling pa- tients to surgery. After the operations he cleaned the instruments and acted as a circulating nurse, that is, getting things that the doctors might need. In another part of Mercy Hospital Bill Neth ’63 was scrubbing pots and pans, acting as porter and even part- time chef. Bill has worked in the kitch- en — which he prefers to call the diet- ary department — for more than 18 months. He likes the job very much because it is well supervised, he works with “a nice bunch of kids” and it doesn’t interfere with school activities. You can usually find him on the 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm cleanup shift where, he says, he doesn’t know what he will be doing. One day he will run the dish- washing machine, but the next day he may help cook. The work is not just all routine. One night the pipe that supplies wa- ter to the dishwashing machine broke and flooded the kitchen with over 2,000 gallons of water. Another time the power went off and in the light of a few candles the staff pushed the dishes through the dishwasher by hand and, because the elevators didn’t work, car- ried trays up the long stairs to the pa- tients. Bill feels that the job will help him in his later life in science because he follows a partial routine and is used to giving and taking orders. Candy Striper Across town at Davenport Osteo- pathic Barb Carlin ’63 volunteers her services in another phase of hospital w'ork. She is one of the candy-stripers who give their own time to help others. Barb likes her work and proves it w'hen she says, “I believe that everyone gets a certain feeling of accomplishment when he or she helps someone, even the least way.” She also says she meets many new friends as well as people she has helped before. This summer Barb received her cap. which is a symbol of 50 hours service. Now she is work- ing on her first stripe to put on it. Each stripe will also signify 50 hours work. Her job consists of passing fresh iced- water to the patients, distributing din- ner trays and collecting them, feeding babies, and other odd jobs. Barb, who plans to be a nurse, says, ‘‘There is more to nursing than walking hospital halls in a starched uniform and cap; I am sure the experience will help me.” Cashier At the Schlegel Rexall Drug store, 29th and Brady streets, every other night, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm you can find Janet Benson ’63 working as a cashier. “I like my job and the people I work with,” says Janet, ‘‘and it gives me an opportunity to meet lots of people.” While working she rings up sales, writes out charges , helps customers find merchandise and check out items purchased. The latter is usually fairly easy but one time, when the power was off due to an electrical storm, she had to turn a hand key to run the cash register. She likes the job, and would not change. What kind of work is done at a cemetery? Gary Ales 64, who for the past summer has worked for Daven- port Memorial Park, knows from ex- perience. His job from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm usually amounted to cutting grass, fill- ing graves, and doing numerous odd jobs. He liked the work mainly be- cause, as he said, “I get to work out- side.” In the morning he helped set up for the day’s funerals. The grave dug, the tent had to be set up and flowers ar- ranged. After the funerals the casket had to be lowered into the grave, the vault sealed in place and the grave filled. Then the tent was taken down and the flowers placed over the grave. Although he liked the job, Gary said he would rather do construction work. Girls Scout! “Playing We’re from Iowa on shep- herds’-pipes, 16 area girls represented River Bend Council in the Internation- al Girl Scout Roundup at Button Bay, Vt., July 18-30. The Roundup was attended by 8,500 girls from the United States and abroad. They were chosen by their home councils in September, 1961, and spent nearly a year in practice camp- outs and preparing demonstrations. Participating in the Roundup were Assumption seniors Pat Hammond, Sharon and Larelle Hughes, and Mary Ann Pauly, and junior Sharon Lueders. Attending the alternate event, a “Lit- tle Roundup” in Canada, were sophs Kathy McGrath and Diane Schaff. A highlight of the Roundup was the Girl Scout Birthday celebration on July 24, when the mother of the Trapp Family Singers spoke to the girls. “She was really terrific,” commented Larelle, “the best speaker we had.” The impressive ceremony at the Ave- nue of Flags thrilled all the girls. Mary Ann especially remembers the day she raised the Iowa flag. Pat was awed at the arena events, attended by 10,000 people. 6