Classical High School - Classic Myths Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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CLASS ORATION ALAN YOFFIE The death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the explosion of the first atomic bomb brought Americans in l945 to the startling realization that an era in American history had passed away and that a totally new and challenging age in the evolution of mankind had arrived. We are the children of this Atomic Age. The responsibility for the leadership of the United States and the free world will one day be in our hands. What type of world shall we 'be cal- led upon to lead? What will our responsibili- ties be? How will our world differ from the one that our parents, who had their commencement in the Roosevelt Era, had to face? In l933, when President Roosevelt first took office, one-third of the nation was ill-clothed, ill-housed, and ill-fed. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. One out of every four workers, between twelve and fif- teen million men, had lost their iobs. Thousands of people stood in bread lines to get food. For the high school graduate, the future did not look very bright. A college education meant sacrifice. Very few scholarships were available. Jobs were hard to find. There was no unemploy- ment insurance. There was no federal minimum wage. There were few unions to protect iobs and those that did exist had very little influence or power. ln l933, there was no draft and only a small and selective peacetime army. Conditions for the high school graduate did improve as the thirties progressed. lt was not until l94l, however, when the United States en- tered World War ll that economic recovery 'be- came complete. Very few graduates were at home during the war to enioy this new pros- perity. The biggest problem that faces the world today is not economic depression but the threat of total thermonuclear destruction. Our parents had to face the prospect of hunger and jobless- ness upon their graduation from high school, we have to face the prospect of extermination. The fact that we know that the balance of power which now exists between the United States and the Soviet Union is uneasy and that scientists are continually altering this fbalance, makes our iob of taking our place in society that much harder. Our parents, upon their commencement, had to face the problems of the world immediately. The fact that most of us will be going to college and will not have to make this direct confronta- tion with the world does not lessen our obliga- tions. College gives us more time to learn and to mature. When we are graduated from college and begin to accept our responsibilities, more will be expected from us. Today no nation is immune to the political, military, or economic problems of other nations. As the potential leaders of one of the most powerful countries in the world, we, above all others, must work for cooperation and under- standing. A greater need than ever before

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CLASS Mel Applebaum leaves his beret, sunglasses, and megaphone. Ken Kaufman leaves his political post much to the regret of the General Court of Massachusetts. George Ridick and Marc Greenberg leave Mr. Brennan in tears. Julius leaves without having his name pronounced correctly once in three years. Paul Langevin leaves lfinallyl. Rick Stidsen leaves his office after a maximum of two terms. Pat Buckley leaves smiling for a change. Phoebe Brown leaves Mr. Powers. Henry Katz leaves his philosophical sayings. Neil Davis leaves his saddle shoes. Alan Yoffie leaves his voice to any soft-spoken iunior girl. The two Steve Epsteins and Wayne Millers leave their famous middle initials. Ronny Thomashow leaves a job that, if you'll excuse the expression, smells. Sandy Lian leaves her sophisticated ways to any serious iunior. L lContinuedl Alan Liebman leaves his place in the lunch line. Dan Lettic leaves town with the class treasury. Jeff Davis leaves all his Superman comic books. Bob Buckley leaves anything but his comb. Bill Sweeney leaves his brother to carry on the tradition. Bob Eager leaves, as his name in- dicates. Joanie Fierer leaves speechless. Herb Snyder leaves his ties. Carol Morse and Lee Powers leave memorizing the atomic series. I hereby exercise the power vested in me by declaring this document legal and true. Signed, Daniel Cotton, Testator Witnesses: Sally Tooby The Ghost of l963

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C LASS ORAT I 0 N lCOnfmuedl necessitates the extention of international com- pacts under which nations cooperate on com- mon problems. We must continually reiect the view that the less change there is, the better it is for us. Progress is inevitable and the more we can do to influence our progress, the safer democracy will be. The era in which we shall be living will be revolutionary. Not since the days of Columbus has the imagination given us so much food for thought on the possibilities that lie ahead. Al- ready trained men are exploring the strato- sphere. The time may not be distant when or- bital flights by you and me are commonplace and interplanetary travel, the rule, when we shall stop at space stations instead of gas sla- tions, and when we shall look at the earth in- stead of the moon at night. Colonization of other planets as an answer to the population explosion is not inconceivable. The thought that there may be some other form of human life elsewhere cannot be reiected. Exactly what the future will hold, no one can foretell. The fact that there will be difficulties is the only certainty. The challenge of diplomatic achievement and scientific exploration is before us. If we can successfully promote international cooperation to insure world peace, then we, the children of the Atomic Age, will open to our children, our children's children, and all the generations that follow, an era where striving to raise living standards and striving for eli- mination of disease will be the greatest concerns. Bartholemew Alfano Doris Anderson Hanna-Mae Farber David Gladstone Jane Berol Jay Caplan Dana Finlayson Paul Freedman Hll llll FRST HONORS Laura Gross Susan Holbert Bruce Jaffe Edward Jaffe Winifred Kegeles MCOND HONORS Susan Golden Elizabeth Gross Lianelle Powers Margaret Reiner Karen Peterson George Ridick Richard Rubin Mark Skinner Carolyn Trunca Gary Rosen Richard Stidsen Raymonde Sulllivan Cllllhll 'IIC ARI' llWllllll. BLUE RIBBON WINNERS GOLD KEY WINNERS CERTIFICATE OF MERIT AWARDS Brian Pqghoign Stephen Bruinsma Sandra Sawayer Karen Dogie Francine Abdow Anita Chesney I8