Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLECTOR In Appreciation A N appeal for ads. An appeal for subscriptions. An appeal for ( material. An appeal for this and an appeal for that. Thus did the making of the Reflector consist of appeals. But let us for- get the past; the past is dead. The future, too, may consist of appeals. But what care we for the future? We live in the present. And in the present, we have this Reflector. Stories, by budding authors; poems, by future Masefields; pictures by—maybe another Whistler—all in our school. News of school affairs, chuckles from the classrooms, sports from the field and court. Thus does the Reflector re- flect our school. So turn the pages carefully and read, and be proud of the work of your schoolfellows. Hal Bellinson, Feb. ’30. The Trice (77 loved to match his young strength against that of another f T young fellow. He thrilled at the sight of the gay young crowd, some cheering, We want a touchdown!” others de- ploring, Fight, Fight!” This was Life. He loved it. And hadn’t he just made a touchdown for his team and school? Boy, wouldn’t his mother be proud when he got back home and told her about the game he had helped to win! And maybe a certain young girl was up there watching him and playing every second beside him. Who knows! He got back home, but he never told his mother about the game. His lips were forever sealed. He had gone down fighting, still matching his strength against the other fellow. What a fighter! His mother is proud of him. We praise him. Human beings can do no more. Life was ebbing fast. He saw his team-mates through a mist stand- ing about him in their last huddle together. And then he gave his sig- nal:— That Nutley game. Win her, fellows!” That was all! A fighter to the last core was Tabby” O’Shea! Albert Krause, Feb. ’30. Our New Course HERE has been introduced into our school curriculum this term a new course for all classes, which I think is one of the most im- portant of those now offered. It is our new public speaking course. You may be exceedingly good in arithmetic, an exceptional speller, or probably a perfect wizard at French or Latin; but, my, wouldn’t it Eight

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THE REFLECTOR EDITORIALS Theme 30U have already noticed the candle on the margin of this page. As 1J you turn the pages, you will notice that Light predominates throughout our Reflector. As you read on, you will find many articles dealing with light. No doubt you are curious as to the cause. This is a new departure in the plan for decorating the Reflector. Just as a cloth has the warp as a base for the weaving, so our Theme of Light brings about the unity of our decorations. Do you ask why Light? Light is practical. Without it, you wouldn’t be reading this now. Light is symbolic, very symbolic. You come to school to receive the light of knowledge. The light of our school is rep- resented in the Reflector. The Reflector itself is the beacon of our school. And so we have chosen Light as our Theme, and placed it on many pages, so that its gleam may help you to read and understand. Hal Bellinson, Feb. ’30 Light HOUSANDS of years ago the primitive fathers of mankind bowed in awe before the fury of a blazing tree, or marveled at the star- decked beauty of the sky. When almost every trace of the cave-dwellers had been expunged from the face of the earth, feudal barons gorged themselves beneath the flare of oaken torches. When only crumbled ruins of giant castles marked the spots where knights in armor had fought, sturdy pioneers with muskets close at hand prayed to their God by the beams of home-made candles. When thriving cities grew where cabins once had stood, lanterns gleamed on the stones of the cobbled pavement. Today vast metropolises rear their sky-lines to the clouds, and arc- lights shine where lanterns used to gleam, and hordes of hastening people rush on about their ways without a thought of darkness or of light. But frequently a mother with a babe clasped in her arms will pause to rest within the stillness of a slumbering tenement house, and she will gaze upon the glory of the stars, and in her there is a sense of holy awe, for stars are stars, no matter where we are—and where light of any kind glitters—there is God. Vernon Grounds, Feb. ’32. Seven

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THE REFLECTOR be mighty hard to tell Mr. Jones you wanted a job in your spare time, or maybe a steady one, if you tried to tell him in arithmetic or spelling? Well, you just couldn’t do it. And suppose Mr. Jones was a very prac- tical business man who’d judge you by your ability to express yourself in your own tongue, leaving your sugared French or Latin to your teachers, who, he believes, would appreciate them more? Then where would you be? Just think over these impossible situations a moment. Rather tight places to be in? Well, they’re far fetched, we’ll grant, but they illus- trate perfectly the point. We must learn to speak, and speak correctly. We must learn how to express ourselves adequately in every situation, for all our lives we are going to have to talk, sell ourselves, so to speak, by impressing others of our value through words. The better we can talk, the higher value will be placed on our lives and the higher value placed on our lives, the more successful will we be. Mr. Jones isn’t going to inquire when he first sees us (that is, in the majority of cases) how well we can do arithmetic, or how well we can spell or speak French or Latin. He will notice, instead, how well we can answer his questions or inquiries. For we never know a thing until we can tell others about it. Our knowledge, then, isn’t worth anything if we cannot express ourselves properly, and, as far as Mr. Jones is con- cerned, we haven’t any knowledge if we cannot express it. SO------Let us take full advantage of this new course and make the most of it, for it will serve us well all our lives. Ellen Phillips, June ’30. Life ( (s OSH, I wonder what pleasures that fellow who sits next to me in I T English class gets out of Life. He seems so serious, so sensitive, 7 so studious, so busy. He seldom laughs, jokes, dances, smokes, or makes 'whoopee.’ Gee, he must be awfully bored with Life.” The above little exerpt is often heard from our young modern high school set. But the quoter is kidding himself. That certain fellow who sits next to the quoter in English class is not bored with Life. Far from it! He is getting just as much enjoyment out of Life as the whoopee-maker is, and perhaps more. He is the person that doesn’t pay in the end. Why? Because he has played fair and clean with Life. He has studied it, and found that Life is serious and just. Abuse it and pay; play fair and reap. Be a whoopee-maker, be a happy-go-lucky fellow but please, do not weep when, as the years roll by, Life says, Now pay me, and with interest.” Al Krause, Feb. ’30. Nine