Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLECTORY val- -KM 4-1 Boys C - THE IDEAL. - Part IV of this report contains an outline of an ideal form of student participa- tion in school government, which, in our opinion, most closely resembles that form used in civil life. We suggest that our efforts be directed toward the final realization of this ideal form, with, of course, such adjustments as may be necessary to fit our needs. It should be remembered, however, that our immediate aim is to promote the spirit of responsibility and the desire more fully to participate, rather than to pro- vide a positive form of increased participation in school government. PART III-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT or THE SPIRIT or RESPONSIBILITY AND THE DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE MoRE ACTIVELY IN SCHOOL GOVERNMENT - For the purpose of clearness and good order the following proposals are grouped under three general headings, listed respectively as Executive, Legislative, and Judi- cial, according to the theory of the separation of powers as used in the constitution of our civil government. While it is realized that in actual practice this separation of powers does not exist to any marked degree, the classifications nevertheless' are convenient. A - EXECUTIVE. Because of the lack of any adequate leadership, it is desirable that leadership be encouraged. If the General Organization, as at present made up of section room representa- tives, cannot find a good leader among its membership fone who knows how to pre- side, appoint committees, and get work donej let the Principal and the Teachers, Council select such a presiding oliicer from their acquaintance of worthy pupils who possess the qualifications of leadership. The qualifications for a presiding oflicer should be made more rigid and should not be dependent upon perfunctory elections alone. Nine

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THE REFLECTOR emi, 'IGN Special llgeport of the Qommittee on ll,aW Enforcement of the lllroblems of Democracy Qlass W PART I- PREFACE N assigning supplementary work to the pupils in the class in Problems of Ameri- can Democracy, our teacher asked, on Thursday, March 2, for a group of volun- teers who would form a Committee on Law Enforcement to examine and report on means of improving school spirit, and of promoting the better co-Operation of students and teachers in matters of mutual concern, particularly as regards school regulations and their enforcement, school discipline from the studentis viewpoint, and student participation in government. Nine members of the class volunteered to form this committee, of which num- ber, however, only the five whose signatures appear at the end of this report remained on the committee. The committee undertook to meet daily to discuss the varied and complex prob- lems which presented themselves. All told, the members devoted sixty hours apiece of their free time to this task. They visited three schools in search for information, attended the annual Conference of New ,lersey Student Councils, and gathered a wealth of first hand material from schools in New Jersey and New York through the medium of correspondence. In view of the liherality of our Principal, and of his oft-expressed willingness to receive the recommendations of well-meaning students, we, the members of the aforesaid committee, desire to present to him the result of our findings as contained in this report. A copy likewise shall be left with the Teachers Council for the con- sideration of the teachers. PART II - INTRODUCTION A - PECULIAR LOCAL CONDITIONS. After an examination of conditions elsewhere and a comparison of them with conditions prevailing here, it is the opinion of the committee that any sudden or drastic change in the status of the pupil would not be wise, and for the following reasons: E I-While school spirit is good, it is not constant, as may be seen in the vary- ing degrees of student support given to athletics, drives of various kinds, and other school projects, such as The Reflector. 2-Until school spirit is a more complete reality, any artificial plans based on it are bound to fail. 3-School spirit must come from the pupils, who should not be given the full rights and privileges of participation until they desire them, and until they show that they deserve them. f 11'-Until the spirit of responsibility is more general, any scheme of student participation will be subject to ridicule, abuse, and consequent frustration. B - THE FIRST STEP. We feel that, in view of the local conditions, the ground work first must be pre- pared if a sturdy growth of true citizenship is to be achieved. Part III of this report deals with measures which, we think, are worthy attempts to promote better. school spirit and a more general sense of responsibility. Eight

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THE REFLECTOR mal. 'mf' 4-1 Girls Il' the section room representatives consistently fail in the task of hnding a leader, might it not be better to drop the idea of section room representation and substitute some other sort, such as that from class divisions? Such a change would require the organization of 1-l, l.-2, 2-1, and 2-2 classes. We feel that the members of such classes know each other better than the members of section rooms because'they go to the same classes, whereas some section room pupils seldom fre- quent their home rooms, except to eat lunch tmany go to the cafeteriaj , to be marked present, or to be dismissed. Furthermore, much ol' the irresponsibility prevailing in Junior and Senior Class organizations might be done away with if pupils were given the opportunity to get used to the mechanics of parliamentary procedure in the lower classes. B - L1ac1sLA'rivE. Let the General Organization meet regularly, at a given time, in a given place. We think that once a week is not too frequent. Let this body gradually assume responsibility for student affairs which need betterment, such as the following: 1-The school clubs. The General Organization should form a plan whereby the various clubs should be subject to its regulations as regards size, eligibility, powers, meeting dates, etc., so as to avoid much existing confusion and overlapping of meeting dates, conflicting aims, and interlocking memberships. Some pupils be- long to as many as five clubs. 2 - The General Organization representatives should be impressed with the fact that they are representatives, and must consult their constituents. A check-up of what a representative does in the meetings should be made. To encourage more initi- ative in making suggestions at the meetings, little form slips should be distributed among the members, on which suggestions may be put in writing and collectedf Ten