Dexter High School - Signet Yearbook (Dexter, ME)

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14 THE SIGNET The Needs of Our Schools As our high school days draw to an end, we begin to realize the advantages that we have had while in this school. We have a small library, a gymnasium, good text- books, well developed music, manual train- ing, and domestic science departments. Our school is more fully equipped than many other schools of its size, and we appreciate .all this. But we hope that other pupils may have an opportunity to have -more advantages than we have -had. An addition to our as- sembly hall would make assem-blies possi- ble. Nolw, too much physical discomfort makes enjoyment impossible. Our gymnas- ium might be improved by placing mats about the walls to guard against injury, and equipment is needed. We also hope that other students may, some day, have an athletic groun-d near to the school. A few tennis courts, a vollery-ball court, :and ground for other sports would greatly bene- fit the students. N. A. Bucknam, '28, Newspapers Extry!! Extry!! Latest news scandal hot from the press! Get your copy here. Tells all about the Montgomery-Brooks di- vorce case! Have you ever heard a news- by shouting something of this nature on a busy street corner? Lf not, you have miss- ed one part ofthe life of a large city. Rumors, filth and trash must be shown before the eyes of the reading 'public for t'hem to get the most from a newspaper. A newspaper is an instrument that bears news to the public. But is this sort of thing news? Perhaps it can be classified as news in one sense. Murders, hold-ups, divorces, and cases of un-fair dealings are displayed daily in all iparts of the United States. The reading public craves such news. It 'pays enormous sums annually to be able to gloat over the misfortunes of those whose names are printed in great scareheads of the local dailies. 'B Of course, papers must publish this to stay in business for their competitors may not be so conscientious or at least their editors say so. If a daily should 'attempt to come out with only national and local news, the greater part of its readers would soon stop purchasing i-t. The paper might live but its profits would not be so enor- mous as those of the scandal-monger press down the street. Statistics show that, at least, forty per cent of the juvenile crimes, movie di- vorces and hazardous trans-oceanic Hights are done for the sole purpose of 'having their feats displayed in the headlines. Cheap pictorial newspapers 'present many bad examples and some illegal things to the public. But they thrive, for their read- ers demand -su-ch cheap, sensual trash. Ohil- dren seeing these ipafpers iday in and day out form a halbit of seeking such things in life and many are tempted to enter into such similar things to those portrayed. It has been wisely said that these papers cater to the ignorant for they cannot read and so must form their ideas from pictures. How much better it would' be if these agencies could be employed to portray to these peo- pl-e the good in the world ins-tead of the crime and 'bad influences. A paper that carries daily news written so that all may understand it and bearing important national and inter-national af- fairs as well as local items minus the sen- sational write-u-ps can be classified as a good news-palpers One may usually inter- pret .the type of paper through its editor- ials. Editorials are a part of the news- papers and should be read just as carefully as the news. Some papers pride themselves on their editorials and pay large sums of money for men who can write worth-while items. I think that along with the rest of our national weeks it would be well to have a Good Newspaper Week. For -one week the news-papers would omit all sensational dramas in life, publishing only honest-to- goodness facts. At the end of the week I

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6 H Editorials l 1 SIGNET BOARD FOR 1927-1928 Editor-in-Chief - - Asslt. Editor-in-Chief Literary Editor Ass't. Literary Editor Joke Editor - Ass't Joke Editor Local Editor Ass't. Local Editor Alumnae Editor Ass't. Alumnae Editor Exchange Editor Ass't Exchange Editor Athletic Editor Ass't Athletic Editors Business Manager Ass't. Business Managers - - Robert Eliot '28 Donald Palmer 1 Helen Palmer 8 Donis Hutchinson '29 Altheia Mower '28 Mary Dyer '29 Rose Ganeau '28 Donald Blake '29 Beatrice Brawn '28 Vance Wakefield '29 - William Dunham '28 Pauline Ramsay '29 Bernard Morancie '28 Veronica Clukey '29 Frank Laughton '29 Nathan Buckifam '28 Eldridge Herrick '29 Ernest Percival '29 '9 Appreciation It has been correctly said that we of to- day have too much material wealth -to ap- preciate the finer .things of life. I mean by the finer things, nature, education, music, poetry, and individual ability. What time have We to enjoy -the beauty of nature While rushing along the roadway at terrific speed? Do we for a moment pause to view the be-autiful flowers, and shady nooks, or to listen to the song of a bird or a forest stream? No. And so we lose all the wonders of the great Lout-of- doors. Consequently we also lose a valu- afble opportunity for education. There is scarcely a youth today who spends over eight or ,nine 'hours daily in the study of books or music. And in a great many cases over one-half of this nine hours is spent in glancing from his book to a. nearby Window, and in dreaming of that ball gani or that fishing trip. What we lack is concentration and 'without concen- tration we fail to appreciate. Not enough time is spent in reading, or I might say -in reading things worth while, such as autobiograipihies, books of science, and peotry. I believe .that poetry is one of the best sources of knowledge. Whether a poem be allegorical, lyrical, or descriptive, it makes a man think, and that is just what he needs to do-think. Now, how are we to get this abil-ity to concentrate and think? It is very simple indeed. We already have it. All we need to do is develop it. Everyone has some in- dividual ability. Some more than others, of course, but every one has enough, which if properly developed will leaid on to successw' and real happiness. Vance Wakefield, '29. 'K . .Q 1.7 A i 4- sow -s -

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5 . THE SIGNET 15 believe that the public and papers would be much better situated than before. Sure- ly reporters would spend less time in think- ing up and hunting up such stuff as is now in vogue. Coughlin '28, Take Aim Classmates, we Seniors are standing now on the threshold of strenuous life. Behind us lay our undergraduate yearsg before us lies-the world! Behind us lay carefree, happy years spent with the joyous aibondon of youthg years of work, years of play, years of growth physically and mentally. Bu-t the purpose of all these years has been to prepare us for the grueling race of life which every fellow must run. If we have ke-pt in training and if we have faith- fully followed the advice of our coaches, then may we rejoice as strong men to run this race, but if we have broken training, then are we seriously handicapped at the start. 'Soon we are to be turned out -of the mod- ern educational machine of today, 'finished high school products-twelve years in the making. Some of us are going to college to an additional four years before we the hard raiceg others are going to train start start immediately. But which-ever we do, there is an axiom which was taught us in geometry but which is just as practical in solving the knotty proposition of life, name- ly: a straight line is the shortest path be- tween two points. It always has been and it always will be . One -of these points is represented 'by the culmination of all our preparation, and the other success--our cherished dream-our goal. V-7 ' ' It is highly imperative that we select our goal and bend all our efforts to reach that one. How tragic it is to see a fellow start- ing out blindly not knowing whither he goest nor how to get there. He stumbles into all the by-paths and detours of life, but gambling on the hundredth chance that some day he fwill strike the right road which leads to success, he 'plods along. Alas! death usually overtakes this fellow before half his journey is over, for life is short. and time is Heeting. Classmates, we must take aim. We can- not afford to scatter our goals. Just as no one can lire broadside into -a flock of ducks an-d expect to fill his 'game bag, so no one can aim at many goals and expect to reach one. As a mighty hunter once said, we must select our bird and then 'pickle it'. We must think purposely, act purposely and live purposely. Failing to do this many spend much lost time and energy in pack- ing trunks they will not need in their journey of life. They lburden themselves with useless baggage. By doing everything with a single view in mind and with the utmost concentration we will chart on the highway of life the shortest and straightest path to success. Dunham '28, an Getti How did you get by? Will you be able to look back with pride and say to yourself, I got by honestly. Or did you bluff along cheating whenever possible, not only fool- ing your teacher but yourself as well? The way we accomplish our 'tasks in higfh school is the one which we will use in later life. It is up to us to make that way the best and squarest in our power. The greater majority of students have get by for their motto, but they have the ng By wrong view of the matter for they should not only strive to pass but to bring their marks high above the passing line, building for htemselves a firm foundation on which to stand. 'The harder we strive the better results will be. We realize that all students do not have the ability to get high marks and that they are aable to 'pass only by hard study. We know too, that many students are able to do much better work than they pass in, making a failure simply because 1 ' Q. 'gfg' 53 5 OW L.. Sl