George W Wingate High School - Mosaic Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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DEDICATION: HE HAD A DREAM We mourn the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who died so close to the time of our graduation and who dared to dream the impos- sible dream. To dream the impossible dream, to reach the unreachable star . . . Each one of us have high aspirations for the future and with graduation these aspirations will begin to be realized. For us, these past years in Wingate have been the most important ones in our lives. The foundations for all of our future endeavors were set here and our characters have been created here. Some of us shall go on to college. Others will seek places of employment. Whatever our plans may be for the immediate future, we must realize that whatever we decide from this point on will become an important factor in determining the pattern which our lives will follow. We have now reached a turning point in our lives. We are no longer children who will act on decisions made for us by teachers and relatives. That stage in our lives has past forever. Impish ideas and childlike pranks must be left behind, for now we have encroached on the path of adulthood. Those who are unable to accept the pressures and responsibilities now facing them will turn back and look for a crutch upon which to lean. The stronger ones shall boldly step out into the world, defiantly throw off their immaturity and become young men and women. We are now old and prudent enough to realize that we are not about to be miraculously transposed into a person of fame and fortune. No fairy god-mother is going to come and sprinkle dust on our heads, no golden gates are going to open and lead us to success. Perhaps movies and books have told us that this is how it happens, but in reality, we know incidents such as that are rare. Everyone likes to dream of how things will be when he is rich and famous. How all of the various luxuries of the world will be at his fingertips. It is fine to have a dream or a goal of this sort, but you can not build your life on dreams alone. lt would be wonderful if every man could weave a dream which would keep him from want and despair. Unfortunately, this is not so. Our dreams can become realities only if we strive with our last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star.

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Mr. M. Bromer Principal PRlNClPAL'S MESSAGE To the Senior Class of 1968, In leaving Wingate you will be going from a comparatively peaceful, sheltered, and con- trolled environment into a world that may shock with its violent reactions, unfamiliar sights, and lack of structure. In a very immediate sense, your graduation will mark the passing of the basic responsibility for your life and actions from your parents and school to you. Far-reaching changes have taken place in this new arena you are about to enter. Not so long ago, the ballot, letters, petitions, mass meetings, writings, peaceful picketing were the maior means by which the common person or non-governmental group sought to in- fluence political, social, and economic events and decisions. The number of com- mitted persons was comparatively small, the changes sought comparatively limited in nature. Since then, action has shifted to such forms as the sit-in, mass picketing, mass marches, direct action in city streets, political action, neighborhood action groups, poverty corporations, direct challenge to laws or regulations which are opposed, local control of social institutions, young people's repudiation of accepted social values. The changes now sought are more fundamental and the numbers involved actively have been increasing. I know that many of you are impatient to play a more active role in life while others much prefer a more peaceful road. l know, too, that some of you are confused as to your goals in life. l can assure you that no matter which of these groups you fall into, you will inevitably be forced to make commitments on one side or the other. War, civil rights, education, poverty, personal dignity, survival will force you to act. Realize, too, that in these parlous times, each step you take will have an impact on your future as well as on the future of your family, friends and nation. Blind action does not guarantee the right outcome. History has taught us that action is a two-edged sword-it can lead to an extension of political, social and economic democracy, but it can also lead to a Hitler and decision by terror and force. lt, therefore, behoves each of you to act with understanding and knowl- edge. You may often be forced to act having only an incomplete grasp of the sit- uation. Act when you must, but go on from there studying, seeking understanding and learning all your life. A famous philosopher once said it, With all thy getting, get understanding. Max Bromer, Principal