Girard College - Corinthian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 11 text:

| PHYSICS FOREIGN LANGUAGES In this uneasy age in which we live, strife abounds in many parts of the world. May this diverse group who are Girard graduates develop the fortitude and courage to cope with the intensity and size of the vast changes they must face. Mr. John Bickell To the Senior Class, Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are’ vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the council of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture stength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginations. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discilpline be gentle with yourself. You area child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you havea right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. DESIDERATA, Max Ehrmann, 1927 Ms. Zeleznik Paraphrasing Martin Heidegger’s key thoughts on Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry, I could ask: And what are (language) teachers for in a destitute time? And the German poet Friedrich Holderlin could answer: “Therefore has language, most dangerous of possessions, been given to man. . . so that he may affirm what he is. . .” In this decade, when we may too easily believe the “mirage” of technological conquests, and forget our lasting survival problems and the threat of a holocaust, we ought to remember the pristine predictions of the philosophers of language: “What has long since been threatening man with death, and indeed with the death of his own nature, is the unconditional character of mere willing in the sense of purposeful self-assertion in everything. What threatens man in his very nature is the willed view that man, by the peaceful release, transformation, storage, and channeling of the energies of physical nature, could render the human condition, man’s being, tolerable for everybody and happy in all respects.” What Heidegger meant in simpler terms, was that any salvation coming from the unholy as a substitution for man’s being, would be an unsubstantial illusion for man, threatened by his own nature. The salvation must therefore come from the togetherness of mortals and their nature, from the realm of Being, whose presence is the Being of language - the lanquage of Being, what Greek philosophers named, since Plato, logos. Two of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, assumed “avant la lettre” the above concerns. Both men knew well that the differences of tongue only hid the similarities of human trends uniting the older European countries to the new American nation, and foresaw the necessities of communication as a primary requirement for the survival of their young state. Both thinkers were of course excellent English performers, but they were also competent in the language of Cervantes and Voltaire. Both were among the suscribers of two of the most important magazines published in Spain in the XVIII century. Their libraries held the works of French philosophers (Montesquieu, Diderot, and Rousseau) who influenced so deeply the spirit of the new nation. This distinctive feature that privileges man over the rest of the earth creatures and allows us to deepen our understanding, should give us the strength and the passion, the will and the desire to accept the demanding challenges of our time. In 1981, when air travel has narrowed the distances on earth and expanded our communication means, we should certainly not forget Franklin's or Jefferson’s example, to realize everywhere, that “la langue est notre etre, la lenque es nuestro ser.” Mr. Jose Maria Naharro

Page 10 text:

To the Class of 1981 This is the class whose members | have taught from one to five years, too long a period for mutual satisfaction. | have mixed feelings about the class, their attitude toward me in their 7-2 to 10-2 years, and the reactions with which I met while trying to correct them in their twelfth ye ar. I respect certain members of the class for their abilities, even if they were difficult at times, and | appreciate their attempts to help me with the class. I wish those young men all the best the world can hold for them if they find the right keys to that world. Those to whom I say, “Good luck and may all things go right for you,” are John Annand, Gerald Gathers, Wayne McNeill, Mike Cianfrani, Thomas Tillinghast, Michael Chambers, Brent Beverley, Patrick Howell, Lewis O’Neal, John Dudley, Robert Schmeltzer, Fred Robinson, Robert McQuillen, Al Sanford, George Trew, and Antoniois Cunningham. To the rest, all I can say is that you are going to have to make many changes in vocabular’), manners, and attitudes towards work and authority. You will have to realize that you will have to work under all kinds of people, some like me, but others easier and still others harder. Choose further education and they will control your grades. If you choose employment, they will control your wages, promotions, job training, and your tenure. You must learn to control your tempers if you expect to hold jobs. You must accept assigned tasks, dress properly, and accept a proper perspective of your own importance - that you are small drops of rain mingling ina flood that could sweep you away. Mr. Edward Vavalo SOCIAL STUDIES In looking over some of the antique copies of the Corinthian in the high school office I noted quite a few tributes to Stephen Girard for his generosity in endowing Girard College. In more recent years, however, the memory of Mr. Girard has faded. Understandably, the times have changed. If today’s Girard student is cynical, it is because he lives ina cynical age. If he is complacent about his privileged, comfortable life at Girard College it is because he has grown up ina society in which there is virtually no physical need. It stands to reason that a young man who attended Girard during the Depression years was more likely to be appreciative than today’s student. After all, the guidance and protection of Girard College really meant something when the alternative was going hungry. No Girard boy faces that frightening prospect today, so Stephen Girard, who symbolized the ability to achieve success through hard work and the dedication to good values, may seem less important to us in the 1980's. For years, adults - including a succession of Wednesday morning chapel speakers - have been counseling you to prepare for the future that awaits you once you graduate from Girard. These speakers have urged you to learn self-reliance, personal responsibility and the valine of good citizenship. Though you may be tired of hearing it, thalacnee is sound. These values are well symbolized in the life of Stephen Girard; | hope that they have practical meaning for you as you leave the college to begin a new life. Mr, Christopher Anderson “aa Fire

Page 12 text:

To the Class of 1981 | A formula for success may be found in this poem by Douglas MacArthur: Wanted: boys who'll bide their time, And wait the hills of life to climb, Boys out of school who do not seek A grown man’s wages in a week, And will not sell the future years ; For some small gain which now appears; | Bright, eager boys who want to learn And work for more than what they earn. Boys wanted of a rugged stock Who will daily watch the clock; Ambitious boys, alert to see, Wherever useful they can be; Boys who are not inclined to shirk But put their hearts into their work And go to tasks which must be done As though it were their greatest fun. Boys wanted - not the flabby kind } That seek some easy post to find Not careless boys who think the boss Is rich enough to suffer loss But boys who think and work and train For that promotion they may gain And for that job should prepare - Such boys are wanted everywhere. Never give in to anything large or petty - never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Good luck to you all. Coach David R. McKay PHYSICAL EDUCATION It has been a very enjoyable year working with the Class of 81. | have learned many things from you; I hope you have learned something from me. Remember; not all things you have learned or absorbed this year will make any sense, but, somewhere in your life they will come into play. I will always remember your class as the class that thought before it acted. Good luck, Coach Joseph Gibbons 10