Horace Mann Lincoln High School - Lincolnian Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 119 text:

sented in them. It was for this rea- son that the type and format of this page was varied. the object in mind being to attract the eye and bring about a more general scansion. Let- ters of criticism from the various forms was another thing much de- sired and sought for by the boardg however. the 'alietter Roxl' was for the most part filled with messages from alumni or members of the Record staff itself. This was a de- cided weakness. because it prevented an easy flow of student opinion. a fact which in turn made topics for editorials sometimes hard to find. While there were of course a few obvious space fillers among the editorials throughout the season. one or more topics of important general interest managed to be found each week and published. The Record's editorial policy during l936-37 was not startling by any means. but with the aid of the broad-minded lack of faculty censorship the editorials ably carried out their purpose of constructive criticism. and they acted as the student pulse of life at Horace Mann. Three articles of unusual length were pub- lished during the year. all of which proved of ex- ceptional merit and interest. The first was by James Wvoolner. and was headlined 'lluandon Heads Fac- ulty Poll. l7-l-I-. It seems that the entire History Department at school favored the Kansas Sunflower. a fact which caused them no end of embarrassment when Roosevelt was re-elected just a few days later. Miss Mclntosh was the only member of the faculty who voiced no opinion on the presidential race. while Mr. Nagle added a touch of originality by voting for himself. In the Fiftieth Anniversary Issue appeared the second of these articles. this time a short history of the Horace Mann School since its founding fifty years ago. Jolm Friend wrote it with such accu- racy of detail and exceptional interest. that it is likely the article will be often referred to in the future for information. As a feature of the Record Anniversary Issue Fditor Avakian wrote The Story liehind the Rec- ord. which was probably the best of these three excellent articles. ln a terse and amusing fashion he described the trials and tribulations undergone by the editors up at Yonkers each week in their effort to put out the paper. He also told about Mr. Gray. Alec. and Charlie of the Franklin Press, who What really goes on in the Record Room: the 1:30 sludy hall for 5 staff immurlols.', have for thirteen years published the Record. Fer- haps one of the most important features concerning these articles is the fact that in years to come it will be great fun to go back and re-read them. As evidenced by the April and May issues of the Record. the new editors. John Friend and Robby Kaufmann. are well able to carry on the titanic job ahead of them next year. ln the minds of Mr. Baruth and this year's editors these two boys were by far the most eligible. The feature editor has not as yet been chosen and will not be announced till the final day of school. Larry Lowenstein has been put in charge of the advertising end of the paper. The money derived from advertising during the season was amazing and well over the amount needed for publication costs. This allowed for many cuts. a football picture supplement, lib- eral outside donations. and large papers when the news was available. An eight-page school anni- versary issue came out before Christmas. con- taining a number of articles about the rise of Hor- ace Manng a ten-page Record anniversary issue was published before Faster. and a twelve or more page final issue was planned for the end of May. Though designs to refurnish the Record room failed innumerable times. a new couch was bought for the astounding price of three dollars. Relieve it or not. it has well stood its wear and tear throughout the year. A nice sum of money was given to im- prove the Record photographic dark room. All sa- lute Rusiness Manager Alfred Strasburger. llluch credit for the publicizing of the Record goes of course to Circulation Manager Emile Rim- bault. Some weeks as many as one hundred and fifty exchanges were sent out and came in. To Mr. Baruth. Faculty Advisor. the Record Board gives its thanks.

Page 118 text:

change and one which had long been contemplated came late in the year. This was the sprucing up and enlivening of the editorial page, which for a long time had been criticized for its dullness. Despite this noted attention to makeup tech- nique. the writing of news stories did not suffer accordingly. After the staff learned to make its leads more concise and terse and through practice perfected its style. the Record in this respect placed consistently at the top of the schools entered in the Princetonian Scholastic Press Association. Outside of the first month the paper did well in the regular contests run by this organization. the sports articles in particular receiving special commendation. As Editor-in-Chief of the Record. George Ava- kian must receive the lionis share of the credit. His rewrite ability. his talent for reporting athletic events. his thorough knowledge of publication tech- nicalities. and above all his conscientiousness did much for the paper's success. In his capacity as Managing Editor Alan Jalfee was Avakian's able assistant. working with him each week up at Yon- kers. writing a good number of the editorials. and acting as general utility man. The l936-37 editors instituted a new system by turning the paper over to the new editors right after the spring vacation. They still advised the inexperienced staff. however. and came back to put out the final issue in May. John Friend and Bobby Kaufman were chosen to pilot the paper next year. Both boys displayed good journalistic ability. and this selection received Mr. Raruth's approval. This plan of turning over the work to Fifth Formers before the year is over will probably remain permanent. A regular series of interviews and short biogra- phies with famous Horace Mann alumni were started hy the energetic Feature Editor. Larry The Record crlilurs gel lngelller for the first lime this year. Lader. not only with the sole purpose of celebrat- ing the school's Golden Anniversary, but also with the intention of reviving alumni interest in the Record. Articles about Arthur Hays Sulzberger. president and publisher of the New York Times. Rockwell Kent. celebrated artist. and Alan Seeger who wrote the famous poem. 'LI Have a Rendez- vous with Deathf, were three of the many pub- lished. In addition to these brief and timely col- umns. many other educational interviews with prominent men and women in all walks of life were printed at frequent intervals. It is an evident fact that few other prep school publications offer nearly the number of such features as does the Record. but for years it has been the editors, opinion that such stories add a wealth of interesting and note- worthy material to the paper. Following the ex- ample set last year. no syndicated Princetonian fea- tures were set up. The Record's humor column. uStation H.M.S.'7 again proved an outstanding highlight of the edi- torial page. as under the guiding hand of Charles Miller it followed the high and mighty standard set by Victor Rarnow and Heywood Broun. The imag- ination of this year's author surged to even greater heights of the ridiculous. That old standby. g'0ur Contemporariesf' also made its appearance occa- sionally to add a touch of none too subtle humor to page two. but for want of another witty writer '6Your Man Friday was not continued. 'ascreen Highlightsv or its twin Down in Front also came out in almost every issue of the paper and offered. strangely enough. good reliable stage and screen reviews to their readers. The in- veterate theater going and prolific writing of Henry Ritter were the two mainstays of these col- umns The ever-popular Sportslight. an occa- 'sional nBookstall.'7 reliable 'gAlum- ni News. a few articles on records and places about town. and other miscellany completed the list of edit page features. the variety and writ- ing of which received hearty student approval. Following a precedent set a number of years ago. the editorials continued to deal with school prob- lems and student views alone. A careful reading of the edits was particularly urged this year. for the most pertinent problems confront- ing the school at large was pre-

Page 120 text:

N strict accordance with the tradition of former years. the l-lorace Mann Manual was distributed to the entire student body and faculty on the open- ing day of school. The format of the 1936-37 issue was similar to its predecessors. hut the colors on the hinding were changed to maroon on very light gray. This small booklet. which contains a brief summary of practically all school rules and regu- lations. organizations. athletic and other eXtra-cur- ricular activities. songs. cheers. and many other hits of valuable information about Horace Mann. was published hy the Senior class through an elected staff headed hy Alan Jaffee. Vlvhile this is the smallest l-l. hl. publication. it is nonetheless of infinite value to all First Formers and other new hoys. for it affords them a complete hird's-eye view of school life and school customs. Despite the fact that most of the older boys lose it after the first wcck. a few still guard it closely through the year. usually to find ont when the next vacation hegins or to rc-learn, All loyal to Horace Mann. fair Alma Mater. . ,lalliec was assisted in drawing up this small guide hook hy George Avakian. Edgar Nathan. and Lawrence liader. Lader also acted as business man- ager. and though he started gettings ads late in the season. the Manual was almost self-supporting. The hook was published hy the Franklin Press. the printers of the Record. who have always gotten the pamphlet to school in time for the opening assembly of the year. Due to the foresight and hard work of last year's hoard. the publishing of the Manual this season and for years to come was made most simple. The booklet was set up in such a way that only a few pages. such as the calendar of school events. and the pages containing the names of officers and school organizations will have to he changed. The rest of the type which is used year in and year out is filed away until the next hook goes to press. necessitating the setting up of only a few pages each season for the new lllanual. Of course there are always new organizations heing formed at school. new revisions to he made in school history and Horace Mann regulations. pages to he added and suhtractedg hut the joh confronting future Manual editors is quite easy. Most of the work for a new Manual is done the June before it comes out. THE MANUAL