Los Angeles High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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REVIEW' OF THE TERM,-The last term has been a very successful one in a great many ways. The graduating class is the largest one in the history of the school: and yet it is a class united, not split up into factions, as is the tendency of large classes in general. The class has worked hard to make this issue a suc- cess, and for this deserves the thanks not only of those in charge ofthe work, but of the whole school as well. The Star and Crescent programs have all been excellent and original, and we hope to see this high standard kept up. But there is a growing tendency to make the programs less literary and more of a musical or comical nature. The introduction of a regular series of debates, open to the house, would add greatly to the benefits to be derived bv students from the society, The ability to think while on the fioor, and put one's arguments in log- ical order before a large assembly, is of much more value than to be able to sing or recite. There should be more attention given in the society to the cultivation of extemporaneous speaking. If, in the three years given to Star and Crescent, each pupil would learn to get up without fear and trembling and talk clearly before the society, these Would be three years Well spent, and the Star and Crescent would become just as important as Latin or Algebra. fn former years, when the school was small, practice in debate was required of everyone: but now that the society is so large that it is impossible to put everyone on the program, the students themselves should make up for this by voluntary speaking and debating. ATHLETICS.--During the past term, the work in athletics has been rather slow after the excitement of the football season. The baseball team has worked hard and deserves great praise. But the team lacked the encouragement from the school which it should have had. If the whole school had taken an interest in the team, as they did in the football team, there is no doubt but that the boys would have done better Work. They would have felt there was something to Work for-not merely the pleas- ure of winning, but the knowledge that the school appreciated their efforts, and was proud of the team even though it was beaten. As it is, most of us are too willing to let the team do the best it can, praising it when it wins, and criticising it when it loses. Instead of doing this, we should all take an active interest in the work of the team, praise them when they win and encourage them when they are beaten. Tn tennis we are still champions, and, represented by such

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- ,ML it NX. up .X Q Q::2:-aa S-ff li 1 ' Nl , f If T 8 l 0. . il in A 1f -.E .f 2: - i w .i E- 7, gf! 522, iffy Ili! ,MSW , .N N, . -a A - , ,- ' '-'. 1 - Q.: A---.F ,f . , :L ,. Mutt c . . ' ' Y ' Q' QI N ACCQRDANCE with the custom established by our pre- decessors we, the Summer Class ot Nineteen Hundred, present to the school this the seventh edition of the Blue and White. Wheii the Vlfinter Class of Ninety-seven hrst established the small and modest volume known as the Bue and Wliite, they probably did not imagine to what proportions it would grow. But it has grown, and grown very rapidly, for it has always been the endeavor of each class to surpass all preceding editions. This, we, too, have endeavored to do, and we hope that, in the opinion ot the school, we have succeeded. We also hope that the subsequent editions will surpass ours, and that the Blue and VVhite will acquire a national, in addition to its local, reputation. It represents to the world the work done by the pupils of this High School, and therefore it should not be merely a matter of class rivalry, but something in which the whole school is inter ested. L, l X, , 1 L

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able Wielders of the racquet as the present champions, we should remain so for many years to come. OUR PRESENT NEEDS.-The first and greatest need of this school is a new building. lt is positively disgraceful for a city as large as Los Angeles not to have a good high school build- ing. The present course of study is excellent, and the faculty is very efficient, but they are under a great disadvantage on ac- count of the lack of accommodations for pupils. Nearly every class is so crowded that it is impossible for the teachers to give the amount of time and attention to each pupil which he should have. ' Another important thing which we are in need of is a gym- nasium. Nearly every other high school and academy in the coun- try has either military drill or gymnasium instruction. The train- ing of the body is certainly as important as the training of the mind, and, in a school Where comparatively few can engage in outdoor athletics, it should not be neglected. Witli a larger faculty .and a better building in a more accessi- ble part of the city, there is no reason why the Los Angeles High School should not be equal to any in the country, I Notes The management and the editorial staff desire to express their thanks to the school, and in particular to the Senior A class, for the assistance which they have received in their work. To the faculty, and especially to Mr. Housh and Mrs. Erick, who have had general supervision over all our work, We extend our hearty thanks. The thanks of the editors are due to the staff for their con- scientious work in preparing their departments, and also to the manager, who has proved beyond a doubt that a class can man- age a paper without outside assistance. The financial success of the book is largely due to his efforts. And now in parting, we wish the High School, its' teachers, and its pupils, all success in the future. We leave this volume as a souvenir of our struggles, hoping that it may help you to re- member the Summer Class of Nineteen Hundred. VVILLIAM HENRY LANAGAN.