Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School - Echoes Yearbook (Peterborough, Ontario Canada)

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Q F7 'i .T 47. A ,L Q g w ,, g I ECHOES EXECUTIVE AND EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS Back Row: W. Hamilton, j. Hooper. B. jack. D. Duncan, D. Moore. A. Pulley, II. Davidsori. F. Smoke, T. Stanley. hfliddle Row: Nl. lvestbye. XI. Pierce, P. Story. B. Scott D. lil:-ver. rl. Pr-Ipliel. XI. Henry, F. Neary, Xl. lYhalon Front Row: IV. Trotter Q.-fdivrllfdngl, F. Klchlahun tTvpx'nf,'l, lf. Borland tlrtl. D. Corrin tlfzilznfix .llamlgzrk R. llamilton lfwrmal and Ex Chdrlgtl, R. Dick tlfditorl, C. lVbite tfurm Nfrwl, R. Robinson lSrl11ml .VFZUN l. IV. Saunders lCxrr11l11r11-nl, R. Garner. Absent. Ge-1. lfaslon 1111111101113 Music in the Assembly Hall Music in the morning assembly is an important feature of our school life. It gives an opportunity to become acquainted with community songs and folk songs which may be a useful and pleasant knowledge in the future. This year there have been several innovations in the regular program of our Morning Assemblies. The most outstanding of these was, perhaps, the intro- duction of the ensemble which, with the help of Hugh Davidson as leader of the singing, took charge of the music. This amateur orchestra, made up of Merrill Smith, piano, Robert Graham, saxophone, and james Lillico, violin, has aided greatly in the presentation of the long-awaited, up-to-date popular songs which finally made their appearance this year. These songs were cleverly introduced by an octette of four girls and four boys. The octette has not, however, put in their appearance for some time, much to the disappointment of the students, who greatly enjoyed their performance. We hope that this idea has not been entirely discarded but that it will, in the future, become a regular feature of the morn- ing programme. There is, we believe, room for still more improve- ment. To begin with, the current song hits while very popular for a time, soon lose popularity. These past favourites, I 'm Shooting High or D0 You Remember, are no longer hailed with delight when they are flashed on the screen but are greeted with loud and prolonged sighs. The singing is thus af- fected and interest drags. This is a rather serious state of affairs and should be remedied. Now, we have somewhere in the lantern room a good supply of the ever-popular favourites which would form excellent material for assembly singing. There is a wide choice of these songs, some of which will no doubt already be familiar, others not so well known, can be easily learned f and in the learning, enjoyed. College and school songs might also be used more often. Some of the better known classics such as C771 tlzc Road to Jlla11d11lay or Santa 1.115111 might be sung and in this way the students would become familiar with them and would learn to appreciate them. With such a choice of songs it would be possible to mark days with a special song. We could have an Irish melody for St. Patricks Day, or a Scotch ballad for Burns' Day and so on. In order to arrange the music, supervise the secur- ing of new songs, and prevent the too frequent repetition of one song, a committee, made up of three or four students, and an adviser, might be appointed. One would be led to believe that there is available a very meagre supply of hymns. They seem to run in cycles of about two weeks' duration, only to begin all over again in a little different order! There is, we believe, a good supply of hymns which have, for some reason, been discarded. The above-mentioned committee could sort out these hymns and arrange them in such a way as to prevent such frequent repetition. They might also secure more hymns of a national or less evangelic type which would appeal more generally to the different religious sects to be found in such a large gathering. R. B. ROBINSON Page F zfteen

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In practically every country small groups, more or less active, bearing the name, Uft1Sl'l.Sfl'H have ap- peared. The question naturally arises: Is there any pos- sibility of fascism becoming a powerful political force here in Canada and the United States? Fascist is often mistakenly regarded as something new, something peculiar to the twentieth century. The truth is that fascism is one of the oldest stories in the world's history. A small but violent minority of the people in a country, under the direction of a few leaders, seizes control of the government and maintains itself in power by the systematic destruc- tion of all who dare to oppose it. All the fundamentals of the fascist creed may be found in the Works of Machiavelli and Nietszche. An unbiased view of fascism can scarcely fail to re- volt the liberal-minded thinker. In place of the ideals of freedom for which men have fought and died through the centuries we find whole nations ready to immolate themselves and those who oppose them to the mad mania for power of a single individual. Dictators, it has been remarked, are a sort of regression to childhood. Fascist countries are cases for psycho-analysists rather than for the League of N ations. Despite the desperate veil of propaganda thrown over them, the results of fascist economy and rule in general stand as proof of the failure of fascist rule. Italy and Germany, renowned through the ages in the worlds of art and philosophy, are more artistically and intellectually sterile and barren to- day than at any time in their history Education in both countries has become mere rote and in- culcation in which the schools are primary grades for the army, bent on instilling everything-even mathcmaticsfwith a pro-fascist bias. This, as Mr. H. G. VVells has pointed out, is the one new thing, and the most invidious one, about fascism. A liberal education would be deadly to its existence. Aristotle, 2300 years ago foresaw Mussolini, the more truculent of the present fascist leaders, who has also, by the way, the distinction of being the world's leading apostate. The tyrant, Aristotle says, must needs make war to keep his subjects occupied. -words which explain Ethiopia and Austria better than whole books could do it. But to return to our original question: Is there danger of fascism in North America? In answer to this let us quote Mr. George Sheldes: The fascist more than any person living today represents the socially and economically deaf, dumb, and blind ruling class, stupid, perverse, de- termined only to remain on top and to crush all op- position. This group is well represented in North America: there are many interests here who would welcome fascism as a means to exploitation and power. What, you may ask, can be done to prevent it? There are many ways, but one applies particularly to us as, students. The fascist governments of Europe are rapidly preparing a nation of mentally- castrated youth by means of which to keep them- Page Fourteen selves in power. The first generation of them in fact will soon have reached maturity. Probably the best protection against a fascist outburst in this country is a body of alert and in- telligent citizens determined to stand each by him- self and not to be gulled and sacrificed by a vicious minority. Neglect to prepare this body is a danger to the well-being of the nation. Fascism may be considered as representative of the problems education must face and solve. It is only by taking our opportunity when it is offered that we can make use of it. Such, at least, is the belief and hope of one who still prefers to say Pros1't to Heil R. Dick Music Appreciation M usic, sister of sunrise and herald of life to be, Smiled as dawn on the spirit of man and the thrall was free, Slave of nature and serf of time, the bondman of life and death, Dumb with passionless patience that breathed but for- lorn and reluctant breath, Heard, beheld, and his soul made answer and com- inuned aloud with the sea. A. Charles Swinburne The words, written by the most purely lyrical and musical of the great English poets, express more clearly than anything we could say the great part music should play in our lives. In our schools the attitude towards music appre- ciation in the past has been curious. Considerable attention is given to developing a taste for poetry and prose, and in a lesser way, for painting. Yes, music, at once the most direct and universal artistic approach to the mind, is almost neglected. Many of our students are indifferent to music, not through lack of appreciation, but simply because they have never heard the best, and have no idea of its qualities. In the end it comes down to the question: Is our education complete without a certain familiarity with the field of great music as well as with the other branches of art? In other words, should the person who counts himself as broadly educated be as familiar with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as he is with Macbetli. We can see no reason for the neglect of either. We should no doubt be shocked to find a graduate of our school who had not heard of Hamlet. Yet we should be little surprised to find the same person wondering whether Til Eulenspiegel was the name of a mountain or a brand of cheese. There is little doubt that Strauss' masterpiece would be readily enjoyed and understood by him - much more readily, perhaps, than some other things. We feel that, to be complete, education must make us familiar with the best of the wor1d's music. The greatest of musical masterpieces, like the best of the world's books, must become our intimate friends. Nor can we forget the words of Plato: How can he who is harmoniously constituted ever be unjust. R. D1eK

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Acknowledgements In presenting the twenty-fourth edition of The Echoes we should like to mention some of the con- siderable changes which have been effected this year. The most important of these was the re-organization of The Echoes staff last fall. This was done with two objects in view: first, to make a clearer division of the duties of each student on the staff, and second, to make the number of students associated with the printing of the year-book as large as possible. Both these results were attained by the formation of a small student executive composed of an editor-in- chief and nine department editors. It was the duty or each member of this group to choose a representa- tive staff to aid in his work. We feel it a note- worthy fact that almost ninety students had some share in the labours and benefits of producing your 1037-38 school magazine. More obvious to the reader is the change to the larger size. Adoption of this size, prevalent among the larger schools of Ontario at the present time, has been under consideration for the past two or three years but it was only after careful inquiry among the students that the measure was unanimously approved by Tlze Echoes Executive. The competition in Purple Patches was as keen as ex er. It is gratifying indeed to see such interest shown by the students of our school in the literary section, and the winners of the various prizes offered by The Echoes staff may feel justifiably proud of their success. We should like to extend our welcome and thanks to Miss Muir, a newcomer to our school, who acted as chief literary supervisor. Our thanks are due also to Miss Park and Miss McBride, who acted as judges of Purple Patches along with Miss Muir, and to Miss Montgomery, Miss Thompson, and Mr. C. S. Browne, who acted as judges for the art contest. We appreciate also the very valuable aid and advice given us by Miss McGregor, as represen- tative of the Advisory Board of teachers. The Work of the typing staff, who play an important, if some- what unnoticed part, amidst the bustle of prepara- tion for printing deserved our heartiest praise. To all others, teachers and students, who took a part in creating this year's Echoes we tender our sincerest thanks. Our Twenty-Fifth An niversary Next year will mark the twenty-fifth edition of The Echoes. In closing our remarks on this vear's magazine, an edition full of trial and experiinent, we should like to wish next year's staff the greatest success in bringing out an Anniversary Year Book to mark the completion of a quarter century of success- ful student effort. Grain Elevators at Evening, Pierson, Manitoba Photo By HUGH KENNER, II C Ac. as-. Page Sixteen