Phoenix Union High School - Phoenician Yearbook (Phoenix, AZ)

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SHADOWY paths on our beautiful campus. I 1. U6 I , We See Lots of Merit In ur Methods MERITS AND DEMERITS! A subject which has been praised, attacked, and generally been talked to death, once again comes to our minds. No system is perfect, when imperfect humans are running it, of course. But the amount of red tape, undemocratic procedures, and unpopularity of the merit system is extremely small as compared to other systems. Our merit system is a good one. And here's why: lt encourages students into extra-curricular activities, which are very necessary in molding a personality. Merit credits don't show the grades of a student, and they don't represent his degree of intelligence: they are the evidence of how willing a student is to do things. Merit credits help a student more than he ever knows, for they are entered on his high school record, and result in a higher graduation standing. Many say that our merit system makes mercen- aries out of our students. They claim that students ioin organizations just for the merit credits. This is not entirely true. To stick with an organization, one must have some interest in it. And there is a slight possibility that people are naturally active, that they want to learn of different organizations and activi- ties. We should hope for more mercenaries for merit credits. Each year, eight students are honored for having re- ceived the most merit credits in their classes. ln the senior year of these students, these merit credit awards are instrumental in the student's graduation standing and in deciding what honors he will receive. Employers, too, prefer to hire students who have dem- onstrated leadership qualities in their school years. LEADERSHIP at work is represented by Boys' Federation President Hammer, left. and Winnie Bates. Girls' League president. At right, executives of the Student Council confer with faculty sponsors Butler cmd Prather. Standing are Day and Willis: seated are Iles and Roche. ingili- mf I f l

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ll A -x,,A- MA,-il' 'V DISMISSED for your filth period! President Ray Day wears cr broad grin every time he sends us away to an afternoon oi classwork . . . And we sometimes go with reluctance. the assembly programs having been unusually good this year. The snap at the right was taken iust after assembly from an Eighth Building window. ur Rich Heritage Began 52 Years Age FIFTY-TWO YEARS ot heritage and tradition have gone into the organization known as the Phoenix Union High School. Our school has grown from a small frame building in l905 to a massive group of cement, brick, and steel structures that cover many city blocks. But the traditions remain . . . traditions of fair play, democracy, and friendliness. After all, our students today are not so different from the young people of the early l900s who came seeking an education. True, there were no automobiles or sidewalks, and it was a real struggle to keep a farm going and cows fed and milked before and after the school days. But the l947 students have their chores, toop many work after school at grocery stores or in the home to help out on the family budget. And as for automobiles . . . if you haven't a bike, take the bus! The family car is much too precious these days for Iunior to tear off to school in! Our students have had to change their objectives for a life's job, too, as times changed from the agri- cultural to the industrial. We have a number of farmers, true, but most of our students will go into mechanics, teaching, commerce, law, medicine, or SECRETARIES to the Board of Control were Ellis, Weed. Barnett. Wacker. GartrelL Smith and Ong. kindred fields. Even those who plan to be house- wives feel the need to prepare for a career in the business world, just in case . . . Leading the nation as it does in the high school field, our Phoenix secondary school system makes a high school education a complete schooling for a life's job in many fields. College still beckons to hundreds of our graduates, but the lessons they learned at Phoenix Union will do them service at college or on the job in competition with other wage earners. t

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CAUGHT by the photographer at the Every Girl's Dinner are Principal Carter, Mrs. Carter, and Dean Ethel Rosenberry. Girls' League Program Proves Successful Every Year It's a Grand Time For Girls lN lTS 26 YEARS of existence in Phoenix Union, the Girls' League has grown to take its place as one of the main governing bodies of the school. Every girl in school automatically belongs to this organization: hence, every girl is working to help herself as well as others in the many activities planned and carried out by the League. ln l92l, the year the League was organized here, the Big and Little Sister Department was also started. ln l923, the girls held their first Frolic , the forerunner of the Coed Hop, and in i924 the annual Every Girls Dinner was started. ln l929 we had our first Girls' League Convention, and also our first Les Polies. From the very beginning, the League has been com- posed of Central Council and the four class councils. Awards given by the League are the B Square rings and armbands, and a cup to the outstanding girl athlete. The different departments of the organization include service, activities, uniform dress regulation, social, program, advertising, and big and little sister. CENTRAL COUNCIL: Representing all ot the girls ol the four classes on Central Council are: Seated, Wood, Rogers. Pendley, Martin, Tang, Marquis, Bates. Cutler, Tang, Getty. Snulfer, Davis, Spencer. Standing, Wilkins, Livermore, Rosenberry. McBee, Kirkland, Law. Sullivan, Iohnson, Mitchell, Bate, Echols, Gaither, Clark, Osborn, Quiring, Makemson. W x i t 1 X ' 01, 2 1 i281