St George Academy - Crusader Yearbook (New York, NY)

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YQ SNQ... ou mei The Student Council was founded in April 1948. Consisting of members chosen from among the Juniors - There were no Seniors, for the school was too young - and led by its Faculty Moderator, Mr. Cacaci, the new body had to face and try to overcome many obstacles. The school had never had a Stu- dent Council before. Some students did not understand what it was supposed to dog some feared it, others had little faith in its power to do anything worthwhile. The Councilors themselves had had no previous experience at such work and were therefore at a disadvantage, all the more so because they were keenly aware of the danger that the student body might lose faith in the Student Council as an effec- tive force in the school. It took courage, therefore, for the group to come to the decision that among its first objectives would be the setting up of a system for handling student dis- ciplinary problems. It established a court independent of the school administration, summoned in offenders, and meted out pun- ishment. By this, they hoped to teach the student body to take care of its own problems. Edward Dixon, Pres. and Mr. Driscoll, Moderator Back: Dixon, G., Jervis, Moderator, O'Hare, Flynn I Seated: Dastis, Dixon,E., Kelly, McBride, Dittrich As it was expected, the road was a difficult one, but by the end of the year the Student Council had at least become an established part of the school and had proved its right to the respect of the student body. This year, a different and more demo- cratic system of representation was tried. The Seniors were to have four representa- tives on the Councilg the Juniors, threeg the Sophmores, two5 and the Freshmen, one. The entire student body was to vote by se- cret ballot for all of the members on the Student Council regardless of the year they represented. Posters flooded the school, platforms were put forth, and cam- paigning became the order of the day. The entire proceeding was met with great en- thusiasm by the student body and gave the school a practical demonstration of democ- racy in action. With Edward Dixon as President, the Council drew up plans for a track meet, a magazine subscription drive to raise funds for the school, the issuance of G-0- cards and so on. Some of these plans never bore fruit because of the Council's decision to concentrate on two other major items which came up. The first one was a serious prob- lem that was brought about by excessive student exhuberence on the Crosstown buses . The aroused Council promptly posted its members on each bus, punished offenders and campaigned for better conduct both in and outside of school. Since its direct and speedy action, there has never been a recurrence of the problem. The second great effort expended was in the annual Bazaar. It was the leadership of the Coun- cil members in this event that contributed greatly to its success. By the end of its second year of exis- tence, the Student Council had a well es- tablished method of electing future members in a democratic way, had asserted its auth- ority successfully in preserving the good order and reputation of the school, and had demonstrated its capacity to lead the stu- dent body in constructive activity.