St Peters Academy - Veritas Yearbook (Saratoga Springs, NY)

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The following essay was awarded first prize in the Saratoga Springs Division of the National Fjssay Fontest xpmmnwn' by the B. P. O. E. WHOM JIDJIEoMDBJIRAGBGM WDJRJK$ Democracy, as defined in the dictionary, is a government where the final power is in the hands of the people governed. Democracy works, and will continue to work, as long as this policy is adhered to, as long as this power rests in the hands of the people and as long as it stresses the in- dividual liberties of the people. i The people, in a democracy, have all the inalienable rights and privileges handed down to them from God. They have these rights only because they fought and died to preserve them. Democ- 'racy is a lot of things e- not all of them are laws. It means that the people are free to worship as they please, to obtain an education, to speak on matters of state and to undertake innumerable ventures. All these things are found in a democracy, only because the people put them there. If these rights were not protected by the people, there would be no democracy! This cannot be stressed enough. The people make the democracy work. From the time a child is born in a democratic country, he is imbued with thetprinciples of dem- ocracy. Later, upon becoming an integral part of democracy, he will have the right to vote, to elect representatives, to join unions, to go to church, to stand on a soapbox and fight for a law or fight to prevent its passage. Democracy works! It works because the people and the government are as one. The people make the laws; the government enforces them. llThe people is one of the reasons why democracy works. Democracy works, moreover, because it stresses personal and individual liberties. It is a lot of little things ,- freedom to walk down Main Street with head high, freedom to travel, freedom to form working unions or social clubs, and all little things that are typically uMain Street, U.S.A. Most of the rights and freedoms in a democracy are safeguarded by laws, but not all. Some are just democratic principles. All these freedoms are individual rights guaranteed in a democratic govern- ment. Because of these rights, held so dear in the peoples, hearts, democracy is a workable, living form of government. The examples I have given are the reasons for the .workability of democracy. Without the people to make the laws, there would be no democracy; without personal liberties, the government would be a feared and hated administering body of men. Democracy works hand in hand with the people; the people and democracy, the people are d emocracy and that is why democracy works? BARBARA LYN ETT.

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These two poems were accepted by the National High School Poetry Association for publication in their Annual Anthology. FRIENDSHIP Develop a friendship 'not to receive but to give. Grow With a friendship and make it forever to live. Sever no friendship by act or word of tongue. Nourish a friendship as a mother does het young. Protect a friendship from lethal slings. Understand a friendship in spite of all things. But take heed; Never let a friendship With man be Greater than that with God Almighty. CATH ERIN E USCAVITCH w ODE TO A CAR The old brown car with its rickety wheels, The old brown car with its squeaks and squeals, Was better by far than the black sleek and slim, For our long standing trust we placed in Him. For ten long years he earned our trust, Up long hills he'd make it, 'he must. He covered the country-side with pop at the wheel, And always he kept on a slow, even keel. But our new black car, trust We must; For after the years, the old one did bust, And up to heaven it's gone I know, Or wherever tired old cars finally go. MARYPAT ARMSTRONG

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The following three short stories were adjudged the best submitted in, the Senior Class Short Story Contest, , THE Mustte MAKER JEAN DOH ERTY Steve was sitting on the bench near the lockers, his hands resting quietly on his knees. hdac opened the door and came in, followed by the sound of applause and shouts heralding the end of the second round. ' You still-got a couple minutes, kid . Mac looked tired. He had seen this kind before and he had no sympathy for the blonde youngster who would enter the ring in a few minutes. Steve said nothing. I realized suddenly that I had been staring at him. He looked up and grinned sheepishly. uFine brother you are! Thought you were supposed to keep my spirits up. You look like it was the end of the world or somethingf7 He glanced down at his hands, then turned them over. palms up. They were wet with perspiration. He stood up and walked over to the door, methodically wiping his hands'on the seat of his trunks. he corridor was empty. lVIac motioned him to sit down again. Carefully, surely, he began wrapping gauze over the knuckles of Steveis right hand. Steve has beautiful hands - long and firm, unmarked except for the pattern of tiny blue veins; the fingers are slender and sensitive. Mack picked up a towel and went ahead of Steve down the corridor and out into the gym. Ild been in that same ring a hundred times but that night every detail of the place seemed to stare at me defiantly. Lawton is an old college, built originally in the middle of a fashionable section Which has since grown away from its weathered buildings. It now stands like a small intellectual island in the downtown business district. lThe gym has grey walls and high ceilings with tall, narrow Win- dows open to the night air. Despite the welcome breeze the room was filled with blue smoke, swim- ming in hazy circles under the burning white lights hanging from the superstructure. The seats facing the ririg were almost filled. Friday night exhibitions had become popular in the lull between basketball and baseball seasons. . Steve walked down the aisle. Seeing him, a few yelled Take him, Steve e He,s a cinch .... Pin his ears back, Nolin! They were almost all upperclassmen, seniors like himself. They knew noth- ing except the fact that the college paper had carried the usual announcement of scheduled fights. THIRD BOUT: 8:00 P. M. - AL SAUNDERS, 150, versus STEVE NOLIN, 146. That was all. There was a total of five lights on the card. The whole thing was outlined in black, like an obituary notice. Saunders was already in the ring, silhouetted against the crowd. I didn't need to see his face. His close-set eyes and standard grin were well known to challengers working for a berth on the In- tercollegiate Boxing Team. Any welterweight worth his salt could lick him and some of us, includ- ing myself, had even managed to K. 0. him before the wallop in his right could mess up our chances or our faces. Saunders was powerful but he was one of the most thick-witted individuals in the school. I held nothing against him and I knew Steve felt the same way. Steve was wearing dark blue trunks with a red stripe. The reflection from the canvas and the brilliance of the lights gave his skin a translucent quality that was almost ghdstly. He was listen- ing to Macis grumbled advice when a voice echoed above the murmur of the crowd. Play a tune on his chin, Steve.