Townsend Harris High School - Crimson Gold Yearbook (Flushing, NY)

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EXTRA-CURRICULA ACTIVITIES As President of the General Organization, I believe that there is no message I can con- vey of greater importance than the value of participation in the affairs conducted by the student body, apart from, but not alien to, the curriculum. As this portion of high school life is purely voluntary, it is most often disregarded. And never has a more dire mis- take been made, for the aim of all extra-cur- ricular activities is never foreign to classroom life, but rather complementary. Since Harris is a training camp for a fuller, more mature existence to come-a miniature battlefield-so our activities prophecy the problems we encounter in outer life. And, as preparation for this battle, I know of no better place than our clubs, where we learn to mingle with other human beings, to per- fect our personal philosophies, and to supple- ment our knowledge of the arts. School publications furnish splendid mod- els of intelligent and just business organiza- tions, while no better example of training can be offered than that of participating in de- bate, of learning to respect others, opinions, and to set forth our own intelligibly. I have never claimed that a student owes anything to the school. Instead, I have con- sistently demanded a more intelligent under- standing of the situation. It is my earnest belief that the student has one debt. It is to himself alone that he is responsible for the interest he takes in improving his own condi- tions, in learning to live his life in the best possible manner. The General Organization will have done its work, if it can call itself truly a general organization. President of the G. 0., Robert Van Santen

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IIIIGANIZATIGIN SECTIIIN The organizations centralize the interests of the school and show the attitude of the students toward school legislation as well as their leaders. But for these organizations, high school life would lack all interest among the student body. Tracing the pyramid of our social life, the Arista takes its place at the apex. In this or- ganization are found the leaders of the school, who are representative of that pinnacle of success to which every Harrisite aspires. Among the important groups are the Gen- eral Organization, the Stadium, and the Crim- son and Gold, the Iirst of which is the chief legislative body of the school, chosen by the students to effect the reforms which changing school conditions demand. The Stadium is published bi-monthly in order to bring to the students not only an account of school events, but also a means of direct com- munication. The Crimson and Gold, no longer a senior book, is now an outlet for the literary ambition of Harris as well as a review of the school activities for the past term. Clubs are a medium of informal discus- sion of the curricular subjects, and a stimulus of interest in what would ordinarily be dull studies. There are also service organizations which help greatly to keep order in Harris, although their members move unseen. Organizations are necessary to the com- plete unity of the school and a full realiza- tion of its spirit. page ninety-Eve

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GENERAL ORGANIZATION The General Organization, spurred on by the capable guidance of its chief executive, President Robert Van Santen, attacked prob- lem after problem this term with rare ability and unreserved confidence. By employing every possible faculty and source of energy, the Student Council administered Townsend Harris affairs with remarkable dispatch and efficiency. Many were the achievements of the body, as it succeeded in terminating ventures of iucalculable value and import. An outstand- ing feature of this semester,s developments was the revision of the G. O. Constitution, a task essential in eradicating a multitude of obsolete and faulty provisions, and the sub- stitution of clauses more conducive to good government. This accomplishment alone en- tailed the utmost concentration and unremit- ting labor of the council members. The group also sponsored a Varsity Show, a function which received merited acclama- tion from the student body. The industry with which the G. O. fostered the production most assuredly deserves the recognition of the entire school. These examples admirably illustrate the manner in which the G. O. functioned for the half-year. At all times the members tried to live up to a high standard of cooperation. It is this adherence to a policy of harmony which spelled the success of the G. O. Council. Robert Van Santen .......................... President Jack London .............. ...... V ice-President Bennett Sallman ..... ........... S ecretary Wfilliam Friedman ..... .,...... ....... T r easurer Representatives Henry Maas, U.A Leon Levey, L.A Fred Charlton, U.B Abraham Siegel, L.B Gilbert Banner, U.C Ed Ehrenberg, L.C Victor Lewis .......................... Service Delegate Solomon Chaikin ...................... Club Delegate Thomas Durrance .......... Publication Delegate john Henry .............. ......... A thletic Delegate page ninety-seven