Union Endicott High School - Thesaurus Yearbook (Endicott, NY)

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The Union-Endicott Tiger Three Opportunity Lies In Education Opportunity lies in education for edu- cation enables one to recognize opportunity when it comes. It also creates the ability to make opportunity. The cause of education would be fur- thered if the term “compulsory’' were never applied. In the not too distant past, when a chance for schooling was some- thing to be sought and often only dreamed of, the educated man or woman was an object of envy. A grade school certificate was viewed with respect and a high school diploma was regarded with something akin to awe. Only a few attained the eminence of a college or university degree. Today young people are rushing through their formative years with the prospect of a lucrative job obscuring the means of obtaining it. High salaries in war work have induced too many to adopt a short-sighted view. Those who are planning to ignore the call to return to school in the fall are forgetting the years when jobs were hard to get and no em- ployer with an inviting offer would con- sider an applicant who had not completed a four year course in a secondary school. Those times will come again—but quickly. The government is joining local educators in urging both parents and pupils to con- sider these facts seriously. For June graduates advanced schooling is offered. These advantages are not only for the financially able. Those who are willing to work may make their own op- portunities to attend college. There are many jobs offered in the colleges them- selves—jobs that can be handled along with a regular schedule of classes. Some young people prefer to work for a period ( Continued on Page 21) Memorials For ages, man has constructed, inten- tionally or inadvertently, numerous monu- ments cherished by future generations. There will be monuments as long as there is man and life, since life produces the reasons for erecting them. Man builds memorials to commemorate forever the deeds and accomplishments of distin- guished men or to perpetuate in the minds of posterity the significance of specific oc- currences of wide acclaim. In today's world, one can find monu- ments dedicated to various ancient civiliza- tions. The Appian Way, peerless objects of sculpture and art, an aqueduct system in operation at the present time, the cata- combs, the gigantic Colosseum, and the establishment of a code of laws are all monuments to Roman ingenuity. Ancient Greek civilization also made great contributions to mankind. Fore- most is the founding of democratic govern- ment. The beauty of Greek architecture is symbolized by the Acropolis and Par- thenon. Its philosophies arc still studied today. The Phoenicians are remembered by their gift of our present alphabet while the sphinx and the royal tombs and pyramids are monuments to Egyptian engineering. In Mexico the Aztec Indians constructed temples of worship, which proclaim to the world the advancement of their builders. Throughout the pages of history, there have never been, and undoubtedly never will be, more powerful and significant memorials than those eternal memorials dedicated to Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The world, with all its complexities and mir- acles of nature, is a living monument to the Glory of God. Every Christian church, regardless of denomination, is an individu-

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Two The Union-Endicott Tiger Light Dark clouds have settled over many lands, Where ancient flags, beloved of old, are furled. On mountains, oceans, and on island sands. Today, the spears of ruthless war are hurled. Yet we have faith that some day war will cease: And so, while we await the dawn of peace. Let us light candles in a shadowed world. Fannie Medbury Pendleton j Instructor in English j Union-Endicott High School I

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Four The Union-Endicott Tiger al memorial of the Divinity of Christ. Every loyal Christian, through his actions and beliefs, is a monument to God and His divine principles. Next to God, probably the most potent individual instigator of memorials is the arch-enemy of humanity. War. Man does not erect monuments to War itself. The memorials are erected in honor of the men who fight the wars in behalf of certain civilized principles, and to men who die nobly so that the principles of decency and democracy shall not be denied to posterity. Thus a free and independent United States is a monument to the sacri fice of the courageous pioneers of 1775. A nation united in action, principles and be- lief, is a monument to the staunch men of the North and their immortal leader, Abraham Lincoln. A quarter of a century ago in a war to end war the peace-loving people of the world rose in formidable defiance of a tyrant nation. When it ended, innumer- able monuments were raised in honor of the fallen heroes. Each allied nation dedi- cated a tomb to its Unknown Soldier. In France, cemeteries, crowded with white crosses, were consecrated in memory of the dead interred there. All over the world free men commemorated those who made their freedom possible. In 1939, from the same nation that dis- rupted the tranquillity of the world in 1914. emanated ominoqs roars of thunder followed rapidly by a deluge of blood. Thus the nativity of World War II ridi- culed the aims of its predecessor. By De- cember 1941, most of the civilized world was blanketed by a deathly pall, as Ger- many was abetted in her conflict against humanity by Italy and Japan. The significance of the earlier monu- ments has been to some degree shattered by this atrocious struggle. The principles for which men fought and died were again brought under scrutiny. Even the war- riors’ graves were descrated from the effects of modern warfare. To the men of 1918, man built ma terial monuments, lifeless memorials of marble and granite. He consecrated inno- cent white crosses, row after row. in their honor. Yet. he failed to build the only significant monument to their glory, the one tribute worthy of their sacrifice.—a world of peace and brotherhood. Following this catastrophe, men will undertake once more the task of rearing monuments to the men who fought in World War II. There will be many more Unknown Soldiers from whose swollen ranks they may choose. There will be many more names to be engraved. Each history book will be a monument to the dead for each will extol their irre- vocable right to glory. But we must not allow these to be the significant monu- ments. There can be but one of intrinsic value—a lasting peace. It would be sacri- legious. in the most keenly defined sense of the word, if this world were ever plunged again into another mortal conflict. It would mock the sacrifices of our present heroes as those of their fathers were mocked. A lasting peace can be achieved only by propagating the principles of brother- hood, freedom, democracy, and the divine teachings of God to every inhabitant of the globe. As our late beloved president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose accomplishments themselves are monuments dedicated to the betterment of humanity, said. The struc- ture of world peace can not be the work of one man, or one party, or one nation: (Continued on Page 20)