University High School - Cub Yearbook (Oakland, CA)

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maybe 'lThe Rat , Qhad the man no name?j was one of those unfor- tunate misfit personalities who have no place in this world. If only he could really learn some- thing about him! Pattyll' f'Aye. 'cTell me one of those horrible gshiv- er your tim- ber' tales. HStill harp- in' at it, kid? VVell, if I have to spend a cruise on the same ship with him, you ought to tip Inf' off how to g u a rd m y yo un g life against the horrible unknownf' UAW, now, kid, you got me wrong. ltlurder ainit in the first 'luff's' line. The whole thing is this and it ain't such a joke as you are tryin' to kid yourself into thinkin' it is, neither. VV e got laws and regulations aboard ship. There is all ways of interpretin' them. Some officers is lenientg some's not. There ain't no need to be, but discipline is the gRat's, line. It's the thing he does better than any- thing else. YVhere the normal of- ficer will let ,er go at ccurtailment of libertyl, this guy'll bring up a 'court martial'. That's why he's hatedf, UAnd is that what raises the goose-flesh on your neck when you see him coming, is that why you're afraid? Huh! Expect me to swal- low that? Afraid ain't the word, Johnny. It's a kind of spooky feeling he gives me, if you know what I mean. VVait until you've see11 more of him. Canit you see, kid, how a man would face a six-inch gun without bat- ting a lash, before held risk close con- tact with a filthy slimy rat of th e sewer?v 77 'SI think so, but- 'IVV e l l, that's how it is. I tell you if there was a single human normal fea- ture to off set his cursed cold-bloodedness, we could stand it, but he hasn't even got a spine. Not a man aboard would willingly follow him into battle. The cowardly, C1'CCPy way heas got of sneakin, up on ,, you-. 4'Aw, junk the hot air, Patty. You canlt tell me that one human can lll21liC you all feel that way without doing somethingf' '4But he airft human, kid. That's just whatis got us all hoodooed. Let me tell you, many a boy aboard, on liberty, enjoyin, him- self, has had the heart froze out of him, for no real reason, say, in a dance hall, maybe, just catchin' sight of 'The Ratl, sneakin' slinkin'-dw gContinued on Page my

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VVho knows?,' Patty,s breath was beginning to come more freely but his voice was still cautious. Now let me give you a tip, Johnny. The less you know about that guy and his doin's, the better chance you got for makin' a ratin' this cruise. He leaves us at Quan- tanamo Bay for Merrimac, thank God, and until then hold fast to all you gotln 'Wvho knowsf' repeated the boy blankly, utterly disregarding Pat- ty's fatherly little sermon. Well, why? Does nobody know him ?', No! This mystery stuff is just what he's tryin, to get away with, and the whole gang, fore and aft, is pretty well bluffed. You see, kid, with that sneaky, slippery way of his and the power of a first luf f ,H he finds it easy to persecute the crowd under him. I could tell you tales that would shiver your timbers, that would-but I better get a hitch on myself. He slam- med f our into the brig this morn- ing before breakfast for less than were doin' now. Brig! For talking! Are you denied the right of speech?H Speech! H---, no! Speak all you bloody well please, but don't say nothin'! Remember, kid, youire never safe. 'The Rat? is always close by. Even if you can't see him l1e's there and don't you forget it. You wonit get hauled before the mast for talkini. He'll prove somethin' else against you, but if he's got an earful of this-well -itas you an, me for the dungeon deep. But that's enough of your chew-the-rag. Keep your lamps on the binnacle. You'll not get another croak out of me F' After several fruitless attempts to continue the conversation, Johnny relapsed into a thoughtful silence. He was disappointed in Patty, miserably disappointed. A Weather-beaten, hairy-chested, old Seaman, veteran of half-a-dozen wars, and in mortal terror of his superior officer. What kind of bravery was that? Johnny couldn't realize that it was not principally terror of what the first lieutenant could do that made even himself falthough he wouldn't admit itj shudder, but the horrible sugges- tion of everything creepy, slimy, evil, that lurked in every line of the '6Rat,s', supple, skinny body. Johnny was young, enthusiastic. He thought that determination and courage could overcome any obsta- cle. Of that inward recoil of the soul that the mind cannot govern he knew nothing. Physical fear was the only fear he could imagine, and so far the tried to tell himself J this Rafi had inspired in him nothing more than a vague disgust. But no-he would be honest with himself. This man had in- spired in him something more than disgust-interest. A boy with J ohnny's education could not ac- cept the current superstition that the Tuscarora's executive was something other than man. He could not then accept the fact that this much reviled creature was en- tirely devoid of even that spark of good that he had been taught ex- isted in every human soul. Re- pellent, he acknowledged him, but 12

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Student Government, Past and Present By hlargaret Holman Shortly after the doors of Uni- versity high school opened for the first time in the old grey building at f orty-ei ghth and Webster streets in-Hie year 19111, the few students assembled there began to feel the urge toward student government. This desire was expressed to the members of the faculty, who at that time did not deem it advisable to start a form of absolute self -gov- ernment. However, it was finally agreed that a co-operative govern- ment should be adopted, the legis- lative body of which should consist of one representative from each major room, and which should be known as the student's cooperative council. To preside over this group a student president was chosen, hut from the old semi-annual Cubs, that offer the only actual source of information, we are led to believe that the first councils were actually presided over by the principal, and that the faculty made up a goodly number of the members. If a club or organization wanted a matter brought before the coun- cil, the subject was first called to the attention of the major-room representative, and then was taken by him to the council whenever it happened to meet, which was only when business demanded, for we are told that its chief duties we1'e those of apportioning the budget and of electing the Cub staff. As time went on and the mem- bership of the student body in- creased, the need for a written set of laws grew until, in 1919, a con- stitution, drawn up by a com- mittee consisting of M a rio n Brandt, Esther Munson, Kenneth Foresman, Wilson Minor, and Ted VV right, was adopted by the stu- dents. This document was long and cumbersome. It provided for a goverment much like that which we have already attempted to de- scribe, but with many new features. The officers to be elected--a pres- ident, a vice president, a secretary, and a yell leader were clearly speci- fied, and the council was made to include not only the representatives from major rooms but those from other groups as well. There was one from each of the boys, and girls' major sports, two from the Girls, league, and one from the Block U society, which was considered' ' portant and influential ienou have a vote, the school treasu the boys' physical di1'ecto1', and the girls' physical director., Besides the executive officers of the council, there were of course the various committees. Those llted include one for each of the fol- lowing: Assembly, recept i o n, dues, publicity, auditing, and em- blems. This early constitution also pro- vided f or the election of officers by the Australian ballot system, and for the distribution of athletic awards, the formation of commit- tees, and the organization of the classes. Its main weakness lay in the fact that the council was too large to work efficiently. Repeated at- tempts to remedy this condition by 14