University High School - Cub Yearbook (Oakland, CA)

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amendment failing, a new consti- tution was adopted in 1921. Tl1is new document was prepared by the civics classes after considerable re- search by the students under the di- rection of lNIiss Crystal Harford, and was designed to meet the needs of an enlarged student body. The most fundamental change was that concerning student body membership. Wlie1'e formerly this privilege was granted only to holders of A. S. U. H. S. cards. by the new constitu- tion all stu- dents were oi sidered a izens, al- though only those holding cards were al- lowed to vote. T li e n e w elective offi- cers provided fo r were a presid e n t, a y ell leader, and five coun- cilmen - one for finance, one for publicity, one for boys' sports, o11e for organizations and special events, and one for the .junior high. Each of these was to be nominated by a petition, bearing the signatures of at least five per cent of the holders of A.S.U.H.S. cards. A vice president, a clerk, and a chief justice 'were to be ap- F. H. Boren, Friend of Student Goverment. pointed. These, along with the principal a nd school t1'C3Sl1l'C1', made up the personnel. The new council was made to function t h r o u g h committees. Each commissioner was given the authority to appoint his own, with the exception of the commissioner of girls, affairs whose work was to be done by a council composed of representatives from each class or e and each girls, organizat i o n T he chief ustiee in turn appointed his vigilance comm it t e e s There were and are at the date, three of them, a senior boys', present girl sl a senior and one for the u n io r high. The fi- nances W e 1' e managed by the commis- sioner in co- operation with the faculty 'treasurer of the s c h o o l. Assisting him were committees of salesmen. The publicity com- niissionerls staff consisted of the various members of the art de- partment and the staff of tl1e Daily U -N-I. A committee was also selected by the clerk of social affairs to assist in the supervision of the noon dances, and the com- missioner of junior high had his 15 41,18

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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

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advisory board at which all things pertaining to the junior depart- ment could be discussed before be- ing referred back to the student council. Under the direction of the com- missioner of special events was the central committee which was re- sponsible for all the large events and ente1'tainments of the school term. This committee in turn was related to the ushering committee which was responsible for all the ushering that must be done in the auditorium on special occasions. The commissioner of girls af- fairs was just another name for the president of the Girls' league. This league was made up of every girl in the school. It had its own council, composed of representa- tives f rom each of the classes from the seventh grade to the high sen- iors. Its faculty advisor was the dean of girls. The Girls' league itself is an institution that dates back farther than our records of student organization. This form of government, which has been outlined above, is funda- mentally what exists today. At present the members of the coun- cil are Roscoe Peart, president of the student body, Dorothy Hays, commissioner of girls affairs, Stewart Riddell, commissioner of special events, Harry Butler, com- missioner of boys, sports, Robert Perry, commissioner of publicity, and John Rowell, commissioner of finance. Bernard Bowren is com- missioner of junior high, Freeman Nichols, yell leader, Arthur Ar- lett, chief justice, Helen Holton, clerk of the council and the fac- ulty advisors are Mr. F. H. Boren, principal, Miss ltlarian Brown, dean of girls, and Dr. C. C. Conrad, faculty treasurer. All elected student officers have a vote in this council but the ap- pointed members-namely, th e clerk, chief justice, and the yell leader, may not vote. As a result of this more com- pact form of government, many subsidiary institutions, that are, as the case may be, connected directly or indirectly with student govern- ment, have flourished. The undisputed success of the Girls' league through all the years, with its great service as an institu- tion of the school, leads us to be- lieve that it was the inspiration of the boys, who formed a similar league of their own in 19244. Their chief purpose, however, is different, in as much as they seek to promote the athletics of the school. Their president is elect- ed by the boys at a separate elec- tion. In other words their presi- dent is not a student body of f iccr as is the president of the girls' or- ganizatior. Their council is made up in the same way as is that of the girls. Back in the early days, among the various activities of the school was the lVIonday club which was founded by a teacher whose mem- ory is very dear to the older stu- dents, Alice Berry Robertson. In her honor we, of the present day, hold the Alice Berry Robertson cup contest each year. This or- ganization has since been combined with another one, and one that is still flourishing, the Rainbow club. Another most interesting group 16