Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Prejudice MILTON TAMBOR In Rhodesia, a white truck driver passed a group of idle natives and muttered, They're lazy brutesf' A few hours later, he saw natives singing in rhythm while heaving hundred pound sacks of grain onto a truck. Savages, he grumbled. What do you expect? In South Africa, the English are against the Africansg both are against the Jews, all three are opposed to the Indians, while all four conspire against the native black. In Hungary, the saying is, An Anti-semite is a person who hates the jews more than is absolutely necessary. Polish people often call the Ukranians reptiles to express their contempt for a group they regard ungrateful, revengeful and treacherous. The Germans called their neighbors to the east Polish Cattle. The Poles retal- iated with Prussian Swine. As can be seen, no corner of the world is free from scorn. Rivalries and harreds between groups are nothing new. Moslems distrust non-Moslems. jews who escaped extermination in Europe find themselves surrounded by anti-semitism. Many of the colored people of the world suffer at the hands of the whites, who invent fancy doctrines to justify their attacks. However, this problem of prejudice and discrimination has been aggravated all the more in our present Atomic Age. Technology has brought these groups too close for comfort. Nations once safely separated by barricades of water or mountains, are now openely exposed to each other. Radio, jets, television, paratroopers, atomic blasts, all products of the modern age, have thrown groups of homosapiens in each others' laps. We have as yet not learned how to adjust ourselves to this radical change. Two world wars have been ample evidence of this fact. Yet, the situation is not without its hopeful features. Chief among these is the simple fact that human nature seems, on the whole, to prefer the sight of kindness and friendliness to the sight of cruelty. Normal men, everywhere, reject the path of war and destruction. Especially encourageing is the fact that, in recent years men in large numbers have become convinced that scientific intelligence may help us solve this conflict. Since the end of the Second World War, universities in many lands have testified to this idea under Social Science. Human development, social psychology, human relations, social relations, all branches of this new science, have found considerable welcome not only in universities, but in public schools, churches, industries, government agencies, and international bodies as well. By simple definition, prejudice is the forming of an opinion without conclusive or substantial proof. It is based on complete ignorance. Reasoning and logic cannot influ- ence one's way of thinking. It is necessary then, to educate the younger generation, not through propaganda, but in the liberal way of thinking. This can be done only through careful consideration and observation. Then and only then, can one arrive at a satis- factory conclusion. Knowledge is the first step towards understanding, and ignorance is the first step towards misunderstanding.

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books, looking for the information which Mr. Schain had blushingly skirted. The Bio book also evaded it We found that Mr. Frankel's old tests were good practice Those who had brothers who were upper classmen be- came very popular. We discovered two skeletons in the closet. One was Oscar, the only student to fail the Bio Regents. The other was Reuven Feinholz. Under the tutelage of Mr. Sarachek, we came to understand what Churchill meant by blood, sweat, toil, and tears. Those of us who were in a state of shock upon leaving the gymnasium were aroused by the melodies issuing from Mr. GroSsman's phonograph. We learned of his naivete concerning the three B's. Everybody but Mr. Grossman agreed that they were Bach, Beethoven, and Bop. This year marked the beginning of the Sophomore Council and the unification of the class of 55. From this simple nucleus evolved a tradition which is be' ing carried on by succeSsive classes. This was also the year that T.A. blos- somed forth as a basketball team to be reckoned with. We were champions of the Jewish High School League for the third successive year. We reached the pinnacle of our success when we played for the first time time in T.A.'s history, in Madison Square Garden. To add to our joy on the occasion, classes were dis- missed a whole period earlier than usual. montbr creeped by . . . lbe azzzzmm norzalgia . . , lbe 'winter .mowball hgbtr . . . spring fever arriving . . . exfmzr . . . Yeshiva Students awaited the arrival of a bearded gentleman. It was too late for Santa. T.I, boys, armed with old exams, current exams, and exams to be given, embarked upon their yearly pil- grimage to the dorm Social Hall there to munch pickles and matzohs. Students gratefully recall the many hours Rabbi Wind spent aiding them the night before the exam. School was over and summer arrived. It brought visions of a pleasant vacation, a good time, and a letter to be received Sometime in August saying: GREET- INGS . . .

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calf -'mqsvf J 9 'L 3 JL l After two years of experience, we didn't even bother opening the envelope. The circumstantial evidence was enough to convince us that this was our annual invitation-R.S.V.P. We walked into room 307 and sat down. We had awaited the arrival of Dr. Shapiro for twenty minutes before we discovered that he had been there all the time. The rasps and gurgles were not coming from a faulty radiator. The remainder of the period was spent in distributing and translating the question sheets. Does class is fondly remembered for his periodic examinations. l-Who killed Marat in the bathtub? 2-Wluo escaped from Paris in a balloon? 5-Wliere did King Willielm chop wood? 4-How many box cars did Germany send in reparation? 5-Was he or was lie not? True or False? Repeat that please, Doc? Stop that talking, Mister. 6-Who was lie? Junior Year 7-10-Four provisions of the Treaty of Shimonosakee. 11-15-Five provisions of the Treaty of Neuilly. 16-How many words are there in the Constitution? 17-Where did he go when he was sentenced the second time? And so on. In the Yeshiva, hardy Rabbi Shatzkes again weathered the annual storm of noisy buzzers, tapping pencils, math homework, and lingers beckoning through the door. Historians claim that Columbus discovered America. Similarly, Yeshiva boys claim that Rabbi Shatzkes, in nineteen daily steps, had discovered all of Amsterdam Avenue. A daily event was the 11:45 air raid and he never did find out Ver hot dos powderrf' It was dur- ing our Junior year that Rabbi Zaks' fin- gers were saved by the advent of king- size cigarettes. After two years with Dr. Brayer, Pol- and's contribution to English syntax, we had not yet discovered that mysterious thing that you don't supposed to do . The mastication of the English language