Binghamton Central High School 1941 Yearbook (Binghamton, NY) - Guest Access

CITIZENSH IP IN A DEMOCRACY In June 1939 our school began as a basis for succeeding commence– ment exercises a contin– uing theme, "Citizenship in a Democracy", wi U1 the purpose of endeavoring each year "to reaffirm our faith in Democracy and to substantiate the assumption that its con– tinued existence is dependent upon the support of an intelligent, active and loyal citizenship." . ince that time our student commencement speakers have further attempted to establish the truth of tlai s con– tention by showing how some of our outstanding contemporary Am ricaus "bave in their thoughts and th i r actions con– tributed to the mainten– ance of our D ruocracy." \!embers of the Jw1e 1 39 class commenced this theme in the form of brief biographical sket– ches of the lives of two outstanding leaders in the field of indus try, \lr. George F. Jolmson and ~lr. Thomas J. Watson. The following year the classes paid tribute to leaders in the field of science, Dr. William Reebe, Dr. Flor nee ab– in, Dr. George Washington Carver, Dr. Roy Chapman Anclrews, Dr. Maude Slye and Dr. Irving Lan~uir. The classes of '41 con– tinued the theme in the field of literature by outlining the illustrious careers of ~lr. Christopher \lorley, Irs. Arme O'Hare \lcCormick, Mr. Carl arld– bur,:r , lr.\lax¥.ell Anderson, ijiss Willa Cather and lr. Robert Frost. This theme will be continued in subsequent commence111ent programs, aud the attention of each graduate will be focused upon the fine examples of worthwhile citizenship as exemplified by these Americans, leaders in their chosen work. But, the thought occurred to us as we were planning this Annual that these short speeches at com– menc ment weren't the only lessons in Democracy that we learned in high school, they were but the culmination of many. After all, we asked our– selves, wasn't our every– day life here at Central a typical example of a Democracy in action? Our school life, as in all other American in– s ti tu lions is patterned after the Constitution, for we have the encour– agement of freedom of speech through dramatics, debate and classroom discussion; f1·eedom of press-the Panorama; freedom of assembly in the corriuors and in the cafeteria; free use of a fine 1 ibrary, sbop mach– inery, drawing instruments and materials, textbooks, etc. We have a governing body patterned after that described in the Con– s ti tu lion, and have m ar1 • clubs and organizations as a result of this group. V!e felt that B. c. H. S. offered a good xample of these "freedoms", so we cloose the topic "Cit– izenship in a Democracy" as the theme for our A1mual, anti in the pages th a t f o 11 ow we h a v e attempted to show in simple pictoral form the results of citizenship in a democratic high school.