Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-19
Active Center of Important Amercanzaton Wo

In most schools there are those who
can work up fervor of emotion when.
which they owe to the institution
which gives them their education.
They call this enthusiasm school
spirit" Often it is what prompts men
to go out for foot ball and uphold their
schools honor on the gridiron; 1t leads
girls to work diligently and hard that
their schools dramatic standards may
be maintained; 1t leads both boys and
girls into thousand and one extra.
class activities that further the pres.
tige and uphold the customs Of the In.
stitution to which they give their al.
legiance.
In the Americanization School
school spirit" naturally found an ex.
preston in the formation Of an asso.
citation to do things of this sort. Its
work was doubly difficult, for 1t was q
pioneer in that field, nothing OF the
sort ever having been tried In Wash.
ington before, and its success Is: re.
garded as the schools greatest achieve.
ment, for, as Miss Alton asserts. that
work is the most valuable which Is its
own motivation"
THE A. s. A., like most organiza.
l. tons, owes a large measure Of its
success to it's leaders. Chief Justice
Walter l. Mccoy of the District Of Co.
lumbia Supreme Court. and close
friend of the school, has been the
clubs guiding spirit" since It was
originated by Souren H. Hanessian in
1922 with the idea Of combining social
enjoyment with cultural activities for
the benefit Of both present and former
students Of the school. Mr.. Hanessian
is now president of the A. S.A., which
quickly became sort Of governing
body within the school, taking over all
organizations, such as the orchestra
and dramatic club, as had previously
been formed. It now lists 10 activi.
ties for the benefit of it's members,
foremost among them being the publ.
cation of monthly newspaper, the
Americanization Bulletin. =
This is another enterprise which 10
very gratifying to Miss Alton, for it
also is 'self-starter." Since its first
publication in 1922 it has been a def.
mite force in the life Of the school.
The Bulletin aims to bring about q
better understanding between native
Americans and newcomers"
A special citizenship department,
conducted by Samuel Jacob. natural.
ization examiner, Bureau Of Natural.
ization, has been a feature of the
paper for over three years, and IL
regarded as indispensable by the
school officials.
eff you knew people as do" Miss
Alton remarked in reference to that
column, "you would be aware that
very few aliens. not even those who
have been in this country for several
knAr
authentic information on the simplest
citizenship matters. There Is 50 much
propaganda all around that they arc
often swamped with misinformation
which this column helps correct"
Other activities Of the A. 8. A. AZ
listed in its bulletin are monthly
dances, bi.monthly lectures on
scientific, political or social subjects
by authorities in the various fields,
weekly entertainments, excursions to
places of interest around Washington.
and a class in advanced, American
literature. The latest accomplishment
of the association has been the fur.
nishing and managing Of a library. in
the school building, which has become
its headquarters. The .hontelike FUR
nishings OF this room made it I'm.
niediately popular with the students.
On one OF the walls hangs the nag
Of the A. s. A., . gift Of one OF the
members, embodying the colors OF the
United States flag.
The library now owns about 1900
volumes, and, through the co-opera-
ton of the Public Library, Is con.
stantly being loaned. an additional
supply of standard literature. A card
index is being made Of the contents
Of the shelves, to the end that the
students will be familiar with the sys-
tens used in bigger book collections.
Walter Lutz and Albert Blum are In
charge Of the library. -&H.f
X r \ \
CPEAKING from her desk in that
~ room, Mrs. Neyle Colquitt, for.
nier supervisor of the A. s. A. Buue.
tin, told Of several conclusions she had
reached through her work with tue
members Of the school.
"In spite of widespread belief to
the contrary" she declared, "the same
motives, mainly desire for freedom
from oppressive economic or pohtical
conditions at home, that led most or
our ancestors to come to this cont
nent three or four generations ago,
are still actuating the majority OF ina.
migrants today. Also the process o.
fusing the various nationalities into
the existence Of our country, Is still
going on. In this very school old
racial antipathies and long'standing
rational prejudices are being broken
down. Such traditional enemies az
the Italian and the Greek, the French
ard the German are mingling together
here, finding each other to be pretty
decent sort of fellows after all. ana
establishing a new basis Of under.
standing and friendship. We try to
make them forget all intolerant teach.
ingsi of their former nation. We dis
play no flag but the American, speak
no language but English and are care-
full to sing nothing but American
songs"
1t is in the library that DIR. E. z.
versity holds his class in advanced
American literature. The class itself
is an informal affair, no roll being
kent or examinations given, but all be.
ing invited and many attending sole
ly for their own pleasure. Chairs are
drawn around table in the center OF
the room and the professor sits down
and reads from the best American
authors as IL to a family. 1t is clear
that he enjoys himself. 1t Is also
clear that his audience is intensely In
terested in his every word. Certainly
it is an intelligent looking audience.
although an unusual one--an Egyptian
government official, a daughter OF
Nipnon, a son of Italy. men from
Franz, Spain and Norway, and wofn-
en- from the Balkan States, all gather.
ed together to hear the reading OF a
story by Hawthorne. Irving Poe or
other famous America author. DR..
Ericsson declares the work ia itS own