Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-13
SCHOOLS ORGANIZE
CONSTITUTION CLUB
Central, Eastern and McKin-
ley Form After Conference
With OratoricaI Director.

Following the lead of Western and
Business High Schools, groups of stu
dents from Central, Eastern and Nc
Kinley Manual Training decided yester-
day at a conference with Randolph
Leigh, director Of the National Oratori-
cal Contest, to form Constitution Clubs
in their respective institutions.
A reception and tea was given by Mr..
Leigh in the Mayflower Hotel for school
officials, teachers students and Parent
Teacher Association officers OF the nVe
high schools.
The Constitution Clubs at Western
and Business are outgrowths OF the Ma
tional Oratorical Contest, sponsored in
this area by The Star. They are organ
iZations of boys and girls, entirely with
out faculty compulsion, for the study OF
the United States Constitution and COM
parison of the form of government 1t
established with forms existing in other
countries.
The decision to organize such clubs
at Mckinley, Central and Eastern fol-
lowed talks by Edmund Gullion, presi-
dent of the clug at Western, and Stanley
Segal, former president of the Business
Club.
Gullion explained that his group was
organized three years ago and since that
time has been meeting every other week,
except during times near the oratorical
contests, when they meet each week.
Sessions are held on Friday after
moons at 3 o'clock. Miss Rose StutZ,
history teacher, is faculty adviser and
the meetings are held in her class room.
On days when extensive programs are
scheduled the meetings take place in
the school auditorium.
The committee of teachers who assist
the club and sometimes attend its
meetings and offer suggestions and
criticisms includes Miss Clara Stutz,
Miss Sue Gardner, Miss Elizabeth
DesseZ, librarian, and Miss Blanche
Lewis.
Gullion told of how the club members
collected instruments of other govern
mentS until they now have an excellent
array of constitutions of the nations
of the world. These they have COM
pared with our own in open debate.
Other subjects of past debates have
been, Are Americans Hsppy?" THE
Soviet Government of Russia" The
Kellogg Peace Pact" Disarmament"
1.-THE Implied Powers of the Constitu-
ton" and THE Six-year Term for
President without Reelection"
Teachers Merely Guide.
The meetings are lively affairs, with
healthy criticism freely offered by both
students and teachers. Teachers, how
ever, have always kept in the back
ground, merely guiding, so that the club
is a bona fide student activity.
The membership of the club usually
is about 20, the boys now being in the
majority. There are occasional social
evenings, sightseeing trips and picnics.
Segal gave brief account of the
activities of the club at Business, which
Is run in a similar way to its sister
organization at Western. Miss Cora
McCarty, history department, is faculty
adviser. Segal represented Business in
The Star area finals in 1927, 1928 and
1929. He is now student at George
Washington University.
Stephen Kramer, assistant superin-
tendent of schools, spoke briefly, en-
phasizing the value of the Oratorical
Contest and the Constitution Clubs in
combating propaganda aimed at the
overthrow of the United States Govern
ment. Now is the time for youth to
become vocal" he declared. land answer
the loose talk prevalent among young
people with an expression of the ideals
of those who have gone before us"
Mr.. Leigh welcomed his guests and
laid particular stress on the benefits to
be derived from the extemporaneous
feature of the contest this year. Others
who spoke were Mrs. Louise Proctor
Engle. local contest director, and Miss
Rose StutZ.
The contest finals of the Oxon Hill
Consolidated School of Oxon Hill, Md.
are to be held tonight, with six students
competing. They are Anna Talbert
Ethel Green, Irma Taylor, Virginia
Names, William Mcnamara and Will
liam Cusick. william T. Jobe, prin-
cipal, will preside and introduce the
speakers.