Evening star., 1939-11-24
Student Conference
Opens Two-Day
Session Tonight
Relation of Democracy
And Education to
Be Studied

The first Washington Student
Conference, sponsored by the Youth
Council and group of educational
leaders, will open at 8 o'clock to-
night at the Y. w. C. A., Seven
teenth and K streets NV.
Sessions will continue tomorrow
and Sunday. A discussion of "Edu-
cation for Democracy" and "Democ-
racy in Education" at the opening
meeting will be led by Katharine
F. Lenroot, head of the Children s
Bureau, Labor Department., and a
member of the Presidents Advisory
Committee on Education; Tom L.
Popejoy, deputy administrator of
the National Youth Administration,
and U. Simpson Tate, treasurer of
the National Negro Congress.
Delighted by Participation.
National Youth Administrator
Aubrey Williams yesterday declared
he is delighted" that District stu
dents are participating in the con-
ference.
Il think it is highly desirable that
the persons most directly concerned
with our educational system, the
students. should take part in shap-
ing its policies" he declared. "It
helps to develop the habit and art
Of effective citizenship. The school
is in part to young people what the
Government Is to all of it's citizens
the means of acquiring benefits
which would be difficult, impractical
and expensive to acquire individ-
ually.
ut seems to me particularly i'm
portant that there should be dis
cussion of the relationship of the
schools to democracy. We realize
now from sad knowledge of for
eign experience that the schools
can be used to mold passionate and
uncritical adherence to an all-pow-
erful state; our schools must be
equally effective in producing peo-
pie who can think intelligently and
participate in making the demo-
cratic state function for the benefit
of ALL"
Panel Discussion at 1889.
TomorroW's session will open at s
m. with election of officers. Panel
discussions will begin at 1890 am
and continue until $50 pm, recess
ing at l o'clock for a luncheon at
which talk on ''Legislating Good
Schools" will be given by Fred j
Kelly, chief of the division of higher
education of the United States Office
of Education.
Chairmen OF the panels will be
Robert Little, sports editor of the
American Eagle, American Univer-
sity; Wendell Lucas, president OF
Howard University Student Council
and Charles F.. Kiefer of George
Washington University. Advisers
will include Robert Anderson OF
Civic Education Service; j. Grin
Powers, co-author of Public Educa-
ton in the District of Columbia; w
c. Brown of American Federation Of
Teachers, and Andrew w. Gott-
schall of the National Conference
Of Christians and Jews.
Individual Sponsors.
The announced individual spon.
sors include Senator Thomas, Demo.
crat, of Utah, chairman of the Sen
ate Committee on Education anc
Labor; Senator Capper, Republi-
can, OF Kansas, a member of the
Senate District Committee; Joseph
M. M. Gray, chancellor of Ameri-
can University; Floyd w. Reeves
director of the American Youth
Commission; George F. Zook, presi-
dent of the American Council or
Education; Herbert L. Willett, jr.
director of the Washington Com
munity Chest; Mary Mcleod Beth
une, chief of the Division of Negro
Affairs, National Youth Administra-
ton, and John p. Davis, executive
secretary of the National Negro
Conference.
Students of colleges and senior
high schools are invited.