Youth Speaks Its Mind
The Suffolk County News · 31 May 1962
SAILING BACK THROUGH SAYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL’S HISTORY
There is something fascinating about opening an old newspaper and discovering that, more than six decades ago, the young people of Sayville were thinking seriously about the world around them. Their questions, arguments and ideas were part of a community conversation that was taking place long before social media, websites or even the internet existed.
A New Sayville Alumni Association Archival Series
We are beginning a short series featuring our historic hometown paper The Suffolk County News articles from 1961 and 1962 — a chance to look back and discover what our Sayville High School students were thinking about in their own time, 65 years ago!
As we begin this brief journey through the pages of the past, we hope these pieces will do more than remind us how much our community has changed. They may also remind us how much has stayed the same: young people have always had opinions, concerns, hopes and ideas worth hearing. Often those opions have changed over time, but not always.
From the 31 May 1962 edition, The Suffolk County News explained it this way;
“Youth Speaks Its Mind,” an editorial feature written by local high school students, has completed its second year as a community forum for those young in spirit but serious of mind. It will be resumed when the 1962-63 school year begins in September.
We salute the young men and women who contributed to this project during the school year which is now drawing to a close. We agreed with some of their ideas and disagreed with others. None of the thoughts they expressed were frivolous. All were concerned with some of the most challenging problems confronting America and the world and the young authors are to be congratulated for the time they spent in preparing their arguments.
They are a credit to their parents and their teachers and represent a telling argument against those who charge that our schools contain too many frills or that our educational system is not doing a job of preparing the young for citizenship. We hope neighboring schools in Bayport-Blue Point, Connetquot and Sachem will join Sayville High in this venture next year. Since the young are our hope for the future, to employ an old cliche, we are anxious to know what they are thinking about.
Part of our continuing effort to bring Sayville’s history back to life — one page at a time.
