Our New City Government: On Monday, Sept. 14, 1931, the citizens of Bangor adopted a new city charter which abolished the mayor, aldermen, councilmen government; and replaced these offices with a city manager and a council. This plan has already been adopted in many cities in the country.

The Big Game: "Beat Portland" is again the slogan of the 1931 football team as fall brings on the usual outpouring of football players, kicking, passing, tackling, blocking and scrimmaging at the outer Broadway athletic field. Each year the highlight of the Bangor High School football season is the game with Portland High.

Who Will Succeed? Approximately 200 boys and girls will receive Bangor High School Diplomas on June 19. What will these youths find in the world that they are about to enter? Which ones will be successful? These and other questions of a similar nature will haunt the minds of intelligent young people for many a night.

School Spirit: The general idea concerning school spirit is that it is manifested only in supporting athletics. This is, however, a very mistaken idea. Of course school spirit is shown very clearly by students going out and cheering the team along, for nothing speaks better for school spirit than a good cheering section. But one peculiar thing noticeable in much of the cheering is that often when the team is winning there is a roar of applause; but, when the team is not doing so well, when it most needs support, all too often the school yell is missing. Why, instead, can the cheering not be the loudest when the team is losing? At such a time a hearty cheer is more really helpful than one given when the team is winning. It will often revive the spirit of the team and will give it inspiration to play all the better.

I Resolve: The new year has come and we are wondering just what it has in store for us. Before us is unfolded the vista of an entirely new year. Shall it be as good or better than the preceding year? That can best be answered by each one individually. What we may expect from the new year depends not upon any other person but upon ourselves. We must pave our own way and not follow in the footsteps of others who have gone before or we shall fail. If we search the backward path carefully and make resolutions to do better in the future, we can certainly make the road ahead much easier during the new year.

Christmas Again: The spirit of Christmas is in the air. It is a lovely spirit, an open season for remembrances and good times. Already there is a holiday aspect in all the homes. Good things are waiting on the pantry shelves. Every nook and corner is a hiding place for some secret gift. The Christmas tree has been spotted and the festoons and tinsel are all prepared. Everyone is struggling with a long list of presents for no one must be forgotten, and everything must be done that none of the loved ones will feel neglected.

Bangor High School's Welcome To Us: Bangor High School welcomes us, its students, back into the course of school life after a much needed summer's vacation. A few of us think that this welcome invites us to a long period of slavery, but the majority of us recognize in this welcome the vital elements for our later year's success.

On Our Way: A speaker in Assembly a short time ago said, "What we are to be, we are now becoming." That statement was repeated several times and impressed upon our minds. "What we are to be, we are now becoming." We seniors are finishing one of the stages of our development into citizens of the country. Many will not go on to college or normal schools for various reasons. Those of us will learn from the school of Experience much that is to influence our careers as a voting citizen of this country. High school has laid the foundations of the course we shall take in the school of hard knocks, What we have been in High School, we shall be in the school of Experience. And we who are to enter this school must not believe that there is no hope for our future success. Many a successful business man has had no more public schooling than that afforded by the high school, but on his own he has gone after that which he could not obtain in high school.

Baseball: Baseball is, as we know, a newly introduced sport at Bangor High. This sport has not had the even chance to succeed as have the other various sports. How many of us have ever stopped to think seriously about our baseball team? No doubt, we are all discouraged with our team before the beginning of the season by the hard knocks it received from the previous season. But let us remember that every team must rise gradually, not skyrocket into fame. Patience and perseverance will bring results. And if we get behind our team with a well developed and well directed spirit, the team will be spurred on to victory.

Junior Exhibition: Another year has passed and once again our minds are turned toward the Junior Exhibition, the most important event for the Juniors; of course the class of 1931 is very much excited, especially those who are to speak, and the coming speaking-contest is on every Junior's lips. There is very fine material this year which will make it one of the finest exhibitions. The ten speakers, whose names and pictures you will find elsewhere in this issue, are practicing diligently under the superb training of Mrs. Doris Bridgham and are awaiting March 28 with much excitement.

Girls' Athletics: As in all high schools in general, at least three-fifths of the total student body of Bangor High is made up of girls. The Officers' Club of the R. O. T. C., the Rifle Club, the Band, and the late Boys' Clee Club are the only organizations in this high school which do not boast membership rolls of at least eighty per cent girls. But in spite of these statistics not one-twentieth of these girls go to girls' hockey and basketball games (unless they are a member of the squad).

Mexico And The Schooling Problem: In the past decade, ending with the year 1929, Mexico has taken a long step ahead in the matter of public rural school education. Today, that nation so old in many ways, yet comparatively young in many others, has established four thousand rural schools within its boundaries, from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Rio Grande to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Where's The School Song? Last year the startling information was published through the Editorial column of the Oracle that Bangor High did not have an original school song. This was news to nearly all the school and directly, attempts to were made to procure a song, which should be composed by a member of the High School. Four were published in the Oracle. None has proved wholly satisfactory to the committe of judges, so the matter was laid aside.

What's In Bangor High School For You? When the doors of this high school were opened to you early in the fall, into what path did you step? Were you headed merely for an education? Is your road going to lead straight ahead to graduation, or will it, rather, wander into the corners and byways of school activities, leading you to spots, here and there, where you shall obtain bits of knowledge which will be of priceless value in future years? I for one, am inclined to believe that the wandering way is to be of more benefit than the one which embraces mere booklearning. For as one travels, the priceless nuggets of experience, picked up in various out-of-the-way places, represent more than experience; they mark the individual. When you leave high school, there shall be stamped upon you the indellible mark of an alumnus of Bangor High.

To the Class of 1929: In a few short weeks you will receive your diplomas. These diplomas will certify that you have completed in a satisfactory manner a prescribed course of study in Bangor High School. Your diploma will assist you in being admitted to higher institutions of learning but it alone will not keep you there. It may be of great value in getting you started in business or in placing you in industry, but your true value will be determined by the kind of service rendered.

Who Flunks: When a pupil does not pass his quarter's work, who flunks? The teacher, the parents, and the pupil, himself, should work together for the betterment of the pupil. From the cradle, the parents have governed the upbringing of the child; from the earliest kindergarten days, the teacher has modelled his brain that he may partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge; the child, himself, from the sixth or seventh grade has been capable of holding himself in hand.

The Junior Exhibition: The Junior Exhibition, which has been held annually in this High School for many years is a worthwhile phase of the school program--here the student's voice is trained to enable him to meet an audience and his pride and self-confidence are tested to the utmost.

More School Songs: The statement that our school song was not original, in the editorial "School Song" in the January issue of the "Oracle," was quite a surprise to the majority of the student body, as well as some of the faculty and others who read the "Oracle." We know of several other high schools that also have the same song; this in itself would be sufficient reason for changing ours. In response to the aforementioned editorial, two anonymous songs have been submitted to the Editor. However, there must be a few poets in the school not heard from, so as an added incentive, the "Oracle" will award a suitable prize to any member or alumnus of Bangor High School who passes in a suitable song. This offer holds good until a song is accepted, unless readers of the "Oracle" are notified of a change.

School Song: Bangor High School badly needs a new school song; the familiar song that has been sung for many years at football games belongs to Columbia University and may be found entire, words and music, in the song books of that University, with the trifling difference that we sing "Bangor High School" instead of "Columbia." This may be news to some people, but the "Oracle" vouches for its truth. Now, poets and sports, get busy and write us a snappy song of our very own!

Get A Head Start On College: A great many of us intend to enter some higher institution of learning next fall. To do this, some of us are required to take examinations next June, while others are striving to attain certificate grade covering their four years' work in Bangor High. Early preparation is the best way perhaps the only way to achieve admittance to college. Primarily, each student must fully understand the requirements of the college he intends to enter; having done this, his chief object should be the completion of these requirements. Principal Taylor, as in the past, is only too eager to discuss with each member of the three upper classes, what the college of his choice expects from his high school course; and he will gladly help us in every possible way. It is the duty of everyone who has college in mind to consult with Mr. Taylor at the earliest moment.

The Quest Of The Best: A new school year has come, and we look ahead to see what we can do to make it a profitable one. The Senior is now embarked on his last year, and should make it the best of his four years in Bangor High. The Junior has passed the halfway mark in his high school career, and now aspires to be a Senior. The Sophomore has passed the first stage in his four years, and should seek to make a steady increase in his progress. To the Freshman, Bangor High School as he first enters it is something vastly different, overwhelming. We of the upper classes should do our best to help these newcomers fit into their new surroundings. The sooner they understand what it's all about, the quicker they will be doing their part, and looking forward to becoming upper classmen.

This issue of the "Oracle" is dedicated to the Class of 1928. In a very short time you will be leaving Bangor High School, either to take your places in the world outside of our ranks or to enter some higher institution of learning. We hope that your four years have been pleasant and profitable. You have received in actual value in proportion to the amount of effort put into your work. Our best wishes go with you in the years that are to come.

The High School Band: At the beginning of the school year in 1916, there was a call for candidates to form a High School Band. Due to the efforts of Mr. H. D. O'Neil and Mr. Hall C. Dearborn, both members of the Bangor Band and Symphony Orchestra, a band of about twenty-five members was formed. Imagine a band without basses or trombones, and with very few clarinets! That was what Mr. O'Neil, as conductor, had to work with. But in spite of this handicap, a band was organized, and the First Annual Concert and Dance was given in the spring of 1917. Funds were also obtained by the late Horace M. Pullen, who was intensely interested in the project. He was always "a very present help in trouble" during his life, and did much to insure the permanent organization of the Band.

The New Athletic Field: The "Oracle," having followed with eagerness the discussions of the City Council and Committees concering the bill for the completion of the new Athletic Field, wishes to express the pleasure of the students of Bangor High School in its successful passage.