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107-412: Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth or ZPG ) is a US-based non-profit organization that educates young people and advocates for progressive policies to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources. Population Connection was founded in 1968 under the name "Zero Population Growth" or ZPG by Paul R. Ehrlich , Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington in
214-589: A Greek and Latin scholar and public school teacher. Ehrlich's mother's Reform-Jewish German ancestors arrived in the United States in the 1840s, and his paternal grandparents emigrated there later from the Galician and Transylvanian part of the Austrian Empire. During his childhood his family moved to Maplewood, New Jersey , where he attended Columbia High School , graduating in 1949. By training, Ehrlich
321-593: A 2022 perspective paper for the need to reduce fertility rates among "the overconsuming wealthy and middle classes", and wasteful consumption in general, with the ultimate goal being to reduce "the scale of the human enterprise" in order to mitigate the contemporary extinction crisis. The economist Julian Simon argued in 1980 that overpopulation is not a problem as such and that humanity will adapt to changing conditions. Simon argued that eventually human creativity will improve living standards, and that most resources were replaceable. Simon stated that over hundreds of years,
428-506: A citizen Educational Task Force, which conducted a District-wide demographic study and ultimately recommended a series of school closings and consolidations. One of the results was the entry of the 9th grade into the high school in 1980. Declining enrollment, as well as cost considerations, led to the discontinuance of the House Plan in 1982. Columbia High School was the first school in the nation to observe Earth Day , on April 17, 1970. Due to
535-525: A higher tax rate for larger families. In 2011, as the world's population passed the seven billion mark, Ehrlich argued that the next two billion people on Earth would cause more damage than the previous two billion, as humans now increasingly would have to resort to using more marginal and environmentally damaging resources. As of 2013, Ehrlich continued to perform policy research concerning population and resource issues, with an emphasis upon endangered species , cultural evolution , environmental ethics , and
642-443: A large system. What grew out of this was the House Plan, which, in 1970, divided Columbia into four sub-schools (or "houses") of approximately 600 students each. The goal was to provide the intimacy of a small school within a large plant, and each of the houses had, for example, its own student council, intramural athletic teams, and newspapers. All of these were in addition to the traditional school-wide activities. Student reaction to
749-545: A natural decrease of both population growth and environmental damage. Ehrlich denies any type of racism, and has argued that if his policy ideas were implemented properly they would not be repressive. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian , Ehrlich, while still proud of The Population Bomb for starting a worldwide debate on the issues of population, acknowledged weaknesses of the book including not placing enough emphasis on overconsumption and inequality , and countering accusations of racism. He argues "too many rich people in
856-473: A point where you realize further efforts will be futile, you may as well look after yourself and your friends and enjoy what little time you have left. That point for me is 1972." Gardner has criticized Ehrlich for endorsing the strategies proposed by William and Paul Paddock in their book Famine 1975! . They had proposed a system of "triage" that would end food aid to "hopeless" countries such as India and Egypt. In Population Bomb , Ehrlich suggests that "there
963-520: A potential for significant ecological effects is accumulating." Ehrlich has spoken at conferences in Israel on the issue of desertification . He has argued "true Zionists should have small families". Ehrlich has been married to Anne H. Ehrlich (née Howland) since December 1954; they have one daughter, Lisa Marie. He announced that he had had a vasectomy in 1963 after his child's birth. Columbia High School (New Jersey) Columbia High School
1070-792: A reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Iron Hills Conference , which included public and private high schools in Essex and Union counties. Prior to 1972, the school competed in New Jersey's Big Ten Conference. With 1,514 students in grades 10-12,
1177-403: A result of this study, it was calculated that further additions would be required. During the 1970–71 school year, B and D Wings were added at a total cost of $ 5,250,000. The total high school population was now approaching 2,400. The same committee which concluded that physical additions were needed also recommended a new organizational plan to prevent students from feeling depersonalized in such
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#17328687553451284-487: A substantial increase in the world death rate ... Ehrlich argued that the human population was too great, and that while the extent of disaster could be mitigated, humanity could not prevent severe famines , the spread of disease , social unrest , and other negative consequences of overpopulation. Ehrlich has proposed different solutions to the problem of overpopulation. In The Population Bomb he wrote, "We must have population control at home, hopefully through
1391-565: A system of incentives and penalties, but by compulsion if voluntary methods fail. We must use our political power to push other countries into programs which combine agricultural development and population control." Voluntary measures he has endorsed include the easiest possible availability of birth control and abortion . Decades later, Ehrlich's continued prominence and the failure of the book's predictions to materialize led to renewed scrutiny and criticism. The New York Times said his "apocalyptic predictions fell as flat as ancient theories about
1498-421: A time of protest against all things establishment. One manifestation of this was the ascendancy of Ultimate (also known as Ultimate Frisbee), which became popular around the country as an alternative to varsity sports. The game was conceived of by Columbia students in the late 1960s. It is said that the first organized game took place in 1968 between the staff of the school's student newspaper, The Columbian , and
1605-445: A widespread famine by 1985 that never materialized, was actually "way too optimistic". In a 2008 discussion hosted by the website Salon , Paul Ehrlich was more critical of the United States specifically, claiming that it should control its population and consumption as an example to the rest of the world. He still professed a belief that governments should discourage people from having more than two children, suggesting, for example,
1712-834: Is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , the United States National Academy of Sciences , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society . A lecture that Ehrlich gave on the topic of overpopulation at the Commonwealth Club of California was broadcast by radio in April 1967. The success of the lecture caused further publicity, and
1819-823: Is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school in Maplewood , in Essex County , in the U.S. state of New Jersey . It serves students in ninth through twelfth grades , as the lone secondary school of the South Orange-Maplewood School District , which includes Maplewood and neighboring South Orange . The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928; its accreditation expires in July 2025. As of
1926-534: Is a major problem. Whereas American journalist Jonathan V. Last has called The Population Bomb "one of the most spectacularly foolish books ever published", journalist Fred Pearce argues that overconsumption is the real problem. Ehrlich was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , the son of William Ehrlich and Ruth Rosenberg. His father was a shirt salesman (unrelated to the German scientist Paul Ehrlich ), his mother
2033-485: Is a major problem. He noted that, "Fifty-eight academies of science said that same thing in 1994, as did the world scientists' warning to humanity in the same year. My view has become depressingly mainline!" Ehrlich also asserted that 600 million people were very hungry while billions were under-nourished, and falsely insisted that his predictions about disease and climate change were essentially correct. Retrospectively, Ehrlich said that The Population Bomb , which predicted
2140-572: Is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera (butterflies). He earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953, an M.A. from the University of Kansas in 1955, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1957, supervised by the prominent bee researcher Charles Duncan Michener (the title of his dissertation: "The Morphology, Phylogeny and Higher Classification of
2247-520: Is critical to protecting the environment and maintaining living standards, and that current rates of growth are still too great for a sustainable future. Ehrlich was one of the initiators of the group Zero Population Growth (renamed Population Connection) in 1968, along with Richard Bowers and Charles Lee Remington . In 1971, Ehrlich was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board. He and his wife Anne were part of
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#17328687553452354-523: Is no rational choice except to adopt some form of the Paddocks' strategy as far as food distribution is concerned." Had this strategy been implemented for countries such as India and Egypt, which were reliant on food aid at that time, they would almost certainly have suffered famines. Instead, both Egypt and India have greatly increased their food production and now feed much larger populations without reliance on food aid. Another group of critics, generally of
2461-645: Is rife and famine and plague ever more imminent". Many accepted the premise of a looming population problem, with the New York Times writing that "it is not merely prudent but imperative that we confront population issues, and do so now". Notwithstanding this wide agreement, the Ehrlichs were criticized for an "alarmist" tone. The book was also criticised for its approach to family planning, arguing against increased family planning efforts aimed at empowering individuals and families. The Ehrlichs were accused of advocating
2568-529: Is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University . Ehrlich became well known for the controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb , which he co-authored with his wife Anne H. Ehrlich , in which they famously stated that "[i]n the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." Among
2675-570: The E. Howard & Co. Style No. 3 clock works. Alongside the clock is an enormous bronze bell by the Meneely Bell Foundry . Inside the school can be found rooms with fireplaces, hallways with beautiful faience wall tiles by John Scott Award recipient Herman Carl Mueller of Trenton, and mosaic inlaid terrazzo floors in the front hall. The front foyer was recently renovated, removing non-period lighting and mid-century acoustic tile. The restoration included doors that more closely replicated
2782-587: The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). The Columbia High School Student Council was named an "NJASC Honor School" for the 3rd consecutive year in January 2008. It also won a "Top 10 Projects" award for their event, 'School in Action Night'. They won the same honor the year before for their 'How to Start a Gay-Straight Alliance' presentation. While thousands of schools were constructed in
2889-454: The Simon–Ehrlich wager , a bet about the trend of prices for resources during a ten-year period that was made with Simon in 1980. Ehrlich was allowed to choose ten commodities that he predicted would become scarce and thus increase in price. Ehrlich chose mostly metals, and lost the bet, as their average price decreased by about 30% in the next 10 years. Simon and Ehrlich could not agree about
2996-495: The political left , argues that Ehrlich emphasizes overpopulation too much as a problem in itself instead of distribution of resources. Barry Commoner argued that Ehrlich emphasized overpopulation too much as the source of environmental problems, and that his proposed solutions were politically unacceptable because of the coercion that they implied, and because they would cost poor people disproportionately. He argued that technological, and above all social development would result in
3103-512: The "Most Beautiful Public High School in Every State in America". Prominent original exterior features include carved limestone detail, numerous false chimneys, steeply pitched slate roofs, and a seven-story clock tower. While it is not known for certain that Columbia High School was inspired by any earlier structures, there is a strong resemblance to Laynon Hall at Queen's University of Belfast . At
3210-419: The "hundreds of millions" of starvation deaths in the 1970s and the tens of millions of deaths in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Slowing of population growth rates and new food production technologies have increased the food supply faster than the population. Nonetheless, Ehrlich continues to stand by his general thesis that the human population is too large, posing a direct threat to human survival and
3317-404: The "little old red schoolhouse." But the changes were here to stay. At the same time, pupil behavior was becoming less inhibited, much to the distress of the adult population. Henry W. Foster, superintendent of the district from 1900 to 1927, described the conditions in 1913: "Long before prohibition was adopted, venturesome boys were surreptitiously now and then bringing liquor to dances to add to
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3424-487: The 1926 originals, a new terrazzo floor, and dramatic lighting of the zodiac-inspired plaster ceiling. Recently, dubious student art dating from as far back as the 1970s was painted over, among other improvements. The auditorium includes a three-manual Ernest M. Skinner Organ. Although it is little used and not completely functional, the organ is one of the few unmodified Skinners in existence and has received an Organ Historical Society citation. Regrettably, on either side of
3531-467: The 1930s, an industrial arts wing brought students the skills needed during the Great Depression. In the 1950s, a large addition, now known as "C-Wing", added classrooms to cope with increasing student numbers as well as a massive gymnasium (bringing the total number of gyms to three). In the early 70s, a projected enrollment boom and the need for new science, fine arts, and industrial arts space created
3638-503: The 1950s and 1960s — his charismatic and media-savvy methods helped publicize the topic. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson had Ehrlich on as a guest more than twenty times, with one interview lasting an hour. The original edition of The Population Bomb began with the statement: The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent
3745-409: The 1960s and 70s when Ehrlich made his most alarming warnings, there was a widespread belief among experts that population growth presented an extremely serious threat to the future of human civilization, although differences existed regarding the severity of the situation, and how to decrease it. In the decades since, critics have disputed Ehrlich's main thesis about overpopulation and its effects on
3852-613: The 1990s failed to materialize. In this paper, the Ehrlichs discussed their opinion on the 'optimal size' for human population, given their assessment of the current technological situation. They referred to establishing "social policies to influence fertility rates." During a 2004 interview, Ehrlich answered questions about the predictions he made in The Population Bomb . He acknowledged that some of what he had published had not occurred, but stated that he felt "little embarrassment" and reaffirmed his basic opinion that overpopulation
3959-449: The 2022 production of Newsies . "The Silly Girls" won Outstanding Featured Ensemble Group in 2016 for Beauty and The Beast . Louis J. Medrano won for Outstanding Scenic Achievement in 2022 for Newsies Columbia High School has a series of clubs. The Columbian is a club where students write a newspaper for students and staff of Columbia High School that includes topics from in the school itself, but also includes current events from around
4066-526: The 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,930 students and 150.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. There were 247 students (12.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 46 (2.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. Since the days of the Revolution, a one-room stone schoolhouse had stood on a grassy area known as the Common, located close to
4173-420: The 36th best high school in New Jersey in 2012 by U.S. News & World Report . In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post , the school was ranked 43rd in New Jersey and 1,358th nationwide. In Newsweek 's May 22, 2007, issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Columbia High School was listed in 1192nd place, the 39th-highest ranked school in New Jersey. The school
4280-498: The Board then stopped all school dances. That continued until it became apparent that students were going to outside dances anyway and the efforts at control were abandoned. Many students and teachers were enlisted during World War I, which had a significant effect on life at Columbia. Pupils in assembly regularly delivered patriotic "four-minute speeches." Every room in the school had a full complement of war posters. Epidemics raged during
4387-556: The Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)"). During his studies he participated with surveys of insects in the areas of the Bering Sea and Canadian arctic , and then with a National Institutes of Health fellowship, investigated the genetics and behavior of parasitic mites . In 1959 he joined the faculty at Stanford University . He became well-known for popularizing the term coevolution in an influential 1964 paper co-authored with
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4494-517: The Columbia School was entirely supported by public taxation. After the Civil War, improvements on the railroad contributed to a decided growth of population in the old Township of South Orange. The general character of the citizenry underwent a significant change and residents known as "commuters" began to emerge in numbers. In 1867, a state law required that Columbia become a graded school. By 1877,
4601-901: The Father Casimir J. Finley Trophy. The FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team 4102, founded in 2011, placed first in the New Jersey FTC state championships during its rookie year in 2011 and again in 2013, qualifying for the FIRST Championship both times and placing as a finalist both years. The team returned to the World Championship in 2017. Columbia High School has won multiple Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for their musical program. Bethany Pettigrew and Tricia Benn won for Best Director in 2015 for Ragtime as well as for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Staging for
4708-457: The Issues magazine in 2009, Hartmann said she received some "junk mail" from the organisation and commented that "According to ZPG, you can blame just about everything on population growth, from traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and childhood asthma to poverty, famine and global warming." In her book The America Syndrome: Apocalypse, War, and Our Call to Greatness , Hartmann is again critical of
4815-526: The School, boasts a dramatic modernist design typical of the late-1960s and early 1970s. The clash between this new (and already out-of-fashion) style and the original architecture of the A-Wing is especially visible from Parker Avenue. In 1956 (tied with Cranford High School ), 1982 and again in 1990 (tied with Cherry Hill High School East ), the school's chess team was the New Jersey high school team champion, winning
4922-537: The South Orange and Maplewood School District, with borders essentially identical to those which presently exist. The district remained unified even after Maplewood and South Orange became separately incorporated as municipalities, although there was considerable pressure to split as early as 1904. The close of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th brought significant changes in high school curriculum and school management. The Board of Education had by now replaced
5029-515: The State began to assume a share of the financial responsibility. In 1820, a law authorized townships to levy a tax to pay the tuition of poor students. By 1828, townships had the power to tax for general school purposes. The State itself began to contribute money in 1830, and in 1846 every township was required to raise as much money each year for schools as the State itself contributed. The last tuition assessment for residents occurred in 1861, and thereafter
5136-512: The Student Council. An annual CHS Ultimate Alumni game is played in the student parking lot on the night of Thanksgiving . The event has drawn former CHS Ultimate players from as far back as the original 1968 team to return to "The Lot" to play against the current incarnation of the team. By the late 1970s, student populations around the nation had entered what proved to be a period of extended numerical decline. The Board of Education organized
5243-487: The Vietnam War was a nationwide phenomenon, and Columbia provided no exception to the pattern. A Student Peace Group was organized at Columbia in 1968, and over 300 students actively participated. Members wore black armbands on April 26 of that year, and a community rally was held the next day with faculty members present. On March 27, 1969, a group of Columbia students were suspended for distributing leaflets in school opposing
5350-549: The Vietnam War, without the approval of the school's administration. The American Civil Liberties Union agreed to defend the students, but the issue became moot as the students were reinstated, though the State Commissioner of Education ruled in June 1969 that the leaflet ban could not be sustained in its original form and that a new policy would need to be implemented by the school board. The Vietnam era generally coincided with
5457-512: The above branches the sum of $ 0.25 cts and for Grammar or Geography the further sum of twenty-five cents." The cost of firewood was to be "divided equally among the scholars." On May 10, 1816, the trustees adopted a seal for the school in the form of "a spread eagle standing on a globe with the word Excelsior underneath in Roman Capitals." In the early years, students at the Columbia School were not separated according to grade. All were subject to
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#17328687553455564-538: The area conducted seminars. Featured was an assembly with films and slide shows that were created by several students and environmentally themed folk songs were sung. For the 1992–93 school year, Columbia High School received the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education , the highest honor that an American school can achieve. Columbia was ranked
5671-550: The board of advisers of the Federation for American Immigration Reform until 2003. He is currently a patron of Population Matters , (formerly known as the Optimum Population Trust). Consistent with his concern about the impact of pollution and in response to a doctoral dissertation by his student Edward Goth III, Ehrlich wrote in 1977 that, "Fluorides have been shown to concentrate in food chains, and evidence suggesting
5778-552: The botanist Peter H. Raven , where they proposed that an evolutionary 'arms-race' between plants and insects explains the extreme diversification of plants and insects. This paper was highly influential on the then-nascent field of chemical ecology . He was promoted to professor of biology in 1966, and appointed to the Bing Professorship in 1977. In 1984, he founded the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. He
5885-484: The commencement of the coming term to be taught by the Principal." Lower grades continued to be housed at Columbia. The trustees' minutes of May 31, 1888, reflect the principal's request "that a diploma be voted to Miss Etta A. Kilburn" and that, "on motion, a diploma was voted to Miss Kilburn, the first graduate of the high school. In 1894, the South Orange, Maplewood, and Hilton school districts were consolidated and became
5992-459: The curtailment of reproductive freedoms and giving the state a larger role in such decisions, while leaving ambiguous "just how authoritarian a solution they are willing to endorse." Subsequent attention to the book scrutinized its descriptions of an unfolding overpopulation catastrophe. The book's contention that global food production had already peaked proved to be incorrect. Similarly, the prediction that India faced catastrophic food shortage in
6099-404: The environment and human society, and his solutions, as well as his specific predictions made since the late 1960s. A common criticism is that Ehrlich's predictions routinely failed to come true, for instance Ronald Bailey of Reason magazine has termed him an "irrepressible doomster ... who, as far as I can tell, has never been right in any of his forecasts of imminent catastrophe." On
6206-523: The environment of the planet. Indeed, he states that if he were to write the book today, "My language would be even more apocalyptic." In 2018, he emphasized his view that the optimum population size is between 1.5 and 2 billion people. In 2022, he was a contributor to the "Scientists' warning on population," published by Science of the Total Environment , which estimated that a sustainable population would be between 2 and 4 billion people. During
6313-402: The excitement. There was a decided reversion to animalistic excitement. Musical rhythm from the wilds of barbarism stirred the pulse. The dance abandoned the restraint and refinement of waltz and polka; Bunny Hug, Turkey Trot, Fox Trot, and Shimmey began to reign." The Board of Education reacted by banning all but "polite dances" on school premises. However, the proscribed behavior persisted, and
6420-399: The fact that Columbia was on spring break on April 22, when Earth Day was scheduled for national observance, the presentation was known as Earth Day Minus Five and a specially prepared flag was run up the main flagpole. The all-day observance, which was coordinated by biology teacher Jeffrey Himmelstein, began with Congressman Joseph Minish as the keynote speaker; several noted scientists from
6527-575: The first Earth Day in 1970, he warned that "[i]n ten years all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated because of the stench of dead fish." In a 1971 speech, he predicted that: "By the year 2000 the United Kingdom will be simply a small group of impoverished islands, inhabited by some 70 million hungry people." "If I were a gambler," Professor Ehrlich concluded before boarding an airplane, " I would take even money that England will not exist in
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#17328687553456634-521: The first head of the New Jersey Department of Education. American public schools were all significantly impacted by World War II. In the words of Lt. General Brehon Sommervell, then Commanding General, Services of Supply: "The job of the schools in this total war is to educate the nation's manpower for war and for the peace that follows." Columbia High School met the challenge, primarily with curriculum changes designed to prepare boys for service in
6741-416: The meeting that the said school should in the future have the name of Columbian School of South Orange." The new schoolhouse was a two-story wood structure, topped by a thin steeple and a lofty weather vane. It was completed before the fall term of 1815. The trustees decided "That the price of tuition in this school be fixed at $ 1.75 per quarter for spelling, reading and writing; for Arithmetic in addition to
6848-401: The military. The science department developed courses in aeronautics. In biology, students studied the effect of flying on the human body. A new modern history course emphasized the "historical background for an understanding of the forces which have caused this global war, of the necessity of destroying that for which our enemies stand and of the magnitude of the international problems which face
6955-417: The mistakes he made in predicting material shortages, massive death tolls from starvation (as many as one billion in the publication Age of Affluence ) or regarding the disastrous effects on specific countries. Meanwhile, he is happy to claim credit for "predicting" the increase of AIDS or global warming. However, in the case of disease, Ehrlich had predicted the increase of a disease based on overcrowding, or
7062-407: The need for "B" and "D" wings. A new cafeteria, the largest public school library at the time, space for academic advising, a now-gone small movie theater and A/V room and a TV studio were built. With these additions, the earlier 1927 structure is only visible from the front facade and between later additions. In 2005, much of the space previously used for industrial arts such as wood shop and auto shop
7169-406: The needs of its population. Although four classrooms and a shop were added to the structure in 1939, it was not until 1958 that a large addition (now C Wing) was constructed to accommodate a burgeoning student body. By 1964, the dimensions of a new population explosion were perceived, and a special Board of Education committee was formed to investigate the needs of Columbia High School in the 1970s. As
7276-451: The old Fielding School were erected in 1913 and 1914, respectively. By the fall of 1922 Marshall School was completed. First Street School followed the next spring, and Jefferson School opened in January 1924. Later that year the junior high schools were organized, and both the Tuscan and Montrose buildings were finished. More was needed. The old Columbia School could no longer safely accommodate
7383-437: The old board of trustees. In 1890, "manual training" was offered in school. By 1891, sciences had been added to the course of study. A tradition of excellence was beginning to evolve, and in 1892 two Columbia graduates were admitted to Cornell University. Musical enrichment was added in 1894 with the hiring of a singing teacher from New York City. Early in the 1900s the value of athletics was recognized and encouraged at Columbia by
7490-488: The old two-story wooden building erected in 1815 was found to be woefully inadequate for the growing community. One resident complained that "in very cold weather, with stoves at red heat, it is impossible to raise the temperature in the room above 55 degrees, and in such a place are sown the seeds of suffering, disease and death." The trustees responded in 1879 by resolving to erect a new brick building, of two stories, to accommodate between 220 and 240 pupils. The new structure
7597-408: The organization of boys' and girls' teams. The student council was formed in 1912, and The Columbian student newspaper followed in 1915. There was a reaction to these changes. Complaints arose over so-called "fads and frills"-inessentials said to be leading to the neglect of reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. New York papers read by local commuters campaigned for a return to the efficiency of
7704-482: The organization, noting that as the year 2000 millennium approached, the company launched a campaign that tried to link the birth of the world’s six billionth child to the coming Y2K global computer crash, a disaster that never materialized. Paul R. Ehrlich Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist known for his predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth , including famine and resource depletion . Ehrlich
7811-506: The present intersection of South Orange Avenue and Academy Street in South Orange . In 1814, this building blocked the construction of a new toll highway from Newark to Morristown. The 73 "Proprietors and Associates" of the school met on August 3 of that year and resolved to erect a new school building near the site of the old one, naming seven trustees to thereafter oversee the education of local children. The resolution reflected "the desire of
7918-489: The preservation of genetic resources. Along with Dr. Gretchen Daily, he performed work in countryside biogeography ; that is, the study of making human-disturbed areas hospitable to biodiversity . His research group at Stanford University examined extensive natural populations of the Bay checkerspot butterfly ( Euphydryas editha bayensis ). The population-related disaster that Ehrlich predicted has failed to materialize, including
8025-450: The prices of virtually all commodities had decreased significantly and persistently. Ehrlich termed Simon the proponent of a "space-age cargo cult" of economists convinced that human creativity and ingenuity would create substitutes for scarce resources and reasserted the idea that population growth was outstripping the Earth's supplies of food, fresh water and minerals. This exchange resulted in
8132-584: The same era with little more than local notice, the opening of the present-day Columbia High School warranted articles in The Architect, Architecture , Architectural Record , American School and University, The Brick Builder, Pencil Points, and The American School Board Journal . Rendered in the Collegiate Gothic style by James O. Betelle of the Newark, New Jersey architectural firm of Guilbert & Betelle ,
8239-482: The same period of time. Polio spread around the country in 1916 and, at Columbia, resulted in the deaths of one teacher and several children. In 1918, the global influenza epidemic closed all of the schools in the district for three weeks and one teacher died. In the early part of the 20th century most of the remaining farms in Maplewood and South Orange were sold and subdivided, leading to the present suburban character of
8346-402: The same rules, among them the following adopted by the trustees on May 2, 1827: "Every scholar must be made to name every silent letter in his spelling when he spells a word with one in and mention every figure which is placed over a letter and be taught to know their uses and for every mistake or omission in such letter or figure shall be considered the same as spelling a word wrong and subject to
8453-408: The same usage. "Every scholar that spells a word wrong or omits a silent letter or figure shall step in the rear of the class and there stand until the class shall have spelled through, then those that have spelled right are to move up in a solid body and those who are in the rear to move down and take their places at the foot." For decades, the school was supported by tuition payments. But gradually
8560-566: The school served as a standard in design as evidenced by the inclusion of a floor plan in a 1930 Encyclopædia Britannica article, and later design homages such as John Marshall High School (Los Angeles, California) . Collegiate Gothic, or Academic Gothic, construction was prevalent among schools and colleges in the 1920s, and was Betelle's preferred building style for both its scholastically historic roots and practical considerations. The 1927 main building still garners recognition, including recognition by Architectural Digest on its 2017 list of
8667-591: The school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the Freedom White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference , which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school
8774-442: The shape of the Earth". Science author Charles C. Mann wrote that the book's predictions "fueled an anti-population-growth crusade that led to human rights abuses around the world", including coercive population control policies and even forced sterilizations. Ehrlich's pointed criticism of India in particular (for instance, emphasizing the overpopulation of Delhi rather than Paris , which had nearly triple Delhi's population at
8881-412: The solutions suggested in that book was population control , including "various forms of coercion" such as eliminating "tax benefits for having additional children". Scholars, journalists and public intellectuals have mixed views on Ehrlich's assertions on the dangers of expanding human populations. While Paul A. Murtaugh, associate professor of statistics at Oregon State University , says that Ehrlich
8988-527: The sport section of the yearbook for the first time. Prior to this had existed as a fencing club for a couple of years before. Trailing by eight points in the final three minutes of the championship game at the Newark Armory, the 1925 boys basketball team came back to win the Class B (since recategorized as Group III) state title with a 24-21 victory against Princeton High School . The boys swimming team won
9095-407: The stage the large plaster grills that hide the organ pipes were water damaged. The original auditorium chandeliers have also been removed. A similar story exists with regard to the swimming pool; while the original vaulted Catalan Guastavino tile ceiling remains, the chandeliers are gone, and a giant arched window is blocked by a later addition. CHS has had a major addition every 20 to 30 years. In
9202-455: The student population. A magnificent new structure was planned. The design process was unique in that the faculty and all members of the staff participated by submitting sketches, drawn to scale, of the facilities necessary to satisfy their needs. In 1926 construction began on the present Columbia High School building. Work was completed in September 1927, in time for the fall term. So well-designed
9309-479: The suggestion from David Brower the executive director of the environmentalist Sierra Club , and Ian Ballantine of Ballantine Books to write a book concerning the topic. Ehrlich and his wife, Anne H. Ehrlich, collaborated on the book, The Population Bomb , but the publisher insisted that a single author be credited; only Paul's name appears as an author. Although Ehrlich was not the first to warn about population issues — concern had been widespread during
9416-612: The terms of a second bet. Ehrlich has argued that humanity has simply deferred the disaster by the use of more intensive agricultural techniques, such as those introduced during the Green Revolution . Ehrlich claims that increasing populations and affluence are increasingly stressing the global environment, due to such factors as loss of biodiversity , overfishing , global warming , urbanization , chemical pollution and competition for raw materials. He maintains that due to growing global incomes, reducing consumption and human population
9523-433: The time of writing) has been criticized for focusing much more on "feelings" than on actual data. Neither of the Ehrlichs have ever publicly renounced predictions, instead insisting that they were largely correct, despite the errors noted by many experts. The Population Explosion argues that the population catastrophe outlined in the Ehrlichs' earlier work The Population Bomb had in fact come to pass, and that "hunger
9630-420: The two communities. The increase in population placed enormous pressure on the schools. In 1900, the total district school population was 792; by 1927, it had risen to 4,960, an increase of 526%. The Board of Education initially responded by constructing a sizable addition to the old Columbia School in 1910, which building still housed primary school children as well as high school students. Seth Boyden School and
9737-520: The very top of the clock tower is a copper pyramidal structure. The entire pyramid structure rotates, and one side opens, serving as an observatory. The observatory is equipped with a large refracting telescope made by John Brashear . The telescope continues to remain functional as the observatory's primary instrument (receiving a restoration in 2018-2019 including a motorized Go-To system). Other reflecting telescopes courtesy of club donations and fundraisers are used during observations. Two levels below are
9844-504: The wake of Paul and Anne Ehrlich's influential but controversial book The Population Bomb . The organization adopted its current name in 2002. Betsy Hartmann, author of "Reproductive Rights and Wrongs" in 1987 criticised ZPG for inciting fear of population growth that she claims led to millions of sterilizations in China, India, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and elsewhere. Writing in On
9951-587: The weakened immune systems of starving people, so it is "a stretch to see this as forecasting the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s." Similarly, global warming was one of the scenarios that Ehrlich described, so claiming credit for it, while disavowing responsibility for failed scenarios is a double standard . Gardner believes that Ehrlich is displaying classical signs of cognitive dissonance , and that his failure to acknowledge obvious errors of his own judgement render his current thinking suspect. Barry Commoner has criticized Ehrlich's 1970 statement that "When you reach
10058-521: The world is a major threat to the human future, and cultural and genetic diversity are great human resources." He advocated for an "unprecedented redistribution of wealth" in order to mitigate the problem of overconsumption of resources by the world's wealthy, but said "the rich who now run the global system — that hold the annual 'world destroyer' meetings in Davos ;— are unlikely to let it happen." Ehrlich and his colleague Rodolfo Dirzo argued in
10165-672: The world. The paper was recognized by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2014–2019 with first place in its Scholastic Newspaper Awards. In addition, the Columbia Politics Club debates present and past political issues. The Columbia High School Cougars compete in the Super Essex Conference , which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following
10272-410: The world." Even the music department offered a new program "to train pupils in the informal singing that grows out of wartime needs." Columbia had its own Victory Corps with the objective of encouraging pupils "to take some active part in their own community's war effort while they are yet in school. For many years following its opening in 1927, the high school physical plant was more than sufficient for
10379-540: The year 2000." When this scenario did not occur, he responded that "When you predict the future, you get things wrong. How wrong is another question. I would have lost if I had had taken the bet. However, if you look closely at England, what can I tell you? They're having all kinds of problems, just like everybody else." Ehrlich wrote in The Population Bomb that, "India couldn't possibly feed two hundred million more people by 1980." In 1967, Ehrlich called to cut off emergency food aid to India as "hopeless". This position
10486-438: Was also ranked 79th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 150th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 29 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (82.5%) and language arts literacy (94.6%) components of
10593-398: Was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students. The school participates with Bloomfield High School in a joint ice hockey team in which Nutley High School is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. Ultimate Frisbee
10700-668: Was invented at Columbia High School in 1968. The ultimate team has won the state championship 11 times in the tournament's 13-year history. The team has won the championship every year since 2001 giving it a 12-year winning streak. The team has attended the Paideia cup tournament in Atlanta , Georgia, a nationally competitive tournament, every year since its inception in 2006, as well as the Amherst Invitational in Massachusetts. The men's team
10807-546: Was largely correct, Ehrlich has been criticized for his approach and views, both for their pessimistic outlook and, later on, for the repeated failure of his predictions to come true. In response to Ehrlich's assertion that all major marine wildlife would die by 1980, Ronald Bailey termed Ehrlich an "irrepressible doomster". Ehrlich has acknowledged that "some" of what he predicted has not occurred, but nevertheless maintains that his predictions about disease and climate change were essentially correct and that human overpopulation
10914-571: Was later criticized, as India's food production subsequently skyrocketed through the Green Revolution in India , and its per capita caloric intake rose significantly in the following decades, even as its population doubled. Canadian journalist Dan Gardner, in his 2010 book Future Babble , argues that Ehrlich has been insufficiently forthright in acknowledging errors he made, while being intellectually dishonest or evasive in taking credit for things he claims he got "right". For example, he rarely acknowledges
11021-407: Was opened in 1880. The final cost of construction was $ 17,094.49. The building later became the northeast wing of the old South Orange Junior High School, demolished when the present middle school was built. The separate existence of the high school began in 1885, when the trustees decided "that in order to increase the efficiency of the Columbia School a new class of a higher grade shall be formed at
11128-408: Was recognized in town hall meetings and Board of Education meetings after winning the 2008 High school eastern championship. The women's team has won the state championship every year that it has been contested, beginning in 2007. However, the team is not recognized as a sport by the school and does not receive funding by the district. The school's fencing team was started in 1982 and was included in
11235-485: Was the 96th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 47th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 75th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 89th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school
11342-622: Was this building that two years later its floor plan was described and pictured in the Encyclopædia Britannica in an article describing ideal American schools. During this period of time Columbia gained increasing fame for its academic excellence. Educators generally considered it to be one of the most outstanding high schools in the United States. Much of that reputation was due to Henry W. Foster, superintendent from 1900 to 1927, and John H. Bosshart, principal from 1920 to 1927. Bosshart succeeded Foster as superintendent, and later served as
11449-411: Was transformed into a theatre performance and general use space. In 2009, renovations were completed on the main entryway, reviving original stone and woodwork, but with a conspicuous misspelling of the school's motto, "Excelsior", carved as "Excelcior" into the masonry floor. In each era of construction, the chosen design was seen as controversial. The D-Wing, the most recent and most obvious addition to
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