C W Post College - Opticon Yearbook (Greenvale, NY)

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Spring of '51, LIU began to conduct evening classes in the high school buildings of Hicksville and Oyster Bay. Public support on the Universi- ty's behalf, coupled with Metcalfe's vigor, paid off. On October 24, 1951, a Certificate of Occupancy was issued to LIU. Evening students from the Hicksville branch began using the estate for their classes. Daytime classes were inaugurated in February '52. That same month brought the death of Dr. Metcalfe. Without Dr. Metcalfe's guidance, the newly formed campus experi- enced some problems. John Adams, President of Hofstra University, suc- cessfully lobbied with the Commis- sioner of Higher Education against allowing daytime classes to com- mense until a new President had been chosen. In 1953, LIU appointed Admiral -s.M.S..,A,,.,,. ,Q 5 Richard L. Conolly to assume the vacant position and the new President moved onto the Davies Estate on November 2. Finally, on November 29, 1954, the Davies Estate officially became the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University. The school officially opened on September 22, 1955 with I21 day stu- dents, 98 evening students and a staff of eight full time and six part time members. The students that came to this campus were truly pioneers and many consider this the origin of our teams' nickname. The physical facili- ties were hardly glamorous. The luck- ier students had classes in rooms that once served as bedrooms in the old Davies Estate, presently Administra- tion Building. The less fortunate may have found themselves taking classes in converted horse stables or a roof cellar perhaps. These trifles were of little consequence, however. The stu- dents and faculty possessed a great sense of determination and willpower. Their mission was to create a college with all the trimmings. Opportunities were plentiful for the ambitious. So many things had to be started, like sports programs, a school paper and a Student Government. The first few years brought the creation of the seal of C.W. Post Col- lege. The final design was created by the Director of Student Activities, Alvin Bahnsen. The students created the schooI's motto: Mens regnum bona possidet. A good mind posses- ses a kingdom. It took about a month to decide on our mascot. After many suggestions, the ocelot was chosen since it was unused by any other school. Our school colors came from a combination of the beautiful green- ery that adorns our campus and the iv xi.. , 112:52-ffY3Q'?l2f5e

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'Hs 'E . Qi-52955 I it if 1.7 f A .Y 1-at imens reggnum 50 -1 funk. Iona' ' ,J ' ru-qc sayiens Qui 30 : MX. .MM7-' 1 tsl' Estate in Greenvale, Long Island be- came available for purchase. The estate included l78 acres of beauti- fully landscaped grounds and was valued in excess of Sl ,OO0,000. The price tag, however, was the modest sum of S260,000. Metcalfe opened negotiations, which led to seven years of legal battles before Long Island University obtained their new Nassau County Campus. Today, this seven- year quest is affectionately called the Battle of Oyster Bay. The first of the legal battles ended in favor of the University. The Town of Oyster Bay Zoning Board waived zoning restrictions and granted a variance allowing a university to be established on the land. The estate owners of surrounding areas disliked this decision and continued to try to stop execution of such an action. Dr. Metcalfe refused to withdraw under the pressure. In fact, the Uni- versity went ahead and bought the Davies Estate for S200,000. ln the

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Gold Coast designation of Long ls- land's North Shore. All agreed that the school flag would be strictly repre- sentative of C.W. Post College, not Long Island University. The first graduation for eight stu- dents was held on June 7, l 958. With- in ten years, the campus possessed 350 acres, a student body of over l2,000, including 3,000 graduate stu- dents, and a faculty and staff of over l,000. The 2,500 volume Library had been replaced by a structure capable of holding one million books. A six million dollar building now housed the Physical and Life Sciences as well as Engineering. With the Sixties came the new morality, rock and roll was here to stay, the anti-war movement reached its height and C.W. Post College had firmly entrenched itself as an institu- tion of higher education. Post, though unable to dismiss completely the turmoil of the outside world, had re- mained somewhat quieter than some colleges and universities. One if -Fair-5 . ,4 . C