City College of New York - Microcosm Yearbook (New York, NY)

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««•verni invitntions wns always extended to prominent Sophomores, who. to express their Appreciation, would consent to mouse the yearlings l»y performing special antics and stunts in varicolored attire. The feature article of Tile Campus, following the event, would be a story written by these honored Sophs describing their delightful ex- perienccs at the Frcslnnnn Smoker. Not content with all this mhlicity. the class journalists published one number of a class paper, called The Twentoninn. which helped to wind up class affairs for the term in a manner that surprised tin- upper elnss- men. And then the class disbanded for the summer, waiting eagerly for Scptcmlwr to expend its pent-up energy in the great battles to follow. 'When the Flat Paused By (Jiff ’JO) With tin- coming of September and the arrival of several humlrcd more red-blooded lighting Freshmen, class activities started in with a rush. The organizing of the class had already been planned, and with the eleclion of officers. '20 started on its onward march. ’40 threw down its defy t » ’I}) in several ways. The most audacious chal- lenge was in the form of Ruby’s specially cultivated Van Dyke beard. Such boldness made ’IJ) gasp. Many a scrap ensued in the alcoves and on the campus, until 'IP’s pep and strength In’camc practically exhausted. The weakened condition of the Sophs was demonstrated in tin- ting rush, when the well-gcnerallcd Freshmen, although slightly outnumbered, captured the flag after three of four minutes of furious lighting. Several days later ’ 1 i) was completely swamped in the Tug-of-Wnr contests. '20, after thus subduing ’1‘), remained as level-headed as ever, and went about its business, preparing for greater achievements. Freshman athletics fared very well. 1920 led the rest of the College in the interelass track meet. Our cross-country team hung up a record which to date has not been equalled, by winning every one of its matches with the New York City high schools. Our basketball team was also of a very high calibre, defeating, among others, the famous '19 team and the freshman teams of Rutgers, Stevens, and St. Johns. Social affairs during this year were well taken care of. The Freshman Smoker, Freshman Feed, ’18-’20 King Cole Smoker, anil tin- ’lf)-’20 Peace Banquet fostered the good fellowship that had begun in the class alcoves. NTY Pane T ccnty-Xlnc ,

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ifetmij of thr (Elaas uf 1920 ItT is long and time is fleeting. It seems lint a little while ago that the forerunners ami founders of the Class of IU20 (if the February ’ 0 men may so Ik- called) applied for admittance ns fresh- men to the College of the City of New York. With the coming of the June '20 men a few months later, the Class of I »’-? ». a united body, imbued with the good old lighting spirit, started in earnest on its career, which was destined to redound to the greatest credit to the class and the College. But more anon of the achievements and accomplishments of the '20 Class. And now '20's Commencement draws near. What thoughts does it bring to mind? The first, hasty eon- elusion of the average Senior would probably be “Thank (iod! It'll soon lie over. What a relief! However, upon more careful anil thoughtful reflection, the man who has worked faithfully to uphold and promote the good name uf old l.avcndcr will he tilled with conflicting emotions, which will be- come stronger as Commencement Day approaches. On the one hand, there will l c the desire to l c released from the shackles of school studies—an eagerness to test one’s ability. On the other hand, the same man will look with sorrow upon his di parturc from the place to which he has become so accus- loined—the place that has come to mean so much to him. Such sentiments can he felt by those only who have been truly loyal to Alma Mater. '20's history is a story of struggles and triumphs. Such a record could ho accomplished only with the aid of an indomitable, never-failing class spirit, which always manifested its great strength with the least display. From the very start the February ’20 Class, strangers in a new land, took to the field like veterans. Dur- ing its first term the class earned a college-wide reputation for the excellence of its smokers. The courtesy of '■iO .11 flirt1 for Soph Moot! NINE! MEG Payo Twcuty-Eiyhl

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On the return in the Full of 1JM7 the clnss of 1921 had en- ter» d, and '20 was faced with the proposition of tackling a par- ticularly unruly hunch «if Freshmen. Needless to say, many alcove and campus scraps «if the warmest nature followed, hut In-fore long ’ 21 was made to realise that in all these encounters impetuous and headlong lighting was of no avail against a foe endowed with clear judgment and aided by a concentration of forces. Then came the Hag rush. By marshaling together 300 men to ’20’s 200 warriors, and by employing ‘20 8 famous Hying wedge formation, ’21 broke through our forces and captured the Hag in a very short time. However ’20 retaliated in the Tug-of-War matches, when it completely outclassed ’21. It was a joyous sight to sec the Freshmen get a public hath as they were being pulled across the center line. This treatment with the water hose took the starch out of '21. On Columbus Day we beat them in baseball. We continued our winning streak against ’21 by coming out ahead in the Fresh-Soph track meet. 1 20 again led the rest of the College classes in the interclass track meet and also won the intcrclass swimming tourna- ment. The results of these contests showed that ’20 was able at all times to maintain an upper hand in its relations with the Freshmen as well as more than hold its own against the upper classes. During its second year, ’20 held two smokers, one at the Wallace and the other in the Webb Room. After a strenuous year « f Fresh-Soph activities, ’20 and ’21 hurit-d the hatchet at a very sociable and jolly Peace Banquet, held at the Hollywood during the month of April. From this time until the end of the term College activities t«x k a sharp lrop, due to some very com|x-lliug influences. The most outstanding one was the Great War. The list of men who had left to join the service was in- creasing daily. Before many months to conic, the majority of the class was to lx- found in the uniformed service of the Government. The other influence, which gave many a greater scare than did the war, was the exams. When the Dean announced that summer work on a farm or in a munitions factory would excuse one from exams, the office was besieged by great numbers of would-be farmers, etc. And so the Spring term, 1918. ended with a gram! exodus f«»r the camps, farms, and factories. The men who returned in September and who were qualified f« r military service were inducted into the C. C. N. Y. unit of the S. A. T. C. And for the few months that the S. A. T. C. existed, class lines dis- ’21 Talent” at '.ill’s Smoker Page Thirty