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

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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

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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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appeared in favor of company ;m l all-CollegC activities. The S. A. 'I . C. was slmrt-livcd. However, a new shuttle term was instituted for the rest of the Winter session, to permit the hardened war veterans of the College to make up for lost time. Because of this, and also because part of the student hotly (the civilian group) was quartered in the old College building on 2Srd Street, student activities were not reorganized until the opening of the Spring term in February 11)1.0. Reduced to less than a quarter of its original strength, 1920 started oft' what remained of its Junior year with undnmpcncd ardor. At no time in the entire history of the class was its . membership so small. However, every departure, although it narrowed our circle, had the happy influence of uniting more closely those that remained. The intensified class spirit that resulted explains why the class was able to hold the greatest informal affair ever held at C. C. X. Y. The Spring term, 1919. was a busy social season. The upper classes and other big College organizations all helrl dances. With such competition !920'x Junior Hop was the finest affair of all in every respect. Now- adays, in passing judgment on a college dance, it is customary to compare it to '20's Junior Hop. 1920 staged nil athletic come-back in its Senior year. An alcove argument about the athletic merits of ’20 and '21 was the immediate cause for a dual intcrclass athletic meet, no one barred. '21 expected easy victories, lxenu.se she boasted more varsity men. No class was ever more chargrilled and surprised than '21 to lose the basketball and baseball games. The tourney was never finished, but it served to make '21 respect the all-round prowess of '20. In addition, '20 won the intcrclass basketball tournament. In the intcrclass track meet, it again lost to ’2;). but beat '21, '22, and '21. When a class could accomplish so much with only half its member- ship in College (February '20 had already been graduated), one- is forced to admit that '20 was all there.” In looking.hack over its four-year stay at the College, '20 realizes that it can never repay the debt it owes to Alma Mater. Il has liecn the supreme experience for us and we take pride in saying that the four years that we've spent at C. C. X. Y. have been the happiest years of our lives. As we say farewell to Alma Mater, let us pledge ourselves ever to do our utmost to uphold and sup| ort the best College in the land: C. C. X. Y. Mine