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

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.Military Science department Not content with the Ntinan Kill, reactionaries tried a new move. Senator McNahoc charged that .New York City’s Colleges were breeding “reds . Armed with an appropriation, the Senator Marted snooping. I lie College felt .'lighted, for McNahoc devoted more attention to “reds” at Cornell than at City. Although several text- books which used the word communist were uncovered, the McNahoc Committee soon died a derisive death. Throughout the school, and especially in the ’39 class, the students awoke to a new social life. A crew of hard working class members daily harangued the students in T.H.II. and in the alcoves with Da-a-ance Tickets’- and Cla-a-ass Cards”. A deficit on the first «lance was tempo- rarily taken care of by the chairman. ’39 Steps, origi- nally the Courier made its appearance in printed form. Dramsoc kept pace with the times. Proxy, football. W.P.A., ct al. were satirized in A-Men, a musical com- edy. which topped all previous shows. For weeks students hiinnneil “Two Against the World” and I’m Just a Freshman in Your Arms”. Stvdiou» Itwdonh. in n«ed of awicl toning, «njoyod Hygl » dattoi ««opt ot MWth of ition—quorttily qviu« (obovo). Room 100—ot III of tKc Lincoln Corridor llOl.d msny probUmt for worried ic’ v’i ond fmkno, Orgon.wd Froih-Sopl. ocKvlty ot rl« Coltcgo 1,11 Uto dlu,p,l,. tbo J» Clou, o-d Ntbwill (tycK o obov«| com Infreguontly. '1th th« entro-c Intramurals, reorganized under Jimmy Peace, expand- ed ten-fold. The class came out on top in the road race, in basketball and in baseball. Kut hilarity rcigue«l in a packed Jasper Oval as the faculty baseball team defeated ’39 by 16 to 5. The big event of the semester was the selection of Sig- mund S. Arm as class adviser. Waning spirit was quickly revived by his understanding aid, and at his suggestion another dance, free to all class members, was held. Punch, ice-cream and cookies were free. Though critics had termed it a “scatter-brained” i«lca, the affair made a profit. Interest in school elections reached a new low as Kay Michelson was elected unopposed to the class presidency and S.U. candidates Robinson, Burnham and Soltcs swept the Student Council positions. A more important vote occurcd in the Tech School. For a long time seces- sionist ideas had been rampant in the engineering build- ing. hut extremists were squelched when the school voted against divorcing itself from the Student Council. Ill After a summer’s vacation the class returned to be greeted al registration by the '39 Steps and guarantees of free smokers and 15% discounts on other class func- tions. all for a ten cent class card! The council kept its promises, to the displeasure of the Hotel CinridgC. Two rooms (capacity 300) of that staid hotel were hired by the l‘ro h ami Soph classes for a joint smoker. When 1000 students arrived. 50 committee men. all drafted, could do nothing but wring their hands. Dean Turner and Professor Babor were able to hold up the riot for about one hour with appropriate humour, but when the Dean started to distribute cigarettes (donated by Philip Morris) the ravenous horde broke loose. Fortunately, the Dean escaped with his life. Chairman Wnlpin was pushed through a window when lie attempted to rescue hot «l«»gs“ which were being consumed raw. A ledge pre- vented a painful but minor mishap. The Claridgc is still

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Italy was applauded on all sides. Over 4000 students attended tlie Mobilization Against War , sponsored by President Robinson. The proceedings, however, were marred by another outbreak of anti-Robinson feeling. Student Council President Rob Brown was cheered when lie stated that although a vote on the Oxford Pledge bad been banned, he was certain of student support for the Oath. (A Coin )us poll had resulted in a 1544 to 186 vote for the Pledge.) The President was booed when he attempted to remove Brown front the micro- phone. Brown was accused of a “breach of faith , but suspension proceedings were dropped. Partly due to a multiplicity of can- didates in the Frosh elections, the I.S.R. party swept the Chapel bal- loting to go on and set two records. It passed more resolutions than any previous or subsequent council and ran less social functions than any other council. To prevent the Sopho- mores from breaking up a class smoker the place of the affair was kept unknown. So secret was the smoker that not even the Freshmen knew its location. In spite of its inactive council. '39 showed its true mettle. The Sopho- mores were conquered in Lewisohn Stadium and in Jasper Oval, with the Frcsluncn climaxing their victory with a march on Columbia, where, for thirty torrid minutes, they Occu- pied the Barnard campus. Swayed by Vic Axelroad's stirring speech in Chapel during the elections a few weeks later, the '39 class voted overwhelmingly anti - I.S.R. Over- coming an I.S.R. lead in the rest of the school, '39 swept Julie Lavitt into office as S.C. President, and I.S.R. candidates for class council were defeated where they were opposed. Thus Dave Bradshaw became class President. January and February of 1936 were important months. The world learned that riots at the College were not due to a small body of radical agitators. The President lacks the human qualities necessary to achieve the widespread confi- dence of his faculty and student body and to provide genu- inely inspired, resourceful and socially imaginative leader- ship.” Such was the conclusion of a majority of the Associate Alumni. The Board of Higher education, nevertheless, banned a student referendum on the subject. The same period marked the formation of the American Student Union. Beginning as a union of the National Student league and the Student la-ague for Industrial Democracy, the A.S.U. quickly took hold at the College. However, the administration was not yet ready to capitulate completely to liberal student sentiment. Some 2000 students at the Anti-War Strike meeting in the Great Hall heard Morris U. Schappes lash out at the war mongers”. The next day. President Robinson, upon the recommendation of the ('hair- man of the Hnglish department, announced that the fiery instructor would not be re-appointed because of incompe- tence. The Cam ms spread the news; student muttcrings grew and finally burst into active opposition. Campus meetings and demonstrations were belli every day. A novel climax was provided when the I.iucoln Corridor was filled with sit-down- ers (made comfortable by a rug provided by Dean Turner). The five hour siege ended when Prexv. reinforced by hefty Dr. Richardson, evacuated by a back door. The impasse was finally settled by a Board of Higher Education ruling giving Mr. Schappes tenure. The Schappes Case was more than a victory for Mr. Schappes. It marked the final defeat of the Administration. President Robinson became merely titular head of the Col- lege, for major decisions thereafter were made by the Board of Higher Education. Amidst the turmoil of the Schappes incident a new problem arose. Upon the resignation of the Campus editor, the Campus Association appointed Irving Neiman as the new editor. But a rebellious staff refused to accept tlie Association's choice, which, they claimed, was made in an undemocratic fashion. In retaliation the Campus was promptly suspended. Believing that City College could not continue to function without a well-informed student body, the Student Council awoke to temporarily revive the Student. After two issues of the Stu- dent Council newspaper, the Association chose Gabriel il- ncr as editor and reinstated the Campus. The new strength of the students was again evidenced later in the semester. For the first time the Administration officially sanctioned a Jingo Day” demonstration. Close to one thou- sand students heard Professor Morris Raphael Cohen and watched while fellow students picketed Lewisohn Stadium. Colonel Robinson showed his versatility in gaining R.O.T.C. recruits. Thereafter, entering freshmen were greeted with free lunches and other forms of high pressure salesmanship by the INFORMATION PLEASE! ColUgo porionnol •»»» b«o» » incrooongly »• «portont 01 evr fitilimon year toded into the background. 19

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1 .'landing, since the riot readied its height in a snake dance on Time Square. Only taxis were hold enough to enture into the heart of the snake «lance. Traffic was tied up on Seventh Avenue and Broadway until one o'clock when sheer exhaus- tion sent the celebrants home. Aside from the smoker and a highly successful ’39-'40 gym dance (previewed by an alcove weenie-feast), history was not made by students of City College that fall term. The Student Council was so moribund that President Herbert Robinson trieel housecleaning by forcing the ouster of his vice-presi- dent. Hob Burke, who had been expelled from Columbia. wa refused permission to speak on St. Nicholas Terrace—and did. The College Widow, a humor maga- zine for New York City's College.' appearc«l. was sold out three times and then disappeared: while Aid Loyalist Spain booths hc«’ame alcove fixtures. In the perennial Campus poll “FDR” was reelected, followed by Brow- der and Thomas, with I„'imlon bringing up the rear. Higher ed- ucation W eek was celebrated from November 9 to 13 but attracted few visitors. Professor McGold- rick introduced a resolution which would automatically make the A. S. U. a legal organization, hut a tic vote by the Board of Higher Falucation killed the motion. , Elections at the end of the semester provi«lc«l real fireworks. The Progressive Students party, headed by Vic Alex road, put up a complete slate against the Stu- dent Union, whose camlidate for S. C. President was Sy Slavin. For a week the street-cleaning dc- t partment was forced to put on an extra contingent to take care of the leaflets, which averaged three a day. The Progressives claimc«l their opponents held office merely to pass piditical resolutions. The Student Union re- taliated with cries of “Politicians” and “Red-baiters”. The final result was as close as the campaign had indicated. In the Student Council. Alcxroad, Sollcs (SU) and Jack lam- don (PS) triumphed. ’39 went Student Union by a narrow margin. After four tallies. Leon Katzen (PS) held a one vote lca«l over Jack Fcrnbach (SU) for class president, with one ballot in «louht. A tie resulted when the Flections Committee counted the doubtful ballot for Fcrnbach. but the situation was cleared when Katzen declined. Students became very interested in politics as attempts were made in the first months of 1937 to dis«'ontinue the Na- tional Youth Administration. By countering with a demand for passage of the American Youth ct. a pilgrimage to Wash- ington succeeded in having the appropriation increased rather than cut. Coupled with the A. Y. A. movement, the Anti-War Strike on April 22 caused a majority of the school to cut classes for one hour, ami rc ]uired an S.R.O. sign on the doors of the Great Hall. In general, students were apathetic toward demonstra- tions. I)r. Giovanni E. Conterno, leader of the K.O.T.C. Band, was dismissed for physical incapacity”, although his physi- cian had declared him hale and hearty”. The Campus re- ported that Conterno had carnc ! the enmity of Colonel O. P. Robinson for supporting the movement for a non-R.O.T.C. band. Half-hearted efforts to reinstate l)r. Conterno failed. Charter Day was once more boycotted, thus giving the stu- dents an excuse to stay away. The conservative swing became more evident when pickets failed to prevent a record crowd on “Jingo Day”. A brief Hurry of excitement re- suited when Arthur Frank Payne. Personnel Bureau Director, was refusc«l reappointment. An ap- pointee of President Robinson, Payne had been called a quack by the American Psychologists As- sociation ami had been under fire from liberal students for years. When Payne tric«l to «lis- miss several of his subordinates, he put the final t« uch to his own banishment. Payne «leclarc«l that the “Triple Alliance” (thcTcach- ers Union, the Psychologists League, and the omnipresent Communists) was “out to get him”—they “got” him. He was refused reappointment by the Board of Higher Education, and the quiet but efficient Dr. Daniel Brophy took his place. A start in inter-collcgiate co- operation occurred when the Stu- «lent Council called the first Met- ropolitan Student Council Con- ference. attended by fourteen universities and colleges in New York City. As a result of the find- ings of the conclave, the Student Council was reorganized to give clubs direct representation. The class scored its greatest financial success in a dance chairmanncd by Harold Roth. A less riotous smoker was held in the Hotel Center, where not a mirror was broken. Featuring the current candid camera vogue, Dramsoc staged Don't Look Note. The review gained excellent pub- licity when a hundred alcove-wolves. Ic«l by Dean '39, rioted and chased six chorines, demanding the kisses they ha«l been promised with their tickets. The '39 Council's grandiose plan for a Boat-Ride was taken over by the Student Council. Nevertheless, the '39 Class ran the affair. The show-boat Rear Mountain was fillc«l beyond capacity on the moonlight sail immediately after exams. The hit of the evening was not Kay Parson’s floor show, but Win- some Winnie, a melerdramar staged by the faculty and directe«l by “Kernel” Frank Dav idson. Tho vppor hoW of ho '39 Clou to- «ho lot pvblicotion of THE STUDENT NEWS ot on ♦ipronion of tho difforon collegot' opposition to rcootion on «ho oomput. 21