Clark University - Pasticcio Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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CLASS HISTORY WOMENS COLLEGE BY ELEANOR BARRIERE IN SEPTEMBER of 1942, the first group of co-eds set foot on the Clark campus. We were among them, we, the Class of 1944, the first class of women to merit that distinction, to develop from a mass of assorted individuals into a real student body. We think the history of our college life is a unique one. Although the story of any college group in wartime can hardly be called typical, we feel this fact alone is not suHicient to explain our case. To the wartime exigencies of acceleration, man-power shortage, and emigration of profs, there can be added the consciousness of being a new element in the compound of the Clark Student Body. That we came as Sophomores or Juniors to the college adds one more pertinent fact explaining our atypical situation. During our stay at Clark we participated in those organizations which had been traditions long before we arrived. More than this, we took part in the organization of new activities which may, themselves, someday be regarded as traditions. Rope Pulls, Bohemes, Founder's Days, Spree Days-these we found when we came to Clark. Inter-Faith, girls' basketball, and others, we have helped to establish: and we hope that when we are gone they will continue to prosper. We have played basketball in the gym and contributed our share of high scorers: we have had bull sessions as well as study in the library, we have debated hotly and fervently for Clark: we have written, reported, and done general leg-work for the Scarlet: we have argued and prophesied for I. R. C. In spite of all this, we had time left over to play bridge and casino in the Lounge, go on bike trips with Nunnie, and hang around to watch for Harvey and the mail. In our short career at Clark, we have also seen many changes. We saw the Clark men leave for the armed services. We saw the A. S. T. men arrive, adding a military note to campus life. We watched them leave, this spring, for parts unknown. And now, we, too, are leaving. Clark has undoubtedly changed and in- fluenced our lives to a great extent. Perhaps, to some slight extent, we may have influenced Clark, left some mark of our being here. It is not too much to hope that it will retain something of us to whom it gave so much. l2Ol

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CLASS HISTORY BY GoRDoN PRICE THE writing of the history of the Class of 1944 has fallen in the hands of ' an Ishmael of the Class of 1945. and is the chronicle of a class tOrn asunder not by internal strife. but by the irresistibly poignant letters which begin: From the President of the United States, Greetingsf' Our response to this message has been made manifest through our fellows who have exchanged their freshman caps and ponderous text-books for Uncle Sam's overseas caps and manual of arms, and are now at grips with the Philis- tinian powers of the world. Now it may be said that the Class of '44 has completed its academic educa- tion in spite of world conditions, co-education, acceleration, and flunks: and with mingling emotions of elation and regret-elation over the fruition of our efforts, and regrets because time has proved such an exciting rectifier of our mistakes. Our class has, as its precursors, had its quota of those who strove toward emancipation of self through advantageous participation in all Clark had to offer: those who have consciously endeavored to find a basis for intelligent living, have discarded as puerile their dogmatic prejudices, and found material to carry with them into a world sorely in need of the balm of enlightenment. Our years at Clark have been blessed by the cooperation and understanding of faculty and alumni. To them we owe a debt which we can pay only by making successes of ourselves in our chosen fields, thereby proving to these men that the ywere not deceived in the faith and time expended on our behalf. Our class has produced its athletes, its histrionic artists, its debaters, and one very important contribution has been its organization of a Boheme Con- stitution, allowing no corner for fraudulent acquisitions of pelf by enter- prising individuals. More noteworthy, we claim honor in the task of nurturing and directing the daughters of Jonas along the order formulated by our august brethren, and have presented a pattern worthy of adoption by those who tread where our feet have trod, Take heed of our endeavors and perpetuate any overtures We have made toward building a better, more unified Clark. The Class of '44 has shot its bolt-our college years live only in our memo- ries. May those who henceforth grace thy halls, O Jonas, remember our best and forgive the rest. l19l

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CLASS ORATION FIAT LUX BY GORDON S. PRICE THE question of relative values in the field of human endeavors is a force severely felt in times such as we are passing through now. It is a question of whether or not the training we have received will be applicable to the demands of the at war and post-war world, that is, has our education fitted us to come to grips with such problems as racial bigotry, economic class barriers. and social distinctions which hang like an appalling cloud over our jade horizon? If not. it were best that the institutions of higher education close their doors or initiate a program to train individuals in the art of self- defense and the policing of mob violence. In the past thirty years we have witnessed the world embarking on the vicious cycle of war, peace. war again, and. may it be soon, a peace which can either be the nucleus for a new era in world history or merely a recess and precursor of conflicts to come. Thus, it seems at this point that we should tarry a moment to see how we, the graduates, fit into this changing panorama. Four years of college lie behind us, years in which we have passed through successive stages of collegiate life. Have we benefited permanently from these years or have we gained only a superficial icing of what we should be carrying forth from Clark as our contribution to our fellows Our obligations are heavier than ever before to those who have left all behind at the call to arms, especially to those who have left our campus in the past few years. These men have had their distasteful work cut out for them and are adapting themselves to all climes and conditions, endeavoring to bring harmony out of chaos, To them I pay tribute, in their own sundry ways they are heralding FIAT LUX! Let us examine for a moment the basis we have formed to justify our saddling of philosophies on the world. Four years ago we entered Clark, with our diversified backgrounds and ideas: our first days were spent in the estab- lishment of cliques and thwarting the hazing efforts of our august brethren. Unity and leadership brought us through our first year and gradually we realized the greatness of our college, the Student Body Organization. From these healthy surroundings we were individually and collectively innoculated with the seeds of tolerance, understanding, fellowship, and a unification of ideals and aims. It is true that our four years have had their minor confiicts l2lI