Fordham University School of Education - Grail Yearbook (New York, NY)

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and four footnotes to a page became the bane of our hitherto placid existences. Mr. Collins' lectures were unforgettable, though none of us seemed to have the correct textbook for the course. lnculcated with a healthy respect for unity, coherence and emphasis in Mr. Jay's English classes, we further learned in detail that amaz- ing biological phenomena exhibited by the whistlewood tree and were continually amazed at the erudition displayed in themes former students of his had handed in. We cultivated an imperious disdain for the cliche in Father O'Malley's classes and became aware that Shakespearean soliloquies were nothing to be sneezed at. Those of us of Hibernian extraction who attended class on St. Patrick's Day were rewarded for our selfless devotion to duty by double cuts from Father O'Malley. ln Speech we relearned the nursery rhymes of our infancy in the vain pursuit of the broad A. Mrs. Poland sat entranced while we des- cribed the natural beauties of the Grand Can- yon and made cryptic notations on form sheets that resulted in Speech incompletes. Miss O'Brien ruthlessly expunged the sibilant S while exploring the mysteries of the uvula and soft palate as resonators. Our often harsh sounding Anglo-Saxon surnames were transformed into lilting melo- dies through the magic of Dr. Vial's charming continental prounuciation in College French l. Others of us found ourselves in the unenviable position of anchor-man in Dr. Kearney's exact- ing classes. With Mr, White we learned to differentiate between an asteroid and a cotyledon, all the while partaking of his kindly philosophic mus- ings on student life in general. iv? Any more freshmen for next Sunday?

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i ., i, 'Wt' -iilili ii In the realm of the unknown-eating at Chmbersl During Freshman Week, we were the re- cipients of much sage advice. Warned of the dangers of lateness and the perils of the over- cut list, we nevertheless made the happy acquaintance of Chambers, Naughton's, the Baltimore lR.l.P.l, the BXG, and other oases in the academic desert we were about to trav- erse. Listening to a 45 minute oration on School of Ed traditions, we resolved to carry the torches of tradition high and perhaps light a few of our own. Then we culminated our ordeal with the traditional party at which we were introduced to the traditional bill of fare, Nedick's Orange Drink and Schrafft's cookies. After a short four-day vacation, during which we made out our wills, settled our affairs, and prepared for a new way of life, we again returned to 302, this time for class. We met our professors. Prominent among these was the ubiquitous Miss Scanlon, who had conducted our Fresh- man Week. ln her weekly orientation classes. she conducted symposia of mystic pronuncia- mentos concerning degree requirements, dire warnings to plot our college careers fully, which were blithely ignored, heart rending appeals for financial and moral support of various student enterprises, stirring exhortations to extra-cur- ricular activities and amusing monologues on Fordham affairs in general. In our Religion classes with Father Ryan, we developed a firm foundation of knowledge in the great truths of our Faith and a keen ap- preciation of the Christian spirit in all things. We also learned how to defeat in argumenta- tion the members of that vast horde of atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and Rosicrucians that Cath- olics so often encounter on buses, ferries, and other modes of public conveyance. History occupied much of our time. In Dr. Donnelly's classes we were periodically awed at his precisely arranged, vastly accumu- lated store of significant historical minutiae. l-le it was who introduced us to the term paper I6

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went a program of indoctrination and introduc- tion to this great Jesuit student organization that culminated in our formal reception as sodalists on May l4, l948. During this time we tried to develop the love for Mary, the Mother of Christ, that has al- ways characterized Catholic students. Through .Ki prayer, meditation and continual effort we r 4.9 achieved each week a feeling of inner spiritual -540 harmony that amply repaid us for the time 09 Q00 consumed. We came to realize that it is only 040' Xia' through a devotion to the spiritual necessities fbw' gc qv , A of man that true peace can be found. Through is X 0 'XAS the Sodality, we came clearly to the recognition 951-0' that the chief objective of all life was union lit, with Christ. We thus attained the principal . li objective of a Catholic College education, spir- itual integration. vbii x Q55 ln this, it was Fr. Bona who was the chief max agent for whatever development we realized. ,dy - Through his constant, untiring efforts for our , T ' benefit, his example of Christlike humility and ,X , intense devotion, his constant prayers and ex- Hy. at xo' hortations, we came to know more truly and fundamentally the great truths of our religion and to develop a high personal zeal for sanctity. We determined that sainthood was our goal in life. Ca ,v 6 'Z' 5, . wi' XI? dxf P . x 'Y it . Ret H fi. . s mfr'-..,L W Q ialli km --'f fa 3 1 l il B. ' J-fr:---. l ngds .a. 'v 'neg , X , Q Q73 'Che :rlol 'f QT? td 'HI Meanwhile the spiritual side of our lives 0 ...-.N the H ' had not been neglected. We shall not pre- X xl l C N'-R., air' B tend that our Freshman retreat was all that a C X gg 'wi . L' std retreat should be. Conducted amid the bustl- i-. ' , l S ing activity of downtown Manhattan, with part- . T' ' time retreatants who were homogenous only T ' - in their desire to benefit by it, the retreat could not represent more than a sincere effort to re- mind us again of the great realities of our 'nz existence. lt could be no more than the crys- ' .- tallization of the general spirit that permeated Fordham. As such it succeeded. Rather dis- appointed but spiritually refreshed, we pro- F ceeded on to our traditional breakfast in the '1 ' it Woolworth Building and came back to our regular routine of schoolwork, . , m One of the principal sources of spiritual development since our Freshman year has been the Sodality. ln its weekly meetings we under- F1 b ls Gs., 3 W! d kk C Q- 'm.,,'H O ftrmrs of i -Z' -s-.1 of uw: Num. ft 51 I . -R - Q 'I' .i ' - h 'fx'-K Cm,1QQ lv ,l S, -. if . . .A, dqdhl -8'-Q -. W. r- i1--1 '- i- l