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

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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

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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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Twilight at ten. Some time during the course of our Fresh- man year we became aware of the fact that school did not close at four o'clock. Perhaps we were told in Orientation. Perhaps one of our teachers mentioned a late class. Maybe we just happened to remain in the lounge, resting for a few hours. At any rate, we became aware of the existence of a whole new system within the confines of 302 Broadway. It was a school within a school. We do not know exactly when it occurred, but we became acquainted with our classmates of the evening session. They were a different breed from any sort of students we knew. Characterized by a vague look of sleeplessness about the eye, they, never- theless, exerted a profoundly maturing influ- ence on the rest of us whenever we worked or relaxed together. Unlike us, they were living in the very real world that lies outside the walls of a school. They were for the most part older than we and many of them were married and raising children while others were paying their own tuition as well as supporting themselves. Whenever we came in contact, in class, at dances or in club meetings, we were impressed with the fact that they were more mature, more aware of the benefits an education at Fordham conferred and more serious about their respon- sibilities than we. This attitude was contagious Evening Student Organization. and we gained much from our association with them. Because they usually worked a full eight hours each day besides attending school for four or more hours a night and on Saturdays, they had little opportunity to engage in the ex- tracurricular activity program that occupied much of our time. They had, however, formed in i946 an organization which correlated and directed all the activities of the night students. Under the direction of Mr. Leo Kearney, the Evening Student Organization made much progress toward its goal of providing a fully rounded student life for the members of the Evening Session during our first year at Ford- ham. Receiving much in the way of aid and en- couragement from Fr. Hooper, dean of the Evening Session, the E. S. O. succeeded in promoting a full scale program of socials, lec- tures, an annual retreat and Communion break- fast as well as a multitude of other activities. Some of the original founders of the E. S. O. are our classmates and will graduate with us. When we first arrived at 302, many of our compatriots of the night owl division had al- ready been Fordham students for over a year. It was during our Freshman year that the E. S. O. finally achieved recognition as a fully organ- ized and representative student activity. Dancing in the dark. Dream . . . that's the thing we do. Carolers we. V YW,