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

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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,

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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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n en ge tng any change. Plenty f room thirty or forty more. pe off that grin, l A You a t t- For the first month or so of our existence as Fordham undergrads, we had been getting acquainted with the school. We met the gra- cious Miss Kavanagh who cheerily relieved us of excess cash while equipping us with text- books. We poked a tentative nose into the library every now and then to pay our fines to Miss Sette who just couldn't seem to under- stand the absolute necessity for intellectual discussions within the sacred cinfines of her realm. We got to know the various elevator operators who always seemed to look upon our last minute arrivals with bemused patience and we learned about the lounge. With its musty paintings depicting porten- tous scenes from the Idylls of the King stand- ing in solemn contrast to the feverish rush of activity that was generated in this foundation upon which the school was built, the lounge soon became the central focus of all our activ- ities. In it we played pinochle, planned parties and held philosophic symposia in which the wit and wisdom of the ages was dispensed with the cheerful efficiency found only in an automat. There it was, that under the urgings and exhor- tations of the Director of Teacher Training, we made the first feeble sounds that, liberally interpreted, constituted our rendition of the Alma Mater and Fordham Ram. Reclining in the deceptively comfortable leather arm chairs, we listened to the battered radio, did home- work assignments and slept while the bells in- dicating the start of our scheduled class jingled merrily on, unheeded by our busy selves. We had been in school but a month when the existence of the upperclassmen became alarmingly evident to our dewy-eyed conscious- ness. Up until the time of Initiation we had gone our merry way blissfully ignoring the pre- sence of these potential malefactors. Then it arrived. And at 12:00 the final exam!