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

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A list of onerous rules and regulations mysteriously appeared on all bulletin boards and invited our perplexed perusal. An identical list was read off in orientation and as a result we went through two days of torment. Despite a stiff resistance on the part of a handful of recalcitrants, the class underwent the ordeal. We groaned under huge placards indicating our names and academic origins. Ever ready to proffer cigarettes, matches or timely bits of proverbial nonsense to the smoke hungry sophomores, we wandered distractedly through the corridors clad in the vari-colored effects of an eccentric upperclass master plan of costume design. We sported elegant if eccentric coif- fures and were prepared on an instant's notice to burst into song. When it was all over we held a 'ibury the hatchet party with the sophomores and consumed huge quantites of the traditional Nedick's Orange Drink and Schrafft's cookies. At this post-initiation festival a new organ- ization made its initial appearance, the School of Education orchestra. With Wally Yannett on drums and Joe Pesseralli on string bass, the orchestra enjoyed a glorious, if short lived, ex- istence. It was fated for only one more ap- pearance. After the dust had settled and we resumed class, we began to look forward to our tradi- tional excursion to the nether regions of the Bronx. Few of us who weren't science majors had ever seen the campus before and most of us sorely missed the benefits of Campus life to a college education. On Armistice day we made the trip to Fordham Road and Third Avenue, met on the library steps and stood in the chill drizzle and had our pictures taken. We then proceeded to the Administration building where we all shook hands with Fr. Gannon, admired the tapestries in the office and were warmly and officially welcomed into Fordham with the typical charm of the great Fordham personality that was Fr. Gannon's. We then proceeded to explore the glorious many acred Campus, photographs of which ap- peared in subsequent yearbooks. We admired the noble radio-antennaed, gothic architecture of Keating l-lall, tramped through the Chem- istry and Biology labs, visited the gym and wound up in Collins Auditorium. A group of us vented our athletic enthusiasm by playing a fun-filled, if muddy game of touch football on Edwards parade ground while the rest went home. a . .magnum l-mf I : wmvs.

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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!

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I leo with my right , . lt was during this time that a group of us organized the Junior Gannon Council. Under the astute and always interested guidance of Mrs. Lylian Poland, we made great progress in the art of declamation. The highlight of the program was a searching exposition of the topic Should Unescorted Women be Allowed in Barsf' lt resulted in a stalemate despite Helen Curranis battlecry, Beers or Babies. Unlike the other contributions of the class of 'Sl to the extracurricular activities program, the Junior Gannon Council was slated to sur- vive and to yield each year an increasingly adept crop of debaters until this year when an exceptionally talented group was produced. Every so often on Saturdays, some of us attended football games and the Concourse Plaza. The 75-O Pennsylvania debacle cast us into deep shades of gloom. Spirits were lightened when we remembered that N. Y. U. was still to come. Between times we attended the Sophomore Barn Dance in the lounge, the N. Y. U. victory dance on the campus, our own first lounge Social on December l2th, where for the first time we became financially solvent, other so- cials, club meetings and also some classes. But these activities did not consume all of our time. Democracy in education was pre- sented to us in the form of Freshman elections. Almost immediately popular leaders arose in our midst. Machines were fabricated and set in motion. Machiavellian political schemes floated among the coffee vapors in the Balti- more lR. l. P.l, speeches were made and coat lapels grasped. Plans were formulated and hands shaken. Only the fire department regu- lations prevented a torchlight parade. Finally everyone voted just the way they had originally intended to vote and our officers were elected. Thus officered, the Freshman class proceeded to do nothing politicially until the next election. In the Student Council, Lou Staiano and Jim Ryan aided in the construction of the Stu- dent Council Constitution. Jim Ryan's fiery speeches in defense of obscure points will long be remembered by council members of that year. Then came Christmas and all the traditional practices of the Yule season at Fordham. We set up our Christmas tree and attended the Dean's Christmas Party, so-called, Miss Scan- lan explained, because the Dean financed it. We heard our classmates sing the traditional carols in the Glee CIub's performance and watched the Thalians present The Mad Break- fast a Yuletide farce. Marisa Petraroja played an endearing ingenue while Gloria Marchesi entranced the audience with her interpretation of the poker faced maid. After the entertain- ment and an address by the dean, we adjourned to the lounge where we danced, exchanged Christmas cards, consumed the traditional Nedick's Orange Drink and Schrafft's cookies and heard the farewell performance of the School of Ed. orchestra. During the Christmas season, one or two of our number attended the snowbound Sopho- more Christmas dance. Returning from our Christmas vacation, we were immediately faced with the problem of end terms. After several sleepless nights and worried days most of us succeeded in passing most of our exams and thus we closed our first semester of college life. The second semester went quickly by. We joined the Swimming Club and our reception seemed the kiss of death to this one year old organization. lt was not renewed. Parents' Day came and we listened to the Dean and consumed Nedick's Orange Drink and Schrafft's cookies under the watchful eyes of our loving progenitors. Look what Santa brought me.