Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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cal conditions which will exist especially between now and Christmas recess will not be as satisfactory as desired. The annual Christmas Variety Show spon- sored by the St. Vincent de Paul Society was once again the high spot of the pre-Christ- mas program at Manhattan. Tom Malone «r- Brother B. Thomas said in part: We trust that each and all of you by the spirit which Manhattan has humbly striven to inspire through Christian education, may assist in bringing His peace to the hearts and lives of your fellow men. p The Manhattan man went home for ,•4 of the Columbia Broadcasting System re- turned to Smith Auditorium stage to serve as master of ceremonies in a gala ariety show. Joe Sojer, guitarist, and Stewart Churchill, featured vocalist of the Fred Waring or- chestra, were among the outstanding per- formers who devoted time and talent to this worthy benefit. The auditorium was com- pletely filled and many had to stand outside in the cold winter air listening to the pro- gram over a public address system. n his annual Christmas greetings to the faculty, students, and friends of Manhattan, - ' V..- Christmas imbued with a spirit that had not been a part of him for several years. Peace reigned on earth, the G. I. Joe was back home to celebrate the birthday of the Saviour as He would wish it to be commemorated. Highlighting the social activities over the Christmas holidays was the first annual Pen and Sword Christmas dance which was held in the main ballroom of the Concourse Plaza Hotel on Friday evening, December 27. As is usual for Pen and Sword-sponsored events, it proved to be one of the standout events on the Jasper social calendar of the year. 169

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In spite nf promises and fanfare, however, the Veterans t roup failed to beeX)me the potent gn)up which those concerned hoped it would be. Weary students who had spent three long months trying to figure out crazy class sched- ules which kept them up on the Riverdale HE final month of 1946 was re- plete with all the festive events typical of the season of Christ- mas. The yuletide spirit prevailed as the waning year slipped swiftly into the unknown abyss of the past. The Manhattan College Veteran ' s Organi- zation made its bid for a place in the sun by organizing and holding elections of offi- cers. Phil Beninato, Senior Businessman, was elected president. His fellow officers were Vice-President Walter Ruddy, Secretary James Quinn and Secretary Joseph Tobin. hillside at odd hours of the day and night were reHe ed to hear on Wednesday, De- cember 11, that classes would immediately return to a normal schedule that ruled out all evenin classes. In a memorandum to the heads of the various college departments, Brother B Thomas, president of the college, said: 1 wish to express my sincere appreciation for the patience exercised by the faculty and students alike under the trying conditions to date. I also appeal to all for a further exercise of patience knowing that the physi- 168

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SOCIETY FOR INTERRACIAL JUSTICE ITS history dating back only to January, 19 i6, the Manhattan College Society for Interracial Justice has grown in prestige to the point where it is already one of the lead- ing Catholic Action groups on the campus. The idea of an organization here at Man- hattan dedicated to the better understanding of the racial question grew out of a confer- ence of Manhattan Delegates to the National Federation of Catholic College Students. Brother Benignus accepted the moderator- ship and together with President Richard G. Smith and Vice-President Milton Todmann the three have seen the Society progress in fulfilling its principle purpose: the orienta- tion of Its members on the existing conditions of bigotry and discrimination and the repu- diation of such conditions in the light of Christian ideology. A continuous study has been made of the possibilities of alleviating the problems studied. The results of these studies ha e been made a ailable to the stu- dent body m bi-monthly open meetings. As a lo al commission on the subject in the N. F. C. C. S., the Manhattan Interracial Group worked in close cooperatK)n with the National Commission on Interracial Justice at Manhattan ' ille College and also collabo- rated with the DePorres Interracial Society of the Archdiocese of New York. 170