Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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FRIL, the month ot numerous showers and huddmL; (lowers, was a busy month tor everyone at Jasperville. The class elections were of ma|or concern to the threat majority ot students, and after a nia|or rash of par- ties and class politics appeared about the campus, a strong turnoLit at the polls on April 25 demonstrated that Maiihattanites were getting their lessons in good govern- ment. Pen and Sword, the Senior Honcjr Society, was also keeping itself busy during the month. Brother Augustine Philip, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, was appointed moderator of the organization on the de- parture ii ' um Manhattan of the former iiiod- erator, Brother Cormac Phihp. The Junior Class filled oLit Pen and Sword applications and then sat back to see which fifteen of their number woLild be selected for mem- bership in the select group on Mo ing-l ' p Day in May. The College Placement Bureau continued to be a scene of great activity. The Bureau under the direction of Placement Director Brother Adrian Lewis, h.id been one of the busiest spots on the campus during the year, but with the approach of the Summer vaca- tion more aiul more faces appeared in the offices in the basement of C artlinal Hayes 5 » Library. Over 1100 students filed applica- tit)ns or made inquiries at the Bureau since October, reported Joseph M. McCarthy, Junior .Artsman job counselor, in an an- nouncement made on April 28. In spite of the scarcity of part-time jobs everywhere, the abilities o ' t Brother Adrian Lewis in the placement held succeeded in finding |obs for those who were willing to take on the added responsibihty of part- time and week-end jobs. In the Fall, a large number of applicants were hired by various department stores in the city. At Christmas time, approximately five hundred students were employed by the Post Office Depart- ment, Railway Mail Service, and the Penn- syhania and New ' ork (Central Railrtxids. After pLaing one hundred and fifteen men in jobs at the ' ankee Stadium during ' ' ' ■ « 202 ■ 5 •?» P .-

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To sharpen the arguments and speaking ability of the affirmative and negative teams which had been formed, a schedule of debate forums on the labor question was drawn up for presentation at school and nearby parish Holy Name Society meetings. Following one of these open-discussion, labor forums held at St. iVTonica ' s parish in lower New York, the Council received a congratulatory letter from the Rev. George Kelly, the parish priest. The letter read in part: I wish also to convey to the men my appreciation of the fine job they did and my congratulations that they handled an in- teresting topic with clarity and appeal. Further praise was forthcoming when one of the Council gained individual honors in the Hearst Oratorical Contest. Paul Nichol- son, president of the Council and Manhat- tan ' s representative in the contest on Patrick Henry, was one of a trio chosen for the final round after an unprecedented three-way tie with two Fordham men. The Debate Council gained its first vic- tory of the season over a visiting University of Vermont team, but not before losing a decision to St. Peter ' s in a meeting held at the Xavier Labor School. The honors of gaining the first victory went to an aflfirma- tive team composed of John Brosnan and John O ' Leary. The next decision favoring Manhattan was rendered shortly after the Easter vacation in a lively meeting with Boston College. A strong Boston team representing the negative side of the labor proposition consisted of ' William J. Murphy and ' William Hennessy. However, Paul Nicholson and John Mc- Carthy, speaking with skill and assurance, presented a strong array of arguments and counter-arguments to swing the decision to Manhattan ' s favor. The debatintr season closed after meetings with lona College, Fordham, St. Peter ' s, and St. John ' s. The Council of Debate was under the moderatorship of Mr. Henry O ' Brien during the 1947 term, and the officers were Paul Nicholson, John McCarthy, Robert McLough- lin, and Richard Pendergast. 201

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a 1 . the month, the Placement Bureau began t.:) concentrate on finding positions for the many students intending to work in the Summer Many had already been placed in camp coun- seling jobs and job prospects for otheis looked bright. The Interracial Justice Society gathered momentum during the month by sponsoring two informative discussions on the Negro people. On Friday, April 18, Dr. Elmo P. Anderson, noted Negro lecturer, spoke on the problems that confronted his race. Dur- ing the following week, on Thursday eve- ning, April 24, a panel discussion of Ca- tholicism and the Negro was held in Smith Auditorium. The Re erend Joseph F. Can- tillon, S.J., Archibald CTlo ' er and Julian J. Reiss, all actively working in the crusade against discrimination, spoke in the panel before a full house. At the National Congress of the National Federation of Catholic College Students held in Toledo, the Manhattan College Commis- sion on StLident Government was hailed bv tlic national oHicers as one of the leadint; and most powerful commissions in the fed- eration. John J. McCarthy and John J. OTeary, Junior Artsmen, and William Mechmann, Sophomore Artsman, represented Manhattan at the Congress. The (Jiui ' -lijiii le made interesting news of its own during the month. Making a big break with precedent under Sophomore Edi- tor James P. Qumn, the weekly came out with a big twelve-page issLie on April 30. And a humorous note was injected into cam- pus life two weeks earlier when the Ouud saluted Springtime in another of Joe Mc- Carthy ' s literary editorials only to have a full inch of snow destroy illusions one day later. However, about the middle of the month the scene reverted to normal as a warm spell brought into blossom the hardy maples on the campus. 203