Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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RHODE ISLAND CLUB COMPOSED entirely of students from that smallest of states for which it is named, the Rhode Island Club of Manhattan College was first formed in the Fall of 1924. The primary reason for its existence was the wish of those first members to foster the name of Manhattan in their native state. With lofty ideals these charter members built about themselves an organization that has remained one of the strongest sectional groups on the campus for years. Each year the number of students from Rhode Island has increased measurably until at present they form one of the most representative and most active clubs at Manhattan. The social events of the year usually con- sist of two dances held in Providence; one during the Christmas vacation and the other at Eastertime. Sponsored by the members of the club, these socials have become a most beloved tradition through the close coopera- tion of a well-organized Rhode Island alumni group. This year the annual Christmas Dance was held at the Meshanicut Green just outside Providence where many alumni, undergradu- ates and friends of Manhattan got together and renewed acquaintances. Because of the curtailed Easter vacation, plans for the usual Spring dance had to be dropped in favor of a proposed mid-Summer party. With sus- tained activity its keynote, the Rhode Island Club ' s future seems insured of success. The officers of the group for the past year have been William Ryan, President; Martin Murray, Vice-President; Americo Campa- nella. Secretary; Paul Tiernan, Treasurer. 219

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STATEN ISLAND CLUB FOR thirteen years the Staten Island Club has laid substantial claim to bein L; Manhattan ' s most active campus organiza- tion. This IS largely due to the close tie-in between the campus group and its parent organization, the Manhattan College Club of Staten Island, which has been a strong- hold of alumni activity for several years. Enrollment in the club has always been limited to bona hde natives of the forgotten borough, Staten Island, but this year saw an innovation when the doors were thrown open to all those who attended the old Staten Island Dnision of Manhattan, be they Island- ers or not. With these relaxed membership restrictions, the club has this year grown to the greatest strength in its history, fifty-two active members. Early in the school year. Brother B. Thomas, President of the College, made an appropriate appointment when he selected Brother Bernard, former Dean of the Staten Island Division, to become mod- erator of the Richmondites. A well-hlled stjcial calendar was high- lighted by a Combined Operations Tea Dance on the Island which was sponsored jointly by the Staten Island Club and the upper classes of Notre Dame College for girls located on Staten Island. A sell-out affair, the success of the Tea Dance fore- cast many such similar socials between the two schools . Under the iruidance of Brother Bernard, the officers of the Staten Island Club for the 1946-19-i7 year were as follows: Junior Artsman John T. O ' Brien, President; Junior Businessman Mel Taverna, ' Vice-President; Senior Businessman George Fosket, Secre- tary; and Senior Businessman Al Widmayer, Treasurer. 218

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VETERANS ASSOCIATION THE Manhattan Colles e Veterans Associa- tion, which was founded in 1946 to act as a strong and united voice in all afiairs which concern our church, school and gov- ernment, acts as a go-between for the Vet- erans ' Administration and the war veterans on the campus who make up eighty percent of the student body. It further keeps the veterans informed of any new government regulations concerning their status and offers free counsel to members having financial or scholastic diiiftculties. The Veterans Association sponsored, in the latter part of the year, a petition for a raise in subsistence for veterans in college under the G. I. Bill of Rights, and that peti- tion became the basis of a bill in Congress that IS presently receiving much favorable comment. When a January editorial in the Ouadvan- gh denounced the Veterans group for de- manding the subsistence raise, hery Vet- President Phil Beninato demanded that the offensive article be retracted or the editor be replaced, As it happened, the Quad failed to back down on its stand, but two weeks later Editor Frank Malley was replaced by James Quinn, Secretary of the vet organiza- tion, and three other Veterans Association officers took over editorial positions on the new staff. The newspaper policy towards the eterans took an immediate turn. Assisting President Philip Beninato were Walter Ruddy as Vice-President, James Quinn as Secretary, and Joseph Tobin as Treasurer. 220