Queens College - Silhouette Yearbook (Queens, NY)

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suers. You should remember the pic- ture. We've been looking at it ever since. Everybody felt this exhibition could not be topped, so the oflicial rush was called off. Besides, having just won the first athletic trophy of its existence, in ping-pong of all things, the campus bruisers felt that they could ignore mere muscle for the nonce. The Crown, in sympathetic mood, denounced autumn emphasis on football and such, demanded more attention to amatory exercises. So we exercised and exercised. The first of a gripping series of an- nouncements was made about the mark- ing of the C.C. and Lit. comprehensives. 304 Lower Juniors were sure they'd Hunked anyway. And while the boys, l the big ones, were tearing out their eyelashes waiting for the results of the nation's first peace time draft, another anti-war rally took place on campus. It was just about then too that the long suffering Crown editors hazarded a timid suggestion that they be given an oflice and a couple of desks if nobody minded. They were sternly reproved for lack of pioneering spirit, and told that National Defense was holding up production. Pity the fourth estate, - but what estate? By November 29, nominations for Student Council via the petition system began, and no one could hope for a signature, even a forged one, without giving three in return. Little chalk drawings insisting that St. Joan was no angel appeared in class rooms, and Gertie Gring and Rosemary Hartman had roles in what was probably Queens College's first extravaganza-mail costumes from U. S. Steel and all. At long last the literature and arts comprehensives were published, the marks, that is. But hardly anyone, except of course the passers with distinction, noticed, in the midst of big doings which included the Winter Wonderland Formal, when Miss New York or Evelyn Pieper, according to how well you got to know her, put in an appearance. And then there was always Christmas, taxes, and final exams. The Crown received its eagerly-awaited desks, and, happy as larks, wrote a beaming little editorial entitled, Please Have a Merry Christmas. 55

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South America. And this entailed also a realization that we, as students in a democracy, had a responsibility which, although not as yet clearly formulated, was nevertheless reflected more and more in every day college life. So with the end of year two we cut another notch in our record cards, took a deep breath, and looked out beyond Kissena Boule- vard for further developments. After bearing up nobly for four years in the face of extravagant goings-on, the library ceiling completely collapsed and for weeks we tripped over brushes, paint pots, painters, and the Afllerbach twins in an effort to get one of the seven new books the library had acquired over the summer. This deranged scholarship. Hardly anyone was passing a course at the six weeks reporting period. But as a concession to the intellectuals, the music listening room was opened, and a sort of Beethoven Hot Club flourished. In fact, that was the year certain faculty members, who shall be nameless, managed somehow to tie four students in a radio musical quiz program where everybody snared wristwatches as prizes. Nice going, Doc. The Lower Juniors, that's us, ran riot on the Student Council, Larry Smirlock got to be president, and still was, last time anybody heard. Lil Lari was elected secretary, and Bob Rand, treasurer. The Council's first act was to approve the olhcial college seal, sans nudity, that the Board of Higher Education had accepted after some three years mature deliberation on the subject. So much for aesthetics. Our animal natures found expression in a razzle-dazzle frosh sophomore riot - which culmi- nated in that moment immortalized by Crown photography, when some poor de- pants-ed freshman, or was it a soph, climbed the lamp post in front of A building like a hunted thing to es- cape his savage pur- 54

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At the very end of the term the C.C. comprehensive results sound- ing a note of grim realism were published, along with a sheepish admis- sion by Dr. Rivlin that no conclusions could as yet be drawn from the experiment. But didn't we just though. january 1941 started quite a year. Week after week national obituaries made the headlines. The tragedy of France, and the tragedies after-less shocking, as time went on, of Yugoslavia, Greece, Crete, Norway, Sweden. The political maps of modern Europe weren't used in the history courses. Geography was what the second page of the Times said it was. And in the midst of all this, the same old preoccupa- tions, assignments overdue, term papers to be written, dances and parties to go to, clothes, cars, ships, and sealing wax, and the rest of the college rigmarole went on in the same old way. Delmonico's was selected for the Junior Prom, desperate class officers, who turned out to be Mike Santopolo, Graham Tahler, Lillian Lari, Margie Collins, and Dave Sinowitz, tried to put the bee on us for thirty-five cents class dues. As if they didn't know better. Queens 56