St Francis College - Franciscan Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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At the last meeting of the ’65 Student Council, the constitutional revisions which called for the creation of a Student Activities Council were passed overwhelmingly. S.A.C. would be composed of rep¬ resentatives from every recognized club and frater¬ nity in the school. The duties of the Student Activi¬ ties Council were to make rules and regulations for all of the student organizations, including dances, celebrations , student customs and, use their influ¬ ence in every possible way to further approved activities. At the very outset, it was soon discovered that the S.A.C. constitution left much to be desired. Chairman Daniel Clancy, and Vice-Chairman Paul DeBenedictis are to be congratulated for the work that they accomplished under such adverse con¬ ditions. S.A.C. successfully sponsored the Frosh Smoker, which was considered to be the highlight of Freshman Week. Also, S.A.C. is to be congratu¬ lated for the Activities Day, weekly calendar and the J.F.K. Carnival Dance, which they ran. Con¬ tinuous harassment from its big brother, The Student Council, made things extremely rough for S.A.C., but thanks to the work of Arthur Schwerdt, a new constitution for S.A.C. was written. The first year was a most difficult one for the organization, but its future can only be described as very optimistic. An unprecedented success. Members S. Mulligan, M. Walsh, W. Godzich, B. Carey, H. Muchnicoff, F. DeJesus, A. Schwerdt discuss Constitutional revisions. Fabled voices of the Mountain Taber¬ nacle Choir resound again at Fresh¬ man Smoker. Mr. Fazio, S.A.C. Moderator 23

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Heads of Student Council Dan Clancy Chairman S.A.C. John Donohue Parliamentarian Bill Walker President of Student Councils Tom Cuite Vice President John Lawless Senior Representative Student Council Another successful Carnival. Where was Joey Heatherton? With the dawning of the new academic year of 1965-66, the Student Council under the leadership of Bill Walker held, in their view, new horizons of real democratic government for the students of the college. The reason for the greater “democratic represen¬ tation” was due to the fact that only class representatives were seated, while the club representatives were seated on the newly formed Student Activities Council. However, as the council found out, the new machinery did not entirely settle all its old problems. There was just too much of the old council lurking in the college. There was a cry of “foul” and “power play” when the time came to give final approval of the ‘Who s Who Awards” late in October. It was probably at this time that the president, vice-president, and secretary had to meet their greatest internal crisis. Whether they came out of the crisis vic¬ toriously is questionable. Again in another thorny issue, the question of whether St. Francis should stay in the National Students’ Association or not was decided. The Council finally voted to keep affiliation with the national organization; and once more, the question of which side was victorious was clouded in smoke-filled oratory. But the Council did have its moments and it rose to the oc¬ casion as required. In January the Council met to hear several representatives involved in the Saint John’s Academic Crisis. The final conclusions were written and submitted by the Council to the parties involved. We expressed our “dissatis¬ faction with the manner of re¬ moval of the faculty members” due to the “problems and ob¬ stacles it placed on the stu¬ dents.” Another important action taken by the Council in Febru¬ ary added further intrigue to an already exciting year. The Council agreed to a re-evalua¬ tion of itself and of the entire “power structure” of the vari¬ ous classes. The meetings held on this matter were of vital importance for they were hon¬ est, forthright, and aimed at the achievement of specific goals. Whether this re-evalua¬ tion was successful remains to be seen in the future. Allan, Muchnicoff, Rodriguez, and Dukois listen while President Walker makes his point. 22

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WHO’S WHO AMONG STUDENTS IN Each year, a specified number of students are selected by the Student Council and approved by the faculty committee for inclusion in the 1966 edition of Who ' s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Selections are made on the basis of scholarship, participation and leader¬ ship in academic and extra-curricular activities, citizenship, service to the school and promise of future achievement. Award winners receive a certificate of recognition awarded by the organ¬ ization and presented at the school; recognition in the annual publication for the year during which he was selected in the form of a write-up of his college and personal record, and a listing in the Index under the college from which he was nominated. The organization also has a Student Placement Service which helps assist students in making employment contacts or by supplying letters of recommendation. The annual struggle of the Student Council to make its Who’s Who Awards was carried on at an extended meeting of that body. It took approxi¬ mately five hours for the Council to air its differences and get down to the actual voting. When the vote was finally taken by the Council, justice was served in the granting of the award to twenty seniors and one pseudo-senior. DANIEL CLANCY JACK CRISPI PAUL DeBENEDICTIS