Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 19 text:

Somebody down there likes me. One for my baby . . . O Great White Father . . of young children are focused on Old St. Nick, and the nose-drop manufacturers are enjoying record sales, and Gump Worsley is back on tranquillizers again, the tor¬ tured Tech student, having trudged through the searing desert of the Institute, sees ahead of him an oasis where he can drink his fill. Yes, it’s the I.F. Weekend, and he usually does. This year the I.F. Council outdid them¬ selves to make their affair a success, and they certainly succeeded. Morg Whitney was general chairman of the dance, the offical name of which was the Tann- enbaum Ball”. Alden Memorial was tastefully strewn with Douglas Firs and Sequoias (along with the more conventional pines and spruces), through whose boughs floated the smooth sounds of the Ralph Stuart Orchestra. Following the society-band trend of the past years, in which we saw Lester Lanin and Harry Marchard, this year’s band led by Ralph Stuart was no disappoint¬ ment. Also on hand were the Dissipated Eight”, an octet from Middlebury College, who provided inter¬ mission entertainment for the dancers. The rest of the I.F. Weekend was spent in various ways, all of which no doubt were very enjoyable and pleasant. Each social club on campus had its little agenda, to which spontaneous additions were made by the individual members as they saw fit. Ah, yes, a good time was had by all. Following the Christmas recess, the happy Tech students returned to prep for final exams. But before they could really begin — lo! Look what was upon them

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juniors were tendered pledgeship, and thereafter were seen with their various ribbons, slugs, badges and bents. In December, twenty-one seniors received notice that they had been elected to membership in Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Univer¬ sities”. This was the largest group of seniors at Tech ever to be honored by membership in Who’s Who. Each year the Masque presents two portions of Duve drives. dramatic fare, an e ntree in the fall and the main course in the spring, on J.P. Weekend. This year the entree was Twelve Angry Men”, which was presented on the 19th of November to a packed house in Alden Mem¬ orial. As anticipated, the young thespians did a splendid job in their suspenseful portrayal of deadlocked jury. Come we now to the weekend of December 5, 6, and 7. At about this time every year, whilst the thoughts Fred fires. The faculty skit. 14

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Gotta keep up the house average — the Pi Delt Songfest! This year Lee Courtemanche, vice-president of Pi Delta Epsilon, was chairman of the songfest, which was held on January 16; and although the outcome was fairly predictable, (Sig Ep by a tenor) the competition was close, and the enterainment was good. The Greek-letter Boys’ Clubs had a good year. No foolishness like that up at Deke Wiliams happened, and amicable relations were in order, at least on the sur¬ face. A few things of note might be recorded: the local fraternity, Sigma Delta, became a full member chapter of the national fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, known affectionately as Teke; and the national fraternity of Theta Kappa Phi a chapter of which can be found here at Tech, joined with another national fraternity, Phi Kappa, to form, appropriately enough, Phi Kappa Theta. Thus we now have chapters of ten national fraternities gracing our campus, one of which has just been granted membership, while another has doubled in size. We also might point out that Alpha Tau Omega again won the excellence award, whilst the Thinker, symbol of scholarship improvement, rests in the hallow¬ ed halls of SAE. The man with the slide rule hanging below his belt would wince if he heard Tech referred to as a school where athletes take part in extra-curricular activi¬ ties, such as going to class. We all know, of course, that it isn’t so. However, this couldn’t be proven false by this year’s athletic record. Added to the predicted success of the football team was the completely unforetold brilliance of Charley McNulty’s basketball squad. This team was perhaps the biggest story of the year, as it repeatedly upset its opponents until eventually its wins were no longer considered upsets. Even bigger than the team itself the spirit instilled in Tech’s formerly lethar¬ gic fans. This spirit, evident in the packed seats at all home basketball games, could be seen also at foreign contests, where large delegations from Tech would come to root for their boys. Strange and wonderful to say, there were even people without skates going into the Arena on nights when the Hockey Club had its games, just to watch Messrs. Wheeler and Gasek lead the team to a successful season. What is this old school coming to? New buildings, record enrollment, headlines in sports as well as educa¬ tion . . . We live in the midst of history and don’t know it’s being made. That’s why we write it down now and then — that’s why this is being written now. The happen¬ ings of one school year don’t make much of a mark — but they do make a mark, however small. Add up a lot of marks, and you have history — the basis for any¬ thing mankind will ever accomplish. 16