This Week in MC History: Manhattan Men Party It Up at the Waldorf
By Joseph H. Smith
Asst. Features Editor
The following news items are taken from the Dec. 7, 1948 edition of The Quadrangle. Harry Truman is the President and Pius XII is the pope. At MC, Br. Bonaventure Thomas McGinty presides over life on the hills.
The Schools of the Arts and Sciences announced that they will be hosting a ball. This is the first ball ever to be hosted by these two schools. It will be on Friday, Jan. 14 at the Starlite Roof Ballroom and Palm Room in the Waldorf Hotel on Park Ave. in Manhattan. Al Grey and his Orchestra will provide the evening’s music for dancing and dining.
The idea for this party was born during Retreat Week in October. Several students realized that the Schools of the Arts and Sciences did not host a party of their own, that there was not a single social event planned for the dull month of January and the students wanted to support a noble charity of their choosing.
However, it was not certain whether or not students would support the idea of a ball. Therefore, surveys were circulated in the Theology classes to determine whether the idea was feasible. However, there was now another problem- too many students wanted to attend! A larger venue had to be found. Ultimately, the Ball Committee settled on the Waldorf Hotel.
The funds obtained from the ball will be given to the Students Relief Commission to help them meet their annual goal of $7,000. The SRC will use the funds to help students in Europe still affected by the recent war. These funds will purchase food, clothes, books and medical and school supplies. Br. Alban is the Chairman of the MC Chapter of the SRC.
The Ball Committee is co-chaired by Walter Fredericks, a senior in the School of Science, and Al Kirschneier, a senior in the School of the Arts. Br. Basilian is the moderator of the committee. A single ticket is $2.50 and a couple’s rate is $4.00. The attire for the evening is semi-formal.
The Vincentians of the St. Vincent de Paul Society hosted their annual Christmas show in Smith Auditorium that week during the Student Activities Period. The funds raised from these performances will also benefit the SRC in their European missions. There is no slated admission, but students are encouraged to donate at least a dollar to allow the Vincentians to meet their expenses for staging this performance.
Br. Potamian, the Dean of the College, announced the Dean’s Honor List for the fall term of 1948. On Thursday, Dec. 16, the Annual Fall Honors Convocation will be held in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers. At this point, Br. Potamian will induct the next class of Manhattan Men into Epsilon Sigma Pi, the college’s most prestigious educational honor society.
The lack of practice space for the MC Track Team has become painfully obvious, yet again, this term. Jaspers will journey up Spuyten Duyvil Parkway to the Fieldston School for meets and practice. Eastment, the team captain, lamented the fact that yet another season MC men are forced to travel, if only a few blocks, to practice and play off campus. Van Cortlandt Park cannot be used because the track has been partly closed. It was terribly neglected due to the Great Depression and the recent war.
