the Racquette
SUNY Potsdam’s Student-run Newspaper since 1927
Campus and Town Celebrate the MLK Day “Marade” Marcus Wolf Editor in Chief
On Sunday, students and staff shared the memory of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by hosting a parade and reception filled with remembrance and hope for change. This second annual celebration of the “Marade” was organized by members of the Center for Diversity, the Office of Career Planning, the Educational Opportunity Program, SOCA LOCA and the Black Student Alliance, said T.K. Huff, coordinator of programs and activities for the Center for Diversity. Latesha Fussell, Educational Opportunity Program counselor and DIAC chairwoman, said that more than 50 participants showed up. The march was followed by a reception in the Knowles MPR. “We had the big banner where students were able to sign and put big quotes on the banner that was going to actually lead us into town,” Fussell said. Huff said that the group marched from Pierrepont Avenue to Market Street and looped back to campus on Main Street. Fussell said the group sang songs conducted by Dr. Lonel Woods, the Crane School co-chairman of music performance. Songs included “We shall overcome” by Pete Seeger, “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder and “Lift Every Voice” — also known as the “Black American National Anthem” — by James Weldon Johnson.
“It was really good moment to really walk alongside your friend or some people that you didn’t know and just be able to have conversations,” Fussell said. “That was a good moment to really get to know someone new — someone you never met before.” After their parade, participants at the reception reflected on King’s contributions by engaging in creative expression and discussion. Fussell and sophomore Gifford John shared monologues from Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panthers and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech, respectively. “Basically what the [presentation]was about,” Fussell said, “was to have a conversation with two strong activists about their period of time of fighting the good fight for civil rights and how would they speak about what’s going on now.” After the monologues, junior Jesse Wamsganz shared his two poems titled “Why Body Bags are Black” and “A Conversation between White People/A Conversation That’s Still True.” Freshman Precious Walker read her untitled poem that reflected on how King might have reacted to and supported the current social movements. “I felt really proud because I am an African American student and it came so genuine and raw,” Walker said. Keynote speaker Brandon Manning, resident director of Bowman South and SUNY Potsdam alumnus, told the group that in order
Students and Staff prepare to parade through town with their banner held high for all to see Jacqueline Herb
to excel in society and combat the stigmas they face, they must bring their “A-Game,” which includes “Awareness, Acknowledgement, Acceptance, and Action.” He referenced both the experiences King faced and the strength he and his supporters used to overcome their obstacles. He encouraged the group to remember the events, but to also “remain dreamers” in order to face modern prejudices. Manning said that he was both proud and emotional during his speech. “The words do ring true about what is going on in society today,”
Manning said. Students and staff of all races, genders and sexual orientations participated in the Marade, Fussell said. In addition to SUNY Potsdam president Dr. Kristen Esterberg and Potsdam mayor Reinhold “Ron” Tischler, faculty and staff members in attendance on Sunday included Shailindar Singh, Student Success Center director of special programs; Amanda Grazioso, assistant director of residence life; and Matthew LaVine, adjunct instructor of philosophy.
A Look Into SUNY Potsdam’s All Female Class Ellen Ricks Staff Writer
It was 1919, almost two decades after the turn of the century, and one year before the roar into the 1920’s. The world’s first great war was coming to an uneasy close, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was tested and confirmed, and a little college in a sleepy upstate town was making history of its own. During the semi-centennial year of Potsdam Normal School (now SUNY Potsdam) being a normal school, a lot of not-so-normal things occurred. The Great War had taken twelve of the school’s students, the president of the school died suddenly of illness in January and the graduating class of 64 students was composoed of all women. In the same year that the United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment, the majority of the student body of Potsdam Normal School was all female. In an unusual year, the women at Potsdam school proved that life can still go on as normal. The first question that would be on anyone’s mind when they hear this would be: how could there be a graduating class solely of women? The answer was simply the Great War, which called our able-bodied men out of the halls of academia and into the trenches. This left women in charge of the
homefront. It only took two years to get through college, and even between the younger class — called Juniors — and the older class — Seniors, there were only four male students on campus total. That didn’t stop the girls from getting into all sort of mischief. There were parties, socials, and even a boy or two — if you could find one.
In an unusual year, the women at Potsdam school proved that life can still go on as normal. So who were these 64 women who attended the Potsdam Normal School? They were from the surrounding areas of Potsdam; either from the town itself, or from areas like Stockholm, Gouveneur, Brownville, and other small towns around the area. The student who came the farthest distance was named Atha Hall, who was nicknamed “Alcohol.” Hall came from Swanton, Vermont. Many of these women were studying to become teachers, as Potsdam Normal School was primarily a teaching
college. Because there were so few students at this time, and all of them of the same gender, it’s very likely that they all lived in the same dormitory building together. All of these factors helped create a very close knit community between these women. They all lived together, took classes together, ate together and knew everything about everyone else. There were no secrets between these women. Since social media websites were decades away from being created, the “Pioneer” yearbook was a way for the girls to share all of their inside jokes with each other. They had pages called “shocks,” where they wrote things that would shock them, whether they did those things or not. There was a class poem and a “prophecy” page where the girls predicted each other’s futures. It also held a poll for superlatives, which were equally as witty and sassy the rest of the yearbook. There were some normal awards, such as “Most Popular” and “Class Clown,” but also more unusual ones such as “Class Fret,”“Always in the Wrong” and “Class Kicker.” These girls truly had a sense of humor all their own, and the school became a place they could have fun sharing their jokes and stories with each other without male censorship. Though there were very few men on campus, that did not stop
the ladies from finding boys to flirt with. Clarkson University still had a higher number of male students than females, and there were probably some men in the town of Potsdam that were suitable for the ladies to date. Since the women were so close, they got to hear all about who was going out with whom. There are many examples of this in the Normal School Yearbook. Flora Kilborn from Cape Vincent, New York, had a write-up in the yearbook that said, “flirtation is her favorite relaxation from study.” Ruthie Leonard of Massena, New York, was quoted with the following: “His name is Ted, enough is said.” There are also some love affairs that are more strongly implied and suggestive. Mildred Clark — “Clarkie” — from Moria, New York, was quoted with saying“Won a wild oats sowing contest. Developed a strong love for the faculty.” And then there was poor Beulah Ball from Watertown, New York. There was a running joke within the yearbook that pokes fun at Beulah, who was extremely single. On the senior page, her quote was “hush, Beulah Ball, don’t you fret, you’ll get a fellow, maybe yet, tho disappointed once before, ‘mongst the high schools there are more.” Ball cemented her place in Potsdam history with her glasses and comb over, next to a poem
“It was a very enlightening experience,” Tischler said. “We need to work together to benefit our community.” Last year’s “Marade” drew only 15 to 20 participants, Fussell said, because Martin Luther King Day was on a Monday and conflicted with classes. “This year I was extremely pleased because that number has grown, and hopefully throughout the years it will grow even larger, so I can see probably next year having over a hundred students participate,” Fussell said.
about how she cannot get a man. Things got even worse for Ball as the yearbook goes on. There was a page in the yearbook called “Shocks,” which is full of things that the girls didn’t do normally, or would be “shocking” for them to do. One of the shocks listed was “Beulah Ball with a man!” There was also a section in the yearbook where it was stated, “Wanted — a man. G Wetherhead, B. Beulah.” Was Ball truly in great want for a man, or was she was so disinterested by the idea that the girls thought it would be funny to make it seem like she wanted one? The Potsdam community may never know. Eventually love found Ball, she was married to a man named Earle Cass. Even so, those jokes about Ball’s love life show us a very important characteristic about these ladies: they understood that life goes on. Despite wars, deaths, and lack of the second gender of campus, these girls continued to go to school and become educators. They had fun on campus through clubs and amusements. In many ways, we see a lot of today’s modern woman in these girls: independent, unabashed and spirited. In the coming years, with more wars and rights to come, the class of 1919 proved that, under any circumstance, we must all try to carry on. No matter how normal or un-normal we are.