1932
Bertrand H. Snell, Clarkson Trustee, Potsdam resident, and minority leader in the House of
Representatives, was chairman of the Republican National Convention in June which
renominated Herbert Hoover for president. The Democrats nominated Franklin Roosevelt,
who, in November, carried all but seven states. Unemployment reached 13 million and wheat
sold for 32 cents a bushel. Popular song of the year was, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The
Olympics were held in the US with the winter events in Lake Placid and the summer events in
Los Angeles. Five years to the day after Charles Lindbergh flew the route alone, Amelia
Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and she did it in record time: 14
hours and 15 minutes. This was the year of the "Uncertainty Principle" in quantum mechanics,
the production of gamma rays, the discovery of the positron, the isolation of Vitamin C, and the
first yellow fever vaccine. Chadwick discovered the neutron. Langmuir received the Nobel
Prize for his discoveries in surface chemistry. Edwin Land devised the first polarized glass. The
Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. Al Capone was sent to prison at Atlanta. Huxley's
Brave New World and Faulkner's Light in August became best sellers.
• Statistics • Junior Prom
• Prohibition • Pres. Rowe Resigned
• Football Champions • Morse, Trustee
• Hockey Upset • Ass'n of American Colleges
• Ice Carnival Royalty • Student Orator
Statistics.
At Commencement on May 30, the first BS in Industrial Management was awarded
among 66 bachelor's, four master's, and six Engineer degrees. Fall enrollment fell to 376 from
the previous year's figure of 400.
Prohibition.
Prohibition increased student ingenuity to get a drink. Some would make close
friends with chemistry majors to share their alcohol allotment from the chem lab. Others would
resort to hardening apple cider, which caused one enterprising young Techer to slide the entire
length of a boarding house staircase, taking the runner with him, after overly indulging in that
"apple juice." Others, usually 10 at a time, would pile into a Model "T" Ford and drive to
Dundee on the Canadian border where drinking was legal.
Football Champions.
In his second year in Potsdam, Coach Pete Dwyer led Clarkson's football
team to the New York State Small College Championship in the fall by ending a glorious
season with a one-touchdown victory over St. Lawrence.
With three or four minutes to go, Bob Sullivan caught a pass on the three-yard line, and
John Siedlecki went over for the winning score. That score moved Siedlecki from fifth to fourth
place among the individual scorers of the east: 64 points in seven games. Clarkson's victory
over St. Lawrence broke an eight-year jinx.
Earlier scores showed just how powerful this Clarkson 11 were on the gridiron. Opening
the season against Syracuse, Clarkson lost a heartbreaker by the score of 13-6. It went on to
