1933
In February, the 20th Amendment abolished the "lame duck" session of Congress and changed
the date of the presidential inauguration. Later in the year the 21st Amendment repealed the
18th Amendment which had instituted nationwide prohibition of liquor traffic. On March 5, the
new president, Roosevelt, declared a national bank "holiday" to prevent further runs on banks,
but by April 1, 75% of the banks had reopened. Chicago held its "Century of Progress"
Exposition. T.H. Morgan received the Nobel Prize for discovering the function of chromosomes
in transmitting heredity. The first US aircraft carrier, USS Ranger, was launched. Hitler was
named Chancellor of Germany. With its 6,000 seats, Radio City Music Hall, the largest theater
in America, opened. The US went off the gold standard. The first drive-in movie theater opened
in Camden, N.J. Wiley Post set a record for around-the-world flight at seven days 19 hours.
Charles Laughton starred in The Private Life of Henry VIII. James Hilton's Lost Horizon
became a best seller.
• Commencement • Movie Boycott
• Degree Changed • Ice Carnival
• President Thomas • Faculty-student Interaction
• Pushball Game • Bill Fiesinger
• Hepburn House • Joe Bushey
• Freshman Hockey Team • Radio Broadcasts
• Pep Rally • Conference Champs
Commencement.
On May 29, Clarkson awarded 61 BS, three MS, and three Engineer degrees,
bringing the total Clarkson degrees to 1,060 at this 34th Commencement. Among the graduates
was Frederick A. Ramsdell who became Registrar in 1934, and who served Clarkson faithfully
and continuously in a number of responsible positions until his retirement as Placement
Director in 1975. (See 1975)
Degree Changed.
In May 1933, the faculty voted to change the degree "Bachelor of Science
Cum Laude" to "Bachelor of Science with Honor" because the English phraseology seemed
more appropriate than Latin for a college of engineering.
To be eligible for this distinction, a student had to have been in residence for at least
two years, to have no failures, and to have at least 288 honor points. To graduate a student
needed 144 hours and 144 honor points for the engineering degree; they were graded then with
H,C,P,L, and F:
H=90-100%=passed with three honor points per credit hour; C=80-89%=two honor points;
P=70-79%=one honor point; L=60-69%=0 honor points; F=failure; the subject to be repeated.
President Thomas.
Dr. James Shelby Thomas became president of the College in 1933 as
hopes of moving to the hill were prominent on everyone's mind. Before he arrived on campus,
he had been injured seriously in an automobile accident on December 27 near Gadsden,
