city however, they took the sleigh out, piled in, and let O'Brien pull them triumphantly into the
city. That is the way they arrived proudly in Potsdam.
Spring Registration
. Registration for spring 1960 revealed 1,379 students: 477 freshmen, 363
sophomores, 287 juniors, and 252 seniors; engineering predominated with 895 majors.
Washing Machines
. Filling requests by the students, the administration installed 10 washing
machines in the north lounge of Men's Residence (Hamlin-Powers) by partitioning off one-half
of the lounge to accommodate the installation.
Chemistry Moved
. Finally leaving the old wooden building behind Old Main, the entire
chemistry department, labs included, was moved into the old Cook Gymnasium at the rear of
Snell Hall, pending the construction of a million dollar modern laboratory in the future. The
stockroom was placed under the gym and the faculty offices over it. This move was not begun
until after May 1 so that chemistry majors could complete their courses without disruption of
their lab work.
Fraternity Bids
. In the freshman class of about 475 students, as of March 14, 121 of the 180
men who had filled out cards for fraternities had received bids. Of these 121, 114 received bids
from their first choices among the 10 fraternities: Alpha Chi Rho, Beta Tau, Lambda Iota,
Omicron Pi Omicron, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Delta, Theta Chi, Theta Xi, Triangle, and Zeta Nu.
Pershing Rifles
. In 1893, "Varsity Rifles" was formed as a fraternal organization of picked
American soldiers under the command of 2nd Lt. John J. Pershing. Because this group were
winners at drill competitions while under his command, they changed the name to Pershing
Rifles in 1894.
On the Clarkson campus, the Rifles served the College in various ways. During hockey
season, the men directed cars to appropriate parking spaces at the arena in sub-zero weather.
Their sponsorship of the Blood Drive for the American Red Cross each year leads to an
overwhelming success of the drive. They also provided a drill team and a Color Guard for the
Clarkson Battalion of ROTC. Charles Wing was the Cadet Captain in 1960.
Lacrosse
. Spring saw the informal club sport of lacrosse become a varsity sport with 18
members of the previous year's team returning, including the starting 10. Outstanding of those
returning were Bob "Soupy" Campbell, Bill Armstrong, John Woods, Ernest Putnam, and Mel
Tomalty. This team played a five-game schedule: against Hobart which they lost 18-3; Siena
which they won 6-3; Hamilton which they lost 12-3; Union which they won 4-3; and Colgate,
which they also won 4-3.
Students Expelled
. During the week of April 4, someone broke into the Hill Residence Snack
Bar and stole foodstuffs. The following Saturday night, two students were apprehended at the
snack bar, one of whom had a burglarizing tool with him. When questioned, they readily
admitted their guilt. Dean Herron was notified immediately and decided that these two men
should be charged with petty larceny. The two were arrested and held overnight. On the
following day, April 13, when they appeared before the Justice of the Peace, the College
requested leniency, and the court reduced the charge to a lesser one of disorderly conduct.
