CLASS OF 1965 TIME CAPSULE LETTER
By Stephen Appell
Attached is the letter to the Class of 2100 which Stephen Appell wrote in November 2000 on behalf of the Class of 1965. This was to be included in a University time capsule on the occasion of the millennium.
I believe that this should be preserved in our class "archives." However, Since I do not believe we have a class archives I am going to preserve it on the website.
Ken Schneider
November 2000
Dear Cornellians of 2100,
The Class of 1965 was special in two ways: First, we were privileged to be billed as the Centennial Class. Second, our years at Cornell were a time of great transition, as the world and the campus began to change dramatically in the years 1961-65. When we arrived at the beautiful campus in the fall term of 1961, we beheld a calm, fun-loving and largely apolitical environment. Most students were interested in training for professional careers and having a good time along the way. They tended to sport a conservative appearance: Males might have their hair in a very short “crewcut,” and wear crew-neck sweaters, button-down-collar shirts, slacks and loafers (without shoelaces). The females tended to wear their hair medium-length with a “flip,” and to wear sweaters, plaid kilts or other skirts, knee socks and loafers. Cornellians were listening to simple forms of early rock-and-roll music, and other popular-music love songs.
But by the time we left, we were witnessing and participating in something very new: heightened political awareness, especially of the Vietnam War, and the civil rights movement seeking justice for Black Americans. By the time of graduation, there were more Cornellians with a rebellious look, with long hair (even the men), dungarees, sandals, and backpacks. Our music increasingly included more Black-influenced works, known as “rhythm and blues,” especially songs emanating from Motown Records in Detroit. We experienced a new form of more sophisticated rock music resulting from the 1963-64 “British invasion;” its most prominent performers were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The increasing social and political protest movements found a new form of song called “folk rock” to express their feelings. We would not remain at Cornell to experience fully the transformation which occurred in the late 1960s, with increasing antiwar and anti-corporate activity and the Black student uprising of 1969, but we did see the beginnings of great change.
So what did we do of the more traditional nature? Students loved to frequent fraternity parties and dance to the music of local rock-and-roll bands, the most famous of which was Bobby Comstock and the Counts. Beer was the beverage of many, imbibed at the frat parties or at local bars, headed by Theodore Zinck’s (featured in the Cornell fight song Give My Regards to Davy). We listened to hit songs on radio stations WTKO in Ithaca (1470 on the radio dial) and Cornell’s own WVBR. We enjoyed lounging in Willard Straight Hall and its Ivy Room, and listening to the jukebox full of records of current favorite songs. We played pool and “pingpong” (table tennis) in the Straight’s Game Room. We might go downtown to the quaint city of Ithaca for a meal, at such restaurants as Home Dairy on State Street (great roast beef!), Hal’s Delicatessen, or Obie’s Diner (a favorite of students in the night hours). Or we could eat at Johnny’s Big Red in Collegetown, or buy food from trucks on campus, especially Louie’s Lunch. Some of us males, who largely outnumbered the Cornell females in those days, sought female dates at nearby colleges such as Cortland State, Ithaca College, and Wells College in Aurora. As for sports, Big Red football was a big hit, as we were led by two exciting players in the 1961-63 seasons: quarterback Gary Wood, a great running back as well as passer, who led the team to several comeback victories; and kicker Pete Gogolak, who initiated the soccer-style side-of-foot kicks which thereafter became prevalent in football. Other popular sports were ice hockey, in which Cornell was beginning to make a name for itself; basketball, in which we did not have a single losing season in our four years, and had a 19-5 record in the 1964-65 season (including a thrilling 70-69 victory over Princeton with All-American and future U.S. Senator Bill Bradley on the Tiger team); and crew, with many flocking to Lake Cayuga to watch the races. Typical Cornell winter weather gave rise to a humorous “sport:” tray-sliding. Students would slide down snowy Libe Slope on food trays!
And what of some of the transforming events? Increasing numbers of students became more political, taking part in debates and demonstrations. Perhaps the turning point in the direction of the Cornell constituency occurred in the spring of 1964, when a majority of the student body voted in a referendum to authorize financial aid to fellow students taking part in a summer voter-registration project in Tennessee. Thus Cornellians decisively and pragmatically showed their support for the struggle of Black Americans to secure the right to vote and other basic civil rights. The escalation of the Vietnam War led to greater student concern as to issues of war and peace, with “teach-ins” led by faculty members to discuss the War; and protests such as at the campus appearance of the distinguished ambassador and U.S. Cabinet member Averell Harriman who defended the war, and at the annual Presidential Review of the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Barton Hall in 1965. Some students began, clandestinely, to smoke marijuana and experiment with other illegal drugs.
Through all this, we worked hard at our studies and profited from the teaching of outstanding professors such as Government Professor Clinton Rossiter, an expert on the American Presidency; Urie Bronfenbrenner, a humane and sensitive Child Development and Family Relations Professor; and a dynamic History Professor, L. Pearce Williams.
On June 14, 1965, a bittersweet day, we graduated from Cornell in ceremonies at Barton Hall. The beauty of Cornell and Ithaca in each season of the year would be something that would stay in our hearts forever.
Hopefully, you in 2100 are thrilling as we did to the excitement of Cornell, and still singing the Alma Mater, Evening Song, Give My Regards to Davy, and My Old Cornell.
Best wishes from Stephen E. Appell (B.S., ILR)
and all the Centennial Class of 1965