The_Rambler_1967-02-28

              BTAlfc OiJivcKUl.
COLLEGE OF
FAW.INGDALE, "RnmUtt
Volume 38 No. 2 STATE UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE FARMINGDALE, L.I., N.Y. February 28, 1967
THE BUZZARD OF 1967
A Commuters Plight By Bob Rohda
I awoke to the howling wind running its icy fingers along my window
pane. Raising my hand I grasped the sill and wearily pulled my chilled
body up to the window. The snow was everywhere and s t i l l falling. I could
see through the swirling aura, in the dim morning light, the snow being
carried to every object that would hold it, several drifts reaching a foot.
It was beautiful . . . and yet ominous. At last, I thought, no school. This
would give me the extra time I needed to catch up with my homework.
I curled back under the covers,
flipped on the radio, then glanced
at my watch. It was a quarter
to seven.
"And don't call the station
folks, we'll announce the school
closings as soon as we get them,"
said the D. J.
After washing the sleep from
my eyes, sUpplng Into my pants,
I settled back to hear the man
confirm my euphoria.
"Union free district number
five In Levittown i s closed, Wan-tagh
H. S. Is closed and, finally,
Nassau College—all these closed
today. And by the way." Cllckl
Where was Farmlngdalel? No
Farmlngdale! Ughl I couldn't be-lieve
It. That confirmation never
came, neither as I dressed and
drank my coffee nor as I rode
to school that morning with my
friend BUI.
The snow was still falling.
"How could they keep the school
open In a blizzard like this,"
BlU mused. "We ought to . . . "
"Temper Bill, temper; let's
not forget our duty," I said.
"Duty, what duty?" he sal''.
"Why Bill—the duty to the ad-ministration
and to the people who
have made it possible to keep the
wheels of our fine institution
turning smoothly, so that the
educational process won't be hin-dered—
letting neither foul wea-ther
nor deed deter us young
scholars from our appointed des-tiny."
"BRAVO, BRAVO" BlU
cheered.
Tongue in cheek, I humbly
bowed.
It was an interesting question,
though. Why hadn't they closed
the school earlier? Hearing the
weather report with eight inches
of snow and bUzzard conditions
expected, and knowing that 75%
of the students commute,
hadn't they used a little fore-sight?
I guess it's for the same
reason that no brafflc signs.
SLOW SCHOOL ZONE, RE-DUCED
SPEED SCHOOL, etc., or
traffic Ughts have been erected
on MelvUle Road. During the last
year alone there has been one
student kUled and several in-jured
in auto accidents! One often
wonders.
S was seven fifteen now —
the snow was stlU faUing. Hie
wheels on BUl's Uttle Sprite
barely gripped the icy pavement.
What a long, slow, grind.
". . . Massapequa Park schools
closed. The AmltyviUe pubUe
schools closed, the Bayview
Nursery school closed, Hofstra
University and the Copaigue
schools are aU closed today —
the roads are vei7 bad folks
so don't drive If at aU pos-sible.
. ."
I saw it coming, but it was too
late — the Auston Healy skidded
out of control, spun like a top,
jumped the right curb and
swerved to a stop on the side-walk.
"AwfuUy big pole, isn't it?"
"I'U say!"
"Sure glad we missed it."
"Yea!"
. . Bethpage school dis-trict
#10, Plainview public
schools closed, Grumman Air-craft
closed, Adelphi CoUege
closed. . . this just in, there's
been a four car accident. . ."
My euphoria
laise set in.
withered—ma-
The Sprite crept off the walk
and back on to the street. Both
of us visibly shaken, but none
the worse for the ordeal. It's
at times like that when you dis-cover
whether the Realist lurkes
inside you ready to spring- or
should I say the FataUst. Any-way
BUI didn't appreciate it,
and I don't think Frost would
have either. "And the road that
morning equaUy lay in snow no
tire had tres^d black. . . yet
knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if we should ever come
back."
"Would you like to walk to
school?"
"Not particularly, thank you."
The snow feU aU that last
mUe or at least I thought it
did, although you couldn't reaUy
teU—it was just one big white
blur, visibUi^ was near zero.
Weeping with the wind, the trees
were lovely along MelvUle Road
that morning—what you could
see of them--and then there were
the ugly iron monsters poking
their threatening heads at us
just waiting to devour them. If
you were lucky enough to be
watching that morning you could
have seen our little car being
blown like a snowflake, down
the road to Farmlngdale.
Hie snow was whipping wUdly
as we reached the Drip. The
news hit us hard — " . . .
Another just in - Farmlngdale
College wUl also be closed today
I looked at my watch. It was
seven forty andour classes would
have started at eight. Looking
out across the parking lot also
you could see that we were not
the only ones who had dared
the storm — I counted eleven
ears. I wondered how many
students, some living further then
I did and having to leave much
earlier, had ever made it, their
cars sinking deeper and deepei
into the snow!
To my feUow commuters where
ever you were that fateful morn-ing,
who barvely, braved the
blinding bUzzard with me - MY
DEEPEST SYMPATHY.
SNOWBOUND 1967
(With apologies to John Groonloof Whittior)
by Helane Catey
When the first flakes come tumbling down
Disorder and chaos descends on the town.
Mom looks out with distaste and sighs;
To the market she goes, to lay In supplies.
School evacuates, a "go home driU" is In force,
Jr. might get snowed on, which wouldn't do of course.
AU meetings are canceUed, due to the snow.
Cars get stuck, the trains are slow.
Suppers sit awaiting, which is such a pity
Because Dad isn't going to make it home from the city.
The old days had a different pace.
No panicking, as In the present day's case.
Instead of being "thrown for a loop,"
Mom merely swept the snow off the stoop.
Jr. fetched an extra armload of wood.
Trudged off to school, as a good boy should.
It was zero weather, but Dad didn't shiver.
He got out the sleigh - left home the fUver.
Mom was always at ease, the pantry never empty.
She had no worries about food hot and tempty.
Oh, where are the happy, carefree snows of yesteryear?
They have melted away with the driftc of time, I fear.
Need a Car?
Write Us.
An educaUonal corporation
subsidy has been granted in the
form of a special cash discount,
to be extended to coUege stud-ents.
This means that the stud-ent
can now purchase a car at
fleet level prices.
A local Chevrolet dealer has
announced to the Rambler that
students wlU also receive a 15%
discount on:
1. AU labor, parts, and ac-cessories
In the Service Dept.
and Repair Orders.
2. All over the counter pur-chases
in the Parts Dept.
LD. CARD must be presented
to obtain DSCOUNT. Interested
students should place inquiries
In the Rambler mailbox In Rooae-
Ttlt HalL
Sludenls Have Two Days Off
Over 12 inches of snow blanketing Long Is-land
caused SUATC to cancel day and night
c l a s s e s for February 8 and 9. Icy gales, below-freezing
temperatures, hail-slicked roads, and
marathon snow drifts on Tuesday contributed
to the hazardous driving conditions that com-pelled
the majority of schools on Long Island
to close. By Tuesday night the 15 hour bliz-zard
ceased, but the shortage of snow plows
and an abundance of abandoned cars delayed
school reopenings until Thursday.
Dorm students spent a mini- --
mum of time catching up on
homework and a maximum of
time watching TV, talking, l i s -
tening to the radio, and simply
loafing. The two days weren't
completely uneventful' groups of
boys raided Nassau and Siifolk
dorms and unceremoniously tos-sed
mUdly struggling girls into
snow drifts. Of course, the usual
exhuberant snowball fights helped
combat boredom. Knapp HaU
operated as usual to save snow-bound
students from starvation*
The surprise two-<lay holiday
was a comparatively minor prob-lem
caused by the storm. Long
I s l a n d R.R. commuters were
stranded as long as six to ten
hours due to the raUroads in-abUity
to cope with problems
on the lines and swelling mobs
of passengers. Employees slept
in such exotic locations as sauna
baths, armorys, and office buUd-ings.
Staff shortages plagued
hospitals. Numerous businesses
closed for the day; and airports
either canceUed flights or op-erated
on curtaUed schedules.
The threat of more snowfalls
was predicted for Friday. As
classes missed during the bUz-zard
must be made up, it was
fortunate that only sparse snow
flurries appeared.
SPS NEWS
Those
Empty
Eyes
by Chrisrine Paul
Her eyes were cold and weary.
They held a vacant stare.
She didn't see me watching her.
For she was unaware.
But somehow as I looked into
Those eyes so void of glory.
Their desolate expression told.
An old famUiar story.
She hadn't read the chapters
For the big exam in class.
Her marks were getting lower.
She knew she couldn't pass;
But then I saw a ray of hope
Faintly shining through,
And suddenly a vivid smUe
Changed darkness into blue;
It seemed classes were canceUed
Because of snow-fUled skies,
AU seniors Interested in trans-
Jerrlng In September, 1967 should A happy ending for the girl
be getting ttietr apidlcaUons In
now. Who had those empty eyes.