A Welcome to The Class of 2024
Words by Brahmjot Kaur
Graphic by Aspasia Celia Tsampas
Welcome and congratulations to City College’s Class of 2024! Even during such tumultuous times, you worked hard and for that, the CCNY community commends you. Entering college this year may seem intimidating, confusing, stressful, exciting, or all of the above. We are here to say, we hear you. It may not be as easy to feel like you are a part of this community. However, you are a part of this community, a part of City College history, and a part of world history. Right now, the college experience is undeniably unknown but take pride in City College, it’s a lot cooler than you might think.
Interesting facts of City College (that are actually interesting):
The City College of New York is the oldest CUNY, founded in 1847 as the Free Academy of the City of New York. The Free Academy was renamed the “College of the City of New York” in 1866.
CCNY’s school color is lavender which was decided in 1866.
In 1961, CUNY was formally created and the name of the school was officially changed to The City College of the City University of New York (what a mouth full).
In 1907, The Campus (that’s us!) published its first issue and is now the oldest student-run publication in CUNY.
In 1969, a group of Black and Puerto Rican students fought for a number of policy changes at CCNY, one major one including the implementation of an affirmative action program and open admissions. A school which was called “Harlem University” lacked diversity and the students did not reflect the community of Harlem. The CCNY Protests are a pivotal moment for CCNY and Harlem history. The students had a list of five demands (although open admissions was not a part of the five demands):
A School of Black and Puerto Rican Studies must be established
A separate orientation program for Black and Puerto Rican students be offered
Students be given a voice in the administration of the SEEK program
The incoming freshman should reflect the 40-45 ratios of Black and Puerto Rican students in the school system.
A Black and Puerto Rican history course must be mandatory and Spanish language classes are to be mandatory for education majors.
A number of TV shows have filmed on campus including The Americans, Shades of Blue, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
City College has also been the alma mater of many notable people including; former secretary of state, Colin Powell; former state representative, Ed Koch; former senator, Robert F. Wagner; the notorious Soviet Union spy, Julius Rosenberg; actress, Gabourey Sidibe; muckraker and writer, Upton Sinclair; and so many more.
Even without a global pandemic, transitioning to college life can be nerve wracking. However, college can also be the best time of your life. Nadia Flores, a senior and political science student stressed, “Push yourself to grow during college, learn to be vulnerable and then set the world alight”. These four years will truly be a remarkable experience and a global pandemic isn’t going to stop you.
