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THE TRADITION CONTINUES On October 25th, the rededication of Town send Harris High School was held at Colden Auditorium at Queens College. The ceremony began at ten o'clock with the faculty and alumni marching down the sides of the stage in their caps and gowns,.while the Queens College Symphonic Wind Ensemble played the processional. Students a lso took part in the processional . The honorable Reverend Robert L. Polk began the proceedings with a prayer. The Honorab~e Kenneth L . Shorter, a graduate of the Townsend Harris class of 1930, conducted the ceremony . Man y guests attended this joyous occasion . Among those on stage were Queens Borough President Donald Ma n e s, President of Queens College Saul B . Cohen, President of the New Yo r k Cit y Board of Education James F. Regan, President of the Townsend Harris Alumni Association Henry D . Shereff , Townsend Harris alumnus Dr. Jonas Salk, Chancellor of the New York City Board o f Education Nathan Quinones, and the oldest living alumnus "o f Townsend Harris, Rabbi Moses Rosenthal. Chance llor Quinones Spoke Nathan Quinones, Chancellor of the Board of Education . addressed the students of Townsend Harris and said, " P a r t of your function i s to expand the good beyond what it happens to be . What should you do with yourselves toward the bene fit of others '? " Dr . Ma l c o l m Largmann ~ principal of Townsend Harris, made clear the expec tat ions for the new school in his speech: " Th e Townsend Harrisite is expected to make a commitment to this community; we take as our example the distinguished alumni; their efforts ~ave established a legacy for future generations_
Dr . La r g ma n n led the present stu ~ dents at the new Townsend Harris in the Ephebic Oath , an oath that had been recited by former students at their graduation . Among the speakers was a student representative, Heather Nash . She had this to say about the school o n b e h a I f 0 f the stu den t s : " Our school is nurtured by the devotion and dedication of many people; our commitment is to the quest for aca ~ demic achievement . " There were three honorary degrees presented during the ceremony by Dr. Saul Cohen : Joseph Barkan, Doctor of Pedagogy , and Joseph Flom , Doctor or Humane Letters; Dr . Jonas Salk was last . Dr . Jonas Salk Honored The degree of Doct~r o f Science , honor is causa was p resented to the very hono rable Jonas E . Salk, M.D . , for his con tribution to medicine and humanity by inventing the poli o vaccine i n 1954 . Dr . Salk's speech was d irected to everyone , but he spoke mainly to the students of Townsend Harris : "I'm sure we all feel the same thing today ; we 're seeing a dream com~ true. I believe what this mea n s and signifies is an evolutionary experience . We can choose the futu re; we can create the future . Those of you will have the oppor tunity and wil l be provided b y the alumni, Queen s College, and the City of New York . There wi ll . never be another occasion such as this. I feel ex tremely pri vileged. This significant moment will not remain an i s o l a t e d eventi it will be r e p e a t e d the wo rld over. Th e wisdom "must come from t hose who select t o come here as well a s those who are se lected to come.~The purpose of the school wi l l be to bring out the best in you , and your purpose will be to bring out the best in each othe r ." Carol Cespedes Karen Greenberg er