The Extreme Court of the United States recently killed the Biden Administration’s effort to reduce the burden of student loan payments. Could anyone imagine in this day and time an institution which accepted students on merit alone, cost zero in tuition and was rated one of the foremost in the nation? Yes, Virginia, such did exist back in the day – The City College of New York (CCNY). I was one of the fortunate ones to benefit from this generous gift to residents of the city.
Back in the middle of the last century (mid Fifties), I was a good (but not that good) student in a public high school in New York City. My parents, immigrants from France, both worked, but were not rich enough to send kids to college. I was pursuing the possibility of attending ivy league Columbia College on a Naval ROTC scholarship, until I learned I was ineligible because I didn’t have perfect vision. Based solely on my average in high school, I was admitted to CCNY in 1956.
A bit of history. In 1847, the Free Academy was founded by Board of Education president Townsend Harris. “Open the doors to all…Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and intellect”. Imagine that! Alumni of the College include numerous luminaries of the arts, sciences, government and the military: Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the first polio vaccine; Edward G. Robinson, actor, and General Colin Powell, who also served as Secretary of State.
Colin L. Powell ’58 was a cadet in Pershing Rifles, an elite outfit within the College’s Army ROTC program. He was two years ahead of me, a reluctant participant (at best) in the Program. One morning (following a drunken late night frat party) I hastily dressed for inspection – so hastily I forgot a tie. The inspecting cadet (I swear to this day it was Powell) came up to me, paused, totally nonplussed: “Mr.! You’re not wearing a tie!” (Oh well….). Many, many years later, my daughter brought me to a book signing, where I did meet the General. (I didn’t mention anything about it).
In my time, the College had several nicknames. My favorite: “The Harvard of the Proletariat”. Not so much: “The Little Red Schoolhouse”. I attended during the McCarthy red scare era. The College had a reputation as a “Pinko” institution. Most of the students I knew were too involved in academic survival to bother with politics.
During the 1970’s, the city’s Board of Higher Education instituted an “open admission” policy, whereby any New York City high school graduate could be admitted to the College, regardless of high school attainment. What had been a highly selective institution became, virtually overnight, a remedial basket case. This experiment all but destroyed the College as a respected center of higher learning. The project was abandoned after a few years, but it took decades to restore its reputation. I well remember attending my niece’s commencement at Wagner College, when the graduation speaker told us that, “I am a graduate of CCNY..(pause) the old CCNY”. Enough said.
Thousands of non-wealthy kids benefited from New York City’s foresight in investing in its youth. In turn, untold dividends have accrued to the city, many of which are incalculable. The nation gave itself a lasting shot in the arm following the end of WWII with the G.I.Bill of Rights, which enabled millions of people to earn college degrees who might never have had the chance. It is, indeed, unfortunate that some old men who sit on SCOTUS have (hopefully for now) thwarted President Biden’s efforts to relieve many young college grads of crushing student debt. Didn’t at least one of them benefit from a leg up in the form of Affirmative Action?
Rogernarc 