The Parlors in Burns Hall
Sister Elizabeth Hill talks about the Parlors in Burns Hall [Voices of SJC Spring 2017]Sister Elizabeth: We were on Law & Order one time. They wanted to use -Mayumi, you probably have a clip of that- Angela Lansbury and Antonio Banderas [Angela Lansbury and Bradley Cooperin, Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005)] were the two starts. They wanted to use this room, as a courtroom and I said “no”. We had a lot more sisters here at the time and it would have been very distractive. There were Sister Alice, Sister [inaudible], and Sister Winifred, who were in their 80s and 90s and I just said “No, we cannot do that”. But they did use across the street, the Parlors [in Burns Hall at 245 Clinton Avenue] and they took all the furniture that we had there and brought in other, and it was Angela Lansbury’s Upper East Side home. I said “Oh that was very nice”. Antonio Banderas, of course, was her son and he was the murderer butshe didn't believe it so she was trying to bribe everybody, it was really one of those. But what they could do with the camera! When I saw the actual movie or the TV thing, they made the room look twice the sizewith the perspective, the way they used the camera they went deep and broad. It was amazing. We also had the walls-basically, this sort of neutral blah color and they came and painted the wall gray that they are now. And when they leave, of course, they restore everything exactly the way it was, and they began to bring in the bucket of paint, and I said “no, no no, we like the gray”. When they first painted I said “Gray, who even paints it gray”? But it was perfect. They had the artistic sense they knew what would work better. So that was a happy accident. So it has a little interesting history.
Tuohy Hall
Lorenzo Hall
Campus life in 1960s told by SJC alumna, Mary Macchiarola ('62)Deserae Sequeira: Ms. Mary, could you share with us how the campus life was at that time you attended St. Joe’s?Ms. Mary: Campus life, you know, in many ways it’s the same, but in many other ways it was very different. Our curriculum was really picked out for us. I do not think we had as much choice in choosing a curriculum as you students have today; you have much more freedom with what you take. When I was in school, you had no part in this election process, basically. The first year, the second year, your courses were given to you, of course, under the guidance of somebody. When you declared a major, then you knew more where you going to get the specific kinds of courses needed. But I would say for the first two years, our courses were laid out for us. We had to take philosophy, we had to take theology, we had to take speech, we had to take- or I think I had to take a year of language- I did, because I think we had a little language comprehensive exam at the end of it. In that sense, our program was much more routinized than yours and we also went five days a week. We took three credit courses and we took two credit courses. The two credit courses were two days a week. They were Tuesday and Thursday; and then three credit courses were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and we basically had a full day.I know from my experiences at St. Francis with my husband, the students there- the students in many cases, arrange to give themselves a day off, or they arrange to come only three days, or they arrange to come late classes and sleep in the morning, or take morning classes so they can work in the afternoon; so in that respect, it is very different. You know, even walking here today, I said it is still the serene, peaceful, wonderful, welcoming atmosphere environment that was here when I was here. It is striking, it really is striking. Just next door at McEntegart Hall watching the students working outside quiet, peaceful, that is definitely very much the same.But of course I do have to admit to you girls, we did not have as much as Campus as you have. McEntegart Hall was not- this library was not here when I was here. We used the library- I think you call it Lorenzo Hall, it's the building next to the main building. Below that building in that little cubicle was what we called “the Smoker”. When I went to school, everybody smoked. That was the “in” thing; and that was the only place on Campus where you were allowed to smoke. So, what do you think it was like? We had 40 minutes periods, and in between I guess you got 10 minutes, and you needed 5 minutes to get to class. Everybody would head to the Smoker and you would work your way in there [students laughing], and we would play cards there too. On a free period you would play cards. And it was a little I mean tiny, it was probably a bit bigger than this room, and we would pack people in because anyone who had time, that is where you would go because everyone smoked. There was a lot of hustle and bustle. We also ate over there. Our cafeteria was over there, and that too was on ground level under the library. But that was a room apart from “the Smoker” as we called it.The Dillon Center wasn’t here either when I went to school. So we had a very, very small Campus. I am not even sure what was here when I went to school. It probably was a building; a residence of some sort, I am not altogether sure. It was a smaller place then.Deserae Sequeira: I feel like your “Smoker” is kind of our school cafeteria. Where in between classes, everybody runs down to crowd one table, and just talk about anything, so it is kind of similar.Ms. Mary: But you have that, that space is open. When I went to school that space was open but, I guess yes, I guess if you brought your lunch you could go in there and you could eat in there but you had to be kind of quiet. I also noticed that you students are allowed to go through what we used to call the Parlors, you know where the Chapel is?Students: Yes.Ms. Mary: Okay, where the Chapel is, there are very formal rooms, you students have access to that. See we were never- that was taboo, that was off territory. We could go into that cubby there where the priest would dress for mass. And of course, when I went to school here, we had mass every day. There was a mass at noon in the Chapel every day.
St. Angela Hall - 263 Waverly Avenue
S. Elizabeth Hill talks about ACES program, and diversity on campus [Voices of SJC Spring 2017]Lubna Batool: I remember I was here myself in 2001 when the 9/11 attack happened and I know that was a hard time for everyone. Especially as a Catholic tradition that we have here and we respect all religions and all ethnicities, do you think there was a certain kind of fear in that period of time or how was there a support system where everyone was united and there were possible programs, or anything offered, or meetings offered to come together and discuss this matter?Sister Elizabeth Hill: Well we certainly had many gatherings as a result of it. Some, to do exactly what you just said, to be together as a community, to pray together, to support each other. It was a shattered time. Nobody who lived through would ever forget that day. You exactly where you were, what you were doing, with whom you were speaking, when you heard about the first plane, and then when you heard about the second plane, and then you knew. I think the College pulled together beautifully. We did not have then as many Muslim students as we have now but we had a few and I think we reached out immediately. Students reached out to their friends and faculty and administration reached out to assure them that we didn’t blame them. We didn’t equate them with what had happened. That we understood that they were as dismayed and as heartbroken as we were. And so I think, it was certainly a heartbreaking time we lost several of our recent graduates of the college and so we had a ceremony to memorialize them over near St. Angela Hall.We had a number of different things, I remember speaking at different things, always with that effort to reach out and just be reconciling. The sisters of Saint Joseph who have been part of this College for its entire history of 100 years, our mission is to be instruments of unifying love and reconciliation. It was very important to us as the leaders of the institution that we create that environment, that we immediately cut off any blame games or harsh retaliation or anything like that. And I think, I hope, we never really know what’s going on in somebody else’s heart but I hope that we were somewhat successful in embracing the community in a way that enabled us to go forward together. I think the fact that we had a number of young Muslim women come is, to me, a sign that we’ve been successful in doing that. That they do feel at home here, which is important.Lubna Batool: Also as an ACES student myself, I’d like to know what inspired the founding of the ACES program and how did this affect promoting diversity on campus and the student admissions process?Sister Elizabeth Hill: Well you can talk about that better than I can me because you’re there. Are you also, Yessey?Yesseny Fernandez: Yes, ACES student.Sister Elizabeth Hill: That really began as a combination of our desire to diversify the population precisely and to increase our student body. We realized that there were a number of very bright, gifted young men and women out there who would prosper in a place like St. Joseph’s College, which is small, student centered, that would provide them with the kinds of opportunity and back up that would enable them to succeed.I have to credit Sister Margaret Buckley with having the idea. She didn’t name it ACES, one of the alumni named it ACES because we had a little ad hoc committee of women who had been very successful in the public school system, that were superintendents or principals so we brought them together and said, “How would you do this if you were doing it?” So they gave a few suggestions and we kind of used most of them and one of the suggestions was to call it the ACES program so you would all think that you were aces, which is a good thing to be. So that’s really it. It was a very simple effort. It started small and then we were fortunate enough to have a benefactor Dick Dunn from California and his wife, Marygrace Calhoun Dunn (‘46), had died very suddenly and very recently and he was bereft really.I knew that he wanted to do something to remember her here at her alma mater. So I went to him with the suggestion that he might endow, or at least give the start-up funds, for this program and he loved the idea. So that’s how we put together the idea, which came from a whole bunch of people and we got the start-up funds and then of course since then we’ve been continuing to try to support it through fundraising and, you know, just keeping it going.
Founders Hall - 232 Clinton Avenue
S. Mary Florence Burns talks about Founders Hall [Voices of SJC Spring 2017]S. Mary Florence: I think 1935-1936 is the year that the College brought this house. They brought it, and the Pratts had moved out, the house was for sale. I don’t know if you know, there are three houses across the street that are Pratt houses, and the Bishop of Brooklyn, the College had bought- one 245, might be 242 is the Bishop’s house or 241, the odd number- the Bishop of Brooklyn was interested in buying that house and it was a package deal. The story is, he asked Monsignor Dillon if he would like the house next to the College, that would make sense, it would expand the space. But when Monsignor Dillon looked at it, and saw it as a convent, it wouldn’t have lend itself as a classroom building and it would not have served as a convent so this became- the Bishop bought this and sold it to the College as the convent. The bishop then took the house across the street, which was much better suited to him than it would be to us. This is a very big house, there is: this floor, second floor, third floor, a full attic with four big rooms in it, there is the basement floor which has the kitchen in it and then down below that what we call it the sub cellar but it’s really just a cellar. It's an enormous, and it’s an enormous house.
Molloy Mall Greek Theatre | Dillon Child Study Center
“Have heart and hold on" [Voices of SJC Spring 2017]Susan Reyes: We’ve talked about change and how the college has been changing since the beginning and something that has changed a lot is the faculty. How do you feel about the diminishing number of nuns that exist in St. Joseph’s now?S. Mary Florence: Well, I’m sorry, but here we are and this is the way it is going to be. That’s all I can say, I’m sorry. I think we played, the Sisters of St. Joseph certainly played a significant part in the history of this institution. Those first sisters and the congregation with the financial support it gave, the congregation was responding to a need.You look back and we know from history, New York State tended to be anti-Catholic. I don’t think it really is now, we are much too diverse. But, it was anti-Catholic in its origins and in its attitudes. And while the graduates of the academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood were welcome, were academically qualified to go to Barnard College, here in the city up near Columbia, they were not welcomed socially.And so the sisters decided that they needed to establish a college that would welcome the graduates of their academies. And so, St. Joseph’s College was put in place, was developed with full support from the congregation, both financially and in terms of personnel.So I am sorry that there will be no more of this, and it’s going to come back to you to carry forward, the mission, to take with you from the college some sense of what it means to be in this kind of an atmosphere and to convey that to all the people you meet for the rest of your lives.And to, I hope, to cherish some sense of what is what like when you were here, when you saw the last of the sisters, practically speaking.Let me give you the word of advice that Sister George Aquin gave in her last interview, about a year before she died. And when she was asked, “What would you wish for those who come after you?” And her comment was, “Have heart and hold on.” And that’s the final advice I would give to you, “Have heart and hold on” and move forward. And have very happy lives. Thank you.
