Founders' Day Home
40th Anniversary Celebration Website
Founders' Day 2009
Wednesday, November 18
Ramapo Reflections
Doreen Janes: "Swimming in the outdoor pool, having a drink in the tavern, and everyone helping one another; we were a family."
David Terdiman: "I remember seeing Coretta Scott King speak at RCNJ in the auxiliary gym in the Fall of 1984. What an incredible speaker - and to top it off, there was a terrible thunder storm that night and the power went out during Ms. King's speech."
Isadora Seibert: "In the spring of my freshman year, I decided that I wanted to take a bigger leadership role on campus. I took a petition from the Student Government Association office to run for Sophomore Class Council Representative. I honestly did not think I had a shot at winning, because we were all new to the position. In the end, I won! It was an amazing feeling; I now run class council meetings every week, and call myself an important part of SGA."
David Walensky: "I remember how intimate the campus was before the new buildings. I miss the ball-wall by Linden Hall and the basketball court where Oak now stands."
John Robert Cassidy: "What I remember most of all at Ramapo was the sheer joy of structuring a subtantial curriculum taught by talented, caring and well trained teachers for serious students: a curriculum which presented the world to them in all its complexity, depth and beauty, and opened up their minds to the life of the intellect."
Nancy Mackin: "As the opening of the College approached, we expected a freshman class of about 800 students, but we actually had no idea how many students would really show up at the new college in Mahwah. In fact, more than 1200 students registered and we had to really scurry to find enough seats for everyone. When the College opened, only wings A, B and part of C were ready. All classes ended at 1:40 p.m., so construction could continue in the spaces we were using for the Library, cafe, and classrooms. There was a tremendous sense of camaraderie as everyone was new to the campus. Having said that, most of us who were on the faculty and staff were in our 20s (you were one of the "old" people, if you were in your 30s or 40s)and had never opened a new college. We had a chance to figure out everything together. It is amazing to look around in 2009 and see what we have built."
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