Class of 1970 turns forty

page 5 of 6

“I ask you to have a good look at these young men,” Fr. Damian began his address at the school’s first commencement on May 23, 1970 in the lunchroom (see below). “They came to us years ago as children, and see how big they are now, how strong they are, strong enough to live the life of men.”

“For years we tried to teach them, guide them, tried to understand them, and helped [them] to understand themselves.

“They were not only part of this institution, but they were also the very institution, a part of us.

“That is the reason why our feelings are so mixed.”

Feelings were mixed for other reasons as well.

The country was reeling from the shooting at Kent State where four students were shot down by National Guardsmen just weeks before.

Baby boomers nationwide  were growing to distrust authority figures more and more.

At Cistercian, some in the Class of 1970 had been angered by the School Board’s decision to replace Fr. Damian as headmaster with Fr. Denis Farkasfalvy in 1969.

For seven years, they had been the school’s top priority. Suddenly, the school had turned its attention down the road, to future seniors. 

As the profiles on pages 10-11 suggest, they did not suffer from being leaders (never followers) for eight consecutive years.

“It taught us to think ‘outside the box,’” said Tim Sullivan ’70.

“If you look at us as a group,” commented Jim Pritchett ’70, “you’ll see a lot of entrepreneurs.”

“We have no fear of starting new things, no fear of being the ‘new guy’ or the underdog.”