{"id":1707,"date":"2026-05-27T17:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/?page_id=1707"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:43:11","slug":"class-of-1961","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/class-of-1961\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 1961"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big changes were happening on campus in 1961.  As seniors were finishing their final year, the college was officially named SUNY College at Cortland and became a comprehensive college of arts and sciences.  New buildings were going up everywhere with Neubig, Hayes and Hendrick Halls completed, and the creation of the stand-alone Memorial Library opened changing the college\u2019s culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final year for 1961 Cortland graduates was marked with two types of races.  The Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union and the race for the 35th<\/sup> President of the United States.  The Fall of 1960 had students sitting around TVs on campus to watch the 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup> Presidential debates between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy along with more than 63 million viewers.  On November 8th<\/sup>, 1960 John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected the 35th<\/sup> President becoming the first Roman Catholic and the youngest at just 43-years-old.  Kennedy\u2019s presidency was defined by a profound sense of national optimism, youthful energy, and idealism, often referred to as the “New Frontier”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the February 1960 anti-segregation sit-in in Greensboro SC, on October 19, 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. joined 52 students for a sit-in at Rich\u2019s department store in Atlanta, Georgia aimed to drawing national attention and were promptly arrested after refusing to leave their seats at a segregated lunch counter.\u00a0 This sit-in contributed to increased protest turnout, with over 2,000 protestors performing similar sit-ins at 16 locations the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Cortland seniors, the Space Race was in full force and by May 25th, 1961, with a <\/strong>proclamation by President John F. Kennedy before a joint session of Congress announced:  \u201cFirst, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.\u201d  Although Kennedy never lived to see it, that goal was achieved on July 20th<\/sup>, 1969 at 4:17pm EST when Neil Armstrong\u2019s \u201cone small step\u201d became a reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Kennedy signed an Executive Order on March 1st<\/sup>, 1961 that officially started the Peace Corps run by Kennedy\u2019s brother-in-law Sargent Shriver.  The goal of the Peace Corps was for Americans with college degrees to assist developing countries by providing skilled workers in education, health and community development.  The 3-month training began in June 1961, so 1961 Cortland graduates who were considering this new philanthropic role, were eligible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music of 1960\/1961 was transformational blending 1950s rock, traditional pop and soul music.  Chubby Checker first performed \u201cThe Twist\u201d on the Dick Clark American Bandstand starting a worldwide dance crazy with the single staying at #1 on the charts for a massive 39 weeks.  The Beatles with original drummer Pete Best performed their first public performance at The Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany moving to the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1961 performing 292 performances. Back in the USA, Berry Gordy signed The Primettes fronted by Diana Ross to Motown Records and under the condition that the group change its name to The Supremes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable Events<\/p>\n\n\n\n