Norman S. Sider

When I was there, CCNY was still a tuition-free school. Both academic and social life were very important to me. Many of my neighborhood friends also enrolled at CCNY, so enrolling there was an opportunity to reconnect with them. I hadn't anticipated that, through the House Plan system, I would meet other men who would also remain good friends. One of the highlights of our CCNY career was that these groups of old and new friends in our Cohen '62 House Plan won the intramural softball competition as underclassmen. I was a speech major, but also took classes in acting and directing at CCNY, and broadcasting classes at Hunter College. At both colleges, I was a DJ for internally 'piped in' recorded music. I had no idea that, although these classes and activities would not lead to the career in broadcasting for which I assumed was preparing, they did prepare me to be a capable public speaker, which was very important during much of my working life and as a volunteer. With respect to the latter, it gave me the confidence to become a lay leader of religious services, which has been among the most meaningful of my volunteer activities. Among all the faculty members I met at CCNY, the one who most influenced me was Dr. Kenneth B. Clark. I took his class in psychology. That introduced me to influential Black American authors and gave me access to Dr. Clark's knowledge of what it was like to be Black in America. The class motivated me to make some of my career choices. Five years after receiving my BA from CCNY, I earned a law degree. During the next 13 years I applied my undergraduate training and my legal training while working for government agencies that enforced civil rights legislation and for a nonprofit organization that sought to expand civil rights protections and improve inter-group relations. Dr. Clark has helped me become a better human being and thus been a much greater influence on my life than I ever could have imagined he would.