A Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to everyone out there. Santa's already dressed in scarlet with black and white trim. Second night candle on the menorah will be for the Scarlet Knights. The Maccabees were big Rutgers fans. And underdogs too.
Here's a little perspective on the holidays from Rutgers Christmas of long ago:
Robert Lusardi was a three time Rutgers football letter winner and would later have a football scholarship fund set up in his name. On November 5, 1956 he and others voted for the Student Council resolution expressing sympathy for the Hungarians in their October revolt against their Soviet Union oppressors. Just before noon, 16 days later, Project Mercy brought the first of thousands of refugees into McGuire Air Force Base for transport to a re-activated Camp Kilmer (today’s Livingston College grounds) for refugee housing. On December 18, members of Zeta Beta Tau, Tau Delta Phi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Epsilon Pi and Gamma Sigma played host to newly arrived children, some of whom still wore “Free the Magyar Republic” pins on their hats. “The young Hungarians made quick friends with the college set, many of them running up to the students indicating that they wanted to be picked up…. The ‘brothers’ quickly obliged… the children shrieked with delight at the antics of Abbot & Costello and Woody Woodpecker as they saw their first American movies. Santa Claus then delivered presents as the children greeted him with “Mikulas,” according to the December 19, 1956 Targum. The January 30, 1957 Targum reported 41 of the refugees would be honored at that May’s graduation ceremonies.
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