Some Uniquely CCNY Commencement Traditions

On July 26, 1853, at a theater in SoHo, Manhattan, called Nilbo's Garden, 17 young men gathered for their graduation from the Free Academy, where they’d enrolled in January 1849, two years after its founding. The historic occasion marked the first commencement by a free public institution of higher education in the United States. The Free Academy would later be renamed The College of the City of New York, and later to The City College of New York.

Still a trailblazer, CCNY holds its 173rd commencement on May 29, with the Class of 2026 marching onto the College’s South Campus Great Lawn. It comprises some 3,542 students of whom 2,163 are candidates for bachelor’s degrees.

After the 1973 razing of the massive open-air Lewisohn Stadium -- the historical site of CCNY's graduations to construct the North Academic Center, commencement exercises in the mid-1970s transitioned directly to the campus grounds – primarily on the South Campus. The tradition continues.

CCNY Class of 1875 Loving Cup

Twenty-two years after that first commencement in 1853, the Class of 1875 drunk from an engraved silver trophy and bequeathed it to the graduating class 50 years in the future, as an unbroken physical symbol of "common friendship and loyalty,” transcending the changes of generations.

What became known as the Class of 1875 Loving Cup was inherited by the Class of 1925. It was then passed on to the Class of 1975. During the latter ceremony, Chava R. Pollack, the valedictorian of the class of 1975, was presented with the Cup. She in turn bequeathed it to the class of 2075 and declared, “What will recommend us to the class of 2075 . . . is our collective determination to improve our world, indeed to assure that there will be a class of 2075.”

At CCNY’s Homecoming Day on May 2, 2026, a ceremony was held for the classes of 1975 and 2025 to jointly hold the Cup in trust for the Class of 2075.

The Ephebic Oath

Rooted in classical Athenian tradition, the Ephebic Oath at CCNY commencements is a historic pledge serving as a guiding moral compass for its graduates. It emphasizes a lifelong commitment to civic duty, community improvement, and the betterment of New York City. Graduates pledge in part:

“We who are graduating from The City College of New York, do this day, after the manner of the Athenian youths of old about to enter public life take this oath of devotion to the City of New York: we will never bring disgrace to our city by any act of dishonesty or cowardice nor ever desert our suffering comrades in the ranks; we will fight for the ideals and sacred things of the city, both alone and with many; we will revere and obey the city's laws, and do our best to incite a like respect and reverence in those about us who are prone to annul them and set them at naught; we will strive unceasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty; and thus, in all these ways, we will strive to transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.”

“Lavender, My Lavender”

Since it was written in 1919, “Lavender, My Lavender,” has been the only song, other than “The Star Spangled Banner,” sung consistently at CCNY commencements. It hails the “Sturdy sons of City College,” with “trusty hearts and mighty hands,” and admonishes them to show “prowess” while “on fields of sports contending.”

“Lavender, My Lavender” punctuates every CCNY commencement before the merry and berobed new graduates depart their alma mater for the last time. The song goes:

Sturdy sons of City College
Trusty hearts and mighty hands
Rally where your streaming banner
With its dauntless emblem stands.
Send a cheer to heaven ringing
Filled with love and fond acclaim
Faith and pride in Alma Mater
And her never dying fame.

CHORUS:

Lavender, my Lavender
Lavender, my Lavender
On the fields of life’s endeavor
Bound by ties that naught can sever
Hail we Alma Mater ever!
Lavender, my Lavender.

Daughters fair of City College
We are wise and we are strong.
We will bring you pride and glory
With our life’s unending song.
All will join us in our singing
Songs of love and fond acclaim
Faith and pride in Alma Mater
And her never dying fame.

The Free Academy was established in 1847 by Townsend Harris as the first free public institution of higher education in the U.S. It became The College of the City of New York by a legislative act in 1866, and The City College in 1929. CCNY is the founding institution of the City University of New York, the nation’s largest urban public university system, which was established in 1961.

The beaver, symbol of intelligence, industry and determination, was voted to be CCNY’s official athletics mascot by a student-wide poll in 1934.