Holy Cross Class of '72 Ex-Man

This is a firsthand account by Gordon T. Davis who as a Black teenager from Philadelphia experienced the transformative years of 1968 through 1973 at the College of the Holy Cross. He entered the College in the infamous Class of 72 which still has the reputation as being the most radical class of the College. During his years there the world, nation, the City of Worcester, the College, and he changed profoundly. Gordon went from being a devout Catholic and a supporter of Hubert H. Humphrey to a Marxist-Leninist atheist. The issues such as racism, affirmative action, imperialist war, and poverty motivated the Class of 72 into action. The actions compelled the College to change. Gordon also became involved in the Black community in Worcester and took part in Worcester s history that is little remembered today. In those years which Gordon calls a trip to heaven he became friends with many people who are now famous such as Ted Wells (defense lawyer for Scooter Libby), Clarence Thomas (Supreme Court Justice), Edward P. Jones (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction), and Jay Carney (Defense Attorney for Whitey Bulger). He also made friends with people who are not public figures, Wizard, Tank, Cheez, and others. Gordon like many in the Class of 72 became caught up in the creativity and turmoil of the time and never received a BA from which the term Ex-Man came. Gordon was a romantic then. He chronicles his search for his true love. He speaksof the several girls he dated until he found the prettiest girl in Fitchburg .