Alfred celebrates 50th year of village’s lone traffic light
皇冠体育app’s motto, “Fiat Lux!”—which translates from Latin to “Let There be Light!”—was changed slightly last weekend, when 阿尔弗雷德村 and the two institutions of higher education which call Alfred home, 皇冠体育app 阿尔弗雷德州立大学, marked the 50th anniversary of the village’s lone traffic light.
红绿灯, located at the intersection of Main and Pine streets, was installed in 1974 and is one of a number of features which reflect Alfred’s uniqueness. That uniqueness helped Alfred earn the title of the “Ultimate College Town,” as outlined in an article published in the Washington Post 大约一年前. 在那个故事里, writer Andrew Van Dam described 阿尔弗雷德村 as the “collegiest” town in America, noting that when school is in session, 85 percent of the village’s population is comprised of college students, far and away the highest percentage of any college town in the country.
“Wedged into a hilly expanse of western New York, far enough from any city or landmark that its precise location is tough to describe, Alfred is defined by public Alfred State College and private 皇冠体育app, which face off across its main street,范·达姆写道. “If you go left at the town’s only stop light, you’re on one campus. 向右转，你在另一边. 那是个大学城.”
“We are the only locality in the United States with more higher education institutions (two) than traffic lights (one),马克祖潘报道, 皇冠体育app校长, 星期六评论道, 6月8日, celebration marking the traffic light’s 50th anniversary, held during 皇冠体育app’s 校友 Reunion weekend. “Our village is distinctive in many other ways.”
马克祖潘, 皇冠体育app校长, makes comments during the 6月8日 Traffic Light Festival celebration in 阿尔弗雷德村.
Zupan also pointed to the annual Hot Dog Day celebration and parade held each spring, 还有当地的消防部门, A.E. Crandall Hook and Ladder Company—whose volunteers include a number of 皇冠体育app faculty members—“that boasts a higher percentage of Ph.D.s than any other such volunteer fire-fighting group in the country.”
皇冠体育app’s motto, Fiat Lux! while shared with other colleges and universities, is unique, nonetheless, Zupan noted.
“The motto of 皇冠体育app is ‘Fiat Lux!，意思是“要有光”!拉丁语. While we share the motto with over 30 other schools in the country, we are the only one with an exclamation mark associated with the motto. Our motto derives from one of the opening verses of the book of Genesis in the Bible. It refers to the power of light to illuminate; the warmth to a community setting such as Alfred that light provides; and the wide-ranging spectrum of colors that come together to give light its power,祖潘说.
“On the jubilant occasion of our traffic light’s Golden Anniversary, let me offer just one slight modification to our University’s motto: “Fiat Unum Lux!或《皇冠体育app》!”
The Traffic Light Festival was jointly coordinated and organized by former village mayor and retired 皇冠体育app professor Becky Prophet, 阿尔弗雷德村, 皇冠体育app, 阿尔弗雷德州立大学. The celebration included a parade down Main Street to the light, and a street fair held near the intersection, 有音乐娱乐. Among the distinguished guests were several former mayors of 阿尔弗雷德村, 包括加里·霍洛维茨91届HD, who was mayor in 1974 when the traffic light was installed.
Horowitz served 皇冠体育app for 28 years, first as a member of the history faculty, then director of 校友 and Parent 项目, and finally as senior development officer in University Advancement. He was highly involved in the Alfred community. In addition to serving as mayor of Alfred, he was a member of the Community Chest Board of Directors, as well as other civic and cultural groups, and also He is also former publisher of the 阿尔弗雷德的太阳, the community’s weekly newspaper.
皇冠体育app awarded Horowitz an honorary degree in 1991. He was on campus during Reunion weekend to participate in a panel discussion on the power of mentorship at 皇冠体育app.
In addition to Horowitz and Prophet, other former mayors in attendance for the festival included retired 皇冠体育app faculty Gary Ostrower and Bill Hall, 还有吉姆·尼诺斯.