Bucks
Ezra Billinkoff Fiftieth Penn Reunion
Dear Friends,
Good morning. An Ottsville resident recently graduated from my alma mater with an incredible honor. The University of Pennsylvania chose Ezra Billinkoff as the “2007 Spade Man,” one of four awards given each year. There are approximately 1,000 men in a typical Penn class so an aspiring candidate for an honor award faces very long odds.
In my day, the students, faculty, and administration chose the four winners. I assume that the procedure hasn’t changed. The four honor men are the principle undergraduate leaders at the university…the four men whom their classmates respect the most.
I met Ezra five years ago at the Solebury School near New Hope. John Brown, Solebury’s Headmaster, wanted me to chat with Ezra and encourage him to apply to Penn. Brown realized that Ezra was an exceptional student and hoped that Penn would agree. It did and the rest is history.
Watching Ezra receive the Spade Award was special because my class was celebrating its 50th reunion. About 400 of us turned out for the event. One of the highlights of the reunion weekend was being in the chorus for a very funny and appropriate song, which a talented friend wrote… “Staying Vertical.” Here’s the chorus:
“Staying Vertical, Staying Vertical,
The best advice that any of us have found,
To keep the midnight-blues from coming ‘round,
Remaining perpendicular to the ground.”
But I stray.
Why did Ezra win the Spade? He was President of Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life in America. Fluent in Hebrew, Ezra spent six months in Israel during his Solebury School days. At Penn, one third of the student body is Jewish so becoming the president of this religious organization is a unique accomplishment.
Ezra was very involved in Women’s Week, a group that promotes awareness of sexual violence. He was also a leader in “1 in 4,” a men’s organization which focuses on violence against college women. Ezra told me that one in four college women are assaulted in American colleges.
He was a member of the Sphinx Senior Society, an association that recognizes exceptional class leaders. Finally, Ezra was an advisor to “CWiC.” Pronounced, “quick,” CWiC stands for communication within the curriculum. This group helps students prepare class presentations and speeches.
The four honor awards at Penn are: Spoon, Bowl, Cane, and Spade. Begun in 1860, the annual tradition features the honor men from the 25th reunion class passing their prizes to the graduating seniors. So the four honor men of the class of 1982 presented their awards to the men of 2007 this year.
I remember the honor men from our class awarding their honors to the four young men of the class of 1982. My roommate, Ed Ware, won the Cane Man prize in 1957. Cancer killed him when he was only 45. In 1982, his son was just ten years old. Twenty-five years ago, little Ed Ware gave his father’s honor to the Cane Man in 1982. There wasn’t a dry eye in Irvine Auditorium that day in 1982.
And now it was exactly 50 years later. After the awards ceremony, I asked the 1982 Cane man about his day, 25 years ago when young Ed Ware presented his father’s cane? “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Phillip Cuffey, ’82,” replied with his eyes welling up.
When Ezra’s name was announced as the 2007 Spade Man, my classmates and I rose and cheered. It was a great moment.
Like most college kids, Ezra was anxious about his job prospects after his days at Penn were done. He need not have worried. Ezra told me that as he was processing on graduation day, attired in cap and gown, his cell phone rang. Campaign Group, a Philadelphia political consulting organization, called him with the good news.
“I got a job,” Ezra shouted to his classmates!
This young man is headed toward an interesting career in politics and government. I’m certain that we’ll be hearing about his accomplishments along the way.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith