I was a freshman at BGSU in 1983. The school colors were still orange and brown, but there seemed to be a lot more orange in 1983 than today.
The business building next to Anderson Arena had recently opened and looked like the coolest and newest building on campus. My dormitory was Harshman Anderson, and almost every dorm had an eat-in cafeteria. You always ordered your pop with no ice and another cup with ice — because there was no charge for cups of ice — and you maximized your serving size with no ice in the cup.
It was legal to drink at 19, and the bars were hopping. Main Street, Uptown, Downtown, Brathaus and Howard’s were the bars of preference with long lines waiting to get in at 8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. After-hours parties started at 2 a.m. every weekend throughout the school year.
[Read more: Columnist reflects on life at BGSU now]
BGSU was very good in sports. The football team finished 8-3 and second place in the MAC, with sophomore quarterback Brian McClure, who would later become an All-American. He lived on my floor in Harshman. The basketball team was third in the MAC with a 18-10 record. When Gino Cavallini of the hockey team (he lived one floor above me in Harshman) scored his goal in the fourth overtime period in 1984, the Falcons were national champions! I went to so many hockey games, and I love to return to the arena to cheer the team on and remember that incredible season.
Backpacks were heavy in 1983, from carrying books, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils and everything else you needed for class. Computers had just arrived. Most students didn’t have access to a computer unless you went to a computer lab on campus. Each lab would have about 20 computers that were first come, first served. And yes, printing cost 2 cents per sheet, and you needed to show your student ID to pick up your prints from someone who worked in the lab.
The library is where everything happened. You met to work on projects, get tutored and could read a paper there. The library was the most identifiable building on campus, reaching to the sky right in the middle of campus for everyone to see. Long hours of study happened there because the dorms were just too loud.
Many things have changed over the years, but the constant is the students. The energy on campus makes returning there for any reason worthwhile. I have many reasons to come back to campus, but having a senior and a sophomore at BGSU makes me incredibly proud and interested in seeing what accomplishments will be aided by BGSU students … Go Falcons!!
