On Thursday, The BG News staff was approached with a unique opportunity: Barbara LaBella, a 1971 University Alumna stopped by The BG News office to pick up a yearbook and brought with her some unique stories about her time at the University. We sat down with LaBella and conducted a question and answer session about her time here, what homecoming was like and advice she has for students now.

Q: What were some of the current events going on when you were here?

A: Well, of course you had the Vietnam War, that was a biggie … We were having all these different protests, protesting the war, protesting a lot of different things that were going on.

There was a professor here, Maurice Mandell, an advertising professor, and he did a lot to keep the campus going. He organized a student security system, the students wore armbands and patrolled the campus because there were always threats on the ROTC building, to burn that down.

It was a fun time; it was a hard time with the war and hearing every day that the friends you went to high school with [were] not coming back and being killed in Vietnam, but at the same time we were college students. We partied and we had fun … It was still college … things [were still] happening that were fun and things that were serious and you just kind of balanced the whole thing throughout.

There were still the traditions going on…

Q: How was the campus different?

A: It was a lot smaller. You didn’t have all the dorms you have now.

Q: Was homecoming a big deal?

A: Yes and no. You had the people that were really involved in it and then you know … the anti-establishment kind of attitude was really popular then. So anything that was established they kind of just wanted to go against it.

Q: What is different with homecoming now?

A: There’s a different feel around the campus; it seems a little more formal than when we were here, it was a little more casual. And it might be the architecture. It was very basic 40 years ago at BG and now it has a different personality; it’s not a small school anymore.

Q: Did the University ever play Toledo when you were here?

A: I don’t remember.

Q: Do you remember the UT/BGSU rivalry?

A: Not as strong as it is now. It seems to be a stronger rivalry now than it was then.

Q: Any advice you would give to students here?

A: Take advantage of the opportunities. Bowling Green offers a lot of opportunities, you should enjoy it. It is college, it’s the only time in your life you’re ever going to be this age with this type of responsibilities or not have any responsibility. Enjoy it, take it all in and take advantage of everything that’s here … the people here are wonderful from the staff to the students. It’s a great place.

Q: Anything to add?

A: Bowling Green’s a great college, I highly recommend it to people. It’s hard to find a University any longer that is part of a small town, and Bowling Green isn’t really a small town. It’s not like going to college in Boston, the college is Bowling Green and that makes a big difference. I know when I was here the town used to triple in size when we came for school, and that makes a difference because the college is the focus point here.