Early spring semester of 1961, Dennis “Denny” McGurer was invited to join Bowling Green State University’s (BGSU) secretive spirit organization, SICSIC.
“I remember when I got the call, I was in the freshman dorm and I didn’t know what I was getting into, but they said ‘Dr. Harshman would like to meet with you tomorrow at one o’clock.’ I can tell you, I didn’t sleep for a whole 20 hours, probably, I didn’t know what I thought I had gotten into,” McGurer said.
Dr. Ralph Harshman was president of the university at the time and McGurer was in trouble that day- good trouble.
McGurer was a part of SICSIC from 1961 to 1964 and things were different back then. They made the signs as usual, but members of SICSIC wore mechanic uniforms and didn’t have individual themes. They also acted as the “signal boosters” for events, given that social media didn’t exist.
“We would go around and highlight activities that were going on and encourage people to attend. We even got requests to endorse events sometimes; we were kind of a PR group too, quite frankly, not just a spirit group,” he said.
McGurer said one of his favorite things about being part of SICSIC was the camaraderie.
“We had three different years of representation; we had seniors, juniors, sophomores, brand new freshmen. That’s a pretty close-knit group of six to eight people. We had great leadership and fellowship with each other. And trust. TRUST in all-capital letters,” he said.
On top of his SICSIC responsibilities, McGurer also participated in Undergraduate Student Government, and was president the year he graduated.
He effectively lived a triple life during his university career: as a student, USG President and SICSIC member.
“I just surround myself with people I really trust and love. Because I was enthusiastic, I felt that it was a commitment that someone bigger than me said ‘Hey, this is the right thing to do, so step forward. Don’t be afraid to step forward,’ and that’s what I did,” McGurer said.
McGurer’s impact on BGSU sticks to this day. A plaque with his name on it is in the entrance to the Prout Chapel, and as USG president, McGurer helped design and install the BGSU sign that is currently set up on the corner of Thurstin street and Wooster street, outside of Founder’s Hall.
After college, McGurer went on to work for Kodak for 32 years, living all over the world. Nowadays, he sticks around in South Carolina. He has nine grandchildren, and quite a few of his relatives either graduated from or are currently attending BGSU.
