The Way We Were
(and Still Are)
As a graduate student in Counseling and Personnel Services and a
graduate resident in 1968, I wrote the original proposal for a
coeducational residence hall at the University of Maryland. When I
submitted it to Margaret C. Lloyd, director of Housing and to J. Winston
Martin, vice president for Student Affairs, I had no idea what the
reaction would be, for at that time this was quite a revolutionary idea.
Coed dorms were virtually nonexistent anywhere. Surprisingly, they
embraced the concept. Of course, I was placed on the firing line as the
news hit the local press. When I was interviewed by Ed Turney for local
television, the university received a number of letters from
disapproving Maryland taxpayers. Hagerstown Hall opened in the fall of
1969 and was limited to upperclassmen with at least a 2.0 GPA and a
recommendation from the student's previous residence hall staff member.
Also, the fifth floor was an Honors Unit. I was glad to be a graduate
resident in Hagerstown Hall and part of history. The university's role
of "in loco parentis" was ending and, fortunately, that first year was
extremely successful as most of the fears and apprehensions were
unrealized.
Roy L. Eskow, D.D.S. '68, '71, '74
Potomac, Md.
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Roy Eskow for guessing the year and
providing readers with his own firsthand look at that historical
occasion. Eskow was one of a number of alumni who wrote or e-mailed
their own recollections. We're happy to share a sampling here. This
issue's Guess the Year contest and the chance for another prize is on
page 63. The autographed 2000 men's basketball went to Beverly Brawley
'72, M.A. '75, whose name was selected in a random drawing from among
those who guessed correctly. Please note that we accepted both 1969 and
1970, since Hagerstown hall opened during the 1969-70 academic year.
Gentlemen's Agreement
It was 1970, of the school year 69-70. It was my only year living on
campus. I lived in Cambridge B and our GRs spent the first part of the
school year warning us residents how we were going to have to change our
living habits. We had to start watching our language, stop making crude
gestures and stop running around naked in the halls and/or leaving our
doors open. Our dorm didn't go coed then, so nothing really changed
except on weekends when just a few of us had dates.
George Summers '71
Washington, D.C.
Fonda Memories and more
1969: This was very easy because I lived in Hagerstown dorm the first
year that it was coed. Lefty was in his first year as Maryland's
basketball coach. The football team continued to lose. Jim Kehoe's track
team remained dominant. Hair came to College Park during the Vietnam
moratorium as did William Kunstler, Jane Fonda and the National Guard
following the Cambodian invasion. The "temporary" classrooms from WW II
remained in use for biology classes. Maryland was well known at the time
for its physics department and school of engineering.
Good memories remain.
Jeffrey Metzner, M.D. '72
Denver, Colo.
A Different World
That photo was taken in the fall of 1969 when Hagerstown went coed. I
was entering my junior year then, and I moved onto the fifth floor of
Hagers-town that year. It was truly a wonderful experience and the right
move by the university. The living environment at coed Hagerstown was
far more civilized and enjoyable than the all-male dorms I lived in
during my freshman and sophomore years. And of course time has proven
the correctness of the experiment, as the vast majority of all dorms
nationwide are now coed. (And I hear from my kids in college now that
the new discussions surround allowing coed rooms. You know, that's not
all that ridiculous either, if the two students know each other
beforehand and want the arrangement.)
The amazing thing about Maryland in the late '60s is the speed and
frequency of the changes. I entered a campus in 1967 that was dry and
had strict curfews. Just two years later, there were females living just
down the hall from my dorm room.
Bill Sundheim '71
Somerville, NJ
Right-on Memories; Wrong Year
The year was 1967. It was the newest dorm on campus (Hagerstown) and
also coed--very new concept! I was so lucky to have been randomly placed
there in my freshman year. It was a little further out, but it had other
benefits, such as--air conditioning. It was next door to Ellicott Hall
(where the football team was housed and also where my boyfriend lived)
and it was across the street from the stadium. We had boys on the same
floor--very risque--not alternating floors as is the custom today. The
boys and girls were separated by the elevator lobby on every floor. I
thought it was a great concept and worked very well. The boys and girls
got to know each other in a "less-than-superficial" environment, i.e.
dating (acting and looking your best). Therefore, those barriers were
immediately dropped (out of necessity) and everyone was very
comfortable. It was a great learning experience!
Also, that first year, we had curfew but not for long...the next year we
all got key cards...freedom at last! The year after that, I believe, the
dorm went to "biracial" status. I suppose it was the '60s answer to
being politically correct. All that and I haven't even mentioned the
rest of the excitement of living on campus during those years... like
finally winning a football game after a 16-game losing streak and
tearing down the goalposts. We went through three head football coaches,
Lefty Driesell came and rescued basketball, demonstrations on Route 1,
National Guard and curfews again, fraternity parties and the "Ugly Man
on Campus Contest" to name a few. I have a lot of fond memories from
those years, especially of my friends on "Seventh Heaven" of Hagerstown
Hall!
Maria (Vondas) Lampros '72
Lake Forest, Ill.
Editor's Note: The remembrance is a winner even if the answer is not.
Living and Learning, Still
I entered the University of Maryland in the fall of 1968 and lived in
Hagerstown Hall. As the concept of coed housing came to the forefront,
we women residents pondered how men in the dormitory would "change our
world" including how we dressed for a quick trip to the bathroom. In
the fall of 1969 the doors to Hagerstown were opened to men and women. I
remember our floor meetings where we decided upon male and female floor
co-presidents. Having parties was infinitely easier as the men were
already there! The tumultuous times of Vietnam and student
demonstrations resulted in many a bomb scare, fire alarm and building
evacuation in the middle of the night. It was not uncommon to see women
with bathrobes and hair rollers, sans makeup, conversing with their male
dorm-mates under the moonlight as if it were the most normal thing in
the world. I remember those times with great fondness. I met my current
husband in Hagerstown Hall as he was part of the first group to
integrate the previously female dorm with men. He recalls that men were
interviewed prior to placement in the dorm to help assure the venture's
success.
My husband graduated in 1971 and I in 1972. I completed a graduate
degree from the university in 1975. And from that initial
"living-learning unit," we have "lived" and "learned" as a "unit" for 27
years this June. And to think it all started in Hagerstown Hall!
Beverly Brawley '72, '75 (and Michael '71) Billingslea
Westminster, Md.
In Search of
It was the 1969-70 academic year. I was part of the Resident Halls
Association student group which proposed the coed dorm, and worked on
developing the seminars we got faculty to run in Hagerstown Hall to make
the first coed dorm a "living-learning unit."
We had a wonderful time and my experience in Hagerstown Hall made my
undergraduate years very special. I've lost touch with most of my
friends from the dorm, but wonder what other members of the "4th floor
mafia" are up to.
Mona (Friedlander) Levine, A&S,'72; M.B.A., '84
Mobile-ization recalled
The answer to the question is the school year 1969-70. The picture is of
two fellow "Trailer Rats" (residents of the Mobile Units). In an issue
that takes a look back at the changing faces of the U of M, this picture
took me back to the day the mobile area turned coed. I can still
remember that September day when approximately 20 freshmen women moved
into a dorm that was made up of 90-foot trailers. As a junior and dorm
treasurer, I was part of the committee that help the new students move
in and still remember the look on the faces of both the students and
their parents as they saw the trailers for the first time. While the
living conditions in the trailers were not ideal, the new and old
residents soon formed friendships that last today. It was my
understanding that the mobile area always had one of the highest rates
of students returning each year. I believe Hagerstown turned coed one
year later. Thank you for this little reminder of when life was a little
easier.
Clement H Ruley, Jr. '71
Baltimore, Md.
Achievements Duly Noted
As I reviewed the Spring 2000 issue, I noted on page 55 under
"OBITUARIES" a brief account of the "passing" of David L. Brigham '38. I
was pleased that finally after the passage of six months, the death of
this exceptional alumnus was reported.
Disappointment and shock were my further reactions, however, as there
was no mention of any of the numerous awards he had received for his
distinguished service. Let me just briefly cite only four of them, for
to cover all of them in detail, would take pages. These four will
suffice to illustrate my position.
Two governors of the state of Maryland each awarded him the "Citation
for Distinguished Citizenship."
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan in a special ceremony presented him the
Presidential Award for Distinguished Service to the Handicapped.
In 1993, he was selected from over two million retired Federal employees
for the GEICO Public Service Award for Distinguished Service.
Also, in 1993, his recognition went beyond national boundaries.
Rehabilitation International (a consortium of the world's nations) cited
David L. Brigham as one of the five citizens of the year for his
distinguished and exceptional service to the disabled and handicapped.
He was the only U.S. citizen to be so honored.
In my humble opinion, no other alumnus of College Park has devoted his
life so unselfishly to his fellow citizens and achieved such recognition
for this distinguished service as David L. Brigham '38. I base my
statement on the fact that I served on the Alumni Council from 1946 for
25 years and was president of the Alumni Association, 1962-63. I have
followed his path just as closely subsequent to that time. Frankly, I
think it was a grievous error to have given so few words to his life and
distinguished accomplishments.
Harry E. Hasslinger '33
Mayo, Md.
Streaking Exposed
Page 58 of the Spring 2000 issue includes a reminiscence by Megan Brewer
claiming she had covered the University of Maryland's first incidence of
streaking while a reporter for the Diamondback in 1967.
This is difficult to believe given that the established date for
streaking's insurgence coincides with the demise of the Nixon
Administration. The Watergate-streaking juxtaposition has been heavily
exploited by media wits for more than 25 years.
The accepted origins of streaking are on college campuses in California
and Florida during the spring of 1974.
Though perhaps endearing prose, the publication of Ms. Brewer's
reminiscence ultimately serves to undermine the historical narrative (of
the United States and UM) and the trust of your audience.
Christopher P. Aubry
Coordinator, Electronic Grants,
Office of Research Administration and Advancement
Editor's Note: Brewer's memory was one of many deposited in our "Virtual
Time Capsule," and selected for publication. Anne Turkos, university
archivist, concurs with Aubry. The first mention is in a '74 yearbook.
