TACKLE College: Then and Now

Those were the days!





What a difference 30 + years can make!   I first attended college in 1978.  Now, over 30 years later, I am back to school.  I started to compare the two time periods and this is what I remembered from 1978 and what I observed my first week of classes in 2011.

                                                                   Comparing Two Era's: 1978 and 2011  

1.  Classroom:

1978:  Professors smoked in class and were old enough to be my father.  They taught lessons with chalk on a blackboard made of slate or painted wood. 

   

                                              

2011: Many campuses are "smoke free" and Professors are young enough to be my son.  They post class lessons on the university website, "Blackboard".  

2. Majors:

1978:  Academics included Liberal Arts as a popular major for a well rounded education.

2011:  Innovative colleges and universities, such as George Mason University offer Bachelor of Individualized Studies (BIS), where students can build their own major. 

 

3.  Computers:

1978:  Computers were big, bulky and slow.

2011:  A computer can be held in the palm of your hand offering daily technological changes.     

4.  Transportation:

1978:  Students, like me, drove cars such as a 1967 Plymouth Valiant with no air conditioning and no seat belts.  Free parking lots were a few feet from the front door of the classrooms.

2011:  Talking and beeping seat belt alarms and climate control vehicles provide safety and comfort in unpredictable traffic on campus.   Parking requires drivers to stalk walking students to their car for a potential space in over crowded lots.  Expensive parking permits are required and lots are miles away from the buildings for class.

6.  Dining Hall:

1978:  Dining Halls were often the center for socializing, mail and food.  Students retrieved their mail and prayed for letters with money from parents.  The cafeteria included a new healthy addition: a salad bar consisting of veggies and fatty dressings.  Your Student ID included your social security number and provided you with all you can eat food.

2011:  Students rarely use their post office mailboxes.  Email and social media are the acceptable method of communication.  Tofu bars, nonfat, low carbs and various foods to suit special diet needs are on campus food courts.  Complicated meal plans with mandatory student ID cards with encrypted numbers are required for everything in campus. 

   

7.  Getting Around on Campus

1978:  It was safe to walk through campus late at night.  The danger was in balancing on chunky platform shoes and clogs.

2011:  Campuses offer escorts and emergency panic buttons through the campus for security.  Runners are trying the new fad of barefoot running.

8.  Jewelry: 

1978:   Girls had their ears pierced with only two holes.  Hoops were the popular earring.  Some daring boys had one ear pierced, usually with a small diamond.  

2011:  Piercings pop up everywhere on the body.  Hoops are even in the nose septum.



9.  Trends:



1978:  Blue eye shadow and glitter are splashed across the girls in response to the disco craze.

2011:  Tattoos and twitter are sending messages all around campus.

10.  Hair:

1978: Farrah Fawcett posters were plastered on every male dorm room wall.  Her perfect "feathered" hair and big smile were the envy of every girl.



 2011:  The fashion forward girl wears feathers in her hair.

 11.  Music:

1978: Couples crowd the lighted dance floor to the beat of songs like "Lady Marmalade".





2011:  Lady Gaga with her controversial costumes, is a pop singing talent who has stormed the music industry.

One thing that is still the same is homework.  We had it in 1978 and we have it in 2011.  In 2011, Professors usually request hard copies of work, but will often allow email, faxes, and scanning.  No more excuses like, "the dog ate it".