7:30 pm - 9:00 pm @ Ramey Room, Carson Complex

The students of the Oregon Brain Trust (OBT) invite the campus community to attend the Community Conversations Panel and Oregon Sesquicentennial (150th Birthday) Event:

“From Dorms to Residence Halls: History of Student Life on Campus at the University of Oregon”

The Ramey Room is located on the first floor of the Carson Residence Hall Complex adjacent to the main lobby. The Carson Residence Hall is located between the EMU and Student Health Center along 13th Avenue.


Former University of Oregon students and current archivists and University Housing administrators will unearth the hidden history of living on campus at the UO! The students selected Carson Hall as the venue for this panel. The venerable building opened in 1948 as a women’s dormitory and is the longest continuously occupied (by student residents) residential building on campus.


Heather Briston, University Archivist and Historian; Sandy Schoonover, Director of Residence Life and Associate Director of Housing; and Kevin Hatfield, Adjunct Assistant Professor of History and Assistant Director for Academic Initiatives with Residence Life, have dug deep into the archives and special collections to find historic artifacts, photographs, records, and diaries that capture the student experience. A traveling archival exhibit, multimedia slideshow, and scenes from the 1929 silent film Ed’s Coed that was “planed, plotted, played, and pictured by UO students” on the UO campus will illuminate the footprints left behind by students. Heather and Kevin will also share excerpts from the 1915-1916 freshman-year diary of UO undergraduate Lucile Saunders McDonald—the only source of its kind preserved by UO Archives. Please see below for a few teasers!


Former UO Students speaking on the panel:

Bunny Nosler. “I graduated from Eugene high school (now South Eugene High School) in spring of 1956 and began as a freshman at the UO in fall of 1956 at which time I pledged pi beta phi. I majored in business administration, received a bachelors of business administration, which no longer exists. While in college I worked about 30 hours a week at a women's clothing store located where the UO Bookstore is now. I was active on campus and served as panhellenic president. I also served on the student union board and was in some honoraries. I graduated in 1960 and worked for the phone company for a year then began working as an assistant dean of women in July of 1962. I am now retired but working half time as a counselor in academic advising--the titles changed but much of the job has remained.”


Peg Rees. “This Oregon graduate ('77) is the last female 3 sport athlete at the University of Oregon and earned 10 letters in the process. She taught seven years of high school in California and Oregon, returned to Eugene for a Master's degree ('91) and then joined the Oregon Athletic Department and coached volleyball for nine years. Peg is an Associate Director of PE & Rec, now in her 25th year working on campus.”

A few teasers:

Excerpt from “Welcome to Hendricks Hall” handbook (1940-1941). “All frosh are expected to be in bed on weeknights by 11:00. Freshmen are confined to their rooms or to study hall from 7:30 until 10:00 on weeknights. Freshmen are not permitted to date on weeknights. Extra-curricular work with that good-looking blonde in your Chemistry class is confined to Friday and Saturday nights.”


Excerpt from “Welcome to the Dorms: Philosophy of Dormitories.” (circa 1956). “Firearms: No pistols or other automatic or semi-automatic weapons are allowed in dormitories at any time. Rifles and shotguns are permitted only during the appropriate hunting seasons, but must be checked in with the counselor at all times other than when the student is out hunting.”


Excerpt from: “University of Oregon Dormitories Handbook for Women Residents, 1960-61.” “Clothing Standards: University of Oregon co-eds are expected to dress appropriately in skirt and sweater or blouse, or cotton dresses for class, the Student Union, the Co-op, and the library. You should try to look attractive and feminine at all times. Common courtesy demands that you not appear in shorts, slacks, or other extremely informal attire when calling on Deans or professors.”


Please visit the University of Oregon Libraries' Community Conversations Website for further reading at the following URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/partners/cc/index.html

Also, for more information about Living Learning Communities in Residence Life please visit the Living Learning Initiatives Website in University Housing: http://housing.uoregon.edu/reshalls/academic_programs.php

NEW!! You can now view past Community Conversations panels on-demand and on-line in streaming media at the UO Channel. Formats include Quicktime, Windows Media, and MP3 for podcasts. Please visit: http://media.uoregon.edu/channel/?cat=31

Community Conversations are produced by the Oregon Brain Trust and the Oregon Think Tank, student programs of the University Housing, Residence Life, in collaboration with the Robert D. Clark Honors College, Undergraduate Studies, and the Oregon Humanities Center.


Best Regards,


Kevin D. Hatfield, PhD
Assistant Director for Academic Initiatives Residence Life, University Housing
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History
346-1977 / kevhat@uoregon.edu

Remi Nagata
Program Coordinator
Residence Life, University Housing
346-4688 / rnagata@uoregon.ed
Presented by Oregon Brain Trust