Why is this thus?

Hmmm, who is this a quote from anyway?! None other than Artemus Ward, an American humorist of the early 20th century. Pondering the thisness of thusness on the lawn of the old Normal School are, left to right, Perry, Lathrop, Thompson and Cooper. Heh, we suppose you had to be there to really get it, lol. But it is nice to see that these fellows, who usually are pictured in rather stern poses, could relax and have a little fun, as they did in this 1929 Saga yearbook photo.

Campus School Reunion!!!

There is going to be a reunion of campus school alumni and staff on Friday July 22; click here for information. It should be a great day for the many people who attended the campus school or worked there.

The campus school, or practice or training school, as it was variously called over the years, has a long history. For those not familiar with it, a campus school was just that, a real school on campus; in it's latter years in the 1940s and '50s it was like a small elementary school. In earlier years it actually ran up through the high school level!

It started in 1867, when the old Collegiate Institute became a state Normal School. The focus of a Normal School was on teacher training, and as part of that it seemed logical to run a small school on campus, where student teachers could practice teaching under the watchful eye of experienced "teacher critics."

Look here for more on the campus school in the days to come, and we hope to see you at the reunion!

Whiskers, the college dog

In the March 1924 Stylus there is the following entry about a dog who was part of campus life then. Unfortunately there is no accompanying photo of Whiskers, but included here is a photo of another "English Sheep Hound..."

   "Who is 'Whiskers?' That question may be answered by almost any student in B.N.S.  For this English Sheep-hound is perhaps one of the most popular dogs in town. With his long, gray and white hair (usually a little soiled) he makes a very striking picture... To see this dog with his intelligent nods and gestures when one comes into the Normal cloak room after a weary and monotonous class, relieves the strain and tension of the nerves. He is always willing to shake hands although once in awhile they are not manicured.  But he doesn't mind such trifles.

His parking place is generally in the Normal cloakracks, but occasionally he strolls about the classrooms and corridors to look things over and see that everything is in order.

Some members of the faculty have had the hardness of heart (and I might say possibly the nerve) to put this innocent little canine out of our school life, but up to this time they have not succeeded.

"Whiskers" shall wear no man's collar. He has a perfectly good one of his own. He is 100% for the students. Long live the king of dogs!"

Jessica Michaels

Researching Brockport: the Stylus & Normalia Index

An excellent resource for researching Brockport's past is the online index for two student publications, the Normalia and the Stylus.  The Stylus is the student newspaper many have known over the years; the Normalia the predecessor to the Stylus.  The index covers these two publications from 1900-2008, offering access to over 100 years of the college's history! (Please note that this is indeed an "index:" that is you enter your search, then you get results showing what dates and pages have articles on the topic at hand. To get the actual Stylus article go to our microfilm collection on the ground floor; the Normalia was never microfilmed  and is available in the college archives.)

Pre 1928 Stylus online, plus much more!

There is a regional cooperative venture that hosts digitized collections from a number of area archives and museums online called the FLAG Heritage Site. Among the institutions taking part are the archives here at SUNY Brockport. There's lots of great material added already by archivist Mary Jo Gigliotti, including scans of some student publications from the early 20th century, the Normalia and its successor, the Stylus, covering 1900-1928. There are also photos of the campus in various periods and much more. Have a look sometime!

Freshman Hazing

Nowadays hazing is something people associate with fraternities and sororities, but for many years hazing of freshman by the upperclassmen was an accepted part of academic life at most colleges, including Brockport. It was felt to be a fun way to introduce students to the life of the school, help break the ice and so forth. Accounts of it at Brockport go back as early as the 1920s, and it continued into the 1960s.

The photo here is from the freshman hazing of 1962, outside Lathrop, which was the student union then.  According to the Stylus article this photo accompanied, "Freshman Hazing" was also known as "Student Disorientation Week!" The week included various events and rituals, for example a Kangaroo Court, and special hats for the freshman, the "beanies."

As the Stylus related it, "Answering to the gleeful calls of 'Button Frosh,' and 'Ellsworth Frosh,' this year's crop of smiling freshman got down on their knees, bowed towards the town's telephone tower, pushed pencils along the sidewalk, sang frosh-praising songs..."

There were dances too, including a "Get Acquainted Dance" at which a freshman girl won the Limbo dance contest!

Glass plate negatives revived!

Mary Jo Gigliotti, librarian and college archivist, has done a sterling job of working with a significant collection of photographic materials that depict the college and village in the early years of the 20th century. The collection is made up of glass plate negatives, the majority of them taken by Brockport resident George Guelph,  photographer for the local paper, amateur naturalist and member of the Brockport Yacht Club.

You can view and download scans of the collection that Mary Jo has posted on a regional historical site, just click here. If you have any information on persons or places depicted in the photos please share with us at archives@brockport.edu. Pictured here is one of the photo scans, the girl's basketball team at Brockport in 1906.