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Jesup, Georgia 31545

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

75

Old fossil recalls UGA college days, circa 1966

Theyre backall 34,434 of themdriving two cars each, with at least one dog riding shotgun in both sets of wheels. That means UGA is back in gear. And thats a good thing. Times have changed since 1966, and the 5,150 freshmen of 2013 would say: Thats a good thing, too. When freshmen of this era hear about the archaic rules of my collegiate days, they stare as if I were a Tyrannosaurus just coming back to life. Some days, I do feel like an old fossil. Still, I remember: Carless freshmen My parentslike others hauled me from Jesup to Athens in their car without a U-Haul trailing behind their Buick. Most of my stuff fit in the trunk. The rest was in the back seat with me. Freshmen werent allowed to have cars. A daredevil few hid their rides off campus. Ladies, cover your legs If coeds were headed to and from PE and wearing shorts rain or shinethey wore raincoats. London Fog did a huge business in Athens, keeping boys from peeking at the legs of shorts-clad girls. Varsity off-limits to coeds Just across from the Arch corner of Broad and Collegethe Varsity was a magnet for the hungry, but coeds inside were taboo. William Tate, Dean of Men, didnt think it was a proper place for ladies. Girlfriends stood outside while their beaus purchased ice cream cones or anything else on the whatll-ya-

My Opinion

have? menu. Red-cap law and order Dean Tate, a former Bulldog track star, ran things at UGA. The DINK man beneath NeSMITH the red cap Chairman was the law, and he kept order, too. If he demanded that you hand over your student ID, you might as well call your folks to report: Im coming home. Registration lines wrapping around coliseum Computers? What computers? You did hand-to-hand combat with the masses, trying to get into the coliseum and cobble together a class schedule on a first-come-first-serve basis. If Dean Tate caught you breaking in line, well, sending you to the back of the line was the lightest of his punishments. Want to get married? Ask Dean Tate The legend of Dean Tate was larger than life. I have friends who believed students had to ask for the deans permission to get married. True or not, they trudged to the Academic Building to get his blessings. Coeds had curfews If UGA women lived in a dorm, they followed strict curfews, sign-

ing in and out. During the week, the doors were locked at 11 p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, women could stay out until midnight. I had one female classmate who was kicked out of school for taking an unauthorized trip to see her boyfriend in another state. Football games in Sunday clothes Game day was dress-up day. The September sun showed no mercy on those of us in wool pants, blazers and ties. Before kickoff, our starched shirts stuck to our backs. And you couldnt tell if ladies were dressed for a ballgame or church. Hup, two, three, four! UGA male students were required to take two years of ROTC. Even if you werent going in the Army or Air Force, you learned to spit-shine shoes and march. No whiskey stores in Athens You could have filled Sanford Stadium with beer cansmostly Pabst Blue Ribbonby the end of the season. But if whiskey wet lips, it came from somewhere else. Clarke County was dry, except for beer and wine. Reed Hall, the mens freshman dorm, was fertile ground for bootleggers. Today, if I tried to foist those rules on the UGA students, theyd protest, thinking Id drunk too many PBRs. Theyd probably say, Climb back into your fossil, you old dinosaur. And they might be rightabout the dinosaur thing.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com

I am frequently invited to Hell, where I do not intend to go. However, if I am given a choice between Heaven and North Georgia, I hope I can have a reprieve for a century or two in my native hills.
Dean William Tate 1903-1980