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50 years for YSU
YOUNGSTOWN
Students showed off their campus pride for the 50th anniversary of Youngstown State University joining the Ohio System of Higher Education on Sept. 1, 1967.
President Jim Tressel said seeing a majority of students sport their “Y-gear” gave him a sense of pride.
Many students sported T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants Friday, but the dress code was much different 50 years ago.
YSU officials found this information in their archives:
Men could not wear T-shirts as outer garments, and women were prohibited from wearing slacks or shorts.
For formal events, men wore tuxedos; women dressed in formal gowns. For semiformal events, men wore conservative business suits with thin coat lapels and thin ties. Women wore dresses (for tea parties, hats and gloves were included in the ensemble).
Male students tended to wear their hair short and off the ears. Women wore their hair short, but styled with a great deal of hair spray – yet the shorter “pixie” cut was starting to become popular.
But Tressel appreciates the current Y-gear.
“It’s a reminder of the great tradition we have here at YSU and the spirit of this university,” he said. “It’s truly a wonderful thing.”
Graduate student Rachel Davis agreed.
“I’m just really all about YSU – I love it here,” she said. “It’s truly like a home away from home. I’m here all day, and I really just feel like I’m a part of this little community.”
Reshanna Simon, sophomore student and track athlete, said even the teachers feel like her family.
“Overall, it’s just comfortable,” Simon said.
The comfortable campus community, however, hasn’t remained stagnant since its inclusion in the Ohio System of Higher Education as Youngstown State University.
YSU officials found archives that revealed 50 years ago:
Kilcawley Center consisted only of the section that currently abuts the campus core and the fountain area (and now includes Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s and the Chestnut Room).
Faculty had their own dining room (where Chick-fil-A is now).
The library occupied most of the building that is now Tod Hall.
The Kilcawley dormitory was open to male students only. Women had to either live at home or take up residence in Buechner Hall, the YWCA or the Pick-Ohio Hotel (the current Amedia Plaza on West Boardman Street downtown).
After comparing then and now, Tressel said anyone who reflects on 50 years of anything can tell YSU is in a state of “rapid change” with expanding living quarters, growing enrollment and heightening standards for academic excellence.
“Times like this require us to keep moving forward,” Tressel said. “We need to think and act more creatively to keep up with the times.”