Blasts from the past: April 6
These Blasts from the Past were compiled using the archived issues of The Gettysburgian available in Special Collections at Musselman Library
By Benjamin Pontz, News Editor
This week in 1937, a Gettysburg student published an editorial decrying the price gouging and time-consuming nature of “checking wraps” at the upcoming Panhellenic Dance, which was a “thorn in the flesh for all the male students,” who have to “spend half of his dorm date’s allowance of time” in addition to pay “tolls” to check garments. The student suggested hiring students at a flat rate as a potential method of lowering the cost.
This week in 1965, students and community members lined West Lincoln Avenue to welcome home Joe Bavarro, a star Bullet wrestler who was returning home after finishing second in the 147-pound weight class at the NCAA tournament, which was held in Laramie, Wyoming. A member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Bavarro had no idea he would return to such a celebration; in fact, his fraternity brothers planned it the same afternoon he returned through word-of-mouth and local radio.
This week in 1997, The Gettysburgian profiled Tom Dombrowsky, who was departing the college as Director of Greek Life after six years due to budget constraints. Dombrowsky was the first person to hold that position, which was created in response to a 1988 faculty movement to eliminate the Greek system entirely, and as he reflected on his tenure, he noted implementation of the BYOB policy, improvement of the standards and expectations for fraternities, and a movement towards fraternities going dry by 2000, which was a commitment that Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) had made. Dombrowsky, who now is an adjunct instructor of military history at Gettysburg, ultimately noted that “the Greek community is much better now” than when he started.
This week in 2006, controversy emerged on campus over what was described as “racist graffiti” in Musselman Hall. The Gettysburgian featured a variety of student responses, most of which expressed outrage at not only the racist sentiment expressed in the graffiti, but also in the campus culture that would allow it to exist. An open forum for discussion was held in the Junction as students worked to process the situation.
