Shasta
Not many people know that the university kept a live mascot almost continuously between 1947 and 1989. There was a club that took care of Shasta: the Cougar Guard. I believe it was a very controversial issue at UH as to whether it was ethical to keep a live cougar on a campus setting. It would be interesting to hear alumni speak of their opinion on this and to hear any memories of the live cougar. There are also some very good pictures "Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.
Sororities / Fraternities (Minority Fraternities)
Sororities and fraternities have been a part of UH since 1950. They are a major part of the student body that attends football games. We are sure to run into alumni who were members with memories of Greek life. It would also be interesting to find out when and how minority fraternities started. This was especially significant during the 60s and 70s when the first groups of minority students were on campus and may or may not have had a group like a fraternity available to them. There also plenty of pictures to choose from the UH Yearbooks.
Dorm Life
Students have lived on campus since 1950. This span of time allows for a wide range of alumni that could talk about their experiences in the dorms. A starter question could be What was it like living on campus? Then we could get into specifics: Which building did you live in? How was the room furnished? What was the cafeteria food like? Were the dorms co-ed? Etc.
Entertainment on Campus
This theme was inspired by conversations with my parents; both attended UH in the late 70s. According to them UH hosted a number of well-known bands; due to the Hofheinz Pavilion (built in 1970) and Robertson Stadium (built in 1942, but it did not belong to UH until the mid-60s). It would be great to hear alumni memories of who they saw on campus and what that was like.
Great Themes. I'd love to explore the entertainment one especially.
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Thanks,
Michele
Mika, I love the theme about Shasta. I think it would make a really interesting digital history. I wondered why UH had that weird hand signal with the ring finger down and someone told me that it was because Shasta lost that finger. Great photo!!
ReplyDeleteDitto about Shasta. I went to LSU for undergrad, and Mike the Tiger lived on campus in essentially a 'state of the art' tiger habitat. I think it was slightly controversial there, but I would love to hear exactly how alumni felt here at UH!
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the topic of fraternities and sororities, I think there will definitely be a major representation of greek alumni at the football games, and we will probably be able to get a lot of responses on this subject. I'm looking forward to this!
Again, I LOVE Shasta! That's so awesome. It's a great idea because at football games Cougar Pride is so intense, talking about our mascot is definitely important. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI have to add that I really like your third theme as well. I am VERY interested to see who played here!
ReplyDeleteAs a soror myself, I think that the focus on Greek life would be great! It seems to me that UH is, in some ways, very similar to my undergraduate institution in that a great number of students commute to campus each week. I can be quite difficult to feel included on campus when you're only here for classes. My sorority gave me the "college experience" I was looking for. I think that is a great idea!! And I can't believe I didn't think of it myself!! haha
ReplyDeleteDitto to all the Greek life comments. Like Stephanie, I was part of it all at my undergrad (although b/c of the mission of the college we couldn't call it sorority life). Though, as I can attest, there are many facets to Greek life- some aspects that are better serving and nicer to remember than others. I'm extremely interested to see what alumni and alumnae say about their experiences!
ReplyDeleteAlso-- Shasta= LOVE IT!
I dig the idea about Shasta. I know other universities have long had a tradition of keeping live mascots (the Georgia Bulldog, Bevo at UT, and I think the Air Force Academy still has a live falcon that makes appearances at the football games). The story of how Shasta was seen throughout the campus and more importantly what were the factors that led to Shasta being let go from an alumnae perspective would be a compelling story that I think many readers would be interested in.
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