Chill out

Friends debrief over soft serve on a November day in 1971. (Photography by Frank Gruber, AB’74; UChicago Photographic Archive, apf4-03859, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library)

Comic relief

A student enjoys the funnies in 1944. Life’s Like That, a single-panel gag cartoon—or a set of them on Sundays—created by Fred Neher from 1934 to 1977, features on the back page. How did you spend Sunday mornings as a student? Let us know at uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu. And while you’re at it, comics fans, turn to page 40 to read about cartoonist, author, and humor writer Phil Witte, JD’83, and his recently published book about the single-panel gag cartoon. (Photography by St. Louis Post-Dispatch, UChicago Photographic Archive, apf4-02836, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library)

Scholars’ aid

Students line up for scholarships, assisted by Robert M. Strozier, PhD’45, dean of students from 1946 to 1957, and Marjory Benedict, the secretary for the Committee on Fellowships and Scholarships. In 1950 there were 1,700 scholarships available to students. In addition, veterans and their families could benefit from federal funding for education through the GI Bill. This magazine reported in that same year that, at the time, veterans comprised 40 percent of the University’s enrollment. (Photography by William M. Rittase, UChicago Photographic Archive, apf1-07992, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library)

Hot-button issues

A smattering of political buttons from 1968 feature anti-war and anti-racism messages and support for Democratic candidate Eugene McCarthy, former president Harry S. Truman, and the Black Power and Free Speech movements. Different student organizations—the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, and the National Student Association—are all represented. (UChicago Photographic Archive, apf3-00266, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library)

Pipe up

Maroon football fans have likely heard of the kazoo marching band featuring Big Ed, the world’s largest kazoo. But what about the other halftime attraction of the ’70s, the calliope? It seems there was a bit of a calliope craze in the first years of varsity football’s return to the University, with the Maroon even advertising it as a headliner at the games: “THE MAROONS AND CALLIOPE MEET VALPARAISO,” read the announcement for the October 8, 1971, face-off. Invented in the mid-19th century, calliopes produce sound by sending steam through a collection of train whistles of various sizes—the instruments are notoriously loud and off-key. In his boater hat and sleeve garters, calliope player Darwin C. Shoger added a bit of Stagg-era flair to the new football field. Did you witness the 1970s calliope revival? Tell us about it at uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu. (Copyright 2024, The Chicago Maroon. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)

Presidential politics

Student supporters of former CIA director George H. W. Bush’s campaign for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination hold a strategy meeting in the Reynolds Club. The Bush for President Committee was one of several student groups formed at the beginning of the year to support candidates in the primaries, including John B. Anderson, Howard Baker, Jimmy Carter, John Connally, and Ted Kennedy. (Copyright 2024, The Chicago Maroon. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)

Look sharp

Cargo shorts, flannel shirts, graphic tees, silk headscarves. Ah yes, it must be finals week—at least according to the Maroon’s 1991 campus fashion series. Stephen Wessley, AB’90, and Megan Garvey, AB’92, model the “finals week” look (don’t forget your floppy disks and copy of Plato’s Republic). Among the other styles in the series were these “looks”: the “frat house,” the “8:30 a.m. class,” the “J. Crew,” the “vintage artsy,” and the “granola.” What were you wearing in the ’90s? Were you more J. Crew or granola? Let us know at uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu. (Photography by Lauren A. Tillinghast, AB’90, AM’91, PhD’00; Copyright 2024, The Chicago Maroon. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)

Locker room talk

Law students gather around lockers and phone booths in Stuart Hall. Built in 1904, Stuart Hall housed the Law School until the 1950s. After the school moved south of the Midway in 1959, the Graduate School of Business took over Stuart Hall and the building became known as Business East. Today Stuart houses the main office of the philosophy department and, in the basement, reSOURCE, a student-run thrift store. What did you chat about between classes at the Law School or Chicago Booth? Let us in on the gossip at uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu. (Photography by Stephen Lewellyn, AB’48; UChicago Photographic Archive, apf4-02021, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library)

Have photos from your UChicago days? The Magazine may be able to share them in Alumni News and in a future Snapshots. Send high-resolution scans and your memories of what the pictures are about to uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu.