USU Then and Now
The bowling alley, dances every other week, pool tables and smoking in the Taggart Student Center all used to be a part of student life, but over the decades, some things have changed and some have remained the same.
Afton Tew, director of the International Student Office from 1987 to 1999, said the TSC used to be the place where everyone hung out with their friends, but nowadays it is empty pretty fast in the day.
“They have had to change the building to accommodate the students,” Tew said. “There is no place to play anymore, maybe (administrators) decided kids don’t like to play anymore. That is just too bad because the students need to take a break sometimes.”
Tew said the International Student Council used to hold dances that were open to anyone. They held the dances in the area where the computer lab is now to get the students more involved with the international students.
“Kids like to dance,” Tew said. “Young people all over the world dance exactly the same. We have people with lots of different cultures who come to USU, but put them on the dance floor and they are all the same.”
Tew said the dances were very popular and gave students the chance to spend time with other students and relax. But the dances were eventually stopped because the school thought too many dances were being held.
“I was surprised when they limited the number of dances we could have,” Tew said. “Why couldn’t they allow more? It was so much fun.”
Shannan Ballam, an English instructor who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USU, said one of the things she misses about the TSC was the areas were students could hang out and play games.
“There used to be the ‘Bullpen,'” Ballam said. “It had pool tables and all kinds of old video games and pinball machines. They were a lot of fun.”
Before the Bullpen, there was a bowling alley in the TSC, Tew said. She said she thinks it was eventually taken out because students weren’t using it anymore.
“There was a bowling alley downstairs where the food service is,” Tew said. It was a good bowling alley. We had a lot of parties down there at the bowling alley. The bowling alley was really popular in its day.”
Reid Furniss, an undergraduate journalism adviser who attended USU starting the in the early ’90s, said he feels that not only have the buildings like the TSC changed, but the students themselves have changed.
“Students know that it costs more money to go to college, so they take it more seriously,” Furniss said. “They are doing education because they are interested, not because mama told them so.”
Furniss said in the years since he has been a student, some parts of student life have really improved, making some aspects easier than they were before technology improved.
“I remember having to go from place to place to get your student loans and pay your fees,” Furniss said. “It took you all freakin’ day to sign up for one semester, and by the time you got to the front of the line, some of the classes you needed were no longer available.”
Ballam said she feels like a lot of the changes she has seen since she was a student really have made being a student easier.
“When I first started undergrad, we rarely used e-mail,” Ballam said. “We were still listening to record players in class. We still used the old card catalog system. It was typical for professors to show slides on the old machines.”
Furniss said although a lot of the technological changes the university has undergone have made the world of students easier, he really doesn’t think the government is helping students out as much as they used to.
“When I got a Pell Grant, it payed for everything – tuition, books, and I even had some left over for a hamburger when I was done,” Furniss said. “Now, even if you get a Pell Grant, you don’t even get to cover all of your tuition, much less your books. One student I know just got $1,900, but her tuition was $2,300. The government just is not as on top of it as it used to be.”
Furniss said although the school has undergone many changes, some good and some bad, he thinks today’s students have it pretty good because the value of education is going up.
“We have a better library and the technology is better. Who ever thought wireless would come about?” Furniss said. “I think advisers are much better trained. The overall quality of resources have improved over the years as well. The overall quality of faculty and education students are receiving when they come to USU has improved, which is the most important.”
-debrajoy.h@aggiemail.usu.edu