School of memories
In 1959, Syracuse University had no Carrier Dome, no Otto the Orange and no Schine Student Center.
‘It was a totally different time,’ said Martin Berliner, who graduated from SU in 1959 with a degree in philosophy and political science. He said Syracuse has ‘changed radically’ since his graduation.
On Friday, Berliner and his former classmates gathered on the steps of Hendricks Chapel for a homecoming photo. As they got situated they talked about college memories, e-mailing old classmates and dancing the night away at their Golden Anniversary Dinner the night before.
‘It’s my 50th,’ Paul Schonewolf said about his return to campus. Schonewolf majored in public relations and went on to work in General Electric’s advertising department and at his own broadcast and cable television operation.
Schonewolf worked at The Daily Orange as the Sports Editor in ’59 and said he would never forget the athletes he met while at SU.
‘Ernie Davis, he was just magic,’ he said.
Schonewolf also remembers playing soccer with an SU alum better known for his journalism skills – Ted Koppel. After graduating, Schonewolf worked as a recruiter for Syracuse and remembers being worried that basketball player David Bing was so little he would get hurt.
Like Schonewolf, many alumni recalled athletics when they thought of their time at SU.
The Class of ’59 Vice President Jack Fiorito, who was also a cheerleader for the football team, remembers his travels across the country with the football team.
Alumni memories illustrate how SU has changed in 50 years. The fraternity parties Fiorito attended had live bands and waltzing. He waited tables at the sorority Chi Omega, where dinners were always formal. And his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, won the Interfraternity Sing competition with the song ‘A Whale of a Tale to Tell You.’
Bruce Baker, now an orthopedic surgeon in Syracuse, met his wife, Patty, while at SU. He remembered a time before co-ed dorms when female students had curfews and the men would often meet up and party after dropping their dates off.
Another shared memory for alumni was the infamous winters. Berliner remembers freezing on the way to class. Fiorito remembers moving to California and adjusting to the dramatic weather change. He stayed on the West Coast, but admitted it was good to return. His classmates agree.
‘It gives me a real charge when I come back here,’ said Nancy Harvey Steorts, who graduated with a degree in retail. Steorts was class secretary in ’59 and went on to become chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission where she worked under the presidencies of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. She said she was thankful to have experienced leadership at a young age and acknowledged the college as the reason for her success.
While on campus, Steorts did a book signing at Schine in the SU Bookstore for her new book, ‘Your Home Safe Home.’ Syracuse University Press published her book ‘Safety and You’ in 1999.
Memories and achievements past and present keep SU school spirit strong. Schonewolf flies a Syracuse flag from his front yard in Lake George, NY, which he said attracts passersby to stop and chat about the university.
For Steorts, who has had 13 family members graduate from SU, it was hard to stay away.
‘Syracuse University has a soul and a heart that really lives with you throughout your whole life,’ she said.
Published on October 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride
