Back in Brown Hall
Alumni return for a homecoming of memories
By Jessica Cuffman
A lot has changed since 1981 in Athens: the university, the town and even the people.
For the alumnae who call themselves the Brown Hall Babes, those changes have been notable but minor compared to the changes in their lives. The group returned for the 2006 Homecoming to celebrate its 25th year after graduation thanks to a reunion organized by Jean Considine, BSC '81, and her twin sister, Joan Considine Johnson, BSC '81.
Considine is now a television writer and producer in Cleveland, and Johnson does the same work in Los Angeles. The two lived in rooms next to each other in Brown their freshman year.
All kinds of memories tangled with laughter and surprise as the alumni noticed what had changed and what had not. Only a few members of the group had been back to Athens since graduation for brief visits, so there was a lot of catching up and remembering to do.
But they quickly made up for lost time. While talking with old friends, Beth Kuehne Lavender, BMUS '81, now a music teacher in Pennsylvania, described it best: "It's like we never left."
A total of 11 friends -- including some of the men who befriended the "babes" while undergrads -- made it back to Athens to celebrate homecoming. Many of them are now parents of teens and college-age children; Considine and Johnson both have daughters who are freshmen at Ohio this year. After a visit with them and a trip to Brown, the parents in the group were shocked by a noticeable change: the coed floors in the dorms. But Considine reminded her friends that during their freshman year the student body voted curfew out.
Even acknowledging this, most of the friends joked that thinking of their children living on campus now was more disconcerting than if they were the freshmen themselves. Terri Doyle Morilak, BSJ '81, has school-age daughters and said she couldn't imagine ever sending them to college.
Over the weekend, the group reminisced about how they each had met; most of the women lived in Brown Hall or roomed together at some point during college. They met the men in classes, and some worked together at The Post or served as resident assistants together. Joe Curran, BSJ '80, who owns a software development business now, worked as a resident assistant and later as an assistant resident director.
Though the majority of the alumni majored in radio television and journalism, Sue Sweeney, AB '81, majored in psychology and is now a women's counselor in Vermont. What surprised but also pleased her most was the culture and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. She came out after graduation and is impressed by the student groups that now exist that didn't in '81.
Theresa Hitchens, BSJ '81, of Washington, D.C., was surprised by the number of girls wearing high heels. Collectively, the group determined that when they were in school, they had known only one girl who owned a pair of high heels -- and she wore them occasionally with business attire. Instead of heels, the Brown Hall Babes and guys wore Rocky boots from Nelsonville.
"Everyone seems younger," said Hitchens. She works at a think tank at the Center for Defense Information, something she never imagined she would do after studying journalism and working as an editor at The Post. Robin Temple Hepler, BSJ '81, gained her first journalism experience as an editor at the paper and now works at a public relations firm in Columbus.
Col. Marty Hauser, BGS '80, never thought he'd serve in the Air Force for 26 years. Now he owns two small radio stations in Kentucky and is a vice president at a federal homeland security division. He shared one of his favorite memories: Milk crates once hung outside of dorm windows during the winter to keep food cold -- an innovative contraption compared to the micro-fridges that are standard for college residence halls now.
The Bobcat attitude never changes, the friends said. Pepe Panchos Miller, BSC '81, who recently moved from corporate sales management to working as a freelance voice talent in Chicago, joked, "We still hate Miami!" The group smiled in agreement.
Fred Shaheen, BSC '79, shared a story of interviewing for a job in Los Angeles. His interviewer found out he was an OU alumnus and broke into the fight song, word for word, right in the middle of the interview. It was a good day to be a Bobcat. Shaheen now works at a production house in North Carolina.
Considine recalled frequent encounters with alumni in Cleveland and also reactions from colleagues who aren’t alums. One once said, "You people who go to OU are crazy." She laughed and nodded in response.
Some of the memories relived did seem a little crazy. Sweeney remembered spending the night on the banks of the Hocking River, playing tennis on the highway before it had any traffic and taking visitors up to the bars one night -- well, at least trying to. They were distracted by a shop with pinball machines and giant chocolate chip cookies. Someone bought a round of milk, and they were there the rest of the night.
"We made our friends swear not to tell anyone that they had come to OU and hadn't gone to the bars -- especially that they had played pinball instead," Sweeney said.
Over the course of the weekend, the group visited with one another and old professors, explored the campus, and went to the tailgate and football game. "Any time any of us were sitting down to eat, old pictures came out to show and share -- riotous. And when I said, 'OK, guys, we have to do this again in five years!' They all answered, 'No! We're doing it every year!' " Considine said.
The Brown Hall Babes (and guys) will be back next year for Homecoming.
Jessica Cuffman, BSJ ’08, is a student writer with University Communications and Marketing.
Posted 12-15-06 |
