Miami University - Recensio Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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Miami Students breached out, reached out and touched someone a whole lot easier in 1987, thanks to the new phone system the university installed. Installed by TeI-Plus, the new system offered advanced features to students and to the university, replacing the costly By its last hinge, the window hung on for dear life. Tumbling bricks had smashed its glass, debris had covered its frame. Finally, the last window of Van Voorhis Hall gave in to the pounding steel ball, and came crashing to the ground. Despite petitions, speeches, letters and an injuction, the oldest building on campus was demolished on June 14. Jeff system that had been in use for ten years. Thomas Walsh, manager of telecommunica- tions for Miami, said the old system used first generation technology that was not able to expand with our needs. The operation cost $4.5 million, but was expected to save money in the future. Harting, a member of the de- partment of architecture, worked to save the Roman- esque structure..;He estimated restoration costsat $1 million, but the Board did not identify the building as one of histori- cal value. The Historical Preservation of Miami University, a student organization, went to court and secured an injuction that Ma NEC Van Voorhis Miami did offer the con- struction crews some unique problems in adapting 20th century technology to 19th century architecture. A lot of buildings needed temporary wiring while the new system was being installed, providing a challenge to fit the old archi- tecture with modern cables. Photo by Kim Hiibig postponed demolition an extra two months. On fated Friday the 13, the injuction ended, and there was no way to seek extension until the following Monday. At 5 am. Saturday, a wrecking crew arrived with ball and chain to bring the old art building down, and begin the parking lot that was to take its place. With touch-tone replacing the rotary dialing system, stu- dents could make long dis- tance calls without purchasing a calling card. Also, problems with billing numbers could be traced, as well as emergency- calls. And those Iate-night weekend pranks. Uh-oh. Summer News 29

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' xxmmwwv-mmmm Moving In The summer months had passed quickly in Oxford. The university staff was busy with its usual summer cleaning and renovation. Van Voohris Hall became a parking lot, and work continued on the Biologi- cal Sciences building. Miami entertained incoming freshmen and their parents with the orientation program as other students involved themselves with summer classes. But most students were en- gaged in activities far from their other home in southern Ohio. Lucky ones served in- ternships while others slaved over jobs near their home- towns. August soon came, and stu- dents and faculty once again began drifting back to cam- pus, some more ready to start a new semester than oth- ers . . . The beginning of women's rush brought a host of fresh- man and upperclassmen back early to meet the members, and possibly choose a sorority to call their own. Apartment dwellers made their way back a few days be- fore the start of classes eager to stock their cupboards with Cost-Cutter foods and break into the uptown scene. When residence halls opened their doors on August 24, vans, U-Hauls, and family cars weighted down with pos- sessions crowded the state routes and paths leading into Oxford. Dragging their parents from store to store, students swarmed the uptown strip in search of those last minute ttnecessitites for good old Mom and Dad to buy. Moving in wasn,t just lug- ging boxes into dusty rooms. Strategic planning began a few days before students de- parted from their summer resi- dences and didn't end until somewhere into the first week of classes. In late August, the panic be- gan with most students saying goodbye to hometown bud- dies, scrambling to inform the boss of departure, and squeezing everything down to that last pair of emergency shoes into the car for takeoff. As well as the sunny red- bricked campus, the students could look forward to the an- nual ttWhat goes where??ii debate with roommates. Once the drudgery of un- packing was over, students could prioritize their next ace tions e enjoying the fun side of returning to school. And carousing, ordering out again, and catching up with buddies topped that list. Beth Cotton Chris Brandt Above: Two underclassmen scramble to unpack their possessions while trying to stay as organized as possible. Left: Students scrutinize prints on display at the poster sale outside the Res. Many take advantage of this sale to make a colorful addition to blank walls. Moving In 31 Kim Hilbig