Rockford College - Recensio / Cupola Yearbook (Rockford, IL)

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A new tradition began that year on October 24- Homecoming. The new college community took a firm stand as a unit. The weeks of orientation and introduction had come to a close. The weeks of the life of Rockford College 1964-65 were beginning. September 13 a new society had been born, and June 6 it died. Yet a unique entity existed in the interim, and that entity exerted its infiuence on both individual and institution. This was Rock- ford College 1964-65,,' a combination of time and place and person which could only have existed then. This was the unity which first made itself known during Homecoming. Spirit had been building up for some time. By the end of orientation week the freshmen were beginning to respond as a class. But it was not until after September waned to October and the crimson and gold beckoned the weary scholar with cries of October Day that it was first seen. There was a fire drill late one night, and as the wornen trooped out of the dorms the men began to join the throng. Soon everyone was singing October Day.', The night echoed back the vi- brant voice of Rockford College. October Day, the most prized possession of RC, was tolled within the week as Hank, Superin- tendent of Buildings and Grounds at the Old Campus, rang the October Day Bell on October 15. Cries of relief spread throughout the dorms and within a few hours the entire student body diffused into the timelessness of a beautiful au- tumn day. And a week after October Day, they gathered around a fire. The teams, the cheerleaders, and the rest of the student body were preparing to put their mark in the annals of RC. As the Home- coming-Dad's Day weekend began, Rockford College made final preparation for the successful conception of a new tradition. The Homecoming bonfire and the frantic preparations on the float were but symptoms of the rrew spirit for the new campus. Homecoming had been an established tradition at RC for only four years. Formerly, Homecoming had been an event in itself, held during basket- ball season. But with its new position in the school year, a new excitement heralded its oc- currence. Girls practiced for the traditional Dad's Day Army-Navy field hockey game while the soccer and cross country teams prepared for the Homecoming showdown. Each class selected a queen candidate, and four campus coeds per- sonified the rising spirits of the school. Dad's Day came, and as parents from all over the country arrived on campus, the girls had a field hockey game, and Navy handed Army its first defeat in five years. Dad's Day pitted the Rockford Regents against Greenville College in the soccer game and six other colleges in the Second Annual Rockford Invitational Cross Country Meet. During half time, the queen candidates were presented on the field, and from the purple and white fioat, Dick Alfors announced the name of the coed chosen to reign as the Homecoming Queen of Rockford College. RoAnne Nesbitt beamed with surprise and delight as the crown was placed on her head. RC had chosen a freshman from Chicago as its queen, and the cheers from the crowd acknowl- edged their satisfaction. After the coronation, the cross country teams ran across the field to complete their race against time. Rockford College placed fourth in a field of seven teams. It was but a short time until the Soccer team posted a 4-2 victory. But there was more than victory shared in the Regent Soccer score. There was the common experience of the students, parents, faculty and administration. Homecoming was not an isolated incident of this common sharing. It was typical of the entire spirit and the mood of the campus. Classes began at eight a.m. and ended at five p.m., but the educational process did not end with them. RC was a total way of life and every- thing that one did on campus, whether it was with the faculty or with the students, was part of the educational process. Rockford College is an independent college of liberal arts and sciences located ninety miles northwest of Chicago. Founded in 1847, the col- lege evolved from a tiny women's seminary nestled within the heart of Rockford to a small coeducational college rapidly developing on a new 304-acre campus four miles from the original institution.

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K if ii ,M 4 Bob Schafer puts crepe paper in the chicken wire base of the First Homecom- ing float in the history of Rockford Col- lege. -..ai f 1 'DK q, .W7l'l1f 'SJW 50. Ernie Bonhomme and Don Ake fight to keep possession of the ball from a Greenville player during RC's Homecoming soccer game. The Regents were correct in their anticipation of an exciting game with Greenville. The players won the game 4-2. Sharon Nedovich greets her husband Ron after the Regents won their first Homecoming soccer game. Previously, Homecoming was held during basketball season. The Faculty and Administration of Rockford College serve to instruct and to advise. They par- ticipate in the total experience of learning and the total experience of living, for the small col- lege fosters a close relationship between student, faculty, and administration. The educational pro- cess at RC was continually improved through the efforts of the faculty and the administration. The students could only benefit from this exchange of ideas. During the school year 1964-65, Problems in Philosophy was offered for the first time in the junior year, while the third change in three years came to the Integrated Arts course, reducing it to a single semester. The decision by the Educational Policy Committee, chaired by Dr. John Schu- maker, to concentrate on the central core of the liberal arts was reflected in the determination of 'RJ