Remembering the Days

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  Episode 1: Why Are We Gamecocks?

  Horn Chris and Elizabeth West

  Of all the mascots the University of South Carolina might have chosen, how did the gamecock — a feisty bird that relishes a scuffle — get the nod? It all goes back to the aftermath of a football game in 1902 in which Carolina students nearly came to deadly blows with their in-state rival.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, gamecocks

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  Episode 2: The Great Wall of Carolina

  Chris Horn, Elizabeth West, and Christian Ciccimurri

  It's nearly seven feet tall, 3,000 feet long and is made of 160,000 bricks. And it's older than half of the buildings on the University of South Carolina's historic Horseshoe. It's the campus wall, a structure that never succeeded in its original purpose — keeping mischievous 19th century students on campus. But during one tumultuous night in 1865, the wall very likely saved the campus from a fire that consumed one-third of the surrounding city.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Horseshoe

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  Episode 3: A Chemical Reaction

  Chris Horn, Elizabeth West, and Alisa Liggett

  When Professor Richard Brumby asked his chemistry students in 1850 to attend extra lectures, you'd have thought by their agitated reaction that he had asked them to jump off of a cliff. What resulted was a mob scene, a textbook bonfire and suspension of nearly the entire junior class of students at South Carolina College.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, suspension, Richard Brumby

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  Episode 4: Getting In: Admission Standards Then and Now

  Chris Horn, Elizabeth West, and Mary Wagner

  How difficult was it to get admitted to the University of South Carolina in 1897? At that time, regrettably, only white students were admitted. You had to know grammar, geography, algebra, history — and Latin and Greek! Admission standards at the university have varied in the past two centuries. The bar for admission is a lot different than it was in 1897, but it guarantees that those who get in are ready to succeed.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, admissions

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  Episode 5: The Carolinian Creed

  Chris Horn and Dennis Pruitt

  Written 30 years ago by students, professors and staff members, the Carolinian Creed embodies the University of South Carolina's core values of respect, integrity and kindness. The creed became a model for scores of other colleges and universities around the country.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Carolinian Creed

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  Episode 6: Looking for Jack

  Chris Horn, Graham Duncan, and Jill Found

  Like many early 19^th century colleges, South Carolina College had a complicated history with enslaved people. One of them was named Jack, and almost everyone agreed he was a vital cog in the college’s academic mission.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, enslaved laborers, slavery

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  Episode 7: The Carolina Quarantine of 1918

  Chris Horn

  Today's COVID-19 landscape of quarantines and sickness bring to mind another pandemic — the 1918 influenza outbreak that hit hard on the University of South Carolina campus. One young student, Gadsden Shand, answered the call of duty and helped keep many of his classmates alive.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Student Army Training Corps, Gadsden Shand, 1918 flu pandemic

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  Episode 8: 19th Century Student Pranks

  Chris Horn and Elizabeth West

  Painting the college president's horse green, removing wooden steps from the only building on campus, serenading professors with tin pans — those were just some of the pranks that students pulled at South Carolina College in the 19th century. Campus archivist Elizabeth West explains why those free-spirited students rebelled against the puritanical rules imported from New England colleges.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, pranks

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  Episode 9: Co-Ed Campus

  Chris Horn, Elizabeth West, and Vicki Eslinger

  For the past 40 years, women have outnumbered men in the University of South Carolina's student body. But the history of women on campus goes back to the institution's beginning, long before women were even allowed to attend.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, co-ed, enrollment, Title IX

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  Episode 10: Month of May 1970

  Chris Horn, Elizabeth West, and Jim Stewart

  In May 1970 America was turned upside down amid anti-Vietnam War protests, including a deadly confrontation between National Guardsmen and students at Kent State University. The University of South Carolina wasn't immune to the societal unrest, and things turned ugly on campus in several incidents 50 years ago this month.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, anti-Vietnam War protests, freedom of speech, University 101

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  Episode 11: The Evolution of Cocky

  Chris Horn and Garrett Humphries

  Forty years ago, Cocky was born. But that feisty garnet-feathered bird wasn't the University of South Carolina's first mascot.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, mascots, Cocky

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  Episode 12: Mighty Oaks of the Horseshoe

  Chris Horn, Tom Knowles, and Erin McFarland

  The towering shade trees on the historic Horseshoe aren't the original specimens that were planted nearly 200 years ago. But there are some pretty old ones there — and, with a little effort, you can grow your own piece of Carolina's urban forest.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, oaks, Horseshoe, urban forest

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  Episode 13: 100 Years of the Might Sound

  Chris Horn, Jennifer Jablonski, and Cormac Cannon

  The Mighty Sound of the Southeast, the University of South Carolina's Marching Band, celebrates its 100th anniversary this fall, and what a century it's been! Find out what the band has in common with Elvis Presley and how you can enjoy a virtual concert on Facebook.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, marching band, Mighty Sound of the Southeast

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  Episode 14: The Roaring ‘20s

  Chris Horn and Stephanie Riley

  What was it like in America and on the Carolina campus a hundred years ago during the Roaring '20s? Contrary to popular belief, not everyone was having a roaring good time, but that memorable decade brought lasting change to the university and the nation.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Roaring '20s, jazz

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  Episode 15: An 1840 Sensory Experience of Campus

  Chris Horn and Mark Smith

  Come time travel with us to the Carolina campus in 1840. All you need is a sense of imagination to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the campus in a very different time.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, 1840s, sensory experience

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  Episode 16: Neoclassical to Midcentury Modern: An Architectural History of Campus

  Chris Horn and Derek Gruner

  University of South Carolina architect Derek Gruner likes to say that walking across the Carolina campus is like a visual lesson in American architecture from the past two centuries. Join us for a stroll and learn more about some of the university's most iconic buildings.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, architecture

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  Episode 17: Pranking the Tiger

  Chris Horn and Jack McCathern

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, football, Carolina-Clemson, prank

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  Episode 18: Dress Codes and Curfews

  Chris Horn and Kit Smith

  Dress codes and curfews persisted at the University of South Carolina until well into the 1960s, but were mainly focused on female students. Kit Smith, a 1967 graduate, recalls the dire consequences of returning to campus 15 minutes late.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, dress code, curfew

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  Episode 19: Paving the Horseshoe Pathways

  Chris Horn and Kevin Curtis

  Ninety years ago, the pathways crisscrossing the Horseshoe were just that — dirt pathways that were dusty in dry weather and muddy when it rained. A young English professor devised a campaign to convert the paths to brick-covered walkways without spending a penny in state funding.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, bricklaying, Horseshoe

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  Episode 20: Larger Than Life: Richard T. Greener

  Chris Horn and Katherine Chaddock

  A statue of Richard T. Greener is on display on the University of South Carolina campus as a tribute to the first Black graduate of Harvard College and the first Black professor at the University of South Carolina. But there was more to Greener's life than merely being a "first."

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Richard Greener, abolitionists, moral philosophy, South Caroliniana Library

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  Episode 21: Seeing Stars: The University’s Three Observatories

  Chris Horn and Martin Bowers

  From the early 1800s to the 1920s, the University of South Carolina built three observatories for the study of astronomy. The first one is long gone but the third, the Melton Memorial Observatory, remains operational. On clear Monday evenings, the observatory's telescopes offer spectacular views of the night-time sky.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, astronomy, observatory

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  Episode 22: The Full Monty, Gamecock Style

  Chris Horn and Stan McGuffin

  In the spring semester of 1974, the streaking fad swept college campuses across the country. For about a week, the University of South Carolina laid claim to the largest group of streakers — 508. Now, 47 years later, one of them recalls that warm night in early March when he and the other Gamecock streakers made their historic run.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, streaking

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  Episode 23: Call It Courage: The Chester Travelstead Story

  Chris Horn and Toby Jenkins

  In 1955, one year after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional, the School of Education dean at the University of South Carolina had the temerity to agree with that position. He paid a heavy price for speaking up.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, Brown v. Board of Education, Chester Travelstead, desegregation

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  Episode 24: Books Before Buildings

  Chris Horn and Michael Weisenburg

  Since its founding in the early 19th century, the University of South Carolina has been keenly interested in building its library collections. Since then, the library's holdings have grown exponentially and now include rare books and special collections that make it a destination for scholars near and far. You can check out a lot of them from your own couch.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, library, library collections, books, rare books, special collections

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  Episode 25: Born a Slave: Matilda Pinckney’s Story

  Chris Horn and Jill Found

  In the long history of schoolteachers in South Carolina, Matilda Pinckney's story stands out. Born a slave on the historic Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina, Pinckney was later trained at a Normal School on the university campus and would go on to a 30-plus year career as an educator.

  Keywords: University of South Carolina, teacher, education, Matilda Pickney, Maximilien LaBorde, Celia Dial Saxon, Thomas Pinckney