Thomas Iacobucci | The Crow’s Nest
By Carrie Pinkard
Since The Crow’s Nest was founded 50 years ago, the little harborside campus it covers has grown tremendously.
We now have 40-degree programs, more than 4,500 students and, soon, a third residence hall.
Some things, however, never change. These headlines and the stories that accompany them show how some aspects of campus life have been ubiquitous over the past five decades.
1) “Student Government Election Results” — Nov. 22, 1995
Student Government’s notoriously low election turnouts aren’t a new phenomenon. In 1995, only 224 people voted in the election, which the article noted was “less than 10 percent of the student body.”
Similarly, in 2018’s midterm Student Government election, only 256 students voted.
The 1995 article noted that candidates only needed 25 signatures from students to win.
Many years have passed, and many more students have enrolled in the university, yet the number of votes needed — and the number of voters — remains unchanged.
2) “Are We Safe?” — Sept. 4, 1996
We’ve all experienced it: the quickening of our heart rates as we walk by the campus fountain and a giant, metal object appears overhead, seemingly inches away from crushing us.
The feeling of unease at studying directly adjacent to the Albert Whitted Airport is not new.
In September 1996, this fear enveloped The Crow’s Nest’s front page.
“Odds are eventually one is going to hit,” student David Rissler said.
It has been 23 years, and no plane has crashed on campus. But the rumbling of anxiety and the roaring of the engines lives on.
3) “Many Darts, Few Laurels” — April 10, 1995
In the spring of 1995, an unnamed student wrote a heated editorial about the lack of involvement on campus.
“When enough students won’t participate in or acknowledge the political and educational activities without a grade looming at the end, this university becomes nothing more than a jack-in-the-box, fast-food, drive-through educational institution,” the editorial said.
While student engagement is probably higher today than in 1995, many campus events only have a few attendees, and many clubs struggle to find active members.
4) “Aren’t We Forgetting About Something?” — April 10, 1995
Back when the Tampa Bay Rays were called the “Devil Rays,” and Tropicana Field was the ThunderDome, one student questioned whether downtown St. Petersburg really needed a baseball team.
The Devil Rays weren’t set to start playing until 1998, but Kathryn Savage wrote an editorial three years earlier, pointing out some concerns.
Savage pointed to the $4 million dollar cost of renovating the ThunderDome and the increased traffic and lack of downtown parking as reasons why it might not be such a good idea.
“We need to look at the entire picture before deciding that baseball is the panacea that city leaders have been assuming it will be,” Savage said.
Nearly 25 years later, St. Petersburg residents are still questioning the Rays’ home in Tropicana Field downtown. The Rays are contracted to keep playing at “the Trop” until 2027, but the future of the building has been a huge talking point among City Council candidates in the November election.
5) “Discount Tickets On Sale” — March 13, 1987
Student discounts have been around for as long as there have been students. Today, we have the “Bulls in the Burg” program, which gives us discounts around St. Petersburg.
Back in 1987, there were also student discounts, and the prices are something to laugh – or cry – about.
AMC Theater tickets- $2.50
Adventure Island tickets- $9.25
Busch Gardens tickets- $14.70
Sunset golf and country club- $3.00
6) “Ghost lore frightens campus” — Oct. 19, 1999
It wouldn’t be Halloween week if we didn’t reminisce on a Crow’s Nest ghost story from the ‘90s. Besides, if the ghosts were haunting campus in 1999, they’re probably still there today. After all, they are notorious for lingering.
The first apparition Brandy Stark brings up in her article is Nelson Poynter, who’s said to haunt the Bayboro Hall elevator. Have you ever felt the elevator shake as it carries you between floors? It could be Poynter reminding you to head to the library for some *spooky voice* “midterm studying.”
The other place on campus that Stark said is likely haunted is the Williams House. Stark interviewed Joan “Sudsy” Tschiderer for her 1999 article about the house.
“Well, there are many rumors about the house,” Tschiderer said. “One of them being that the spirit of a woman in a dancing gown appears. She is supposed to be the spirit of the mother of a former owner.”
Enter the Williams house this Halloween if you’re feeling brave, and see what spirits you find lurking there.
