For alumni returning to campus after an absence of five decades, a few things are bound to have changed. It is no surprise, then, that the University's graduating classes of 1950 and before, returning for their various class reunions, found a very different school than the one they left behind half a century ago.
Students at Duke 50 years ago attended a much smaller, much younger University. At a "Duke: Then and Now" forum Saturday and at their Half Century Club induction ceremony Sunday, many members of the class of 1950 reflected on the vast and thorough changes that have swept through the school over the years.
Perhaps the most jarring contrast was the dynamics between college men and women.
"When you think of what happened when we were here, a man couldn't get past the entry doors [of a women's dorm]," said Eugenia Williamson-Smith, Woman's College '50. "You had to sign in and out, you had to have permission from your parents to leave for the weekend. If you had a date for the football game, you had to wear heels and hose."
Other females recalled different rules and regulations that focused on gender.
"When we were first-semester freshmen, we couldn't talk to a boy after 7:30 [p.m.]," said classmate Trudy Guinee, Woman's College '50. "And we couldn't wear jeans except on Saturdays... and you had to walk down the back of the campus if you had jeans on."
But etiquette was far from the only change observed over the years. The most obvious shocks to many returning alumni were the vast changes to the physical layout of campus.
"When I was here, the quadrangle and East Campus was all there was," said Jim Thompson, Trinity '50 and Law '52.
Many others agreed that the environment had been greatly enhanced in their absences. "I like all the new buildings and all the new stuff that they're adding," said George Bandre, engineering '60, who also attended the Half-Century Club ceremony Sunday.
With new buildings come new students, however, and some returnees were surprised at the size of the current student body. "In our day, I think there were around 1,000 undergraduate men and around [600] or 700 women," said Chuck Kasik, Trinity '39.
An increase in diversity has accompanied the rise of the student population, and many alumni have not failed to notice the differences.
"Let's face it, when we were here, we were all pretty much the same," said Williamson-Smith. "By learning and being with people from different cultures, different countries... you can learn an awful lot."
Some, however, viewed increased diversity as a mixed blessing. "On policy, they may have gone overboard on courting foreign students to the extent that some of our American students can't get in...," said Thompson. "Everyone ought to be admitted based on their ability, with maybe a slight preference given to Americans over foreign students."
Thompson stressed that the University had become much more liberal in his absence.
Overall, most alumni were pleased with the changes to the University. "I think they have a great institution," Kasik said. "They have a tremendous alumni department. They really keep the class informed, and the reunions are great."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.