Did you know?

100 years ago, September 25, 1907

Random messages are scattered throughout The Tartan warning new students not to drink the “Pittsburg” (yes, that’s how they used to spell it) water. A message follows instructing the reader to buy next week’s Tartan, which sold for a whopping 10 cents an issue. It’s an interesting marketing technique, but I personally wonder more about the warnings against drinking the water.

50 years ago, September 24, 1957

A Tartan article claims that football embodies all of the following: spirit, loyalty, and comradeship. In 2007, however, we might have to make a few revisions, such as replacing “loyalty” with “dog fighting” and “comradeship” with “cruising for sex on the DL.” Spirit? That can stay.

25 years ago, September 14, 1982

One student complains in a letter to the editor that students bringing personal computers to campus will be a bad idea, believing that it will further alienate students from each other (the few “terminals” they had were just moved to separate spaces). He suggests making a room full of word processors to bring students together. This suggestion sounds like the precursor to the clusters. Maybe this guy had a point.

10 years ago, September 15, 1997

A Forum article complains that the policy restricting class meetings between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. isn’t being enforced. The writer believed that too many exceptions were being made and classes allowed to be scheduled during that time. Sounds a lot like one of this year’s student body election campaign issues.

5 years ago, September 23, 2002

In a Forum article, one writer complains about the cost of meals (and the meal plan) and the low quality of food. Among other issues, such as gay rights and the remembrance of 9/11, it may seem trivial, but once you read that Pitt students could choose to have a meal plan as cheap as $900, it seems much more fitting.

1 year ago, September 25, 2006

After having no official mascot for the university, a task force was appointed to choose a mascot and end the university’s mascot identity crisis. Among the possibilities were the Scottie dog and the bagpiper. It was a tough choice: a cute (but fierce) dog or a guy in a kilt? Decisions, decisions.