From campus protests to room rules to oral stories, there is no shortage of research and documentation about Heidelberg’s place in history.
All of the pieces – taken together – form a glorious time capsule of traditions and memories created since our founding and crystallized to mold the university that Heidelberg is today – even more poignant as we as celebrating our 175th Anniversary
Archives tell stories of Heidelberg’s past
Protests on college campuses are a long-standing form of student activism. Take, for example, the Vietnam era. That time, likely unparalleled in this context, was an active one on Heidelberg’s campus.
The Vietnam War protests on campus were just one of the interesting topics students in Dr. Barry Devine’s English 101 writing class chose as their topic for a research and writing assignment connected to Heidelberg’s 175th Anniversary this year.
Barry worked with Beeghly Library Director Cassandra Legunzad to put a different twist on a writing assignment. With Cassandra’s help, the students explored some aspect of Heidelberg’s history as they studied and then wrote about the university’s past. They focused on the Archives as their main source, visiting several times on their quest for discovery.
Because of the nature of the Archives, the students’ initial ideas likely changed, Barry explained. “The students go in with an idea of what they’re looking for, but most don’t find it,” he said. “But they find other things related to the topic that they were interested in writing about.”
Such was the case with Cameryn Wickens, who chose to do a deep dive into the Vietnam War protests that occurred on campus. Pursuing her curiosity about how ‘Berg students advocated for their beliefs during this time, she unearthed “a lot of cool material, such as newsletters, a poster and strike schedules.”
“I learned about the role that Student Senate played in organizing the strikes and peaceful actions, such as the march downtown to inform locals of their concern about President Nixon’s actions,” Cameryn said, adding that the Strike Newsletter was published daily during the spring strike.
Another campus legacy drew freshman Leah Arnett’s eye: France Residence Hall. After coming across a photo and noting that France was built in 1925, she chose to research the life of the fabled hall further for her class writing assignment.
She intended to look at France’s history through the decades and investigate what campus life was like over the past 100 years. A list of “room rules” from 1926 instructed students on the rules of the day. Leah noted that France’s Great Hall used to be used as a dining hall and she found it interesting that in the 1950s and ‘60s, housemothers looked after the dorm.
Those things are a far cry from what France is like today, especially after its renovation was completed in 2021.
Leah found a wealth of information about France Hall in the Archives “that I really didn’t know where to start.” But that just left her wanting to learn more.
“I liked the research and writing the paper. The whole archival research aspect of it was really cool,” she said. “I wish I had more time to research other buildings on campus.”
Barry’s students embraced their assignment and appreciated the connection to Heidelberg’s past that they were learning. One student researched the history of literary societies on campus. Another looked at how football uniforms changed through the generations and was surprised to learn that Heidelberg had previous mascot names – the Blue Jays and the Cardinals – other than Siggy.
A different angle on ‘Berg football was the topic for one student who wrote about Heidelberg’s 2018 season.
One student found exactly what they were looking for as they sought to compare fashion trends of the ‘70s and ‘80s with today’s fashion choices. The Aurora and the Kilikilik proved to be excellent sources.
In all, Barry’s students spent three class periods in the Archives and several returned on their own to complete their research.
“Many of the students didn’t know we had an Archives and what goes into it,” Barry said.
The opportunity to pull in Heidelberg’s 175th Anniversary allowed him to change things up a bit and give his students something different to write about. “It worked out really well,” he said. “The students were focused and really got into it. I watched them share things with each other and help each other.”
Students learn the craft of being a historian
Adjunct history instructor Janet Rozick incorporated the 175th Anniversary into two classes: an Honors seminar called The Citizen: Heidelberg History and a history class, The Public Historians’ Craft. Throughout the academic year, students learned about ways that public historians research and interpret the shared past with the public. They practiced archival research and oral history methodology while working to apply their skills to several projects: a report on the history of Heidelberg; conducting and transcribing oral histories; making exhibit panels; exploring digital history; and creating a campus tour.
“Both classes focused on the methodology of public history and how history can be used as an advocacy tool,” Janet said.
Students who researched Heidelberg’s history, she added, looked at German immigration, the settlement of Ohio and the city of Tiffin, and higher education in Ohio.
The topic of oral histories – collecting personal memories – proved to be quite popular with students, with several groups conducting and transcribing them with faculty, staff and alumni. Another group worked to transcribe oral histories recorded in the late 1990s and early 2000s during Alumni Weekend. Others reviewed and completed partial transcripts found in Heidelberg’s Archives, and interviewed an alum affiliated with sorority/fraternity life on campus. Janet herself interviewed two of Heidelberg’s oldest alumni.
Legacy student Caleb Silvia, a senior history and political science double major, interviewed his parents, Erica (Rhinebarger) ’94 and Andrew Silvia ’97, about their recollections of student life from their time at Heidelberg in
“Students were encouraged to interview individuals they felt comfortable with,” Janet said, adding that all of the transcriptions will be submitted to the Archives.
With the semester drawing to a close, the yearlong historical research is nearing its conclusion too. As final projects, students who are making videos around such topics as notable women graduates, the Cadaver Lab, the history of Miller and Brown halls and other campus facilities, successful athletic teams, Greek life, and study abroad, are putting the final edits on their videos. Others are finalizing their design of a campus tour focusing on Heidelberg’s history, complete with scripts, and others are creating exhibit panels.
When all of the projects are completed, Janet hopes this deep dive into Heidelberg’s history has opened some eyes and maybe even changed some opinions.
“I hope the students gained a better understanding of the history and the importance of education in our society,” she said.