Black Armbands and Basketball Queens in Stetson Eras Scene: A Look Back at the 70s and 80s Hatter
- Breanna Gergen
- Dec 5, 2025
- 5 min read
Hippie braids interwoven with daisies, black-armband protests for peace. “Galaga” sounds emanating from glowing arcades, Walkman wires and Coca Cola still being drunk from glass bottles. In the decades of the 1970s and ‘80s, the era when most of our ‘latchkey kid’ parents were wearing starchy denim and talking to each other via curly phone cords, the world saw much innovation and change. Vietnam sparked an entire subculture in itself, and frizzy, teased hair was the move. Within just a few years, the now-ancient version of the Internet was up and running on its first codes consisting of zeroes and ones. What did this pivotal time in history mean for Stetson and its students? What did their everyday collegiate lives look like? How did they differ from our own? To answer these questions, I excavated some old yearbooks from the Dupont Ball Library basement, and began digging into the yellowed pages. To me, someone who is quite envious of previous generations who got to experience youth in one of the ‘best’ eras – the lawns of Stetson certainly did seem much greener.
Peace, Love and Pinstripes (70s)
Stetson in the 1970s saw war come to its head, and also saw the triumphant end of it. It saw students persevering, despite foreign uncertainties brewing overseas. The men donned ironed shirts, and sorority girls were the picture of elegance in their debutante white gowns. There was an archery team and a fencing team that took on UF and FSU with their epees. While these organizations didn’t stand the test of time, others such as “Touchstone” – then named “south,” and “The Reporter” itself remain timeless.
The organization which is now known as FOCUS, Stetson’s welcoming staff to incoming Hatters, was formerly the Stetson ‘Hostesses,’ a bureau of entirely women students. It was led by the Stetson Union Board’s hospitality committee and worked alongside the Office of Admissions, while FOCUS today is a part of Student Development and Campus Vibrancy. Uniforms which now consist of green polo shirts and khakis used to be reminiscent of a flight attendant outfit: a dark button-up blazer and white skirt. These hostesses would lead campus tours, selling the university to prospective Hatters as their nametags gleamed on lapels.
Yearbooks devoted entire pages to student beauty contests, featuring close-up shots of young female Hatters posing against trees after being named ‘Miss Hatter,’ ‘Greek Goddess’ or ‘Basketball Queen.’ These women were voted into their respective titles by ROTC cadets, fraternity elections and panels of judges. Ceremonially, the girls would compete for a ‘Miss Stetson’ title by interview and be judged on their poise and beauty during a formal contest that night. Pi Kappa Phi sponsored the Freshman Beauty Contest, which was held in Lee Chapel by candlelight, with the candidates in floor-length gowns and silken white gloves.
On October 15, 1970, classes were called off when the Student Peace Committee arranged a day of peace-protest on campus, urging for the end of the Vietnam war. Students wore black armbands as symbolic olive branches, listening to a visiting Congressman speak and performers who sang for peace. Alumni and administration collaborated on the event and a poster displayed the painted words, “64 AMERICAN MEN WERE KILLED IN VIETNAM LAST WEEK.”
A tradition which once held much prestige for the Stetson community was Greenfeather, featuring an annual school carnival and parades down Woodland Blvd. This event was held for the purpose of fundraising, with the donations raised going towards local Delandites in need. At the carnival, students sold everything from fire engine rides to pretend-weddings (like a modern-day frat wedding) for charity. It was one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year. Although Greenfeather philanthropy efforts are still in action today as a weeklong event, this journalist petitions for Stetson to re-enact the long-lost carnival tent of this tradition.
In the words of an unnamed student journalist, “One is welcomed to Stetson every day he is here. He plans for her, works for her, pays for her… Stetson is a unique idea; a collection of inadequacies, chuck holes and bad food which equals the most intense, happiest, saddest, most important time of one’s life.”
Ferris Bueller’s Worst Nightmare (80s)
By the late 1980s, Stetson’s yearbook pages were filled with color, and students could be seen skateboarding with fast food in hand, blocky greek letters embroidered onto their t-shirts.
Construction began in 1987 on what is now the sorority row behind Conrad and Sage Hall. Before these infamous brick houses were built, sorority members would hold Rush, bidding and pledge ceremonies at fraternity row. The organized chaos of 1987 Rush led to the largest pledge class ever, boasting 169 new sorority pledges and 134 fraternity pledges. Both the young men and women could be seen pictured in matching shirts, sporting board shorts and solo cups in hand.
By the 80s, the FOCUS crew, as we know it today, was initiated. The staff opened to include both male and female students, and the job description now included the role of ‘advisor,’ serving as an anchor for incoming Freshman in the adrenaline buzz of fall semester’s first week. FOCUS agendas consisted of ‘student dating games’ and even “a rendition of ‘Early Afternoon with David Letterman,’” in what can only be assumed was an ice-breaking spin-off of the popular late night TV show.
Traditions such as Greenfeather and Homecoming spurred on in the ‘80s. Beauty pageants which were dominated by young women were now being satirized, with a Homecoming competition for ‘Mr. Beauty,’ in which young men would don skirts, heels and makeup to compete for the title. The Edmunds Center stage welcomed famous comedian Jay Leno to speak during Homecoming in February, 1988. Greenfeather staff members also introduced a new program called ‘Readathon,’ recognizing visually impaired students because Braille textbooks were unavailable at the time. The event featured students reading textbooks aloud and recording them on a tape for those students in need.
1988 proved to be a milestone year for Stetson’s publications, “The Reporter”, and “Touchstone”. Founded in 1888, “The Reporter” celebrated its hundredth anniversary in print “and received as a present its very own darkroom. (Well, sort of. It no longer has(had?) to share a darkroom with the yearbook).” The school’s literary magazine, “Touchstone”, also got a facelift: Since the 1985 editor-in-chief divided the magazine into genre-based sections, it had begun featuring lyrical essays and graphic art for the first time. The ‘88 editor-in-chief Eric Owens emphasized this new artistic appeal: “Touchstone is now an aesthetics magazine,” Owens said.
Hindsight is a Perfect 20/20
As current Hatters, it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the chaos of our paper-pushing schedules. The history of this place called Stetson – where we live and work and play – has placed the bricks of these halls just as much as the masonry did. As we walk across campus, phones and earbuds in hand, we often silence ourselves to the now that is the current Stetson’s era. So be present. Stay eager. Be overzealous. Future Hatters will one day be looking at our photographs in hindsight, too. Give them something to look for.
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