On Campus News

Bowl “cow paths” part of campus life

Recently Wayne Eyre (MA’73) wrote to On Campus news to mention the sorry state of the bowl. He also commented, “Traditionally the Bowl has been a campus show place and source of pride. Students, even in the winter, walked around the Bowl rather than create dirt paths across it.”

While I am always in favour of keeping the bowl looking lush and green, I was curious to see for myself if students in the past really did avoid taking shortcuts across the bowl. Thanks to the U of S online archives, I can!

From 1956: photo S_19 from archives shows a clear “cutting across” trail in the foreground, and this end of the bowl seems to have needed some repair:

From 1956: photo S_19 from archives shows a clear “cutting across” trail in the foreground, and this end of the bowl seems to have needed some repair

 

This winter photo from 1965 clearly shows a shortcut path in the snow that doesn’t correspond with the actual path:

This winter photo from 1965 clearly shows a shortcut path in the snow that doesn’t correspond with the actual path

 

In 1980 the poor bowl was practically in tatters:

This photo from 1973 catches people in the act of jaywalking across the bowl! Is that you, Wayne?

 

This photo from 1973 catches people in the act of jaywalking across the bowl! Is that you, Wayne?

In 1980 the poor bowl was practically in tatters


So as you can see, students have always cut across the bowl and are no more or less respectful of it than they ever were. The bowl has been, and always will be, an important part of life on campus.

Lorene Turner