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ASHLEY STAPLETON / Scroll
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| Rachel Doggett (far right), a freshman from Rexburg, kids around with a few of her friends in the girls' dorms. Left to right: Brenna Croker, a freshman from Missoula, Mont.; Deborah Weiss, a freshman from Vancouver, Wash.; Heather Neibaur (front), a sophomore from Paul, Idaho; Heather Farmer (back), a sophomore from White Bird, Idaho; Melissa Harrison (front), a freshman from Riverton, Wyo. |
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The winters are less severe, jeans instead of dress slacks or skirts are allowed on campus, and boys are allowed in girls apartments without prior arrangement.
These and other changes to the BYU-Idaho campus will flood the minds of mothers visiting for Mothers’ Weekend — like the Teton Dam flood of 1976. Mothers will find the Spirit of Ricks is still alive, but they will also discover some exterior changes to the university.
“From the comments my daughters have made, I believe that there is still a small-school feel to the university,” Karen Crozier, a 1975 alumnus from Jerome, Idaho, said.
One of the most noticeable changes to the campus was the closure of 4th South, Crozier said. The road was closed in 1998 and converted into what now constitutes the Taylor Quad. Not only have the buildings on campus changed, but the interior composition of them changed.
The BYU-Idaho Bookstore used to be located in the shop where Jolynn’s Bakery is now located, Elaine Huntsman, a 1978 graduate of Ricks College from Rock Springs, Wyo., said.
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Photo courtesy Valerie Doggett
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| Valerie Doggett (then Valerie Vance), Rachel Doggett’s Mother, fools around with her friends in the girls' dorms of Ricks College in February 1975. |
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Huntsman came to Rexburg right after the Teton Dam flood. Not only did the university change, but Rexburg has transformed a lot over the years, she said.
“There wasn’t a lot downtown. Wal-Mart and Alberstons and all those stores to the north weren’t there,” Huntsman said.
Instead of cruising to Wal-Mart for fun, the most popular hangout was a pizza hub called The Sober Society, Huntsman said. Current BYU-Idaho students would know The Sober Society under the name of Craigos located at 120 West and 4th South.
“They had the best pizza bombs,” Tammy Beardall, a 1981 alumnus from Preston, Idaho, said.
Tammy said she is pleased that her daughter, Michelle Beardall, a senior majoring in recreational therapy, has had the opportunity to attend BYU-I for four years instead of two.
“Sometimes two years wasn’t enough time soak up that wonderful atmosphere,” Tammy said.
Crozier said she also agreed that one of the best incentives of attending Ricks College was the atmosphere.
“I enjoyed being around the caliber of teachers and students that had the same values as I did,” Crozier said. “I have a definite love for the campus and what is offered there not just exclusively to academics.”
Crozier and Tammy said they both agree that their daughters are more involved socially than they were when they attended Ricks College.
“I think the university encourages them to be more involved and to do more,” Crozier said.
Advances in communication and e-mail create opportunities for mothers to get involved in the lives of their students more than when they attended, Tammy said.
“More communication is better,” Crozier said. “She can vent some more of those frustrations on the hard days and the pleasures of the good days.”
Mothers’ Weekend will offer mothers and their students opportunities to directly converse and reminisce about the old and current times.
“I love the Spirit of Ricks,” Huntsman said. “It brings back so many memories.”
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