Campus Connection

The Challenger disaster, friendly competition, computerized registration — and more campus happenings from 40 years ago

By Brad Quarberg, emeritus distinguished university relations specialist

Where were you when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded? Did you make the cutoff to legally drink before the drinking age moved to 21? Were you among the last students to register for classes by pulling computer punch cards? Those attending UWL in 1986 lived through it all.

Nationally, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met for talks to ease tensions of the Cold War. Americans responded to the continuing protests against Apartheid in South Africa. And Rock Hudson, one of the first popular American figures to die of AIDS, was among five prominent actors to succumb to the disease that year.

Here’s a look back at campus happenings in 1986, 40 years ago.

Challenger disaster provided ‘Where were you?’ moment

The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in the January sky stunned the country with an intensity that, at the time, was matched only by the JFK assassination two decades earlier. It proved to be the next generation’s “Where were you?” historic moment. All seven crew members were killed, including Christa McAuliffe, the “first teacher in space.”

Thousands of schoolchildren were watching when the shuttle burst into flames seconds after takeoff. At UWL, students, staff and faculty caught the horrific images in the student union or on special network news updates throughout the day.

See pages 58 and 59 of the 1986 yearbook.

Not 21? No drinks for you

On Sept. 1, 1986, college life in the Badger State changed for many, as the Wisconsin Legislature raised the legal drinking age from 19 to 21. With many students not yet of age (those who had turned 19 before the law was passed were exempt), bar owners on Third Street and around La Crosse did what they could to take it in stride. Many added bouncers and enforced stringent I.D. checks.

See pages 10 and 11 of the 1987 yearbook.

Games, canoes and a pork roast

From La Crosse’s version of the popular game show “Hollywood Squares” to residence halls competing in an array of contents, students found ways to have fun, relax and even raise money for charitable causes across campus:

Wentz Hall’s “La Crosse Squares” invited local celebrities to sit in nine of the hall’s northeast windows, playing the role of X’s and O’s as student teams competed in a game of tic-tac-toe. See pages 106 and 107 of the 1986 yearbook.

Laux Hall’s “Pork Bowl” provided a week of competitive fun while raising money for the Saturday Morning Program, which supported children with disabilities in the La Crosse region. Events included tug-of-war, a “pork roast” that poked fun at hall directors, along with a coed football game between Laux residents and another hall. See pages 98 and 99 of the 1987 yearbook.

A fall festival among the 11 residence halls offered competition, recreation and a chance to meet new people. Trowbridge Hall won the October 1986 competition, which featured an obstacle course, scavenger hunt, apple-eating contest and more. See pages 94 and 95 of the 1987 yearbook.

The Coon Creek Canoe Races brought around 12,000 people to Coon Valley for two days of races, food and entertainment. Students in UWL's REC 300 class organized the annual event, in which contestants — students, alumni and others — launched canoes in Coon Creek at one-minute intervals to start down the six-mile course. Those who completed the course in 100 minutes or less won a T-shirt. Held the first weekend in May, the event was popular for many years. See pages 18 and 19 of the 1986 yearbook.

A mock Olympics among the residence halls on the east side of campus — Laux, Reuter, Sanford and White — included track meets, mile runs and relays, obstacle courses and more. See pages 86 and 87 of the 1987 yearbook.

End of a registration era

The 1986-87 academic year marked the end of registration and drop-add lines for students trying to grab the elusive computer punch cards for classes. With a record enrollment of 8,754 in fall ’86, students waited patiently in lines or near monitors to see open classes and make quick changes to their Form 11 before entering Mitchell Hall Gymnasium.

In spring ’87, students headed to the Morris Hall Gym to have their schedules entered into one of eight terminals. Conflicts were resolved before students left with a printed copy of their schedule, ending the hassles that accompanied punch card registration.

See pages 80 and 81 of the 1987 yearbook.

Chasing championships

The Memorial Field gridiron and Mitchell Hall court gym launched two national champions — success that would continue in the years ahead.

The football team captured the NAIA Division II championship in December 1985 with a win over Pacific Lutheran College, 24-7. In the spring, the women’s gymnastics team vaulted to its first National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championship at UW-Stout.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Earl commemorated the football championship with a plaque, recognizing the state’s lone collegiate national football title. The win was Coach Roger Harring’s, ’60, first of three national championships. See pages 148 and 149 of the 1986 yearbook.

For the gymnasts, it was Coach Barb Gibson’s, ’78, first NCGA championship. She would go on to lead UWL to 17 national titles before retiring in 2016. See pages 170 and 171 of the 1986 yearbook.

Other happenings on campus:

• The Campus Child Center opened in the old Textbook Rental building, which today houses the Archaeology Lab
• The Continental Basketball Association’s La Crosse Catbirds flew into the La Crosse Center
• Spring commencement expanded to two ceremonies in spring 1986
• Wisconsin voters elected Tommy Thompson as governor in the November 1986 election
• Among the La Crosse Center entertainment: Gallagher, Starship, REO and Alice Cooper.