Terps in Space, Part III (Sort Of)

On October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Eleena Ghosh

Somewhere on the other side of the sun, a million miles from Earth, NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) sits in silence, facing our entire solar system and more, exploring space and time.

Seven months ago, the telescope unfurled in space like a 70-foot phoenix and began its orbit around the Sun.¹ Finally, a week ago, three decades of work and an $11 billion investment proved fruitful when NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies received JWST’s first full-color images– the deepest view of the distant universe yet.² The grandiose pictures have been circulating social media and news platforms since then, captivating astronomers and the public alike with opulent nebulae, galaxy clusters, and distant planets.

Two shots of the Southern Ring Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

But more than its ability to take striking images of deep space, JWST is interesting to us for another reason– its surprisingly extensive relationship with the University of Maryland!

Not only was it built just around the corner from the university at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, but numerous Terps have had a role in the project throughout its development:

The senior JWST project scientist is none other than professor John Mather, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics.³
Wen-Hsien Chuang (2005) and Dan Kelly (2002, 2005) played key roles in developing the microshutter array for JWST’s near-infrared spectrograph.
Kan Yang (2010) was the Lead Analyst in determining whether Webb’s instruments would work in extreme cold in space.⁴

Further still, various development divisions were brimming with Terps:

Nasif Ahmed (2014), flight operations simulations engineer
Sonya Hopson (2003), project safety engineer
Alexandra Lockwood (2007), project scientist and science communications lead
Alyssa Pagan (2016), science visuals developer
Keith Parrish (1989), commissioning manager
Joe Pollizzi (1977), Science and Operations Center ground systems development manager
Eric Smith (1985, 1988), JWST program scientist and Astrophysics Division chief scientist
Christopher Stark (2010), deputy integration & test and commissioning project scientist
Patrick Taylor (1987), flight operations systems engineering architect⁵

On top of that, several Astronomy faculty members have been granted the opportunity to use the telescope in their own research as part of an early release science program⁶. Associate Professor Eliza Kempton claims the title of one of the first to be permitted the much-coveted “observing time”, planning to use Webb’s observations for her projects focused on “sub-Neptunes”– mysterious exoplanets surrounded by currently impenetrable haze. ⁷

Five other faculty members battled their way through the competitive application process and won, beating out 1,167 other applicants.⁸

Though these Terps have and will continue to make significant contributions towards space exploration and study, they can’t technically claim the title of “Space Terp”, like these six:

John Glenn, the first Terp in space. The 5th man in space and 1st American to orbit the Earth earned his spot as a Terp while taking UMD courses while stationed at the Pentagon in the 1950s.

John Glenn in front of a space shuttle, in his astronaut's uniform, from

Dr. Judith Resnik, who received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from us in 1977, went on to fly with NASA twice, as mission specialist on the orbiter Discovery’s maiden voyage in 1984 and crew member on the Challenger in 1986.

Space Shuttle Discovery saw two more Terps through to space: Paul Richards, a 1991 grad with a master’s in Mechanical Engineering, as mission crew in the 2001 mission and Richard ‘Ricky’ Arnold during the 2009 missions, who received his master’s in Marine Biology in 1992.
William McCool went on to work aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 after receiving his master’s in Computer Science in 1985.
Our most recent Terp in space is Dr. Jeanette Epps, who earned both her master’s and Ph.D. from us in Aerospace Engineering in 1994 and 2000. In 2021, she made history as the first African American female astronaut to serve as crew member aboard the ISS!

You can read more about terps in space in past installations of this series, here and here. A blog post dedicated to John Glenn can be read here!

Works Cited

1 “Where Is Webb? NASA/Webb.” NASA. NASA. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html.

2 “Seeking Light from the First Galaxies in the Universe NASA Exploring …” Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/assets/documents/WebbFactSheet.pdf.

3 Space Telescope Science Institute. “Director’s Discretionary Early Release Science Programs.” STScI.edu. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-ers-programs.

4 “First Webb Space Telescope Images Are Here.” First Webb Space Telescope images are here | Institute for Systems Research. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://isr.umd.edu/news/story/first-webb-space-telescope-images-are-here.

5 “Terps’ Work Helped Create First Images from Webb Space Telescope.” Maryland Today. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://today.umd.edu/terps-work-helped-enable-first-images-from-webb-space-telescope.

6 Space Telescope Science Institute. “Director’s Discretionary Early Release Science Programs.” STScI.edu. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-ers-programs.

7 “Terps’ Work Helped Create First Images from Webb Space Telescope.” Maryland Today. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://today.umd.edu/terps-work-helped-enable-first-images-from-webb-space-telescope.

8 Space Telescope Science Institute. “JWST Cycle 1 General Observer Submission Statistics.” STScI.edu. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.stsci.edu/contents/news/jwst/2020/jwst-cycle-1-general-observer-submission-statistics.

Eleena Ghosh is a student assistant pursuing a degree in Environmental Science & Policy with a concentration in Anthropology, which is what led her to the world of archives. She is interested in exploring where all these different domains may intersect, along with museum and curatorial studies, and reparative justice in archives.

UMD’s First Olympian (Almost)

On August 23, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Anne S.K. Turkos

Ninety years ago this spring, University of Maryland rifle team member Irene Knox qualified for the Summer Olympics with a record-setting score of 599 out of a possible 600 points at the national collegiate rifle shooting championships as the individual champion. To give you an idea of how remarkable this achievement was, the New York Times noted that

“This means that over a fifty-foot range she hit a circle

fifteen one-hundreths of an inch in diameter fifty-nine

times out of sixty attempts, her only slightly awry shot

going into the next highest scoring ring for a mark of nine.”

Sadly, there was no competition in women’s rifle at the 1932 Summer Games, which were held in Los Angeles. Economic conditions at the time and the remoteness of the location led to a much lower level of overall participation in the games, which featured only half as many athletes as had participated four years earlier. Irene missed her chance to become an official Olympian, but we still count her on our all-time list.

The UMD women’s rifle team formed in 1922 with encouragement from Dean of Women Adele Stamp. The team was successful almost immediately, winning national championships in 1926, 1931, and 1932. Irene Knox and her twin sister Josephine helped lead the way in 1931 and 1932.

The eight members of the 1932 women's rifle team. They are in two rows of four, with rifles aiming over their left shoulders. They are all wearing a smock-like, shapeless jacket with a v neck, no collar, and buttons.

FRONT ROW(left to right): Irene Knox, Minna Cannon, Francis McCubbin, Helen Bradley.
BACK ROW (left to right): Lillian Drake, Dorothy Griffith, Catherine Dennis, Josephine Knox.

Irene, whose full name was Grace Irene, and Josephine Knox were born on July 24, 1913, in Miami, Florida, the daughters of Lloyd T. Knox and Ida Hunter Knox. They had an older sister, Lucy, and twin brothers Lloyd and Howard. All five siblings graduated from the University of Maryland, but Irene and Josephine appear to have been the only rifle shooters in the family.

While Josephine was an excellent markswoman, Irene was clearly the superior shot, notching consistently high or record-setting marks at meets.

An official 50 ft gallery rifle target, which consists of a yellowed and slightly torn page with five bulls-eyes on them. The bulls-eyes have all been shot through the 10 point ring.

One of Knox’s perfect scoring targets. Sports Information Office, Acc. 1996-091-UA.

In one of the many newspaper interviews she gave, when “asked if she liked rifle shooting as a sport for girls, Irene [replied]: ‘I am wild about it. I would just go up and shoot all day long, if my eyes would hold out’.” In the same interview, she attributed her phenomenal success to the coaching she received from Sgt. Earl Hendricks, U.S. Army, the rifle instructor at UMD and the fact that she had an exceptionally far-sighted right eye.

Her shooting exploits received national coverage. In addition to the New York Times, the Daily Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Sunday Star (Washington, DC), and Christian Science Monitor all carried coverage of her outstanding performance at intercollegiate meets. She was even featured in the June 1932 issue of Alger’s Newspaper for the Youth of America.

Beyond the rifle range, which was often set up in the attic of the Skinner Building, Irene was a member and officer of the Student Grange, a member of the Women’s M Club, secretary of the Women’s Athletic Association, and a founding member of the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority. She received her B.S. in Education in 1934. Irene went on to a long career as a teacher in junior high and high school at Western High School in Washington, DC, and the Nicholas Orem School in Prince George’s County, MD. She also served as a Girl Scout volunteer and leader for over 60 years.

Irene never married and lived with her sisters Lucy and Josephine and Josephine’s husband, Arden Kidwell in the College Park area. The three sisters later moved to Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, MD. Lucy passed away in 1994, two years after her sister Irene was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Irene remained at Asbury until her own death on May 6, 1999, and was survived by her twin, Josephine, and an extensive group of three generations of nieces and nephews.

Anne S.K. Turkos is the University Archivist Emerita for the University of Maryland. She has been a part of the staff of the UMD Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives since January 1985. Before retirement in July 2017, she worked with campus departments and units, student groups, and alumni to transfer, preserve, and make available permanent university records. She continues to support the Archives through her work on special projects and fundraising. Follow Anne on Twitter at @AnneTurkos.

Hindsight’s 20/20: How Maryland Was the Perfect Place For Darryl Hill to Break Down Barriers

On August 16, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Eleena Ghosh

When Darryl Hill transferred to the University of Maryland in 1962, coming to a majority-white school was nothing new for him. The native Washingtonian had gone from an all-white high school straight into the Naval Academy, where he was 1 of 12 Black midshipmen out of a total of 400.

While in high school and the Navy, Hill made something of a name for himself as a local sports star. UMD’s then-assistant coach Lee Corso caught wind of Hill’s successes and was determined to recruit him.

UMD wasn’t in Hill’s sights when he made the decision to leave the Navy– something he explicitly told Corso. He had no interest in playing in an until-then segregated conference and inviting unwanted attention. But anything worth having is worth fighting for, so Corso refused to give up. In the end, it was one sentence from him that finally turned Hill’s head– “What, you scared?”

He was never one to be afraid of a challenge.

An image of several football players on the field in the middle of a play.

Len Chiaverini, Gary Miller, Tony Cerra, Darryl Hill, and Jerry Fishman. Jerry Bayne for The Diamondback, 1963-05-14, page 6.

And a challenge it was. It was no secret that his arrival would break the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) color barrier, so wherever Hill went, obstacles followed. In the north, integrated teams were less prone to mistreatment, but at away games in southern states– and sometimes in more southern parts of Maryland– Hill stuck out. His mere presence on the team usually led to stares, insults, and slurs, both on and off the field.

His time at Maryland was not smooth sailing, either.

From being repeatedly left out of the yearbook to being turned away from local establishments and being forced to interact with Confederate-flag-flying fraternities, there are countless difficult experiences that marred Hill’s time here. And though he may not have considered some things monumental or impactful at the time, those kinds of experiences, big or small, are difficult and can be isolating.

But looking back now, Hill sees them in a new light. As burdensome as they may be, those experiences also make him appreciate all the good he found here as well– his teammates, coaches, and the magnitude of what he was able to accomplish in the football world.

The 1963 UMD football team in uniform. The first four rows are players, and the back row is coaches. The front row has their football helmets at their feet. Hill is in the third row on the right hand side, wearing #25.

The University of Maryland Football Team, 1963. Photo Services Collection.

Through it all, his teammates had his back and were always ready to defend him, no matter who it was against. When Hill was turned away from a popular establishment on Route 1, they were gathered and ready to storm the place down the very same day before he stopped them.

His coaches were also vocal supporters, as was then-President Wilson Elkins. His first year, Hill ran into trouble when a few higher-ups were upset that he’d been given a scholarship to play football, but both Elkins and his coaches intervened in his defense.

His gratitude for all he did in the football world also changes with further introspection. Looking back now, Hill thinks “Maryland turned out to be the perfect place for it to happen. It was hard enough to play there. It would have been really difficult to do it at a school that didn’t want you… Maryland gave me the opportunity to play in the South without a school begrudging me being there…”

Darryl Hill, 1964. Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Media Relations Records.

If there’s one thing he wants young people– specifically current students– to take away from his reflection, it’s to “know and understand the history that Maryland has, and what it’s done.”

UMD has accomplished a lot, as well as given students the opportunity to do so as well; “they [students] should be proud of the university in that regard. I think it’s one of the best schools from a social point of view as well as academic…”

But, it’s important to “keep pushing on it. There’s still a ways to go in college– education in general– and Maryland is not excluded from that. Learn what the deal is, what the school is about… be active, involved in trying to make it better… keep pushing for better situations from top to bottom.”

Born out of the need to address gaps in archival records, the Reparative Histories Initiative seeks to document the voices and stories of underrepresented minorities at the University of Maryland, from the past to the present.

Part of that initiative is the Black Experience at UMD Oral History Project– here, we aim to directly address the under-documented existence of Black students on campus & capture their stories and experiences so that we can slowly piece together a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of the university’s story.

You can read more moments of difficulty, perseverance, and joy in Hill’s oral history, along with many others’, here.

Works cited

Hill, Darryl. “Interview with Darryl Hill.” By Francena Turner. Black Experience Project (August 5, 2021). https://roh-umd.info/darryl-hill-c-o-1965/.

50 Years Since Title IX at the University of Maryland

On June 22, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By Selena St. Andre

A 1974 headline from The Diamondback introducing Title IX to the UMD campus community.

June 23rd, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. Title IX set into law that gender equity in education was a civil right. While its original purpose had little to do with athletics (the law did not include any mention of sports), schools around the country grappled with how to implement Title IX into their sports programs. Around the nation, although many college campuses had women’s athletic teams at their institutions (competitive or non-competitive), men’s sports, such as football, basketball, baseball, etc., ruled. If women’s teams were given an operating budget from a college, it was nothing close to what men’s teams received. Title IX was instrumental in changing the trajectory of women’s collegiate sports.

The 1974-1975 Women’s Varsity Basketball Team featuring Page Croyder (top row, fourth from right) and Dorothy McKnight (top row, first from right). Terrapin Yearbook 1975, page 61.

At the University of Maryland, it was a fight to implement Title IX in women’s athletics. There was pushback from the athletic director, the women’s athletic coordinator, several women’s coaches, and students. The main topic of debate? Scholarships for women athletes. With the passage of Title IX, if male athletes receive scholarships, female athletes also had to receive them. However, many within women’s athletics were opposed to scholarships, believing they would lead to a program that mirrored the men’s high-pressure recruiting practices. Many, including Dorothy McKnight, the women’s athletic coordinator, did not support scholarships because they wanted to win with those who were at the University of Maryland for an education, not because they were paid to play there. They believed the inclusion of scholarships would diminish the teams instead of improving them.

James Kehoe, University of Maryland athletic director, at his desk, circa 1971-1980. Diamondback photograph collection. Box 141.

Further, James Kehoe, the athletic director, opposed implementing Title IX because “the amount of money given should be in proportion to performance and he doesn’t think women’s sports can generate income.”¹ At the time, women’s athletics received only $23,624 to around $73,000 (depending on if one looks at official numbers or Kehoe’s claims) of the $2.4 million operating budget for university athletics. This led to women’s teams having inferior training grounds, equipment, and locker rooms compared to men’s sports. Title IX eventually changed the way the university approached women’s athletics completely, from scholarships to equity in practice fields, gear, and the way women’s teams were treated.

Before fully implementing Title IX concerning athletics at UMD, there were several occurrences that shook campus, including:

Discrimination lawsuits filed against the university (with the Croyder lawsuit as perhaps the biggest)
Discrimination investigations into the university by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) (today split into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services).
Student organization (including the Student Government Association and the Maryland Public Interest Research Group) investigations into discrimination in the Athletic Department specifically.
The resignations of Dorothy McKnight, several other women’s coaches, and many players once the Board of Regents voted in favor of women’s athletics scholarships.

Page Croyder, a volleyball, track, and basketball athlete who was at the center of the HEW investigation (which was put in motion by a lawsuit filed by her father, Carl Croyder) into discrimination by the university. Terrapin Yearbook 1975, page 51.

Despite the uphill battle it faced, as Joanne Hult, a former women’s tennis coach during Title IX implementation said, “There’s no question that Title IX has been the single most important piece of legislation for women. We just forced [institutions] to have women’s teams. Women began to have national championships just by wanting them, but we weren’t able to demand it. That’s what Title IX did.”²

Learn more about Title IX’s journey at the University of Maryland at the upcoming exhibition Rising Up: 100 Years of Student Activism at the University of Maryland at Hornbake Library this fall.

Works Cited

1: Brunoskt, D., Greelegs, E., Gwlnn, M., & Vincent Paterno, V. (1975, June 12). “Kehoe terms federal rules ‘impossible’.” The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/d949abeb-8ba5-421d-af0c-e4cb268938e1?relpath=pcdm

2: Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 10). “Title IX continues to improve women’s sports.” The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/a2b37bfc-a90b-433b-9867-a756045e160a.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! A Brief History of UMD Men’s Lacrosse

On June 8, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By Anne S.K. Turkos

Cheers and tears of joy filled Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, on Memorial Day as the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team captured their fourth NCAA championship with a 9-7 victory over Cornell. This hard-fought win capped off a perfect 18-0 season, only the fourteenth undefeated season in NCAA history, and set the record for the most wins in an undefeated season by a national champion.

The Maryland men’s lacrosse team has been a national powerhouse almost from the very beginning of the sport on campus. Organized lacrosse games began in 1910 under the leadership of Maryland Agricultural College cadet Edwin E. Powell, Class of 1913.

The 1910 men's lacrosse team posing with their sticks on a grassy field.

Men’s Lacrosse Team, 1910

According to an oral history Powell completed in 1973, on file in the UMD Libraries’ Special Collections, freshman Powell and senior Graham Cole started out by tossing a ball around on campus in the fall of 1909, and by the spring of 1910, they had pulled together a team. In the early years, these informal squads competed against primarily local opponents, but would occasionally travel to other schools. One particularly memorable trip was to Carlisle, PA, to face the Carlisle Indian School, whose team included the legendary Jim Thorpe. Powell remembered the 1912 game vividly:

“But it poured down rain during the game, and I never
will forget that game as long as I live. They had a track
around the outside of the field, and they had a board
stuck up about six or eight feet all around the track.
Then, we played on the infield. Lacrosse was on the
infield, or course; the track’s outside. The water
wouldn’t get ut of that field. We were sloshing
around in water three of four inches deep, trying
to pick up the ball. Somebody would body-check
somebody and you’d slide for half a mile, almost.
It was a tough game….Oh, I think the Carlisle Indians
were the toughest team we ever played, yes.”

After Powell’s graduation, informal competition continued under the leadership of Reginald Van Trump Truitt, MAC Class of 1914 and later a faculty member in zoology at the college. Maryland became a member of the southern division of the Intercollegiate Lacrosse League in December 1923, so official records of varsity competition begin with the 1924 season.

An action shot of students playing lacrosse in a grassy pitch, while spectators look on from the stands.

University of Maryland men’s lacrosse vs. Navy, Washington, D.C., April 12, 1924

Jack Faber, one of Truitt’s star players, succeeded him as coach for the 1928 season and led the team to a three-way tie for the gold medal in collegiate lacrosse, the first of eight national championships the Terps would share or win outright under Faber, who also taught microbiology while coaching. Faber remained at the helm, joined by another former star player, Al Heagy, until 1963, with the exception of the 1944 and 1945 seasons when the Terps did not field a team during World War II.

The 1926 men's lacrosse team posing for a full team photo, some laughing as if a joke was just told.

Men’s varsity lacrosse squad, University of Maryland, 1926

Bud Beardmore, another legendary player for the Terps, took over the squad in 1970 and led them to national championships in 1973 and 1975. Then began a long championship drought under coaches Dino Mattessich (1981-1983), Dick Edell (1984-2001), Dave Cottle (2002-2010). Although Mattessich, Edell, and Cottle were successful in leading the Terps into the NCAA Tournament almost on an annual basis and frequently into the finals, the top prize eluded the Terps until their 2017 championship win under current coach John Tillman.

Lacrosse player Buddy Beardmore jumping to catch a ball in the scoop of his stick. He is wearing athletic clothes, but not his lacross uniform.

Buddy Beardmore, 1962

Over the 112 years of informal and varsity lacrosse competition at Maryland, fans have had the opportunity to watch many outstanding players on the field. Nearly 150 have been named USILA All-American in two or more years, and 32 Terps have been inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, starting with Reginald Truitt in 1959. Three Terps have been honored with the Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the top female and top male college lacrosse players in the United States—Matt Rambo in 2017, Jared Bernhardt in 2021, and Logan Wisnauskas in 2022.

Fans have also had the chance to enjoy some legendary rivalry games. The Naval Academy Midshipmen, Harvard Crimson, Princeton Tigers, and Virginia Cavaliers all come to mind, but no Maryland lacrosse rivalry is more storied than that versus the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. The Terps and the Blue Jays have played over 100 times, every year since the beginning of varsity play in 1924, with the exception of the war years, and often during the preceding 14 years. There’s even a famous story of Testudo-napping connected with this rivalry. In 1947, the night before the Terps and Blue Jays were to take the field to decide the national championship, students from Hopkins traveled to College Park to capture the statue of Testudo. The removal of the statue from its pedestal outside Ritchie Coliseum was discovered the following morning, and outraged Terps traveled to Hopkins’ Homewood campus in Baltimore to reclaim their beloved mascot.

Students examine the empty pedestal in front of Ritchie Coliseum, looking shocked.

Empty Testudo pedestal, University of Maryland, circa 1947

A melee ensued, and it took over 200 Baltimore policemen almost two hours to control the chaos. Ultimately the Hopkins students returned the statue to its rightful home, but not before painting a large blue “H” on it. As punishment, some of the culprits had an “M” shaved into their hair. You can read more about this trip Testudo took here.

Two grinning UMD students sitting on top of the empty pedestal. They are pushing the poorly shaved, patchy heads of three Johns Hopkins students together. The John Hopkins student in the center has a sign hanging around his neck that reads: "I'm from Johns Hopkins- I helped steal the terrapin."

Captured Johns Hopkins students, University of Maryland, College Park, May 1947

Much more could be written about the storied history of the Maryland men’s lacrosse program, but we hope these highlights will make you want to learn more. Check out some of the sources listed below to find more information.

Congratulations to our 2022 National Champion Terps who have built on this tremendous legacy!

Sources:

Maryland Manuscript #1203, Oral history transcript of interview with Edwin E. Powell,
Maryland Agricultural College Class of 1913, by Michael V. Wurm November 21, 1973

Student Newspapers database

Men’s lacrosse digital record book

Early Women’s Athletics at Maryland Agricultural College

On March 7, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Maureen Jones

The 1924 women’s rifle team

Shortly after women began to enroll in courses at the Maryland Agricultural College in 1916, they began to carve out their niche in the athletic community. Basketball and rifle were the two earliest sports that the women of MAC organized, though very informally. The rifle team was understood to be the more successful of the two teams. In 1924, the Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) was formed in order to provide structure and support for coed sports. They then began to organize seasonal tennis tournaments, which then developed into an early tennis team. Financing for activities was of primary concern, but the WAA was optimistic that the women’s basketball team would soon outshoot the men’s team, and hoped to organize hockey, track, and baseball teams next. It was actually swimming that came to fruition next, boasting 19 members despite having no pool on campus, and then bowling after that.

Sophomore basketball, 1925

As coed athletics became increasingly relevant on campus, more formal support was given by the college. A women’s M Club was also formed in 1926 in order to recognize the accomplishments of the basketball and rifle teams, which were considered the two ‘serious’ sports of the era. In 1929, Virginia Peasley became the first women’s athletic director in order to support those ‘serious’ sports, as well as casual club sports such as soccer, baseball, and volleyball that were growing increasingly popular, the newly minted women’s field hockey team, and the fitness requirements in the undergraduate curriculum, which included clogging and folk dancing. By 1930, the new athletic director, Edith Ball, had introduced club golf, horseback riding, archery, and hiking. All the while, the established sports continued to be extremely successful. That very same year, the rifle team won their national championship.

The inaugural women’s M Club, 1928

Despite the great success of the women’s athletic program, it took until 1931 for a photograph of any images of the competitors in action to be developed- they had previously been photographed only as a whole team, or in staged poses, rather than in motion.

Coeds partaking in various activities, 1931

Maureen Jones is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland iSchool as well as the Museum Studies and Material Culture Certificate. She is interested in museum studies, reparative justice in archives, taxidermy, and hockey.

Desegregating Spirit

On February 28, 2022March 7, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Maureen Jones

The image of the midcentury cheerleader is iconic: jubilant students wearing conservative skirts in their school colors, a sweater with a logo that proudly displays the university they represent while the students amp up the crowd with routines and call-and-response cheers. It had an image as an activity for squeaky clean, preppy college girls who acted as the public face of the university, visible on major sports broadcasts from the sidelines.

Like many other sports and activities at the University of Maryland in the 1960’s and 1970’s, it was also very white.

By 1968, the campus was on its way to desegregation. Numerous lawsuits had pushed the university to accept the enrollment of black students before Brown v. Board of Education was passed, officially ending school segregation. Darryll Hill had broken the football program’s color barrier in 1963, and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the predecessor of the Black Student Union (BSU) was formed in 1966. But despite the growing diversity on campus and the removal of ‘official’ participation barriers that prevented black students from joining clubs and organizations prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, UMD still had no black cheerleaders.

There was a perception of the cheer squad as openly participating in “de-facto segregation,” a view that was noted by white and black students alike. One student even reported that they had seen the squad carrying Confederate flags, though this claim could not be verified. Due to perceived hostility in the cheer squad, black students would independently attempt to start cheers in order to boost school spirit at football games. During one such attempt at the October 1968 game against Duke, the black students in the student section were pelted with ice cubes. The solution to this issue was to prohibit soft drinks and bags of ice at following games that month. After that point, the newly renamed BSU urged black spectators to all sit together in one large group for protection.

The Black Student Union in 1970, potentially the earliest image of the group

At the same time, BSU and students from all walks of life were disrupting the status quo by formally protesting the Home Economics Department for excluding four coeds from a study due to “biological differences” between black and white. Bob McLeod, first president of BSU, urged that white students support their efforts from the periphery.

“The black students on campus, this is their thing.” McLeod announced to the crowd outside the Home Economics building. “You can support us from the outside.”

This, combined with their change in name from CORE to BSU, drew accusations of separatism from some staff and students. This was despite the fact that BSU’s own advisor, professor of secondary education Arthur Adkins, was white, and attended nearly every BSU meeting. Black students could not cheer independently without being physically attacked by their classmates, so they turned back to the official cheer squad. It is in this context that BSU began to organize against the “de facto” discrimination of the cheer squad, and brought the issue to the Student Government Association’s judiciary office.

The cheerleading squad pushed back against this accusation. One major point they brought to the attention of the cabinet was that black cheerleaders would be financially burdensome and “an inconvenience” to the club. When the cheerleaders traveled to out-of-state games, they had, until that point, lodged with the fraternities and sororities of the home team. If they traveled to the south with black teammates in tow, they might not be welcome and would have to purchase lodging. Another of their claims was that black womens’ movements were “too fluid” and that adding one or two black members would ruin the “continuity” of the group. Though not included in the brief, another member of the cheer squad allegedly stated that spectators did not want “soul-type” cheers, and that it was one reason there shouldn’t be any black cheerleaders at UMD.

Additionally, two black students who had felt discriminated against in the 1967 audition process stepped forward to provide testimony. The students, not named, alleged that they were completely neglected during the tryouts and forced to practice amongst themselves rather than with the other cheerleaders. This neglect led the black prospective cheerleaders to drop from the audition process one by one. The cheer squad’s defense counselor alleged that the black students were misconstruing things that were normal as being discriminatory.

Another shocking revelation of the investigation was that the UMD cheer squad was not, well, the UMD cheer squad. They had never made a constitution or been recognized as a formal organization, despite getting annual funds from the SGA. When BSU unearthed this news, then-SGA president Jerry Fleischer stated that funds would be withheld until the cheer squad complied with formal organizational requirements.

“We never bothered to check… whether the cheerleaders were recognized.” Fleischer explained to the Diamondback reporters. “They’ve been on campus so long.”

After hearing both sides, SGA’s student court agreed that the cheer squad had not been discriminatory, but that their selection process allowed for potential discrimination and thus had to be altered. The cheer squad was still not entirely on board, some members alleging that if they did commit discriminatory acts that they were merely representing society at large, and that they couldn’t be blamed for discriminatory tryouts because they were simply following the way their predecessors ran tryouts.

The first resolution passed by SGA was to hold all-black auditions for two cheerleaders to be added to the cheer squad, selected by BSU. Diana Yingling, spokesperson for the cheer squad, insisted that cheerleaders always chose their squad members fairly and that an all-black tryout would violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The BSU was satisfied with the resolution when it passed, but James Dermody, a student who appears to have been affiliated with neither BSU or the cheer squad, sided with Yingling’s claims of illegality and filed a claim of discrimination against non-black students. This claim was made despite the fact that the SGA had amended the original proposal to require that the cheer team add six new cheerleaders to the squad, and that at least two of them must be black. In response, the SGA suspended all cheer activities until Dermody’s case could be heard, and would not enforce their previous proclamation for two new members from an all-black tryout. This upset both BSU and the cheer squad, the latter of which was made to sit out during pertinent athletic events.

Since non-black students had been included in the most recent iteration of the proposal, Dermody instead validated his claim by calling it an overstep of SGA jurisdiction under the Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students, and that the previous discovery that the cheerleaders were not a formally observed University organization, SGA did not have any sway over them. This claim was made despite the fact that the cheerleaders were very eager to write a constitution and become a formally observed organization in order to secure future funding.

A verdict was reached a month later in March. SGA ruled that the cheerleaders had not been guilty of discrimination, but that their selection process had to change in order to prevent the possibility of future bias. Once based on highly subjective properties such as “appearance” and “audience appeal,” the new tryout guidelines were to be based on a calculable point system. This, they argued, would prevent unconscious racism. Before being enacted, the new tryout guidelines would be approved by a group composed of SGA and BSU members, as well as faculty and graduate student representatives from the dance and physical education departments.

There were no immediate auditions for new members, but both the BSU and the newly recognized cheer squad were happy with the outcome. The next fall, Jacqueline Robinson, Angie Sharp, and Tee Taylor made the cheer squad, breaking the 30 year color barrier.

Robinson was confident that the pressure of the legal battle helped her secure her spot on the team.Both she and Sharp were elated to be able to participate.

Since then, black students have been proud members of UMD’s cheerleading team, helping keep the energy high during our teams’ most dire moments. It took a legal battle to get there, but our cheer squad is now representative of the diversity that makes Maryland unique.

ENHANCEMENTS TO THE UMD STUDENT NEWSPAPERS DATABASE

On January 31, 2022 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

By: Anne S.K. Turkos

The University of Maryland Archives is pleased to announce the addition of eight new titles, Ha-Koach, Expression, Hanoori, Public Asian, and its three predecessor papers (14%, 15%, and Asian Voice), and La Voz Latina, to the Student Newspapers Database as well as expanded access to The Diamondback.

Ha-Koach served as the first Jewish student newspaper at the University of Maryland. It first appeared in 1976 as a monthly paper and was funded in part by Maryland Media Inc. and the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation. Throughout its publication, the paper maintained a close connection to the Jewish Student Union and covered news relating to Israel, Soviet Jewry, and issues and events of interest to the UMD Jewish population. Concerns about the lack of a dedicated staff and lack of support from the Jewish community surfaced in the early 1980s, and the paper ceased to publish in the spring of 1983. The Mitzpeh, which was previously accessible in the database, succeeded Ha-Koach in the fall 1983 semester.

The Chinese Student Association (CSA) briefly published a newspaper entitled The Expression in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The paper, funded entirely by the CSA, contained a significant amount of content in Chinese and extensive coverage of CSA activities and events, as well as events in the general Chinese community.

Hanoori, published by the Korean Student Association (KSA), was the earliest Asian student newspaper at the University of Maryland. Volume 1, number 1 appeared in November 1990, and the UMD Archives holds issues through volume 3, number 1, December 1992. Publication occurred once a semester, and the paper often included articles in Korean. Topics covered in Hanoori included the history and activities of the Korean Student Association; profiles of faculty, administrators, and students; protests against the war in Iraq; issues of concern to the KSA and the organization’s annual song contest; and love life advice in letters to “Mr. UM.”

The Asian Voice began publication with volume 1 number 1 on September 13, 1991, and the UMD Archives holds issues through volume 3 number 3, April/May 1994. The paper had various subtitles during its run, including “Asian Student Newsletter,” “Asian Student Union Newspaper,” “Asian Pacific Islander Student Union Newspaper,” and “Asian Pacific American Newspaper.” Along with traditional articles, the paper also featured calendars of events, comics, works of fiction, and opinion pieces. Throughout this three-year period, the Asian Voice was closely associated with the Asian Student Union and provided frequent coverage of the group’s role on campus and activities.

The Asian student papers 14% and 15%, published in 1995, were in part a reaction to the Asian Voice, since those editors sought to portray the diversity of the Asian community at UMD and stated that Asians did not speak with one voice. The titles of the two papers represented the percentage of Asian Americans at the university at that time. 14% and 15%, while closely associated with the Asian Student Union, emphasized the breadth of the Asian community and reported on the activities of various Asian student groups across campus. The papers also reported on progress to establish an Asian American studies program and other student activism the work of the Asian, Hispanic, and Native American Task Force; and issues of concern to Asian Americans.

The Public Asian, a product of the Asian American Student Union, is the longest-running Asian Pacific American (APA) student newspaper held by the University of Maryland Archives. Issues in the Archives run from volume 2, number 4 (April 1996) to volume 20, number 1 (October 2013). Similar to other Asian American student papers, referenced in the Public Asian’s early subtitle, “A Voice of the 15%,” this publication provided extensive coverage of student organizations and their activities; campus events, such as Asian Pacific American Month; and the establishment and development of the Asian American Studies Program. The paper also included profiles of UMD students, faculty, and staff; commentary and opinions from students; restaurant reviews and recipes; and calendars of events. What differentiated the Public Asian from the other Asian American student papers was its significant focus on national and international figures in the Asian Pacific American community and issues of importance beyond the campus’ borders.

La Voz Latina was an irregularly published student newspaper targeted at the University of Maryland Latino community. The UMD Archives holds issues from September 1987 through April 2011, but there are large gaps in publication dates. The paper was a forum for Latino students to speak out on a variety of issues and to share news, events, poetry, and recipes. Articles appeared in both English and Spanish.

Five additional years of the digitized Diamondback have been incorporated as well, expanding coverage of the paper to 2013.

More information about the coverage of each of the recent additions to the database may be found via the About page on the Student Newspapers Database website.

The Student Newspapers Database is an important component of the UMD Archives’ commitment to making the voices of students of the past and present accessible to all, and the staff looks forward to adding content to this resource in the years to come.

Author Bio

Swing Passes and Shoulder Pads: Part III

On November 22, 2021 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

University of Maryland football player Bill Meister, 1971

By the 1970’s, mesh knit had become the fabric of choice for football jerseys across the country. The sleeves were also much shorter. The helmets remained, somewhat surprisingly, fairly bare. Stripes were traded in for solid red, and there were still no logos.

Football media guide cover, University of Maryland, 1973

Logos returned in 1972, when the bold ‘M’ was once again pulled from the archives and stamped onto the Terps’ helmets. The jerseys changed with the helmets, borrowing the same typeface to feature ‘Maryland’ over the player’s numbers. The yellow and black vertical stripes on the pants matched the ‘M.’ To further player safety, the face mask grew more expansive.

The more elaborate design choices of the 1970’s were a testament to the growth of the program, as well as the growth of the sport. What was once a variant of rugby with a spattering of local spectators had grown into a nationwide demonstration of athleticism and competitiveness, and it was being broadcasted into homes across the country. There were parades, cheerleaders, and intricate rituals: football had become a vibrant, uniquely American spectacle, and it only made sense that the players should be dressed to the nines (Oriard 2001, 14).

Rick Badanjek, a University of Maryland football player, during a game

By 1984, the uniforms underwent a few more changes. Most notably, the bold ‘M’ was retired in favor of ‘Terps’ in script. This classic script design has become a fan favorite, and was brought back for a special set of throwback jerseys worn by the Terps in their home opener for the 2021 season.

‘Maryland’ was also removed, as was the bulk of the yellow. The vertical stripes were black and red, and the last sliver of yellow was confined to a stripe on the sleeves. It was also around this time that player names were added to the back of jerseys. The socks were solid colors, while previous iterations featured stripes.

Before the mid-late 1980s, Adidas had been the cleat manufacturer of choice. Nike rose to prominence after that point.

Additionally, Badanjek and other players begin to wrap their wrists in supportive tape to encourage stability and prevent injuries. These wraps are not a mandatory, official part of the uniform, but demonstrate an increased awareness in player safety.

Jermaine Lewis, University of Maryland football, 1994.

By 1993, the yellow disappeared entirely, and the horizontal sleeve stripes were white with a slender black outline. The bold ‘M’ was back on a black helmet, and the face mask became more ornate, incorporating additional bars for increased safety. The ‘M’ was also featured on each players’ hip.

University of Maryland football player LaMont Jordan and teammates in a game against Florida State University, circa 1998

There were more logo changes in the late 1990’s, this time incorporating the Maryland State flag with the bold ‘M.’ The old cursive ‘Terps’ script replaced the ‘M’ on the players’ hips, and the jersey once again used yellow as a colorful accent. Matching gloves are now worn with increased frequency, as are mouth guards. After 1996, an ACC logo was added to the right side of the chest. There was also more branding: gloves, socks, cleats, and the ball itself were emblazoned with the Nike swoosh.

E.J. Henderson on the field during a game against the University of North Carolina, 2001

The Maryland flag logo was short-lived, and the ‘Terps’ script with vertical stripes was back in the 2000’s. The detailing and yellow accents featured on the sleeves of the previous jersey were carried over into this design. Branding again expanded, with a Nike swoosh placed on the jersey.

Football Program Cover, Maryland vs. Florida State, October 28, 2006

The details of the jerseys underwent more transformation, integrating colorful piping and linework as accents. This pant design is one of the more busy pants worn by the Terrapins. The ‘Terps’ script is still visible on the players’ hips, again harkening back to the team’s past. Nike is out, Under Armor is in, and wrapped wrists may be traded for more advanced compression sleeves.

UMD football is still active and thriving, but long gone are the days of boot-style cleats, sweaters, and leather helmets. Football uniform design has developed over the past century and a half in accordance with economic and cultural development in the United States. Also influential were the strides made in regards to player safety and comfort. To see the most recent iteration of Terrapin uniforms, be sure to tune into the last game of the season as the Terps take on Rutgers this Saturday.

Maureen Jones is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland iSchool. She is a graduate assistant at the University Archives and is interested in museum studies and reparative justice in archives.

Works Cited

Bachynski, Kathleen. “Your Men Can Smash Through: Designing and Marketing Football Equipment.” In No Game for Boys to Play: The History of Youth Football and the Origins of a Public Health Crisis, 48-70. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019.

Football Season of 1940 Media Guide. College Park: University of Maryland, 1940.

Football Season of 1946 Media Guide. College Park: University of Maryland, 1946.

Oriard, Michael. Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels, Movies and Magazines, the Weekly and the Daily Press. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

PRESERVING A RARE MUSICAL TREASURE

On November 22, 2021 By umdarchivesIn UpdatesLeave a comment

by Anne S.K. Turkos

Early in 2017, a gentleman named Thomas Livingston contacted the University of Maryland Archives about an unusual piece of sheet music he had discovered among items in his late mother’s piano bench. The tune was called the “MAC Cadet Two Step,” and Livingston wondered if this piece had a UMD connection. He was not sure why his mother had had this in her possession, and he was willing to donate it if the Archives wanted it.

Maryland Agricultural College student Ira E. Whitehill, Class of 1899, composed the piece, and George Edward Smith arranged it. The H.L. Wilcoxson company in Frederick, MD, published the composition, and Whitehill copyrighted it in 1897. Whitehill was active in a number of the MAC’s student musical ensembles in the late 1890s and according to the centennial history of the university’s band program, Musical Ambassadors of Maryland, “was the first student-composer to contribute songs, marches, and odes to the school repertory.”

Livingston’s phone call was met with great excitement since the “MAC Cadet Two Step,” dedicated to the faculty and students of the Maryland Agricultural College, is Maryland’s oldest original published school song and among the oldest copyrighted songs in the Library of Congress (LOC). Prior to Livingston’s call, only one copy of the sheet music was known to exist, and that was in the collections at LOC. The Archives staff gratefully accepted Mr. Livingston’s offer of a donation, and this rare piece of sheet music arrived in early February 2017.

Given the item’s fragile condition, the Archives staff transferred it immediately following accessioning to the UMD Libraries’ Preservation Department for treatment. Conservator Bryan Draper began his work by taking some “before” photos, seen here, to document the condition of the piece.

and then carefully began his examination of the individual sheets. He described his treatment in an August 20, 2021, email as follows:

The leaves were lightly cleaned using latex “soot” sponges and soft grated vinyl eraser crumbs to remove surface dirt.
The leaves were lightly humidified so that folded edges could be flattened and tears re-aligned.
Mending was accomplished using handmade Japanese tissue paper made of kozo fiber; the adhesive used was cooked wheat starch paste, a durable but reversible adhesive.
Japanese paper comes in many tones and weights. Three likely candidates were pasted out onto glass and allowed to dry. The tissue closest in tone was selected for mending. Mending strips of Japanese paper were shaped by water-tearing which allows the edges of the repair paper to have long fibers; this method produces a tapering edge to the paper and spreads out the area of adhesion allowing for a stronger mend.
Loose fragments were aligned in place, lightly adhered with starch paste and reinforced with shaped Japanese paper.
Mends were dried under an interleaving sheet, blotter paper and weighted. Repair tissue overhanging the edges of the object were trimmed flush. So that the mends blended visually with the original paper surface, the repair tissue was lightly burnished with a bone folder.
The leaves were sprayed with Bookkeeper Spray (Magnesium Oxide in a perfluorocarbon carrier fluid) to reduce further deterioration caused by acidity.
Each leaf was placed into a sleeve of polyester film, a stable and durable plastic, for long-term storage. The clear polyester allows the music score to be viewed and handled while greatly reducing chance of further damage.
-Draper

Here you can see Bryan’s work in progress:

and the final results:

As the marching band season draws to a close in 2021, we thought Terrapin Tales’ readers would like to know about the preservation of this rare, UMD-related musical treasure. Thanks to Bryan’s careful and meticulous treatment, this very special part of the history of the University of Maryland and its band program has been preserved. Visit the Maryland Room in Hornbake Library to view the “MAC Cadet Two Step” in person and view other images from the UMD Bands in the Libraries’ Digital Collections and in the yearbooks.

Author Bio

Anne S.K. Turkos is the University Archivist Emerita for the University of Maryland. She has been a part of the staff of the UMD Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives since January 1985. Before retirement in July 2017, she worked with campus departments and units, student groups, and alumni to transfer, preserve, and make available permanent university records. She continues to support the Archives through her work on special projects and fundraising. Follow Anne on Twitter at @AnneTurkos.