Through the Decades - 1980's
© Rodney Norvell

Hello my name is Rodney Norvell. I am the Baptist Campus Minister for Furman University and Greenville Technical College in South Carolina.  Dwight asked me if I would say a little something about the decade of the Eighties. I am filling in for Jeff Coursey who was unable to be with us tonight. Actually thought this is kind of representative of our decade, putting things together at the last minute and relying on friends to help you. So without a lot of preparation time I asked my friends at the table to tell me important things that they remembered about their time here at Georgetown. I apologize that these are kind of random thoughts in no particular order as I scribbled down a list, but I hope that you will remember some of Rodney’s Random Ramblings with me.

The Eighties was a decade of big hair and big music. Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, and Michael Jackson, need I say more. From that you may gather that the Eighties was a decade of confusion. But when I think about Georgetown and my time here, I think that I would say the Eighties was a decade of restoration. As Dr. Crouch said earlier, our campus needs to look like the campus we want to become--how true. As a high school senior I visited Georgetown College and decided not to attend because the campus at that time had a condemned building, Highbaugh Hall, on campus. I thought this school is going under and I can’t have a degree from a college that is not going to make it. But after spending my freshmen year at the University of Kentucky I saw the error of my ways and transferred to Georgetown College. It was one of the best decisions of my life. At a large university I was frustrated by large classes, many of which I never actually saw my professor. I was being taught by students not much older than myself and I thought, this is not the way I want to get my education. At Georgetown I found an environment where professors were a part of our lives. We got to hear them in class and see them on campus, even at church. They had opportunities to speak into our lives. And for this little shy country boy that made all the difference in the world. I learned confidence and about abilities that I never thought that I had, for that I will be forever grateful.

In 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded and I remember people huddled around televisions to hear the news. I remember being shocked and stunned by the tragedy. My classmates remember professors and staff along with students trying to make sense out of the loss. That is one of the wonderful things about Georgetown College. There are great people here that were there when you needed them. I did say huddled about televisions because in the Eighties there was not cable in the rooms, very few students had computers and the internet was unheard of at that time. We didn’t have cell phones, pagers, raspberries, blackberries, or digital anything. 

In the Eighties Pawling was still falling, but by the end of the decade Highbaugh Hall and Pawling Hall were both restored and refurbished. Our campus was just beginning to get a much needed face lift. Even the café, as we called the cafeteria under went some renovations. There were lots of changes about. I wrote down several of the sayings and things that friends remembered. We had Little Caesar’s Pizza on Thursdays. Can you remember “Walk and talk, walk and talk, keep moving.” or how about “Round is chicken, square is fish.”?  The campus was all excited when we purchased a used salad bar from Druthers and could make our own salads.

The student body was changing too. The Baptist Student Union sponsored the first BSU dance on campus. I am not sure when the first dance on campus occurred but that might have been in the Eighties, as well. However the BSU was radical for that time and you might have heard, “Shake your body for Lottie!” and “Move your fanny for Annie!.” We did almost anything to raise money for missions. We also remembered one particular time when Georgetown was a corruptible influence on one of our other Baptist colleges and invited them to our BSU Dance. Campbellsville may never be the same.

Speaking of getting out of hand, today at lunch we were reminiscing over the time that the BSU van caught on fire. While I was at Georgetown the BSU sent out singing ensembles to sing all over the southeast in churches. I was in a group called “Image” and we had just spent a weekend in West Virginia touring and arrived back in the early hours of the morning on Monday. Just a few hours later “Manna”, another ensemble, repacked the van and headed out to sing at the Kentucky Baptist Convention. They had not gone very far down the road when smoke started billowing out of the van vents. Quickly making it to the side of Interstate-75 and getting out of the van the group watched the smoke turn into flame eventually burning over the entire van and stopping traffic on interstate for several hours. BSU lost our van and our sound equipment not to mention many personal items like backpacks and purses. Headed down the same interstate, stopped in traffic wondering what had happened was our college president. As people began to see smoke and get out of their cars the president’s wife recognized the dresses that girls wore in the ensemble. It didn’t take long before the BSU had a new van and sound equipment. The Eighties were a time when we didn’t have to worry so much about liability.

Actually I am so glad for the responsibility and trust that was bestowed upon me while I was here at Georgetown. We were treated like adults, like out opinions mattered and it helped me develop and grow. Another thing that I remember fondly was dorm Bible studies. In the lobbies of many of the dorms students would gather and lead each other in devotions. It was there that much of my spiritual growth and maturity developed over my time here. I would like to mention professors and staff that impacted me so much people like my campus minister Doc, but I would invariably miss so many of the people that made my time at Georgetown special. However I would be remise if I did not mention that Georgetown is where I met my wife, my own little Belle of the Blue, Marisa Smith and for her I shall be forever thankful.