OT: Who has actually been to Storrs and what impressed you

[BBallF]

I was last in Storrs for the Vermont NCAA game in March. I am always impressed by the knowledgeable and basketball crazy fans and the magnificent campus. Gampel is also one of basketball's great venues.

 

[SCHuskiedad]

I have been there dozens of times. My daughter graduated last spring, and that was my last trip to campus. Unfortunately, she attended during the dark COVID times, so she missed out on many experiences, and we missed the opportunity to share any of them with her. Thankfully she was able to go back many times and share this basketball season with her friends still at school to make up for some of it.

 

[EMLady]

Lol. Dairy Bar is always at the top of our list! If we're in New England and within 50 miles of Storrs, we'll detour just to renew the acquaintance.

We drove allllll the way from the "other" Husky coast [Puyallup, WA southeast of Seattle] to visit family and friends in New England and made sure we stopped at the Dairy Barn. We went to UCONN in 73/74, lived in Manchester for 40 years and followed UCONN WBB since 1992; Jason Lobo, Rebecca's brother, was in my law school class. It has changed dramatically since 1973!

 

[tomcat]

I taught an evening course there years ago, so I was there twice a week for several years. Our department was in Arjona Hall, which, as college buildings go, was kind of a dump, it seemed to me. That said, the students always impressed me. Intelligent, curious, friendly.

The campus is very different now -- much more developed.

 

[SCGamecock]

Lived in Connecticut for about 4 years. Went to a few UConn games during that time. The campus is nice… but the surrounding area is very beautiful. Has that small hamlet New England charm.

 

[CL82]

Lived in Connecticut for about 4 years.

 

[CL82]

bringing the family pet Labradors up for weekends, where they cavorted in the campus ponds and invited themselves in to my homesick dormmates' rooms for surprise (and very welcome) visits; and having the local package store deliver orders placed via a simple phone call

Wait, the package stores used to deliver to your dogs? And you used to let your dogs drink? Oh, and how did they even use a phone to call for the deliveries?

I don’t know man I’m seeing a lot of holes in that story.

 

[SCGamecock]

Ha, yep.. it’s true. I’ve posted about it in the past. Way back. I lived there while I worked for that 4 letter TV network that a lot of people hate. Lol

 

[CL82]

Ha, yep.. it’s true. I’ve posted about it in the past. Way back. I lived there while I worked for that 4 letter TV network that a lot of people hate. Lol

Hmmm, I’m seeing those ratings posts in a whole new light.

 

[vtcwbuff]

No.....the Navy use to drive me home after assignments were completed and unit was somewhere else most of the time.

What really struck me was the difference between the submarines that my Dad was on during WWII in the Pacific and being on one of the ones in the early 80's.

You should see them today. The control room looks like the starship Enterprise. No more Clark Gable hanging on to the periscope training handles. Actually, no more periscopes.
Can I ask what boat your father served on?

 

[Zanzman]

Several times and the wbb team always impresses me

 

[Forego]

Technically not on campus, but does anyone else remember Lou’s? No, not KLS or LLS. It was this hole in the wall food place on Rt. 32 just south of where North Eagleville Rd ended and it was the only place you could get something to eat late at night. The sandwich’s all had funny names like “Milhous” (baloney on cornbread - named for Nixon), “beaver” (bacon cheeseburger grinder) or “twin moons” (cheese burger with roasted peppers). The food was great, especially when you are 18 - 22 years old.

 

[veryolddog]

You should see them today. The control room looks like the starship Enterprise. No more Clark Gable hanging on to the periscope training handles. Actually, no more periscopes.
Can I ask what boat your father served on?

You know, he told me, but I do not think that I remember correctly. It was some sort or fish. It was commissioned in 1942. Barb or Drum. He never talked about it until I came home from Viet Nam when we were just sitting together. He said that you can hear a click click when the depth charge was going to explode.

He tried to enlist on December 8th. and told to come back on the 17th, because of the volume of men wanting to enlist. He left on Jan 1, 1942, went through basic and then sub school. His boat left in the summer of 1942 after it was commissioned. Not sure, but he said that it might have gone to North Africa first, then the Pacific or I am just mistaken. He said that when refitting they put rockets on the deck getting ready for the invasion. He came home in December 1945.

 

[vtcwbuff]

You know, he told me, but I do not think that I remember correctly. It was some sort or fish. It was commissioned in 1942. Barb or Drum. He never talked about it until I came home from Viet Nam when we were just sitting together. He said that you can hear a click click when the depth charge was going to explode.

He tried to enlist on December 8th. and told to come back on the 17th, because of the volume of men wanting to enlist. He left on Jan 1, 1942, went through basic and then sub school. His boat left in the summer of 1942 after it was commissioned. Not sure, but he said that it might have gone to North Africa first, then the Pacific or I am just mistaken. He said that when refitting they put rockets on the deck getting ready for the invasion. He came home in December 1945.

The rocket launcher comment leads me to believe that the boat was USS Barb (SS-220). If it was Barb then your father served on a very famous sub in the Pacific. The boat was captained by Eugene Fluckey who was awarded four Navy Crosses and the Medal of Honor. Fluckey wrote a book "Thunder Below" that gives a fascinating account of Barb's exploits.

 

[AreBee1969]

'91 grad here. As a CT kid, UConn was my safety school as well as for everyone I went to high school with. I ended up going to Storrs because it was affordable. My Freshman year I lived in the Jungle which was an absolute dump. (My Mom cried when she saw my dorm room.) The grounds for the most part were worn down to dirt everywhere, the buildings were run down and the library was wrapped in a plastic bag. I did get to see the opening of Gampel, but I played intramurals in a leaky Field House.

Fast forward to 2018 when our oldest daughter was a Freshman in Storrs; EVERYTHING was impressive. Academically, UConn is no longer anyone's safety school, the grounds are so much improved; too many new or renovated buildings to list them all (Alumni Center, Student Union, Chem, Business, Werth dorm, Co-Op, along with amazing athletic facilities). The only dirt I could find was where new construction was happening (Rec Center, STEM building).

Our oldest graduated last May from an incredibly challenging nursing program and our youngest daughter is Freshman there now. She loves it, and my wife and I are glad she's there.

 

[vtcwbuff]

My daughter went to UConn in the late 80's. She lived in the Jungle her first year. My biggest impression is how much the campus has changed thanks to the generosity of the CT taxpayers.

 

[Puppy Love]

I’m incredibly impressed by what the university has become. When I graduated high school, it was a little more than a suitcase college that was a safety school for many. I chose to go to school out of state. It’s unbelievable to me that UConn is now a first choice school and admissions are competitive.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I’m incredibly impressed by what the university has become. When I graduated high school, it was a little more than a suitcase college that was a safety school for many. I chose to go to school out of state. It’s unbelievable to me that UConn is now a first choice school and admissions are competitive.

Not a safety school for us, it was more like an affordable school.

 

[FollowerCT]

Graduated in 1977 … Grange Hall and the jungle … gravitated to Mirror Lake … spent one summer living in a tent by the Fenton River, Nipmunk trail … would take trays from Holcomb Hall and slide down Horsebarn Hill during snowfall … started in 1969 … Vietnam war … man on the moon … beautiful campus … walking everywhere … work study … dairy bar of course … bright, sunny rural days … lasting impressions …

 

[Puppy Love]

Not a safety school for us, it was more like an affordable school.

Thank you for not slapping me…my post sounded so arrogant. I really didn’t mean it to be, either. (I went to college in Vermont…I have a permanent affection for the entire state.)

 

[TRUCONN76]

I was on campus about a week before the end of the world party for an accounting society awards program as an alum representing our CPA firm. When we walked by Stowe an empty beer keg was thrown out an upstairs window. Needless to say I wasn’t surprised to hear about the party.

 

[VA Huskie]

Lived in Storrs in the late ‘70’s. My wife was getting a masters in botany. Our kids were 6 and 2. We loved the Dairy Barn, not just ice cream, but the best cottage cheese we’ve ever had. Our kids loved a store that they called the “candy bank” (next to our bank), sold lots of penny candies. My wife used to jog on a track in the old fieldhouse, while the women’s basketball team practiced on a court in the middle. Great memories!

 

[sun]

I was on campus about a week before the end of the world party for an accounting society awards program as an alum representing our CPA firm. When we walked by Stowe an empty beer keg was thrown out an upstairs window. Needless to say I wasn’t surprised to hear about the party.

At some point UConn began to acquire a reputation for being quite a party school.
A 2019 NBC 30 article said that UConn was nationally ranked #20 on the Princeton Review list of best party schools.
Apparently UConn's reputation hasn't changed much over the years, maybe it has even grown.
.

UConn Ranked a Top Party School in the US

The University of Connecticut is ranked on Princeton Review’s list of top party schools in the United States.

www.nbcconnecticut.com

UConn Fans Vandalize Campus After Basketball Team Wins NCAA Championship​

The postgame rowdiness resulted in 15 arrests and 16 people taken to the hospital

UConn Fans Vandalize Campus After Basketball Team Wins NCAA Championship

The postgame rowdiness resulted in 15 arrests and 16 people taken to the hospital.

www.huffpost.com

 

[sdhoops]

I remember visiting the University of Maryland and UConn around the same time. Maryland had a lot more pizzazz and frills in terms of a mini mall full of fast food joints, fancy schmancy things. I'm from South Dakota so these things were a little impressive..however, it was UConn that really made me feel at home. Dairy Bar was awesome, loved buying stuff in the bookstore. I had the opportunity to later work at the Kevin Ollie Camps for two summers..eating in the same cafeteria as the women's team was awesome! You could walk on a sidewalk on campus and see several student-athletes..something you don't always see at other schools. I loved the beauty of the UConn campus..my only complaint is that I had to drive almost about 40 minutes to the nearest Wal-Mart on the other side of Hartford!

 

[Ozimoto]

Maryland has a dairy bar as well.