Even James Bond was no match for the strictly enforced rules of conduct at the University of Iowa in the 1960s, when chaperones, curfews, and discipline committees were dorm norms. Stirred up by our article—"These Rooms, They Are A-Changin'"—in the April issue, readers wrote in with recollections of both the "Code for Coeds," which set out guidelines for student life, and the numerous, often ingenious ways students found to get around those rules. Their fond memories go as far back as the 1920s and show that times have, indeed, changed at the UI.

Miss Manners

The 1960 Burge Hall dorm room pictured in the Iowa Alumni Magazine looks ultramodern compared to my 1926 Currier Hall room. Of course, there were no TVs, VCRs, stereos, computers, cell phones, ATMs, or fast-food restaurants then—I don't recall even radios at the dorm, and very few UI students has autos. The sorority house across the street had a smoking room, but Currier girls who desired to smoke rode the elevator in the evenings—most obvious when the elevator doors opened.

There was no "Code for Coeds" in 1926. However, the Dean gave a lecture on "Good Manners" every Monday afternoon, which all freshman girls were required to attend.

My first year at the UI, my sophomore roommate from Davenport had me on campus at 5 a.m. to enroll—and I was number 100 in line! Surely this system has been improved now.

We had good food at the dorm, but we used to walk down the street after dinner for ice-cream cones, and a small restaurant near an Iowa River bridge delivered pork tenderloin sandwiches when ordered by a group of us from Currier. In the dorm dining rooms, eight girls were seated at each round table and were served by college boys. A UI student from Iowa City baked and delivered delicious birthday cakes for about $1 to pay her college expenses. Students would chip in 15 cents each whenever a girl at their table had a birthday.

When it came to health problems, our dorm nurse at Currier had one remedy for everything—"Take a hot bath and go to bed."

Princess Heins Jackson, 30BA
Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Friends for Life

Dorm life in the 1940s was much different from dorm life of today. We who lived in Currier Hall then thought our time at the UI was the best, although today's college student would think we were really old-timers. Maybe, but we have lasting memories and are still in touch after meeting in 1944.

South fourth floor at Currier was mostly full of freshmen in 1944-45. Our group of 11 girls was all from Iowa. We didn't know the word then, but we truly bonded.

For dinner, we were assigned to table, each with a hostess and co-hostess who served the food brought in by student waitresses.

Wednesday nights and Sunday noon meals were a little more formal, since jeans couldn't be worn. Sunday breakfast featured chocolate rolls; Sunday night meant a grilled cheese sandwich at the Currier grill or a Nu-Way downtown.

We had to be in 10:30 p.m. weeknights and midnight on weekends. If late, you signed the late book. After 15 late minutes, you had to stay in your room. There was no such thing as coed dorms in the '40s. In fact, as it was wartime, there weren't many fellows.

There was an ironing board, but most of us sent our laundry home by mail in a canvas and cardboard box. Our mothers always included food when they returned the clean clothes.

In 1946, Currier was so crowded that junior girls were put in old houses owned by the university, although we ate at Currier and were included in its activities. That year was a great experience, but we were glad to be back in Currier as seniors.

Our rules were probably more restrictive than they are now, but we still had fun. My Currier memories are fond ones.

Colleen Adams, 48BSPE
Kansas City, Missouri

Bedtime Blues

When I came from Minneapolis in the mid-1950s to work on a doctorate in English at the UI, I arrived on the CRANDIC—Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway, a kind of interurban streetcar. Like the girls in Burge Hall mentioned in your article about dorm life in the 1960s, I had a suitcase—a large one—and, yes, a manual typewriter. Like them, I probably wore a skirt and sweater, but not bobby socks. I was being met by no less a person than the Dean of Women, so to uphold the dignity of the occasion I probably wore "nylons." I was to be a graduate assistant in counseling in Eastlawn dormitory.

My "counseling" duties consisted mainly of the bed check. At 10 p.m. every night, when the building's doors were locked, I went to all the rooms on all three floors to make sure that there was a girl in every bed, or at least preparing to get into one.

Infractions were reported to the Dean of Women, and dire consequences followed. If a missing girl did not pound on the door within a reasonable time to beg for admission and accept the penalty, the campus police were called and went out to search for her. Of course, I knew that there was a window at the back on the first floor, where a latecomer could climb in easily, then appear later dressed in bathrobe to say innocently, "I was in the bathroom when you checked." I was suspicious sometimes, but I never caught anyone red-handed.

Janet Ross, 60PhD
Boulder, Colorado

The Late Show

I attended the University of Iowa int he 1960s, and I ahve many fond memories of dorm life, particularly Currier Hall. I worked as a busboy in the cafeteria, and I should have paid the univeresity for letting me work there because of all the fringe benefits. It was a great place to meet coeds, of course. The best part was seeing them in the morning, usually at their worst. If they looked good then, they were all right!

The girls had "hours" back then, and it was a struggle to meet the deadlines. Men were not allowed in the dorm, other than the reception area and the cafeteria, unless there was a special occasion when the dorm would be open for a few hours.

I'll never forget the date I had with a cute coed to see a double feature of James Bond movies, which were just becoming popular in the U.S. We went to the Iowa Theatre for the shows, but in the middle of the second film—From Russia With Love—we ran out of time and my date needed to leave to make the deadline. I walked her back to Currier and hurriedly said goodnight at the door, as was the custom. I stumbled over all the other couples doing their goodnight thing and hustled back to the theatre for the end of the show. I always felt sorry for the poor girl who couldn't finish a James Bond movie because of the awful dorm hours.

Keith L. Voigts, 65BBA
Pass Christian, Mississippi

Panty Raids

I loved the article on dorm life in the 1960s, especially the photos—I looked closely to see if by any chance I knew the people. That's exactly what we looked like!

I lived in Burge Hall three years and Carrie Stanley for a few weeks my last summer. One full year, I was a dorm advisor, overseeing a floor of 72 girls. In those days, most of the rooms in Burge were triples. Only a few double rooms were available and they were mostly for upperclassmen. One of the great things about being a dorm advisor was that you had a double room all to yourself!

I'd forgotten the "Code for Coeds," so we obviously idn't pay too much attention to it. But I do remember Code dates in Burge's Carnival Room—the restaurant/cafeteria on the lower level. We often ate there on Sunday evenings when the dining rooms were closed.

As a dorm advisor, I remember "bed checks," when we had to make sure everybody assigned to our floor was in after hours. Being missing for a bed check was not good. But I remember finding hangers jammed in the emergency exit doors so girls who were staying out later than allowed could get back into the buildings. You always wondered what happened after you removed the hangers.

On the night of my 21st birthday, when I'd earned the "privilege" of no hours, my friends made me stay outside the front entrange of Burge until after midnight.

One night, I was woken up by a phone call, warning me that a "panty raid" by men from another dorm was about to take place. Dorm advisors had to get the girls out into the hallways, away from their windows, and all room doors were to be left open and lights turned off. Then we had to patrol our floors to make sure nobody was communicating with the guys outside. I ran to my window on the third floor and looked out to see a huge army of guys coming up the street behind Burge. My heart was pounding as I rushed out into the hallway. Coed dorms certainly did away with panty raids.

Della Brewer McGrath, 68BBA
Iowa City, Iowa

Prohibition Era

Oh, your article brought back so many memories of the dorms and student life at Iowa. In the fall of 1964, after a 20-hour car trip from Commack, New York, my dad dropped me off in front of Burge Hall with just two suitcases and one small steamer trunk. A couple of frat boys helped us haul the stuff inside the doors, but then i was on my own. The only "extra" I brought from home was a sunlamp.

It seems everything was prohibited in those days, but my best friend had managed to smuggle in a popcorn popper and we snitched butter from the dining room. We carried it out in the pockets of our dinner dresses, which were required wear.

Boys were not allowed in the dorm past the steps leading to the elevators, except for Open House once a year. It was a madhouse at curfew, with girls and their dates crowding around for a few more kisses.

Naturally, we couldn't stay our all night, as the boys could, but I remember flaunting this rule every time my boyfriend visited from the University of illinois. We stayed at the old Jefferson Hotel downtown. StudentHealth wouldn't perscribe the pill. So some of us got it from a liberal Iowa City doctor. Coke dates, "woodsies," and frat parties were filled with pressure from testosterone-addled young men.

Times may have changed at the UI, but I would guess that most students today are living some of the best days of their lives, as I did.

S. Dianne Mortiz, 68BA
Southampton, New York

Delayed Reaction

The article on Burge Hall brought back so many memories. My tenure there started in 1962 and lasted three years as a resident of Wellman House. While there, I made many friends whoa re still friends years later. It was nice to be in a newer dorm and "awful" Currier.

There were definitely strict rules to assure our parents that we were being well taken care of. I appeared before the dreaded Discipline Committee twice in three years. Once, my plane was delayed getting back from Phoenix, so I arrived after hours. I had to prove that the plane was actually delayed. The second time was for using my R.A.'s phone too frequently even though I had permission. one phone per room with three females is not an ideal situation!

There were also some very good memories. I remember kissing a fellow student named John in front of the Burge doors—NEVER near the rooms. He lived in Hillcrest. We celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary this year.

in November 1993, I was sitting in the Airliner with my daughter, Rachel. in the early'60s, my group always went to Joe's as the 'Liner was for the frat people and there were definite social strata then. Rachel told me that she had decided to go to Iowa, and I cried. The following summer we went to her orientation. She toured Burge, now one of the "older" dorms, and stayed there one night. The next morning, we had breakfast in the Burge cafeteria. I had definite deja vu—it looked like the same person pointing out the trays and the lines. Even the food looked and, sorry to say, tasted the same.

When we moved Rachel into Stanley in the fall, we visited one of her high school classmates in Burge. He was living in my old room! It was a shock to see coed dorms at my old school. The room had not changed, but seemed even smaller. Rachel's room was at least air-conditioned, but it was overcrowded after we moved in the refrigerator, the microwave, the dishes, and the computer—and all the clothes. Pleated skirts, sweaters, jeans, and bobby socks are definitely not enough for today's students.

Ardis Vermazen Harnagel, 66BA, 67MA
Grayslake, Illinois