Stebbins Hall, Berkeley Student Cooperative, 1975 Photos

Stebbins Hall 1975 residents on the front steps: Joan Beitelshees, Naomi Scheck, Mike Gudjohnsen, Michael Hintz, Lydia Mechanic, Jane Moorhead, Rich Wade, Sandy Stedinger, Dana Angluin, Blair Swezey, Jane Cliggett, Mark Rosen, Clint Kellner, Madeline Radkey, Paul Bishop, Janice Frazier

Stebbins Hall 1975 residents on a trip to San Francisco Chinatown: Dan Gilman, Larry Leskiw, Naomi Scheck, John Lau, Sara Imershein, John Ju, Paul Bishop, Jane Moorhead, Jim Heinz, Frank Alpert, Bill McKinnon, Mariko Friedel, Chessa Kenrick

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Anne Devereaux, Ashok _______, Anne Luongo, Barbara Zaslow, Betsy Foxman, Betsy _____, Bill McKinnon, Blair Swezey, Bruce "Lee" Williams, Chessa Kenrick, Chris Gaylord, Clint Kellner, Dale Fairbanks, Dan Bolster, Dan Gilman, Dana Angluin, Dave Behrens, Debbie Young, Emily Platt, Deborah Heifetz, Frank Alpert , Gray Chang, Greg Lynch, Heather McGregor, Hort Newsom, Jan Pearson, Jan Vincent, Jan Winitz, Jane Cliggett, Jane Moorhead, Janice Frazier, Jim "Big J" Louchis, Jim Heinz, John Ju, Joan Beitelshees, John Lau, Larry Leskiw, Linda Rostoker, Lori ______, Lydia Mechanic, Madeline Radkey, Mariko Friedel, Mark Rosen, Michelle Bashin, Michael Hintz, Mike Mace, Mike O'Toole, Mike Gudjohnsen, Naomi Scheck, Pam Westing, Pat Dodds, Paul Bishop, Rich Wade, Ross Dykstra, Roy Baker, Sandy Stedinger, Sara Imershein, Santa Claus, Sharon Caulfield, Shelly King, Steve Rosen, Stu Smith, Terry ______, Tom Raasch, _______ _______.




Also see Stebbins 1970 Photos by Rick Kent at the BSC (USCA) Alumni Association Facebook site

Stebbins 1976 Group Photo

Stebbins 1977 Group Photo

Handprints on the Stebbins Building

The handprints came the late 1960s, when Stebbins was an all-women's hall and Cloyne was an all-men's hall. One night, as a prank, a group of men from Cloyne went out and painted a trail of giant green footprints going all over the UC campus, and ending at Stebbins hall with the two handprints on the front of the building. The perpetrators were caught and forced to clean up all the footprints on campus. However, they left the handprints on Stebbins and one block of footprints on the public service road along the west side of Etcheverry Hall; the remaining footprints were still visible in 1975. The handprints became an identifying mark of the Stebbins building. They were restored each time the building was repainted multiple times over the years. Anybody know why are the hands were "crossed," with the thumbs on the outside?

The Stebbins Telephone Switchboard

In 1970s, a single telephone number served all of the residents at Stebbins: (415) 848-5900. (Back then, the same 415 area code covered most of the Bay Area.) At the front entrance, behind the small wall of mail boxes, was our PBX switchboard. When a call came in, if someone was on switchboard duty, that person would answer the phone, ask who was being called, ring the recipient's room, and connect the caller to the recipient's room phone by plugging wires into the appropriate receptacles on the switchboard. Switchboard duty was considered a "cushy" job, so a 75-minute shift was required to earn 60 minutes of work credit.

If no one was on switchboard duty, the incoming call would simply ring the phone in the lounge, and it would ring and ring until some good Samaritan picked it up and then went running to find the intended recipient.

To make an outgoing call, you'd pick up the phone in the lounge and dial out. There was a paper log where you were supposed to write down all of your long distance calls so you could be charged appropriately. Each month the bill would come in and there would be lots of unclaimed long distance calls. It was someone's job to do the detective work to figure out who made each call.

The Nuclear Reactor Across the Street

Across the street from Stebbins was a volleyball court. Directly beneath the court was a 1 Megawatt nuclear reactor, in the basement of Etcheverry Hall, the UC mechanical engineering building. This was a research reactor, not capable of exploding or melting down in an accident. Nevertheless, there were security and safety precautions taken.

Under the bench on the side of the volleyball court was a locked box labeled "Radiation Monitoring Equipment," probably containing film badges. This box was vandalized multiple times by anti-nuclear activists. They changed the label to say "Environmental Monitoring Equipment," which solved the problem.

There was a stairwell next to the volleyball court, leading down to a locked door. When we played volleyball, the ball would occasionally fall into the stairwell and someone would have to go down to retrieve it. While this was happening, the other players would verbally count off the rads of radiation exposure.

The nuclear reactor was decommissioned and dismantled in the late 1980s.

1975 NBA Championship -- Golden State (Oakland) Warriors

One day I heard extremely loud, raucous shouting from the TV room, which was located by the front door of Stebbins. I went to investigate and found a bunch of guys crowded around the TV, watching a Warriors game. Every time the Warriors scored, these guys erupted into ear-shattering cheers. I wasn't a sports fan; I was amazed that anyone could get so excited about something on TV. I have a slightly better appreciation as of this writing, 40 years later, as the Warriors win their first NBA championship since 1975.

Notes From Stebbins 1975 Alumni

Pat (2015): I'm the tall, skinny one at the top of the big photo of everybody on the front of Stebbins Hall. I just stumbled across your wonderful photos. What a kick! I was at Stebbins from January 1974 to June 1975, when I finished my master's in journalism and left town -- so I know most of these people. My time at Stebbins was easily the highlight of my college career.

Sara (2015): I was at Stebbins for only a single term, Spring 1975. My time there was a sentinel event for me. Cal was the first time I heard the word "recycling," and I often joke I was there during the post-drug "early granola days." I was lucky to get a spot at Stebbins, which offered instant community, and a great group of Californians from all different backgrounds, and an opportunity to learn and grow in a fun environment. Thanks for the walk-- rather the hop, skip, and jump - down memory lane!

Blair (2020): I have been meaning to write you for some time now to thank you (big time) for posting all of the photos as well as some of your recollections. They bring back so many great memories of special relationships and the camaraderie that developed among us all through daily meals, work shifts, the study room, the TV room, intramural sports teams, house parties, road trips, etc. Perhaps my greatest feat as house manager was stocking the Coke machine with beer -- we had to make runs down to the big liquor store on University to obtain the "bar bottles" that were of the proper shape to fit in the machine. Central Office eventually caught wind of it and made us remove the beer but it was great while it lasted. I think that we also organized the first parties with live rock bands downstairs in the dining room. I roomed with Dale Fairbanks my first quarter (Fall 1974) and then with Greg Lynch for the following five quarters before receiving a "single" for my third year. I kept up with a few folks in the early years after graduation and have crossed paths with some others either professionally or by chance over the years but unfortunately have lost touch with most everyone. Stu Smith had many photos from those years as well but sadly Stu passed away in 2010.

John Lau (2020): Didn't know about Stu's untimely passing. It hit me hard. I was a roommate of Stu's and I knew his brother who was a principal at a school in the Emeryville School district.

Gray (2015): 1975 Stebbins diary