{"id":102,"date":"2017-04-24T01:32:09","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T01:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/kennedyenglish1a\/?p=102"},"modified":"2017-04-24T01:34:01","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T01:34:01","slug":"maybe-i-actually-dont-want-to-live-in-the-80s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/kennedyenglish1a\/2017\/04\/24\/maybe-i-actually-dont-want-to-live-in-the-80s\/","title":{"rendered":"Maybe I Actually Don’t Want to Live in the 80s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Was I Born in the Wrong Era?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every once in a while when I’m reading a historical fiction novel or watching a TV show\/movie that romanticizes some historic decade, I find myself wondering if I was born in the wrong era. I’m sure many of you can relate to this thought because even one of my class mates did and touched upon it in one of his\u00a0blog posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I have always thought that I would be a perfect fit for a time when there was no social media and no cell phones; a world in which you didn’t have to be plugged in 24\/7. That is why I was so fascinated with the 80s. My mom always shared her college days from “back in the day” (I know, we’ve all heard this phrase) and how things at Santa Clara now are so much different from back then.<\/p>\n

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Source: Giphy<\/p><\/div>\n

Although some may argue that things have changed for the worse, I discovered that some things have also changed significantly\u00a0<\/em>for the better.<\/p>\n

My Journey Into the Past<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I began my research in the archives, I had a framework for what I was interested in (the 80s) but didn’t exactly know what I was looking for. I sat down at a table dedicated to old campus maps and demographics from the 1850s (when the college was founded) up until now.<\/p>\n

I opened a folder entitled “University of Santa Clara Visitors Guide” and, among dozens of brochures and pamphlets designed to handout to prospective students and their families, found a cute little book called “University of Santa Clara 1976 Pocket Profile.”<\/p>\n

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Source: Natalie Kennedy<\/p><\/div>\n

Although this wasn’t exactly the 80s, it was close enough to be of interest to me.<\/p>\n

I started flipping through the minuscule pages of the book, not exactly knowing what I was looking for, and stumbled upon two sections entitled “Men’s Athletics” and “Women’s Recreation and Athletics.” These immediately piqued my interest as a large part of my college experience has been influenced by my participation in collegiate athletics.<\/p>\n

To my surprise (I honestly don’t know how I was so naive) I discovered that Santa Clara didn’t offer NCAA Division 1 women’s athletics in 1976. Instead, their sports (soccer was not listed, to my disappointment) competed in the Northern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or NCIAC.<\/p>\n

This made me wonder about when NCAA women’s athletics began at SCU and how women’s sports have evolved over the years (I am currently in the process of researching this).<\/p>\n

What is Title IX?<\/strong><\/p>\n