Items

• OPUS staffer hat from 1968
  In 1968, RIT moved to the Henrietta campus and adopted a form of new student orientation known as “Operation Campus” or “OPUS.” As part of OPUS, both new students and staff wore felt hats with a feather that corresponded to the recently-adopted RIT colors of orange and brown. New students wore brown, and staff wore orange.
• Ramikin, 1942
  The Ramikin was the second iteration of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute’s yearbook, originally titled the Mechanics Institute Book. The 1942 volume featured the first mention of the 1941 band. The 1941 RAMI Band was not the first inkling of a musical performance group at the institute but it marked the start of a line of institutional bands that would come and go in the following years.
• Silent News, October 1991 page 43
  The two winners include the men’s Staten Island Bombers, and the women’s Rochester Sapphires. Five of the Rochester Sapphires were also named as part of the “All-Star Team” which appears in the upper right corner. A team photo of the Rochester Sapphires appears on the bottom of the clipping.
• Shouts on Goal
  Newsletter published by members of the Corner Crew. Material was written by various Corner Crew members such as Laurie Barrows, Matt Gehrig, Mike James, and Steve Schultz with some articles written by guest writers.
• Photo of Llenis and friend with ice cream
  Photograph of Llenis and her friend posing on a sidewalk holding ice cream cones and smiling
• RIT postcard with blue/grey lettering and tiger logo
  This postcard, which according to the front is “Compliments of Student Council,” comes from a unique time period in RIT history when the marketing of the institute combined old and new elements. Announcing the “Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers,” this postcard features an early version of the tiger mascot. However, the large “R.I.T.” letters on the front are grey and outlined in blue, indicating that the postcard dates from the early 1960s, the period after the tiger logo was adopted, but prior to the color change to brown and orange in 1964.
• SpiRIT Leaving a Party
  This page from RIT’s 1964 Techmila depicts a unique aspect of campus life, in which students were able to interact with a tiger, SpiRIT, at Christmas parties on campus. The bottom photo on the page shows SpiRIT as he’s leaving a party with handlers Jim Black and Roger Kramer, who also served on the Tiger Committee which organized the school’s acquisition of the mascot. The accompanying text points out that while the symbol of the tiger was only recently adopted by RIT, it is possible for it to become associated with the school, in this case through the use of a live mascot.
• Fan-demonium
  Democrat and Chronicle article dated February 12, 1999 discussing the fans of the Corner Crew featuring Laurie Barrows.
• SpiRIT Zoo Plaque
  SpiRIT would often visit RIT’s campus, but his official home was at Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo. This 9x12 inch plastic plaque, displaying white text on a brown, faux woodgrain background, originally hung outside SpiRIT’s cage at the Zoo. The plaque states: “Official Mascot of R.I.T. SPIRIT (Student Pride in R.I.T.) Presented to the Zoological Society by the Students of R.I.T. Born – July 29, 1963.”
• Blue and Purple Embroidered Windbreaker Jacket
  Windbreaker pull-over jacket with banded blue and purple sleeves and a blue body. On the left breast is embroidered “SAPPHIRES ROCHESTER NY”, with two crossed softball bats and a softball in the middle. On the right breast is an embroidered “Izzy” in cursive. “Izzy” was a nickname of a player named Melissa Scott. The jacket has a quarter zip front, with a kangaroo pouch in front. There is a drawstring hood attached to the jacket. The sleeve cuff and the bottom cuff are black elastic.
• Cruising Main Street
  “Grandpa Ritchie cruising main street”. Bill Darrow and Wayne Hass are visible, with Dave Page inside the costume.
• Mary Anne Cross-Ehasz’s Sweatshirt
  This sweatshirt is light gray with the RIT logo and “Rochester Institute of Technology” on the front in blue. A souvenir of her freshman year, but an item that she kept over the years, it exhibits signs of wear and surely invokes memories of special times.
• Cheerleading Squad 1 Circa 1951
  Shown is the Cheerleading Squad from 1951 framed by two women holding megaphones. Pictured are:(From left to right) Polly Grubert, Marilyn Norcross, Anne Depuy, Sally Burrell. The RIT logo can be seen on the megaphones, however it does not appear on their sweaters in this photo. During this time RIT had two cheerleading squads to cheer on their teams at multiple games.
• Llenis Hillman’s 1938 Ramikin
  The 1938 edition of the student yearbook, the Ramikin, personalized with notes to Llenis from friends and faculty
• RIT hockey Corner Crew t-shirt
  T-shirt is bright orange with black lettering on front and back. Worn by the Corner Crew hockey supports circa 2003.
• Root Beer Mixer Poster
  Poster advertising the Root Beer Blast Mixer. This event occurred on September 29, 1967. Its slogan is, “RIT boys meet RIT girls”.
• 1948 RIT Symbols
  World War II brought about an upsurge in American patriotism, and the RIT logo reflected that. The school went through various logos during the war, most featuring an eagle, others featuring an industrial backdrop. An interesting variant of the RIT logo appeared later in 1948, one that took inspiration from the Coat-of-Arms used by Great Britian. This logo was used solely for the year of 1948, and the reason for the change is unknown. After 1948, RIT reverted to using the industrial-themed logo up until 1956.
• Sapphires Softball Uniform Shirt
  White v-neck short-sleeved shirt with Sapphires on the front in blue, and the number 9 on the back in blue. The collar and cuffs of the shirt feature an alternating dark blue, light blue, and white striped pattern. The shirt is stained with wear and softball field clay.
• Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute Band
  This image of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute band shows one of the earliest images found of an institutional band.
• RIT Tiger Pennant from the early 1960s
  In 1957, RIT elected to change its official mascot to the tigers, and its official colors to orange, white, and brown. However, this change didn’t become official until 1964, following the acquisition by RIT of a real tiger which was subsequently named Spirit. At an October 14, 1964 meeting, the policy committee officially changed the school colors to burnt umber, orange hue, and white, thereby creating an odd in-between period in the 1960’s for RIT spirit gear, where the tiger mascot might be featured as well as the school colors of grey and blue. This pennant is from these in-between years of the early 1960s, as evidenced by its dark blue background and tiger mascot.
• SpiRIT Stock Certificate
  This 8.5x6 inch paper ‘stock certificate’ includes a foliage-inspired decorative background along with a similarly designed red border. Under the heading “STOCK CERTIFICATE” it states: “This is to Certify That _____ is the proud owner of one share of school spirit and tradition, manifested in the form of a Bengal Tiger – the Official Mascot of Rochester Institute of Technology.” The signatures of Roger Kitchen, James Black, and Denis Kitchen are included under the heading “Rochester Institute of Technology ‘Tiger Committee.’” These stock certificates were originally sold for $1 each in 1963 and 1964, as a fundraising endeavor intended to pay back the $1,000 loan which the Student Council provided to the committee, so that it could purchase the tiger cub.
• 1943 Cheerleaders Emblem
  This Blue and Grey logo with the letters “MI” and a megaphone behind it originates from the early 1940’s era of RIT. Before RIT the school was known as the Mechanics Institute. Traditionally this logo would have appeared on the front of the cheerleaders uniform, sweater, or on the back of a jacket. Since this time, the colors have changed to Orange and Brown.
• Rochester Institute of Technology: Industrial Development and Educational Innovation in an American City
  Photograph of Dane Gordon The Institute almost lost a place in the educational life of Rochester due to these rapid changes in top administration that made it difficult for the Institute to adjust. Many issues, especially the changes in top administration, had played the roles in shaping the Institute in order to take a firm position to maintain its educational independence. The birth of the vocational education system at the turn of the last century is accounted for by the institute's always-adjusting curriculum. Where previously you learned your job through an apprenticeship, or simply through on the job experience starting at an early age, you could now go to school to learn the best methods of doing your job in the hopes of getting a leg up on others vying for the same position. The Institute had developed courses in subjects related to different types of employments, and continued to keep in close touch with the business and industrial community of Rochester. These ties may have been a key role for the continued success of the Institute.
• 1993 Convocation
  Students and faculty from the College of Continuing Education celebrate after convocation in June 1993.
• College of Continuing Education Holiday Card, 1991
  After experiencing reduced enrollment in the mid-1980s, the College of Continuing Education experimented with creative and unique marketing strategies to entice prospective students. This holiday card, distributed in 1991, incorporates clever imagery of various academic programs, signatures from faculty members, and the slogan “RIT College of Continuing Education: A New Kind of College”.