There’s always that strange moment as a kid when you see your teacher at a local restaurant or grocery store and realize that they have a life outside of teaching you. Teachers and professors are, if you can believe it, actually people, too.
Such was this lesson on this day in 1939, when NC State hosted the very first Faculty-Student Day.
“Today will mark the premier [sic] of State College’s annual Faculty-Student Day, sponsored by the Interfraternity Council, when students and faculty members will meet socially and on the playing field in an effort to obtain a closer bond of fellowship between two groups,” The Technician reported.
The event featured a parade and a lunch where students and faculty could mingle. There was also a party on the lawn of Riddick Stadium and a free evening of movies hosted by the College YMCA in Pullen Hall. And the night ended with a dance.
But the signature event of that first Faculty-Student Day was a series of athletic contests between the two groups. They competed in tennis, horseshoes and volleyball, with the afternoon ending on the diamond.
“Climaxing the athletic contests will be a student-faculty baseball game, starting at 3:30 on the varsity diamond,” The Technician reported. “Several teams will be selected from both sides, and numerous substitutions made during the contest. Chief official for the event will be E.L. Cloyd, dean of students.”
