ABOUT (cont.)

 

Long Story Long Part III:

What “Glory Days at Delaware” Is NOT

 

Well, it’s definitely not a college guide or a Newark, DE business directory. At least, it’s not meant to be. Though, I’m sure some people will reference it in that way.

 

What I want to make clear (if it’s not already) is that this is not a personal story of my years at UD. Sure, I’ll offer commentary and weave in some of my own college stories…

 

…but my experience at UD wasn’t so unique or outrageous, that it’d warrant an entire book or website. My college years were probably just like yours: I bummed around the dorms, hung out with friends, went to parties and bars, slept, drank, and sometimes studied. Moments of hilarity along the way.

 

And that’s really the point of this thing; it’s shared nostalgia about our collective experience at the University of Delaware. Common daily (and nightly) life at UD, that we all can relate to. Or at least, easily envision the settings and circumstances as described in someone else’s stories…because we’ve all been there.

 

That being said, Glory Days at Delaware is light on coverage of athletic teams, clubs, and Greek life. In no way do I feel negatively about any of those things; I was involved in, or good friends with, members of all three. But in keeping with the “commonality” theme of this book, it doesn’t make sense to dedicate space to every individual team, club, and Greek organization -- where only a small percentage of UD kids are involved in any single one of them. Simply too niche-within-niche. Cool? Thanks for understanding.

 

The other stuff you won’t find covered are the occasional tragedies that occurred on campus or in the town of Newark, DE. You know what I mean. Stuff like that unfortunately happens in every college town, and shouldn’t be forgotten…and there’s a time and a place to remember those things, but it ain’t here. Glory Days at Delaware is meant to do just what the name implies; put a smirk on your face, not bring down the room.

 

Long Story Long Part IV:

Bullshit Detector

 

Just about every chapter in Glory Days integrates stories from outside contributors. Now, how did I know all of the stories I received were completely legit? Simple: I didn’t.

 

Much of what’s on this site could be considered an “oral history.” (Yeah, I chuckled too when I typed out “oral.”) But the nature of these things is, “Okay, you were there. You sound sincere. I have no reason not to believe you, so I’ll take your word for it.”

 

In securing permissions to (re)print contributors’ materials, I did have everyone sign off on a release form, where one of the bullet-points agreed to was, “Contributor represents to Author that submitted stories, anecdotes, and recollections are true to the best of Contributor’s knowledge, and are not intentionally inaccurate.”

 

Meaning, please be cool, and promise me that you aren’t submitting made-up bullshit, just to get published. Though, the “intentionally” I built into the language was key. We all understand that these are COLLEGE stories; some recollections may be hazy because of all the years gone by, let alone the intoxication that might’ve altered perceptions to begin with. So, I wanted to make these contributors feel comfortable, that they wouldn’t be held to the flame if I somehow discovered some of their story details were inaccurate. As long as they weren’t intentionally inaccurate. Hey, if you’re telling it like how you remember it, that’s all I can ask.

 

In terms of factual information -- for example, the specific years of campus construction projects -- well, I did do a fair amount of research and fact checking. My major resource of course was UD’s site, but I also rifled through many years’ worth of The Review’s archives (both online and hard copies), various other UD publications, News Journal online archives, etc.

 

Occasionally, I encountered some discrepancies in dates, so I then relied on the best additional information I found, to sort it all out. Overall though, I’m confident that the dates or years cited in Glory Days are on target, or very close…but no guarantees. And that’s where you come in.

 

Long Story Long Part V:

Over and Over

 

Going into this thing, I knew that there would be a lot of anecdotes that would feature recurring themes, or framed around a common aspect of college life. So, just for fun, sometimes you’ll see anecdote titles prefixed with one of the following:

 

Campus Critter anecdotes involve animals, domesticated or wild. No, that hairy guy you drank with doesn’t count.

 

Take a Seat anecdotes involve anything that has to do with furniture.

 

Boobs, Butts & Beyond anecdotes involve nudity, or any physical actions associated with it. Nice.

 

DelaWeather anecdotes involve rain, snow, or major hurricanes or blizzards that hit campus.

 

Load Warrior anecdotes involve laundry. (Yes, I’m fully aware of the sexual connotation of the word “load,” sorry to disappoint.)

 

Sleepus Interruptus anecdotes involve sleep deprivation, or being awakened for no good reason…like having to get up for classes.

 

• In addition, you’ll see something called “Rumor Control” dropped into many chapters. This is where I confirm or dispel (or at least try to) common UD rumors, myths, and urban legends!

 

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