“Oh, how I miss copping a squat on the Quad,” 1995 journalism grad Tamara Gibbs says from North Carolina.
“Yes, I was one of those students — the ones who took their shoes off to take a nap in the grass. It became a running joke in my sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, of predominantly Chicago natives who found my southern Illinoisan-isms endearing yet a bit strange.
“As a journalism major,” says the 919 Marketing senior content specialist, “most of my classes were near the heart of campus — Greg Hall, specifically. Whenever there was a spare moment — I had two work studies and a full load of classes, so we’re talking micro naps here — you could find me laid out somewhere between Foellinger and the Admin Building.
“In the winter, my outdoor siesta just moved indoors to a cozy couch in the Union facing the big bay window overlooking the yard.
“I was the first in my family to go out of town for school, and now the U of I has become a tradition of sorts. I have two cousins currently enrolled in the engineering program and another who just earned his degree in computer science.
“I’m not sure if they nap on the Quad. Something tells me they probably don’t.”
