(Pictures by J. Butler)
In honor of the 50th anniversary of SUNY Old Westbury, the School of Arts and Sciences made a time capsule that is meant to be opened in 2065. The time capsule has contributions from all twelve departments in the Arts and Sciences.
“The capsule contains objects that represent the departments and that will hopefully fascinate the future generation in 50 years,” said Cristina Notaro, the Assistant Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Notaro confirmed that the time capsule will be on the third floor of the New Academic Building in a display case.
Inside the time capsule, the American Studies Department put in their oral history project, which is the history of the college. “It was something they put a lot of work into but it also represented the past of the college,” said Notaro. The Sociology Department wrote a letter to the future generation while the biology department put some information about the Zika virus.
Professor Lee Blackstone, associate professor of Sociology, came up with the idea of a time capsule. Blackstone stated, “Originally, I thought of a time capsule that would be buried; But it’s actually a complicated, and expensive, thing to do. We opted to store away a locked ‘time capsule’ instead.” When asked what inspired the idea behind a time capsule, Blackstone responded, “I had heard tales that years ago, there used to be a May Day all-campus party at SUNY Old Westbury. Apparently, it was held outside, on the roof of the now-demolished Academic Village. When Dean Hillery was soliciting ideas for the 50th Anniversary, I was thinking about how the campus hadn’t held a party-type event for the College’s Anniversary that would be for faculty and students. I thought that if we were going to have a party, we could also lock away some mementos for the next anniversary.”
In 50 years, when the next generation opens the time capsule, they will see first-hand the history of the college. All twelve departments left items that might no longer exist in 2065 like a chalk, as chalk board will no longer be in sight.
(Pictures by J. Butler)
