Categories > Cartoons > Daria > 1960's Daria
Daria is a college Freshman in 1966. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ movie.
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1960s Chapter 1
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based (eventually) on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
In this Daria-verse, Daria is a college Freshman in 1966 (i.e., Helen’s age in the series).
Some terminology will reflect 1960s usage; not always acceptable today; the sexual mores and practices (not the same thing at the time), also reflect the period, certainly not current standards of conduct or attitude. Please note that I am not interested in collaborations, illustrations, etc. and any reviews or PMs on those or related subjects will be ignored.
It’s College!
-60s-
Sunday, September 4, 1966; Freshman Move-in day at a medium-sized (imaginary) mid-Atlantic state college.
The Morgendorffer family made their way out of the crowded lobby of the new dormitory on the LSC campus and towards the only slightly-less crowded line for the double elevators for the co-ed’s wing. For the mid-1960s, it was far from even an average-sized family – it was just the four of them. The father looked like the stereotypical over-stressed middle-management type that he was in many aspects, if at least a rung higher in his corporate position than might be expected for a parent of a state college student. His wife had a much more determined look – housewives from around the country would recognize her as the neighborhood power broker, who ran her peer groups within her church and community volunteer organizations with smooth, and iron, efficiency. The younger of their two daughters was also something of a stereotype for a sixteen-year-old rising high school junior from a mid-sized traditional upper-middle class family living in a middle-class suburb – nice skirt, blouse, carefully chosen light sweater, and saddle shoes. Her straight orange/red hair was in a long ponytail, her makeup was light, and she wore her own class ring, tasteful earrings, and a charm bracelet filled with gifted charms. Few would be surprised to learn that the smiling redhead was a cheerleader.
Like her younger sister, the older daughter was on the shorter side of average – both were close to five foot three. Her sister was hoping she might finally grow at least a bit taller than her older sibling. Both were slim, the elder sister a bit bustier – although her blouse and sweater were as expensive as her sister’s, they were not as form-fitting. Even though she was wearing a slightly longer skirt, it still showed that her legs were even nicer than her sister’s, and her Mary Janes were better-polished. While her sister was smiling, the older sibling’s expression was fairly neutral. That, plus a pair of unattractive glasses, helped define the younger sister as cuter than her otherwise equally attractive spectacled sister. The elder’s hair was shorter – just past mid-shoulder length – much thicker, and more of a brownish/auburn color, like her father’s, rather than the reddish/auburn of the mother or orange/red of her sister.
After about a five-minute wait, they were able to claim an elevator. Each woman carried a suitcase (the younger sister carried the smallest suitcase) and a purse or shoulder bag, while the father pushed a laden handcart his wife had managed to lay claim to, with a footlocker and several boxes on it. As the group entered the elevator, anyone who observed them for a while would have noted that there had been no unnecessary communication between any of the four, and very little of that.
The group exited the elevator and quietly absorbed the layout of the floor from the inside of the dorm. It was basically a rectangle, with rooms on the outside, an inner corridor, and then the core with the pair of elevators and a set of stairways behind them, laundry room, bathroom (toilets, sinks, showers), and back stairs. Across the corridor from the elevators was the RA’s ‘suite’. Each corner also had a suite of two smaller dorm rooms and a middle study room. There were ten slightly larger dorm rooms arranged around the floor (4 on each long side, two on the shorter side, on the opposite side of the RA’s apartment), and there were four small study rooms as well, one with a small TV, a sofa, and some chairs in it.
The group went down the side corridor to 306, which was already cracked open. The older daughter therefore knocked.
“Yo!’ came an alto voice. The teen opened the door and was greeted by the occupant who was seated at a desk chair, her feet propped up on the cot. She was drawing in a sketchbook but looked up with a very slight smile. “I’m Jane Lane. I take it you’re my roomie?”
“Daria Morgendorffer,” the older sister acknowledged. “My mother, father, and sister, Quinn.”
“Well, come on in and unload,” Jane replied as she stood. “There didn’t seem to be any difference so I flipped a coin and took this side. If you decide there is, we can switch or rearrange things later.”
Jane was surprised at how quiet this group was. Little was said, and it was always something needed (‘Which drawer do you want your socks in?’) and said softly. After less than fifteen minutes, they were done. The parents at least briefly hugged their daughter (the father rather affectionately, the mother very perfunctorily) and said a farewell of sorts before leaving with the emptied suitcases and the handcart – the younger girl had barely said ten words and had already walked out. Jane did notice that the father left last and handed her roommate an envelope and a wink which her new roommate returned with a slight smile – it was the first real, fully ‘family’ interaction Jane had seen from the bunch.
Daria sighed as she shut the door and her shoulders slumped a bit, but her back straightened before she had turned around. “Sorry about that. My maternal grandmother wanted me to go to this worthless junior college she and her sisters, her mother and aunts, my mother and my aunts, and my cousin all attended. My mother agreed. They aren’t thrilled I’m ‘breaking tradition’ by coming here.” Fortunately, her father (who had gone to an Ivy League university) had helped her get this compromise.
“Well, I guess I’m breaking one, too, since I’m the first one in my extended family to attend a regular college instead of a two-year tech school at most,” Jane answered. “Where you from?”
It turned out that while Jane was from a nearby small town, almost a suburb of the college town, Daria was from a wealthy suburb of the state capitol about thirty miles away. Her father worked as the ad executive for the major radio/tv station, while Jane’s father ran a photo studio. Where Daria only had the one sibling, Jane had four older ones. Where Daria’s father had been a junior officer during the War, Jane’s had been a war correspondent.
Jane was coming for art education; like most such institutions, this State College had until recently (the year before in fact in this case) been called a State Teachers’ College. Students were still being admitted just for various education and related majors, although it was now easier to transfer to some of the related non-education majors and other majors were being considered for addition over the next few years.
“Believe it or not, I’m here for English and either social studies or French,” Daria answered as she put away a pile of books her family had unpacked but left on the floor – they had taken all the suitcases and boxes with them when they had left.
“Wow, that’s going to take a while,” Jane responded, not sure if she was impressed or a bit horrified by the prospect of that many classes.
“It actually won’t be,” Daria answered. “There’s a new service offered by the College Board called CLEP that allows you to test out of general education classes. I passed out of Western Civ and American history, American Government, and all four basic French courses, and my SAT score exempted me from the two required basic writing classes. So that’s thirty-three required credits I don’t have to take, although I might have to make up the English hours with something else. It should still be possible to graduate in four years, at least I hope so. That’s all my parents will pay for.”
Jane glanced at her little windup alarm clock and saw it was 11:36. “The cafeteria opened a few minutes ago. Care to discover if college food is as bad as high school food?”
“For what we’re paying for the meal plans, it might not be steaks but it should be better than high school.” Daria reached for a sweater – while not cool neither was it warm despite the time of year and the school’s location. Jane picked her own sweater off her cot as her eyes swept around the room. Except for the two tool chests that held her brushes and paints as well as some sketchbooks, she really didn’t have much – a pair of slippers, sneakers, a robe, a half empty tiny closet, a half empty 4-drawer dresser with a few cosmetics on the top, an empty desk with a built-in bookshelf, an empty laundry bag, the cot, the alarm clock on the window ledge, and the suggested plastic bucket for toiletries to take to the showers.
Most of the girls in the dorm would judge Daria’s side nearly as bereft. Her closet was fuller mostly because her winter jacket was already there as well as what Jane (largely correctly) presumed were ‘Sunday formal’ outfits in a garment bag with a pair of highly polished low-heeled shoes in a side bag. There were two more pairs of everyday shoes and a pair of galoshes but no sneakers, no cosmetics, and Daria had apparently liberated her father’s old footlocker, which had seemed mostly empty when Jane had caught a glimpse inside. She had a small set of shelves she had set up next to her bed, with her alarm clock on top next to a small lamp, and two rows of rather intimidating-looking recently placed books on the other two shelves. A portable typewriter sat ready on her desk, while the compact OED as well as French, Latin, German, and Italian dictionaries adorned her desk’s bookshelf. Whereas Jane had two small framed photos – one of her large family and one just of her older brother holding an electric guitar, Daria had taken the large formal family photo her mother had placed on her desk into the footlocker and replaced it with a smaller framed photo of her father holding a smiling toddler – and Jane would have placed a large bet that it was Daria with him, not her sister, even before she confirmed her guess by the girl’s hair color. There was a second, a much more recent photo as well, which Daria had brought out of hiding at the same time as the first, which she had glanced at fondly – it showed Daria just slightly younger than now standing beside a slightly taller woman who looked like a much older sister, but who had to be an aunt, both dressed up. Jane correctly guessed it had been taken at a family wedding.
‘I’m rooming with a brain,’ Jane thought. ‘One that might just get along worse with two-thirds of her immediate family than I do with most of mine.’
“What kind of art do you do?” Daria asked as she shut their door and double-checked to make certain it was locked. “And I mean what styles, as well as what mediums.”
‘Well, at least she seems to know enough about art to ask that way,’ Jane thought before answering. Rather than waiting for the still-busy elevator, Daria followed Jane’s lead by taking the stairs.
60s
To their slight surprise, while the main offerings in the food line were similar to what they would have been served in high school, it was of a slightly higher quality and there was a greater variety. There was also a ‘salad’ island’ inside the dining room where one could fix their own salads, and a ‘sandwich island’ which would always have breads and butter, as well as peanut butter, jams and jellies, and honey, the latter at every meal. They would learn at breakfast that there would be rows of toasters out then as well. There were also the choices of milk, soda, coffee, or tea.
The two agreed that this might be tolerable after all.
-60s-
At Jane’s suggestion, the roommates compared schedules. They only had two classes in common, a 2-credit class required of all first semester Freshmen with the odd title ‘Health & College Life’ and a Geology course. Students had to complete Gen Ed requirements in a number of fields, but could drop one of those areas, and so required three areas of 12 credits and one with 6. Both had chosen to drop the Math area, Jane because she loathed math in general and Daria because she found it the most boring of the areas. While those going into Science Education had to take classes with labs, the College also offered 3-credit science courses without labs for non-science majors. Jane and Daria were in an 8:00 Tuesday/Thursday Geology class.
For the rest of their meal and walking back to their dorm, Jane told Daria about the rest of her family. Her oldest sister (by 17 years) was a housewife with an unstable marriage and six children, while her older brother was in an even more unstable marriage with no children and was working for their father. Her older sister (by 11 years) had drifted out of their lives, and was believed to be in San Diego or perhaps Tiajuana. Jane had never really felt a connection with any of them.
Her older brother was different. Trent was five years older, and while he worked for their father part time, he was trying to make a living from being a musician. “The problem is, he and his band can’t settle on a style,” Jane concluded as their entered their room. “They didn’t sound all that good when they were trying to imitate the Big Bopper, and even worse when they tried to copy Elvis or the Beach Boys.”
“Let me guess, either the Beatles or Chubby Checker next,” Daria deadpanned as she opened their room.
“The Beatles – the sound wasn’t bad, but their original songs were. Their covers were okay. They’re doing a bit better imitating the Rolling Stones sound.” Jane paused and then asked, “Any of those appeal to you?”
“I listen to all of them, but believe it or not, I have a slight preference for groups like Peter, Paul, and Mary, or the new group, the Mamas and the Papas,” Daria confessed. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think The Beatles are in any way bad, but I wouldn’t have been one of the girls screaming at the airport when they arrived.” She grimaced. “My sister might have been, since that was the thing to do. As for the others, like I said, I do listen to them.”
Jane started to ask Daria a question, but hesitated.
“Go ahead and ask,” Daria told her.
“Okay, sorry if this is too personal, but was this morning…normal for your family?”
Daria thought about that, and finally answered, “Sort of. Like I said before, most of my mother’s family is unhappy I came here, including Mother.” She nodded towards the photo on her desk. “Her younger sister, my Aunt Amy, went to that junior college but then went to the U of Maryland after she graduated to get her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She works at Time-Life.” Daria’s face suddenly actually lit up for an instant. “That reminds me.” She took out the envelope her father had given her out of her desk drawer and opened it.
Seeing the looks of surprise crossing her roommate’s face, Jane asked gently, “Good news?”
“Very,” Daria admitted. “My mother offered me a bribe to go to her junior college – she has family money, and she and the rest of her family use that money as weapons. She offered to fully pay room, board, fees, and books if I went there, and a dollar a week allowance after the first semester for every five points of a GPA over a three point five.”
“Wow! If you managed a four, that would really add up!” That was a lot of money for 1966.
“Quite a bit, actually, as she was going to up my allowance from ten a month to twenty-five a week – that place has more required social functions than academic ones.”
Jane, whose weekly high school allowance had been a quarter plus lunch money and was now relying on (possibly very) occasional donations of a few dollars, knew her friend’s family was in a very different league than her own.
“Dad paid for this semester, after a number of arguments. Mom gave way, and will be paying for the next seven semesters. I think I mentioned I was covered in that respect.”
Jane nodded.
“Mom agreed to a five dollar weekly allowance paid into my checking account. Dad says here that she’s agreed to add a dollar per point a week during term time for a GPA over a three point eight starting in the spring.”
“Well, that’s still not too bad.”
“No, for her that’s a major compromise. However, Dad and Aunt Amy have started a separate checking account – a bank here in town will take automatic transfers from their banks. Five dollars a week from each of them.”
“So, you’re not doing too badly in one department.”
“True, just not in the family department overall. My mother is disappointed my sister is only interested in clothes, boys, and cheerleading – well, the cheerleading is mostly to attract boys and maintain her place in the popular crowd, the same reasons she cultivates the ‘social graces’ my mother and her family care so much about. If she was also interested in getting better grades and being in ‘society’ as opposed to looking good to her crowd, Mother would have no complaints about her.” Daria made a slight face of disgust. “It’s not that Mother really cares about anything intellectual, but Mother does believe that a good education allows a woman to raise good sons – even though she doesn’t have any uncles, brothers, or sons.”
“I take it the grades were the only part she didn’t fault you on?”
Daria gave that a soft but derisive snort. “Wrong – I was too devoted to study for her tastes. A good B to B-plus average is what we were told we should aim for in high school – she’s hoping for more from me in college, I think, for bragging rights against Aunt Amy who did more than okay but not fabulous until her final year at the U of M. Anyway, I ended up with over a three point nine while Quinn has around a two point seven, just barely acceptable. Quinn and I had to study piano and another instrument. Quinn is a better pianist and was a decent flute player. She was allowed to give the flute up when she became a cheerleader. I wasn’t allowed to take up trumpet or Saxophone – not feminine enough.” Daria shook her head. “We both learned to play the guitar at summer camp – we were forced to attend several years. She would only play at camp. Still, I play and I also learned to like the violin.”
Seeing Jane look around the room, Daria explained. “I auditioned for the music program here. I did get accepted, but decided I’m even less inclined to teach music than I am social studies or English.” Seeing the question, Daria answered before Jane could ask. “If I do well enough, I’m hoping to go on to grad school, probably in English. Anyway, because of that acceptance, I can join the College orchestra and take lessons. My violin is up in the music building. Somehow, my guitar was left at home.” Daria correctly suspected her mother had put it back in her room. “I’ll either get it whenever I go home, or buy a new one.” A new one if her mother had thrown the old one out. Daria did not explain how much money she had in her regular checking account, or that her father had started the second account with $100 and Amy with $200.
The rest of the afternoon, the two chatted in order to learn more about each other. On one level , they had very different interests, in art, music, literature, and schoolwork in general. Both were somewhat interested in boys, but neither had dated much in high school, Jane slightly more than Daria. Both were interested in much more than starting a family or careers in the public schools. Jane hoped to learn enough and be good enough to go on to an art school, while Daria was interested in perhaps becoming a writer. There was a literary club on campus that published different in-house journals, and Daria had brought a few different poems and stories to submit, which she shared with Jane. Jane had a few sketch books she had partially filled, and she shared them with Daria. Each thought the other had talent, which at least assured them that they were starting off the semester in sync. Granted, it remained to be seen if they could get along on a day-to-day basis.
-60s-
It was quickly clear what one problem might be. Daria had no problem going to sleep relatively early and waking up in the morning, even if she preferred to sleep in. Jane was a natural night owl, but like Daria, she had all 8:00 am courses. In addition, breakfast was served from 7:00 to 8:30 Mondays through Saturdays. (Sunday there were only two meals served, with an extended brunch from 9:00-12:30.) Daria was not happy having to spend 35 minutes trying to get Jane going that Tuesday morning, and then waiting for Jane to get ready. They finally made it to the breakfast line at 8:06. Therefore, when they had finished, there was a long line to get into the bookstore. They were both lucky they did not have to wait in the nearly as-long lines for drop/add or financial aid.
Daria, realizing that she was in a much better financial position than Jane, offered to let Jane work from her Health and Geology textbooks until Jane could determine if she needed her own. Still, like Jane, Daria did not hesitate to purchase used copies of those textbooks which were available.
Still, it was after 10:30 when the pair finally exited the bookstore. The pair took their purchases (extra notebooks, etc. as well as their textbooks) back to their room. They then went to visit the art and music buildings on either side of lunch. Like many such colleges, this one was built on ‘spare land’ – in this case a series of low hills and one very high hill. The art building was nearly halfway up the highest hill, but it had a great northern exposure for lighting. Jane found a few of the art instructors organizing supplies and introduced herself. They, remembering the portfolio she had submitted, all seemed welcoming. Rather than going further up the hill to the music building, never mind just beyond that to the new gymnasium complex, Daria circled them down to the building where the English department was. There in the basement she found the office for the students’ literary journals, and even a mail slot to submit entries. She had three large envelopes of submissions, and slipped them all into the slot, and the pair went off for lunch (11:30-1:00).
After lunch, the pair hiked up to the music building. As she had nothing else to do, Jane joined Daria in a practice room. Daria practiced the violin and a little piano for just over an hour, while Jane sketched. To Daria’s surprise and pleasure, Jane asked if she could keep that new sketchbook in Daria’s locker, for when she joined her roommate in the music building. Daria did not hesitate to share the combination.
With both teens basically unencumbered, they went to explore the street of small businesses that led to the main street of the town. Daria located the branch of the bank her new account was set up in, as well as the post office, a pharmacy, and a bakery. There were crowds of undergrads around the burger and pizza places, so they bypassed those. There was also an old-fashioned family grocery, and even if the prices were slightly high, the nearest regular grocery store was about eight blocks further away. Daria bought them some snacks. As there was always some fresh fruit available in the cafeteria, they both went for junk food.
Both felt ready to face their first semester of college the next morning, even if it would start at 8:00 am.
-60s-
While Daria should end up looking like she did as imagined in the late 1960s image in ‘Is it College Yet’ (Daria and Jane is full hippie style), she starts off looking like the early 60s version of the character in ‘Legends of the Mall.’
-60s-
Jane’s Schedule (16 credits)
Health, 2 credits, MF 8:00
Freshman English, 3, MWF 9:00
French III, 3, MWF 1:00
Intro Geology, 3, TR 8:00
Art Composition I, 2, TR 9:30
Art History I, 3, TR 11:00
Daria’s Schedule (18 credits)
Health, 2, MF 8:00
Violin, 1, F 9:30
English Lit I, 3, MWF 11:00
American Lit I, 3,MWF 1:00
Intro Geology, 3, TR 8:00
History of England, 3, TR 9:30
US Constitution, 3, TR, 11:00
Orchestra, 0, MF 4:00, W 7:00 pm
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based (eventually) on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
In this Daria-verse, Daria is a college Freshman in 1966 (i.e., Helen’s age in the series).
Some terminology will reflect 1960s usage; not always acceptable today; the sexual mores and practices (not the same thing at the time), also reflect the period, certainly not current standards of conduct or attitude. Please note that I am not interested in collaborations, illustrations, etc. and any reviews or PMs on those or related subjects will be ignored.
It’s College!
-60s-
Sunday, September 4, 1966; Freshman Move-in day at a medium-sized (imaginary) mid-Atlantic state college.
The Morgendorffer family made their way out of the crowded lobby of the new dormitory on the LSC campus and towards the only slightly-less crowded line for the double elevators for the co-ed’s wing. For the mid-1960s, it was far from even an average-sized family – it was just the four of them. The father looked like the stereotypical over-stressed middle-management type that he was in many aspects, if at least a rung higher in his corporate position than might be expected for a parent of a state college student. His wife had a much more determined look – housewives from around the country would recognize her as the neighborhood power broker, who ran her peer groups within her church and community volunteer organizations with smooth, and iron, efficiency. The younger of their two daughters was also something of a stereotype for a sixteen-year-old rising high school junior from a mid-sized traditional upper-middle class family living in a middle-class suburb – nice skirt, blouse, carefully chosen light sweater, and saddle shoes. Her straight orange/red hair was in a long ponytail, her makeup was light, and she wore her own class ring, tasteful earrings, and a charm bracelet filled with gifted charms. Few would be surprised to learn that the smiling redhead was a cheerleader.
Like her younger sister, the older daughter was on the shorter side of average – both were close to five foot three. Her sister was hoping she might finally grow at least a bit taller than her older sibling. Both were slim, the elder sister a bit bustier – although her blouse and sweater were as expensive as her sister’s, they were not as form-fitting. Even though she was wearing a slightly longer skirt, it still showed that her legs were even nicer than her sister’s, and her Mary Janes were better-polished. While her sister was smiling, the older sibling’s expression was fairly neutral. That, plus a pair of unattractive glasses, helped define the younger sister as cuter than her otherwise equally attractive spectacled sister. The elder’s hair was shorter – just past mid-shoulder length – much thicker, and more of a brownish/auburn color, like her father’s, rather than the reddish/auburn of the mother or orange/red of her sister.
After about a five-minute wait, they were able to claim an elevator. Each woman carried a suitcase (the younger sister carried the smallest suitcase) and a purse or shoulder bag, while the father pushed a laden handcart his wife had managed to lay claim to, with a footlocker and several boxes on it. As the group entered the elevator, anyone who observed them for a while would have noted that there had been no unnecessary communication between any of the four, and very little of that.
The group exited the elevator and quietly absorbed the layout of the floor from the inside of the dorm. It was basically a rectangle, with rooms on the outside, an inner corridor, and then the core with the pair of elevators and a set of stairways behind them, laundry room, bathroom (toilets, sinks, showers), and back stairs. Across the corridor from the elevators was the RA’s ‘suite’. Each corner also had a suite of two smaller dorm rooms and a middle study room. There were ten slightly larger dorm rooms arranged around the floor (4 on each long side, two on the shorter side, on the opposite side of the RA’s apartment), and there were four small study rooms as well, one with a small TV, a sofa, and some chairs in it.
The group went down the side corridor to 306, which was already cracked open. The older daughter therefore knocked.
“Yo!’ came an alto voice. The teen opened the door and was greeted by the occupant who was seated at a desk chair, her feet propped up on the cot. She was drawing in a sketchbook but looked up with a very slight smile. “I’m Jane Lane. I take it you’re my roomie?”
“Daria Morgendorffer,” the older sister acknowledged. “My mother, father, and sister, Quinn.”
“Well, come on in and unload,” Jane replied as she stood. “There didn’t seem to be any difference so I flipped a coin and took this side. If you decide there is, we can switch or rearrange things later.”
Jane was surprised at how quiet this group was. Little was said, and it was always something needed (‘Which drawer do you want your socks in?’) and said softly. After less than fifteen minutes, they were done. The parents at least briefly hugged their daughter (the father rather affectionately, the mother very perfunctorily) and said a farewell of sorts before leaving with the emptied suitcases and the handcart – the younger girl had barely said ten words and had already walked out. Jane did notice that the father left last and handed her roommate an envelope and a wink which her new roommate returned with a slight smile – it was the first real, fully ‘family’ interaction Jane had seen from the bunch.
Daria sighed as she shut the door and her shoulders slumped a bit, but her back straightened before she had turned around. “Sorry about that. My maternal grandmother wanted me to go to this worthless junior college she and her sisters, her mother and aunts, my mother and my aunts, and my cousin all attended. My mother agreed. They aren’t thrilled I’m ‘breaking tradition’ by coming here.” Fortunately, her father (who had gone to an Ivy League university) had helped her get this compromise.
“Well, I guess I’m breaking one, too, since I’m the first one in my extended family to attend a regular college instead of a two-year tech school at most,” Jane answered. “Where you from?”
It turned out that while Jane was from a nearby small town, almost a suburb of the college town, Daria was from a wealthy suburb of the state capitol about thirty miles away. Her father worked as the ad executive for the major radio/tv station, while Jane’s father ran a photo studio. Where Daria only had the one sibling, Jane had four older ones. Where Daria’s father had been a junior officer during the War, Jane’s had been a war correspondent.
Jane was coming for art education; like most such institutions, this State College had until recently (the year before in fact in this case) been called a State Teachers’ College. Students were still being admitted just for various education and related majors, although it was now easier to transfer to some of the related non-education majors and other majors were being considered for addition over the next few years.
“Believe it or not, I’m here for English and either social studies or French,” Daria answered as she put away a pile of books her family had unpacked but left on the floor – they had taken all the suitcases and boxes with them when they had left.
“Wow, that’s going to take a while,” Jane responded, not sure if she was impressed or a bit horrified by the prospect of that many classes.
“It actually won’t be,” Daria answered. “There’s a new service offered by the College Board called CLEP that allows you to test out of general education classes. I passed out of Western Civ and American history, American Government, and all four basic French courses, and my SAT score exempted me from the two required basic writing classes. So that’s thirty-three required credits I don’t have to take, although I might have to make up the English hours with something else. It should still be possible to graduate in four years, at least I hope so. That’s all my parents will pay for.”
Jane glanced at her little windup alarm clock and saw it was 11:36. “The cafeteria opened a few minutes ago. Care to discover if college food is as bad as high school food?”
“For what we’re paying for the meal plans, it might not be steaks but it should be better than high school.” Daria reached for a sweater – while not cool neither was it warm despite the time of year and the school’s location. Jane picked her own sweater off her cot as her eyes swept around the room. Except for the two tool chests that held her brushes and paints as well as some sketchbooks, she really didn’t have much – a pair of slippers, sneakers, a robe, a half empty tiny closet, a half empty 4-drawer dresser with a few cosmetics on the top, an empty desk with a built-in bookshelf, an empty laundry bag, the cot, the alarm clock on the window ledge, and the suggested plastic bucket for toiletries to take to the showers.
Most of the girls in the dorm would judge Daria’s side nearly as bereft. Her closet was fuller mostly because her winter jacket was already there as well as what Jane (largely correctly) presumed were ‘Sunday formal’ outfits in a garment bag with a pair of highly polished low-heeled shoes in a side bag. There were two more pairs of everyday shoes and a pair of galoshes but no sneakers, no cosmetics, and Daria had apparently liberated her father’s old footlocker, which had seemed mostly empty when Jane had caught a glimpse inside. She had a small set of shelves she had set up next to her bed, with her alarm clock on top next to a small lamp, and two rows of rather intimidating-looking recently placed books on the other two shelves. A portable typewriter sat ready on her desk, while the compact OED as well as French, Latin, German, and Italian dictionaries adorned her desk’s bookshelf. Whereas Jane had two small framed photos – one of her large family and one just of her older brother holding an electric guitar, Daria had taken the large formal family photo her mother had placed on her desk into the footlocker and replaced it with a smaller framed photo of her father holding a smiling toddler – and Jane would have placed a large bet that it was Daria with him, not her sister, even before she confirmed her guess by the girl’s hair color. There was a second, a much more recent photo as well, which Daria had brought out of hiding at the same time as the first, which she had glanced at fondly – it showed Daria just slightly younger than now standing beside a slightly taller woman who looked like a much older sister, but who had to be an aunt, both dressed up. Jane correctly guessed it had been taken at a family wedding.
‘I’m rooming with a brain,’ Jane thought. ‘One that might just get along worse with two-thirds of her immediate family than I do with most of mine.’
“What kind of art do you do?” Daria asked as she shut their door and double-checked to make certain it was locked. “And I mean what styles, as well as what mediums.”
‘Well, at least she seems to know enough about art to ask that way,’ Jane thought before answering. Rather than waiting for the still-busy elevator, Daria followed Jane’s lead by taking the stairs.
60s
To their slight surprise, while the main offerings in the food line were similar to what they would have been served in high school, it was of a slightly higher quality and there was a greater variety. There was also a ‘salad’ island’ inside the dining room where one could fix their own salads, and a ‘sandwich island’ which would always have breads and butter, as well as peanut butter, jams and jellies, and honey, the latter at every meal. They would learn at breakfast that there would be rows of toasters out then as well. There were also the choices of milk, soda, coffee, or tea.
The two agreed that this might be tolerable after all.
-60s-
At Jane’s suggestion, the roommates compared schedules. They only had two classes in common, a 2-credit class required of all first semester Freshmen with the odd title ‘Health & College Life’ and a Geology course. Students had to complete Gen Ed requirements in a number of fields, but could drop one of those areas, and so required three areas of 12 credits and one with 6. Both had chosen to drop the Math area, Jane because she loathed math in general and Daria because she found it the most boring of the areas. While those going into Science Education had to take classes with labs, the College also offered 3-credit science courses without labs for non-science majors. Jane and Daria were in an 8:00 Tuesday/Thursday Geology class.
For the rest of their meal and walking back to their dorm, Jane told Daria about the rest of her family. Her oldest sister (by 17 years) was a housewife with an unstable marriage and six children, while her older brother was in an even more unstable marriage with no children and was working for their father. Her older sister (by 11 years) had drifted out of their lives, and was believed to be in San Diego or perhaps Tiajuana. Jane had never really felt a connection with any of them.
Her older brother was different. Trent was five years older, and while he worked for their father part time, he was trying to make a living from being a musician. “The problem is, he and his band can’t settle on a style,” Jane concluded as their entered their room. “They didn’t sound all that good when they were trying to imitate the Big Bopper, and even worse when they tried to copy Elvis or the Beach Boys.”
“Let me guess, either the Beatles or Chubby Checker next,” Daria deadpanned as she opened their room.
“The Beatles – the sound wasn’t bad, but their original songs were. Their covers were okay. They’re doing a bit better imitating the Rolling Stones sound.” Jane paused and then asked, “Any of those appeal to you?”
“I listen to all of them, but believe it or not, I have a slight preference for groups like Peter, Paul, and Mary, or the new group, the Mamas and the Papas,” Daria confessed. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think The Beatles are in any way bad, but I wouldn’t have been one of the girls screaming at the airport when they arrived.” She grimaced. “My sister might have been, since that was the thing to do. As for the others, like I said, I do listen to them.”
Jane started to ask Daria a question, but hesitated.
“Go ahead and ask,” Daria told her.
“Okay, sorry if this is too personal, but was this morning…normal for your family?”
Daria thought about that, and finally answered, “Sort of. Like I said before, most of my mother’s family is unhappy I came here, including Mother.” She nodded towards the photo on her desk. “Her younger sister, my Aunt Amy, went to that junior college but then went to the U of Maryland after she graduated to get her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She works at Time-Life.” Daria’s face suddenly actually lit up for an instant. “That reminds me.” She took out the envelope her father had given her out of her desk drawer and opened it.
Seeing the looks of surprise crossing her roommate’s face, Jane asked gently, “Good news?”
“Very,” Daria admitted. “My mother offered me a bribe to go to her junior college – she has family money, and she and the rest of her family use that money as weapons. She offered to fully pay room, board, fees, and books if I went there, and a dollar a week allowance after the first semester for every five points of a GPA over a three point five.”
“Wow! If you managed a four, that would really add up!” That was a lot of money for 1966.
“Quite a bit, actually, as she was going to up my allowance from ten a month to twenty-five a week – that place has more required social functions than academic ones.”
Jane, whose weekly high school allowance had been a quarter plus lunch money and was now relying on (possibly very) occasional donations of a few dollars, knew her friend’s family was in a very different league than her own.
“Dad paid for this semester, after a number of arguments. Mom gave way, and will be paying for the next seven semesters. I think I mentioned I was covered in that respect.”
Jane nodded.
“Mom agreed to a five dollar weekly allowance paid into my checking account. Dad says here that she’s agreed to add a dollar per point a week during term time for a GPA over a three point eight starting in the spring.”
“Well, that’s still not too bad.”
“No, for her that’s a major compromise. However, Dad and Aunt Amy have started a separate checking account – a bank here in town will take automatic transfers from their banks. Five dollars a week from each of them.”
“So, you’re not doing too badly in one department.”
“True, just not in the family department overall. My mother is disappointed my sister is only interested in clothes, boys, and cheerleading – well, the cheerleading is mostly to attract boys and maintain her place in the popular crowd, the same reasons she cultivates the ‘social graces’ my mother and her family care so much about. If she was also interested in getting better grades and being in ‘society’ as opposed to looking good to her crowd, Mother would have no complaints about her.” Daria made a slight face of disgust. “It’s not that Mother really cares about anything intellectual, but Mother does believe that a good education allows a woman to raise good sons – even though she doesn’t have any uncles, brothers, or sons.”
“I take it the grades were the only part she didn’t fault you on?”
Daria gave that a soft but derisive snort. “Wrong – I was too devoted to study for her tastes. A good B to B-plus average is what we were told we should aim for in high school – she’s hoping for more from me in college, I think, for bragging rights against Aunt Amy who did more than okay but not fabulous until her final year at the U of M. Anyway, I ended up with over a three point nine while Quinn has around a two point seven, just barely acceptable. Quinn and I had to study piano and another instrument. Quinn is a better pianist and was a decent flute player. She was allowed to give the flute up when she became a cheerleader. I wasn’t allowed to take up trumpet or Saxophone – not feminine enough.” Daria shook her head. “We both learned to play the guitar at summer camp – we were forced to attend several years. She would only play at camp. Still, I play and I also learned to like the violin.”
Seeing Jane look around the room, Daria explained. “I auditioned for the music program here. I did get accepted, but decided I’m even less inclined to teach music than I am social studies or English.” Seeing the question, Daria answered before Jane could ask. “If I do well enough, I’m hoping to go on to grad school, probably in English. Anyway, because of that acceptance, I can join the College orchestra and take lessons. My violin is up in the music building. Somehow, my guitar was left at home.” Daria correctly suspected her mother had put it back in her room. “I’ll either get it whenever I go home, or buy a new one.” A new one if her mother had thrown the old one out. Daria did not explain how much money she had in her regular checking account, or that her father had started the second account with $100 and Amy with $200.
The rest of the afternoon, the two chatted in order to learn more about each other. On one level , they had very different interests, in art, music, literature, and schoolwork in general. Both were somewhat interested in boys, but neither had dated much in high school, Jane slightly more than Daria. Both were interested in much more than starting a family or careers in the public schools. Jane hoped to learn enough and be good enough to go on to an art school, while Daria was interested in perhaps becoming a writer. There was a literary club on campus that published different in-house journals, and Daria had brought a few different poems and stories to submit, which she shared with Jane. Jane had a few sketch books she had partially filled, and she shared them with Daria. Each thought the other had talent, which at least assured them that they were starting off the semester in sync. Granted, it remained to be seen if they could get along on a day-to-day basis.
-60s-
It was quickly clear what one problem might be. Daria had no problem going to sleep relatively early and waking up in the morning, even if she preferred to sleep in. Jane was a natural night owl, but like Daria, she had all 8:00 am courses. In addition, breakfast was served from 7:00 to 8:30 Mondays through Saturdays. (Sunday there were only two meals served, with an extended brunch from 9:00-12:30.) Daria was not happy having to spend 35 minutes trying to get Jane going that Tuesday morning, and then waiting for Jane to get ready. They finally made it to the breakfast line at 8:06. Therefore, when they had finished, there was a long line to get into the bookstore. They were both lucky they did not have to wait in the nearly as-long lines for drop/add or financial aid.
Daria, realizing that she was in a much better financial position than Jane, offered to let Jane work from her Health and Geology textbooks until Jane could determine if she needed her own. Still, like Jane, Daria did not hesitate to purchase used copies of those textbooks which were available.
Still, it was after 10:30 when the pair finally exited the bookstore. The pair took their purchases (extra notebooks, etc. as well as their textbooks) back to their room. They then went to visit the art and music buildings on either side of lunch. Like many such colleges, this one was built on ‘spare land’ – in this case a series of low hills and one very high hill. The art building was nearly halfway up the highest hill, but it had a great northern exposure for lighting. Jane found a few of the art instructors organizing supplies and introduced herself. They, remembering the portfolio she had submitted, all seemed welcoming. Rather than going further up the hill to the music building, never mind just beyond that to the new gymnasium complex, Daria circled them down to the building where the English department was. There in the basement she found the office for the students’ literary journals, and even a mail slot to submit entries. She had three large envelopes of submissions, and slipped them all into the slot, and the pair went off for lunch (11:30-1:00).
After lunch, the pair hiked up to the music building. As she had nothing else to do, Jane joined Daria in a practice room. Daria practiced the violin and a little piano for just over an hour, while Jane sketched. To Daria’s surprise and pleasure, Jane asked if she could keep that new sketchbook in Daria’s locker, for when she joined her roommate in the music building. Daria did not hesitate to share the combination.
With both teens basically unencumbered, they went to explore the street of small businesses that led to the main street of the town. Daria located the branch of the bank her new account was set up in, as well as the post office, a pharmacy, and a bakery. There were crowds of undergrads around the burger and pizza places, so they bypassed those. There was also an old-fashioned family grocery, and even if the prices were slightly high, the nearest regular grocery store was about eight blocks further away. Daria bought them some snacks. As there was always some fresh fruit available in the cafeteria, they both went for junk food.
Both felt ready to face their first semester of college the next morning, even if it would start at 8:00 am.
-60s-
While Daria should end up looking like she did as imagined in the late 1960s image in ‘Is it College Yet’ (Daria and Jane is full hippie style), she starts off looking like the early 60s version of the character in ‘Legends of the Mall.’
-60s-
Jane’s Schedule (16 credits)
Health, 2 credits, MF 8:00
Freshman English, 3, MWF 9:00
French III, 3, MWF 1:00
Intro Geology, 3, TR 8:00
Art Composition I, 2, TR 9:30
Art History I, 3, TR 11:00
Daria’s Schedule (18 credits)
Health, 2, MF 8:00
Violin, 1, F 9:30
English Lit I, 3, MWF 11:00
American Lit I, 3,MWF 1:00
Intro Geology, 3, TR 8:00
History of England, 3, TR 9:30
US Constitution, 3, TR, 11:00
Orchestra, 0, MF 4:00, W 7:00 pm
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