As I sat down with my chicken panini at the pub, I was waiting for my friend to join me with his Asian stir fry. I was about to take the first bite when I couldn’t help noticing the picture frames hung on the walls that capture significant events that have enhanced the rich tradition of Loras. Although this article will fall far short of adequately paying homage to these photos, it would be too selfish not to reveal, at the very least, a glimpse of the stories they tell.
If you have ventured near the pool table, you have come across the walls full of photos that might be familiar. The Goo Goo Dolls must have drawn your first attention if you are a big fan of alternative rock. Yes, it is the same band that has some of the greatest singles such as “Iris”, a song made for the movie “City of Angels”, and “Before it’s Too Late”, which is on the “Transformers” soundtrack.
The Goo Goo Dolls rocked Loras in the fall of 1999 as part of MP3.com tour. Along with the Goo Goo Dolls, the tour brought several nationally touring bands and corporate sponsor give-a-ways. The MP3.com event that took place on Oct. 6, 1999, packed Keane Field, now occupied by the Academic Resource Center (ARC). A little earlier in spring of 1999, Loras also played host to Collective Soul, a band that broke through the mainstream with songs like “December” and “Shine”. These two bands are just a few among many other popular bands that the College Activities Board has hosted in recent years, including Fuel and, most recently, Eve 6.
Some of the photos are inspirations for many of us. Comedian Bob Kaliban, aka Tidybowl Man, and Dave Rabe, a playwright and screenwriter, were Loras alums in 1953 and 1962, respectively. As your attention scans through the frames, comedians like Bill Cosby and Steve Martin are two other outstanding figures that you can’t miss. 
The word “dumburger”, from the movie “The Pink Panther” pops into mind to describe Steve Martin, who must have made the Duhawks laugh ‘til their bellies busted in 1977. Bill Cosby, famously called “America’s dad”, brought loads of laughter to Loras during Siblings Week in 2000. Perhaps, unfamiliar to most of the younger generation, Bill Cosby has to rank as one of the top comedians of all time. Some of us probably had a glance of him from movies like “Jack”, where he played the role of tutor and father of Robin Williams. If you ask your parents of him, the first thing that probably comes to their minds would be the popular sitcom “The Cosby Show”, from the 1980s, or for the older generation, “I Spy”, an American television secret-agent adventure series that began in the 1960s.
Loras hosted former Vice President Dick Cheney during the 2000 presidential campaign, and numerous other political figures have invaded the campus over the generations, including the then Senator John F. Kennedy, who delivered the 1956 commencement address at the Fieldhouse. Such an event is, no doubt, a corner stone of the college’s dignity, and the sight of the late president on those walls is an unfeigned reminder of Duhawk pride.
My friend waved at me and I realized my panini had gone cold already. I grabbed it enthusiastically and enjoyed it, overwhelmed by the amelioration that has evoked for me a fresh perspective on the college. “I should be proud of my Loras College.”
