It’s likely that when others look back on their college campus, the classrooms and the stairs and hallways, their first thought probably isn’t the smell. But at RIT two competing odors from two critical graphic arts processes moved from opposite ends of the building meeting somewhere in the middle.
The smell of fountain solution and the smell of photographic fixer wound through the concrete halls of the Photography and Graphics Arts Building. The top (4th) floor was photography. The smell of fixer, or sodium thiosulfate, or hypo was the critical step in photography that allowed you to turn on the lights and fix the image. It “fixed” the image and stopped development… and smelled.
The basement, where the bookstore was, held the school’s in house printing department. It was here that rows of offset machines were lined up, running notices, calendars, brochures and thousands of other things for the RIT. Printing students worked there day and night as employees to RIT, in part time jobs. That’s where the fountain solution smell was coming from. Fountain solution adheres to a rubber blanket that the plate has transferred the ink to and fills in the spots where the ink isn’t. So fountain solution at the opposite end of the building was doing its critical part in the offset printing process… and smelling too.
Over the noise and the smell a group of fraternity guys had a deal with the school. They could print their own work, if they supplied the paper, after hours. So each of the fraternities created their own marketing material to enlist pledges in the Fall. One of these publications was Leaders on Campus. For five consecutive years one fraternity held the title Mr. Campus. This is the printed piece:
Mr. Campus --1960 - Bill Turri, 1961 - Jo Wimmer, 1964 - Don Gaeta, 1962 - John Absalom, and 1963 - Jim Williams All from Theta Xi.
And these were the brothers of Theta Xi 1964-65:
Bob Adamson, Ray Baker, Dave Buckholtz, Dave Christman
Mat Chrzaszcz, Earl Cook, Dick Dodge, Ian Duff
Tom Frahm, Dave Gallahue, Don Gaeta, Frank Geraci
Phil Giammatto, Dave Gregory, Jim Halliday, Bob Honegger
Kingsley Jackson, Wayne Jackson, Les Kadel, Gunnar Klinga
Dick Kubala, Mike Lofton, Norm MacEachern, Dick Mendrala
Doug Michalske, Bruce Miller, John Mitchel, Marty Muszak
Ron Palmer, Chuck Pooler, Cecil Previdi, Bob Przewlocki
Dick Rank, Leon Richardson, John Reitzammer, Gary Ritchel
Jorge Rivas, Mike Sandel, Don Simonini, Phil Skidmore
John Snyder, Leigh Stewart, Joe Ventura, Jeff Vollers
Sheldon Wermes, John Petrosky, Jerry Wilhelm, Jim Totten
Pete Consol, Dick Grazino, Ted Peck, Jerry Dungy
Old RIT was created by Third Act Films, who produce video biography and commissioned documentary productions.
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