Meet Me on the Stairs

A walk back through time

People & Places

May 2026

MAC class of 1926 seated on Stockbridge Hall steps

Life as a student has changed much over the course of the university’s 163 years, but many things do remain the same, including friends, fellowship, and a penchant for taking in the sun.

UMass students seated on Campus Center steps circa 2001

2001: 25 years ago

All those steps around the Campus Center provide an easy place to gather, especially when the spring sunshine is just so.   

The 2001 Index also reports on the introduction of MassLive’s “Campus Cam”—a webcam at Antonio’s Pizza in downtown Amherst, “where the slices are hot and the action goes well into the wee hours.” 

Students seated on Campus Center steps circa 1976

1976: 50 years ago

Here we glimpse ’70s hairstyles and fashion on the campus scene among our step-sitters. In 1976, UMass also hosted a huge farm dinner showcasing local produce—U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy was among hundreds in attendance. 

1951: 75 years ago

Winter Carnival was a university tradition that packed a week in February with activities, from skiing races to snow sculpture competitions, plays, and fashion shows.

Students playing hockey on the College Pond in 1951
The 1951 Index reports: “The College Pond was the scene of a co-ed hockey game and of figure skating exhibitions.”
Students dancing at the UMass 1951 Winter Carnival Ball

The pinnacle of the week was Friday evening’s Winter Carnival Ball, held at the Curry Hicks Cage, where “Billy Butterfield’s music, floating across the skating-rink-like dance floor of the Cage, provided the perfect accompaniment to an evening of smooth dancing.”

Here we see students getting ready for skiing (from left to right): Janice Anderson ’53, Barbara Gates ’54, and Jane Hartman ’54.

Three students posing with their skis in 1951

1926: 100 years ago

MAC class of 1926 seated on Stockbridge Hall steps

The Campus Center was not yet even a gleam in the president’s eye, but step-sitting was already a known pastime for students—they just used Stockbridge Hall instead, as shown here in this photo of the 1926 senior class. From the 1926 Index: “The passing seniors wish to bequeath to their successors certain cherished stepping stones to success. Among these we list first the steps of Stockbridge Hall whereon abide the connoisseurs of fair women and the goddess of Nicotine.”

1876: 150 years ago

Members of class of 1876 at 50th reunion in 1926
This photo was taken in 1926, where we see a few of the 1876 class gathered for their 50th reunion beside their class tree.

In the spring of 1876, students walked out to protest veterinary science professor Noah Cressy’s disciplinary methods, which included throwing the leg bone of a horse at a student during a zoology lecture. They were successful in getting him to rein it in.

Photos courtesy of University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives