A lot has changed for UB since the 90’s. Hundreds of thousands of students and staff have come and gone, new fields of study have been added and several new buildings have been built.
One thing that remains unchanged is the sentiment surrounding Halloween. For UB students, past and present, it has always been about partying.
Tracey Drury experienced life at UB in real time, attending from 1988 to 1992 as a special major in journalism with a minor in sociology. During her college years, she worked at The Spectrum, serving as the editor-in-chief her senior year.
Drury also helped start a sorority on campus. She was one of 40 founding members of Alpha Phi. The students weren’t happy with other sorority options, so they started their own.
“(Alpha Phi) are no longer on campus,” Drury said. “Most of the Greek organizations that were there when I was there have all been kicked off at one point or another.”
Fraternities and societies operated differently at UB in the 1990s. Their presence was more noticeable during the Halloween season.
“Pledging was a different animal, you would often see a lot of pledge classes that had to dress up on Halloween, whether they liked it or not,” Drury said.
How different were the costumes back then? Drury dressed up as Big Bird one year, and her future husband went as Oscar the Grouch.
“My costume was basically a garbage bag, and we stuck holes through it and pulled tissues out through it all over, so it looked fluffy like, and I was probably a walking fire hazard. I don't know how I didn't light on fire,” Drury said.
The bar scene off campus was electric. Although some of them aren’t around anymore, there were many bars lined up and down Main Street, and there were drink specials every day of the week. It was also easier to get into bars if you were a student under 21, Drury said.
“There was Molly’s Pub next to the 711, Mickey Rats down by Minnesota, and some people would go to Allentown. That was a big deal if you went all the way downtown,” Drury said. “But all the ‘Greeks’ hung out at Steer.”
Fraternities and sororities still frequent the Steer, a bar popular among UB students that is within walking distance of UB’s South Campus.
“Back then [Steer] was just a grungy, sticky floor bar, it wasn’t a nice restaurant like it is now,” Drury said. She hasn’t been to the Steer in a few years.
Drury and her friends spent most of their time at Third Base and PJ’s, two bars that have since closed their doors. She met her husband in her junior year at Third Base.
UB students in 2024 don’t have the options that students in the 90’s had like nickel beers, but they’ll spend their Halloween Ubering to frat parties, downtown bars and some, even to the classic Steer.
The times may have changed, but Drury still reminisces about the great time she had at UB.
“I loved it,” Drury said.
Ricardo Castillo is the editor-in-chief and can be reached at ricardo.castillo@ubspectrum.com
