46 OregonStater.org tually, football player Rich Harr and BSU President Mike Smith were allowed to speak to a crowd estimated at 6,000 about discrimination in student rights, housing and social activities, according to the next day’s Daily Barometer. In December 1970, Oregon State students took to the court during a basketball game against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsaffiliated Brigham Young University. The protesters urged OSU to join other schools in stopping competition with BYU because of the church’s policy of not allowing Black men into the priesthood. In 2015, a Students of Color Speak Out event invited students, faculty and community members to share their experiences with racism on campus and in Corvallis. BIG AND LIttLE OSu MOMENtS Other visits to Gill were for reasons more mundane. Until class registration became computer-based, it was held in Gill Coliseum, with students scurrying from instructor to instructor to secure their classes. Sometimes academics took over the coliseum at the end of a term: Tony Vandermeer, ’82, remembers the sections of his freshman chemistry class being so large that the final exam was held in Gill. “I remember the basketball team coming out in the middle of our finals to practice,”Vandermeer said. “I could have sworn I saw Ray Blume sitting down there laughing at us getting stuck taking the final while he got to go play basketball.” Most Beavers have more than one vivid memory from Gill. Larry Landis, former director of OSU’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center, remembers when OSU men’s basketball player Earnest Killum Jr., a highly regarded sophomore guard, died suddenly on Jan. 20, 1992, from a stroke. His memorial service was held in Gill a few days later and, according to the Daily Barometer, was attended by about 1,500 people. “It was a very moving service,” Landis said, “and having only been at OSU for a year, I was very impressed with this outpouring of both sympathy and support.” Haynes participated in IFC Sings at Gill and camped out for tickets to a Peter, Paul and Mary concert in 1969. Later, as senior class president in 1972, he got to introduce singer and actress Helen Reddy to TUrN Up ThE vOlUME Here’s a partial list of entertainers who performed at Gill Coliseum over the years, from crooners to comics. 1989–90 Men’s Basketball Gary Payton scores 58 points against Southern California in a 98-94 doubleovertime win — one of wildest games ever at Gill. The Beavers trailed by 22 points in the first half. Two days later, OSU beats UCLA 83-74 in Payton’s home finale. 1990 Gymnastics Oregon State hosts the NCAA Championships, and Joy Selig wins national titles in both the balance beam and floor exercise. OSU places seventh. With their seating limited to the north balcony, students camped on the ramps to get the best seats.
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