1988

1988 in Clemson History

Events in 1988

• Tradition: A History of the Presidency of Clemson University is published by Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia, ISBN 0-86554-296-1, edited by Donald M. McKale, and illustrated by Kate Salley Palmer.
• January 1: The Tigers defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 35-10, in Orlando, Florida for a season record of 10-2, 6-1 in conference for the ACC championship. Post-season polls list the Tigers at twelfth in the Associated Press, tenth in the United Press International, and at eleventh in the USA Today. This was Penn State Coach Joe Paterno's worst margin of defeat in a bowl game.
• January 24: Def Leppard perform a live sold out concert at Littlejohn Coliseum as part of their huge world tour for the album Hysteria.
• February 15: A lecture by architect Aldo Rossi is held in Lyles Auditorium, Lee Hall at 8 p.m., sponsored by the College of Architecture, free admission.
• February 17: Drop-in for students interested in the Student Alumni Council is held in the Alumni Center at 7 p.m.
• February 17: Battle of the Bands held in Tillman Hall Auditorium, featuring local bands, 7-11 p.m., $2 admission.
• February 18-February 20: A plant sale is held in 106 Jordan Hall.
• March 14: As part of the Clemson University Centennial activities, the cornerstone of Tillman Hall, laid on July 28, 1891, is carefully removed and a sealed copper time capsule lifted out. In it are several 1891 newspapers, including The State, Greenville News and Charleston News and Courier; an 1851 dime and 1889 Indian head penny; a carpenter's pencil and file; the remains of a half-smoked cigar; and a copy of the finding of the Fourth Circuit Court of Equity in the lawsuit brought by Thomas Green Clemson's grand-daughter, Isabella Lee, against his estate and its executor, Col. R. W. Simpson. Michael Kohl, head of the library's Special Collections unit, supervises opening of the time capsule and catalogues each item as it is removed, but he is disappointed that many of the most interesting items known to have been put in there were not salvageable.

"We would like to have recovered Mr. Clemson's diploma from the Royal School of Mines in Paris, and the biographical sketch he wrote of his father-in-law, John C. Calhoun," Kohl said. "And, of course, I was very interested is [sic] seeing the phrenological chart of Mr. Clemson's head," he added. "That would have been quite something."

Kohl says that the copper capsule was probably damaged by heat and water in fighting the fire which gutted Tillman Hall in 1894. The capsule that will be replaced in Tillman during Cornerstone Weekend in April 1989 will be of a more high-tech design. Gordon Lewis, head of the ceramic engineering department, is consulting with the Centennial Executive Committee on the new capsule's design and composition. Also, Kohl and wood chemist David Hon, a paper-preservation expert, will be asked to serve on an advisory committee to recommend items to be placed in the new time capsule. (Clemson World, June 1988, Volume 41, Number 2, pages 8-9.)

(Editors note: The Clemson diploma from the Royal School of Mines was not in the cornerstone at all. It is currently, as of 2010, in the hands of a private local family collection.)

• April 2: John Calvin Holland, 34, from Laurens, South Carolina, is arrested in connection with an incident March 31, in which he allegedly "hypnotized" and sexually assaulted a male freshman. A composite drawing run by The Tiger leads to his identification and arrest.
• May 30: Two fires break out in Clemson, one at the Fort Hill mansion, and one at the Forest Hills apartments, which kills graduate student Joyce Austin, majoring in Food Science.
• June 14: Two Bishopville brothers are arrested by Clemson city police and charged with murder and arson in connection with fires set May 30 that killed a Clemson graduate student. Alaric Wayne Hunt, 18, and Jason Hugh Dinalt Hunt, 19, each are charged with one count of murder and one count of first-degree arson after a fire at a Forest Hills apartment building took the life of Joyce Austin. The brothers have also been charged with first-degree arson in connection with a nearly simultaneous blaze at Calhoun Mansion. Damage to the mansion was limited to the building's parlor and two exterior walls by automatic sprinklers. Clemson city police believe the fires were intentionally set to divert attention from a burglary at Clemson Jewelers, during which three boxes of rings were taken. City Police Chief Johnson Link said the arrests came as a result of a tip received by authorities from an undisclosed source. (The Tiger, Friday, August 26, 1988, Volume 82, Number 1, page 1, by Andrew Cauthen, news editor.)
• July 1: TD's opens.
• August 21: Winston Wayne Ramsey, a senior English major, is killed when the car in which he was riding strikes a tree early Sunday morning. The driver, Samuel Andrew Welchel, received minor injuries. Ramsey, 20, was associate editor of The Tiger, where he also served as circulation manager and editorial editor. He was a 1985 honor graduate of Summerville High School. While there he was a member of the Beta Club and National Honor Society. (The Tiger, August 26, 1988, page 1.) The Tiger staff dedicates the issue to Ramsey.
• August 23: A Pickens County grand jury indicts John Calvin Holland, on third-degree sexual assault. According to an article by Dean Lollis, assistant news editor, on page one of The Tiger, Friday, August 26, 1988, (Volume 82, Number 1), "Holland, a 34-year old male from Laurens, could be tried as soon as early next week. Public defender Redmond Coyle had asked that charges against Holland be dropped because the solicitor's office had shown no evidence of physical assault or mental coercion was used during the alleged assault. Magistrate John Robinson denied the request. Holland allegedly approached the freshman and told him he was a graduate student.Holland then asked the student if he would participate in an experiment and the student agree [sic]. Holland then "hypnotized" the student by placing pressure on his neck and sexually assaulted him. Holland could be linked to several similar incidents at Presbyterian College in Clinton, and Furman University in Greenville."
• August 23: Frederick Rahn, 46, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, dubbed the "Daniel Flasher" after a series of appearances dating back to 1986, is indicted Tuesday morning by a Pickens County grand jury and charged with indecent exposure and disturbing school, according to James Brummit, chief investigator of the University police department. In an article by Andrew Cauthen, news editor for The Tiger, it is reported that Rahn was tracked down after a victim gave the police his license tag number. Rahn acquired his nickname in September 1987 after appearing to some females who were studying in a Daniel Hall classroom. Rahn has been arrested about one hundred times over a 29-year period for similar incidents, Brummit said, including cases in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Brummit said Rahn is presently receiving psychiatric care. "Rahn says that when he gets the urge to do it (expose himself), he doesn't have control over himself," Brummit said. "He's two people and when the other person takes over he has to go do it." Rahn is under medication that is supposed to keep him from flashing others. Brummit said Rahn told him that the medication does not work and that he will probably be back in Clemson. (The Tiger, Friday, August 26, 1988, Volume 82, Number 1, page 1).
• August 31: The University Computer Center's Division of Consulting and Technical Services opens a new facility, the Micro Center, in the basement of the Plant & Animal Sciences Building. "The Micro Center is not a lab," said Kathy Hunter, information resources consultant. "It offers centrally located and organized microcomputer services." (Lollis, S. Dean, assistant news editor, "New microcomputer center opens", The Tiger, Friday 2 September 1988, Volume 82, Number 2, page 2.)
• August 31: John Calvin Holland pleads no contest to charges of third degree sexual assault in Pickens County Court. He is sentenced to ten years which was suspended to five years probation. He was charged in connection with an incident on March 31, in which he "hypnotized" and sexually assaulted a male student. "As far as Holland is concerned he will be on five years probation with ten years hanging over his head," said Solicitor Joe Babb. "If this isn't enough to stop him, he'll do ten years in jail." As part of his sentence, Holland must stay away from the victims of his attack, receive psychological counseling, and stay off college campuses unless he has permission from probation officers. Holland is linked to similar attacks at Furman University and Presbyterian College and is a former Presbyterian student. (Lollis, S. Dean, assistant news editor, "Holland gets probation", The Tiger, Friday 2 September 1988, Volume 82, Number 2, page 1.)
• September 2: First Friday events held. Parade begins at 6 p.m., starting at Thornhill Village and proceeding to the Outdoor Theatre. A pep rally follows the parade, the crowning of "Miss First Friday" takes place, and a concert sponsored by CDCC featuring rock bands House of Freaks and Love Tractor begins at 8 p.m. (Turner, Cam, staff writer, "First Friday set for tonight", The Tiger, Friday 2 September 1988, Volume 82, Number 2, page 1.)
• September 3: The Tigers, ranked fourth in the A.P. poll, host Virginia Tech, win, 40-7.
• September 5-September 6: The Arnold Air Society sponsors a blood drive in the Palmetto Ballroom, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. All proceeds go to the Shriner's Hospital. ("Coming Up", The Tiger, Friday 2 September 1988, Volume 82, Number 2, page 3.)
• September 10: The third-ranked Tigers defeat Furman at home, 23-3. Clemson last played Furman in football on September 19, 1964.
• September 11: The Tiger holds an election to choose a features editor and an assistant ad manager. ("Coming Up", The Tiger, Friday 2 September 1988, Volume 82, Number 2, page 3.)
• September 17: Ranked third, Clemson hosts Florida State, ranked tenth. Tigers lose, 21-24, after Florida State's Leroy Butler runs to the 4-yard line on the now-infamous "Puntrooskie" . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psu879qOkIo
• September 24: The twelfth-ranked Tigers travel to Atlanta, beat Georgia Tech, 30-13.
• October 8: Eleventh-ranked Clemson defeats Virginia, 10-7, in Charlottesville.
• October 11: Alaric Wayne Hunt, 18, and Jason Hugh Dinalt Hunt, 19, of Bishopville, are sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Clemson graduate student Joyce V. Austin, killed in an arson fire at the Forest Hills apartment building on May 30, 1988. The brothers set the fire, and a second one at Calhoun Mansion, to divert attention from their robbery of Clemson Jewelers.http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/South-Carolina/Pickens-County-SC/Jason-Hugh-Dinalt-Hunt.1246718/details/http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/South-Carolina/Pickens-County-SC/Alaric-Wayne-Hunt.1247344/details/
• October 15: Ranked eleven, Clemson defeats the twenty-second-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 49-17, in Memorial Stadium.
• October 22: Ranked ninth, the Tigers take on the twenty-fourth-ranked N.C. State Wolfpack, losing, 3-10, in Raleigh.
• October 26: Clemson President Max Lennon is elected to the Duke Power Company's board of directors. (Aucoin, Adrienne, staff writer, The Tiger, 4 November 1988, Volume 82, Number 11, page 2.)
• October 29: The fifteenth-ranked Tigers play Wake Forest away, winning, 38-21.
• November: The City of Clemson begins abortive attempt to gain lease of Tiger Town Tavern property. City offices have outgrown the space in the converted Southern Railway depot, and the town management is looking for options. According the Clemson Mayor Larry Abernathy, (later), the city has been contacted by absentee business owner Ernest Willis, of Arlington, Virginia, who offers the city a lease on the building occupied by the "Triple T".
• November 5: Ranked seventeen in the A.P., Clemson defeats North Carolina, 37-14, in Death Valley. The press box in Memorial Stadium is officially named for sports information director Bob Bradley.
• November 12: The sixteenth-ranked Tigers travel to Maryland, winning, 49-25.
• November 19: Fifteenth-ranked Clemson defeats the twenty-fifth-ranked University of South Carolina in Death Valley, 26-10, in front of record crowd of 84,876, which will not be topped until the same match-up on November 19, 1994. Tigers have a 9-2 regular season record, 6-1 in conference, for first place in the ACC.
• December 5-December 10: Exams held.

1987

The 1980's

1989