SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — Some students in San Diego County are heading back to school soon, while others started the new school year weeks ago.
While parents do back-to-school shopping and students of all ages get ready to hit the books, we dove into the News 8 archives to see what back to school preparations and first days looked like in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
Take a step back in time for this back-to-school throwback.
In late August of 1978, News 8 reporter Judy Elfenbein featured back to school shopping at University Towne Center mall near La Jolla. Mall employees commented that with the “loosening of school dress codes” they were seeing more sales of jeans and t-shirts. Judy also showcased the evolution of the school binder from a simple blue binder to a “data center” and finally a binder with a backgammon cover that “must be for the student who’s tired of sleeping through study hall.”
To view on YouTube, click here.
In the fall of 1980 students headed to San Diego State University for the start of a new semester. News 8's Loren Nancarrow looked at some of what hadn't changed since previous years; freshman remained lost and confused: parking was still a pain and the fashion on campus proved that styles remained the same, "skimpy is still better." News 8’s John Culea also reported from SDSU where a professor stated that 1 in 4 students wanted to be a business major. The result was an abundance of students trying to crash classes, with one noting that he had been bringing his beach chair to an overcrowded classroom. The boom in business majors was attributed many factors including the fact that the number of women taking business courses had doubled since 10 years prior.
To view on YouTube, click here.
Scripps Ranch High School opened its doors to students for the first time on Sept. 7, 1993 and News 8’s Lorraine Kimel was there to capture the excitement. Dean of Students Barry Owen got fancy for the occasion wearing a dress shirt and bow tie – even while directing traffic. Two years in the making, the school was the first new campus in the district in more than a decade. The school implemented a college-like system where student chose from four career paths or majors.
To view on YouTube, click here.
Click here to see more News 8 Throwback videos.
For more back to school fun - in more recent times - click the links below:
More News 8 Throwback stories:
