When Larry Goulette lived in Shaw Hall in 1973, the world was a different place.
The Vietnam War was close to ending, the Watergate scandal was on the rise and the art of streaking was much more popular than it is today.
“I remember we went through that cafeteria without the benefit of clothing,” said Goulette, an MSU alumnus who now lives in Allen Park. “I had a lot of fun there. Probably too much fun.”
Now, nearly 30 years later, daughter Beth Goulette will be among the 1,000-some students moving back into Shaw after a $12 million, 16-month renovation.
The hall, named for 11th MSU President Robert Shaw, reopened in July.
“It’s really exciting,” Shaw Hall manager Carol Noud said. “The neatest thing about this whole process is talking to all the alumni and hearing about their experiences here.”
The building, designed in a modern style different from the college gothic or Tudor dorms on north campus, cost $3.5 million - nearly a third of the cost to renovate it - to construct.
Renovations to the building include the installation of a sprinkler system, new flooring, painting and new furniture for the dorm rooms. The new beds can be adjusted to several heights, allowing students to create lofts without replacing the existing furniture.
The dorm’s community bathrooms were completely gutted and remodeled with shower-changing stalls, lockers, a garbage disposal and even a television.
“We spent over $12 million. We certainly could have spent more,” Noud said. “We just picked and chose what was the most beneficial to the students.”
During Shaw Hall’s 53-year history, numerous political figures and well-known people have lived within its walls while studying at the university. Teamsters union President James Hoffa Jr., the son of former Teamsters President James R. Hoffa, who disappeared mysteriously in 1975, Gov. John Engler and MSU President M. Peter McPherson lived in the dorm while students.
But it wasn’t the famous people who once lived there who led Beth Goulette to sign up to live in Shaw Hall. Instead, the Spanish sophomore picked it for its central location - and her father’s stories.
Larry Goulette said Shaw has drastically changed from how he remembered it in the early ’70s.
“It’s much cleaner,” he said. “When I lived there - ever seen the movie ‘Animal House’? - that was what it was like.
“It was extremely wild. Every weekend there was a party - not a lot of serious studying was going on there, I’ll tell you that.”
But despite his own time in Shaw Hall, Goulette said he hopes his daughter doesn’t follow exactly in his footsteps - especially the naked, barefoot runs.
“She better not,” he said. “Or if she does - I don’t want to hear about it.”
