Rockhurst’s Storied History Just a Touch(screen) Away

Sitting on the wall right outside the Learning Commons lies a touchscreen that, for the hundreds of students who pass by daily, gets little attention. Sure, students see the tempting “click here to begin” message call out to them as they walk by, but few heed it. If they did, they would see dozens of yearbooks to flip through, state championship pictures to look at and even celebrities who attended Rockhurst once upon a time.

“I think the board’s super cool,” said junior Calvin Seitel, looking at the touch screen. “I mean…I can click on the board and the board does what I say. Look, I can [even] go to the 1963 newspaper. It’s pretty cool that they have all of this here that I can just sit and look at.”

For the students who do interact with the board the school installed in the Learning Commons in 2017, (along with an identical board down at the Hawklet Center) they can look at almost anything Rockhurst-related imaginable. Once a student clicks past the welcome banner, they can access information about Rockhurst co-curriculars, sports, yearbooks, newspapers, history and senior composites. 

In the sports section, every state championship team is listed (usually with pictures of the winning team) as well as individual state champions and Rockhurst Hall of Fame members. 

The board displays the 60s editions of The Prep News, a time when publication appeared in almost a magazine type format, and Rockhurst was just beginning to transition from Rockhurst University to the current campus on State Line Road. (More old editions of Prep News are planned to post soon, but must be digitized first.)

One page shows a list of celebrities and influential figures who attended Rockhurst High School, ranging from “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis, to current U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Tim Kaine. 

The Rockhurst yearbooks are an especially popular part of the board, as students can access almost any yearbook in Rockhurst’s history, with the exception of a few in the school’s early years. Students can search for their teachers’ freshman yearbook photos, or just try to see what Rockhurst used to look like when their parents or grandparents attended.

“I know when my niece and nephew come, they always come and try and find their dad [in the yearbooks on the board],” said Beth Jerome, assistant director of admissions. “I think it’s mostly geared towards alumni, but I think it’s beneficial to the whole school to kind of have those historical pictures…saved in a digital format so that students can enjoy it too.”

When alumni do come in, usually for class reunions, many take full advantage of the board, with Tim Reidy, archivist and board administrator, saying that, usually, he sees a large spike in the number of active users during that time. 

In September, with mainly student usage, the board saw use about four times a day, for an average of four minutes a session, according to data Reidy provided. Though some believe not many students access or take advantage of the board, the numbers do show that the board does see its own fair share of use. 

“I think it’s very interesting, but I would like to see it be a little bit more updated,” said senior Matthew McLeese, “because when I try to see the new stuff, that’s just not there.”

When a student navigates to the club section on the board, they are greeted by (as of publication) two co-curricular activities here at Rockhurst: Speech and Debate and Theatre. So far, only these two clubs have submitted information to be published, explaining the emptiness the club page might give off. However, the board has the capacity for written text, pictures and even videos club moderators can use to show off and brag about their respective activities, so Reidy encourages club members and moderators to contact him with submissions by email or appointment.

When Rockhurst first installed the board in the Learning Commons and the duplicate one at the Hawklet Center, it was intended to provide a living history of events and the young men passing through Rockhurst’s halls for decades; since its installation, hundreds of students interacted with it, helping fulfill that goal.

The students who pass by the board every day without thinking much of it lose out on an interesting dive into Rockhurst’s past, both far and near. Every trip into a yearbook yields new details or funny photos long forgotten, and every state championship listed brings feelings of pride and a hope to add to that list.

Besides, if you’re going to sit in the Learning Commons all Activity Period or for an hour before school starts, you can probably spare a minute or two to check it out.