Soaps Take Over the College Campus - 1982 article

[DRW50]

WHY THIS PHENOMENON?

By DARLENE ARDEN

BOSTON UNIVERSITY:

At the back of the cafeteria in the George Sherman Student Union building is a section called The Pub where there are two televisions, one giant screen and one small screen, both tuned to the soaps at lunch time. Sitting at tables having lunch and watching the soaps seems to be a favorite way of passing free time for the students. We asked four of the students, "Why this phenomenon?"

Bill Nocera from Stony Point, New York, is a grad student whose major is Educational Leadership/Educational Administration: "I think sort of the adventure of the soaps. It's not really a true characteristic of life - some of the things that these people go through, but being such outlandish, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic string of events that happen to the soap opera characters. I think people watch them because it's just fun, good entertainment. I enjoy it for that purpose. Some of my favorite characters on this particular one ["All My Children"] are the funny characters who have the most bizarre things happen to them. On this particular soap that we're just watching, Opal is my favorite, she's so funny, out of this world, bizarre...I enjoy it for that reason, it's funny, it's good."

David Harper from New York City is an Engineering major: "It gives the student something to do in between classes and not that many students go to the library when they have an hour break, so it kills time. Watch a little of a soap and then you get addicted to it because you have it every day. Basically everybody has an hour break here and there, so they watch and it becomes habit-forming. I'm just here whenever a soap is on. I usually have a lunch break between twelve and one and the soap's already on there so I just come, eat my lunch and watch it."

Julie Sutton from San Francisco, California, is a Business Management major: "I've been watching it ever since I started college...I've been watching soap opera for four years! Everybody just always hung out in front of the TV years and years ago, so I've just stuck with it."

Sherry Skidd from Wilton, Connecticut, is a Business Management major. She was sharing a booth with Julie Sutton, right in front of the TV. "She sort of got me started," Sherry said of Julie. "But watching it is sort of exciting. It's like living someone else's life, you know. My love life isn't that exciting, so watching this is sort of a dream, you know," she laughed. "Plus procrastination from doing work, homework, that's our favorite reason, "she laughed. By the way, Sherry said that her favorite soap is "The Guiding Light" while Julie listed "All My Children" and "General Hospital" as her favorites.

M.I.T.:

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the students can be found watching the soaps in the lounge on the third floor of the Student Union Building. Some bring their lunches. All are gathered in front of a giant television screen in the darkened room. "General Hospital" brought more students into the room and there's a wonderful feeling of camaraderie as the students laugh at the same scenes, enjoying all the humorous moments to the fullest. I was able to talk with them only during the commercial breaks, and asked the same question.

Diana Murrell from Miami, Florida is a Computer Science major. "I don't know. I think a lot of people start watching it when they're in high school. I know I've been watching for five years now. 'General Hospital' is sort of larger than life, it's like what James Bond did to spy movies. It's entertainment." Does she always manage to catch GH? "Yes, whenever I can, just 'General Hospital.' I watch some of the others occasionally but GH, I mean, if I'm not home I'll tape it or something, so I can see it later. Everyone I know watches it," she laughed.

Satish Nanapurkar is from San Antonio, Texas. His major is Computer Science. "'General Hospital' I think can relate to the younger crowd very well. I know personally that my mother used to watch the soaps on NBC a lot and I had to watch them with her because there was no other television," he laughed. "I couldn't stand them and I still don't like them at all but when I heard this phenomenon with 'General Hospital' - I wanted to try it myself, just to see what it was like, and it was entertaining, and it just appealed to the younger crowd, and it moved fast." How long has he been watching? "Now it's about a month and a half, two months but I try not to miss it at all. I watched almost every day during Christmas. We had a long Christmas vacation, a month and a half, and that's when I started. I was at home and had nothing to do, so I started watching and I've watched ever since. It is entertaining and it's a good way to just get away from everything for a while."

Karen Edwards from New York City is a Chemical Engineering major. "I don't know. Like a lot of times I don't have any classes between one o'clock and three o'clock and I guess I just started coming in, and sitting down to eat my lunch and watch it. I just get hooked on all the different stories that are going on, and I kind of get involved in the characters and then you have to see what's going to happen next. Some of them are pretty funny, too. You come to really enjoy them and people talk about them with each other, and it's good relaxation, like this continuing drama." She watches "All My Children" and "General Hospital."

Linda Maxwell is from San Ramon, California. Her major is Electrical Engineering. "I don't know. I just come and watch them because I've watched them for like six or seven years and this is the best place to watch TV. So I don't know, they just caught on I guess. There's nothing else to do, it lets time pass when you don't have anything doing. I skip them like three months at a time, it's whenever I just have time to come in and watch and catch up, because you can miss a month of it or more and you'd still know exactly what's going on, they never move."

[quartermainefan]

I remember watching AMC and GH at the common TV area in the student union. Dozens of people all screaming at the TV til you couldn't actually hear the show, but it made the soaps more fun.

[DRW50]

That sounds great. I imagine the soaps in some ways could have been like a Rocky Horror back then, as they were often quirky and fun (especially the ABC soaps).

[quartermainefan]

well they were. Not to sound too sexist, but you put a bunch of girls together and there is going to be a lot of screaming and laughing. It feeds on itself. Now you throw in Dorothy Lyman's Opal Gardner and Phoebe Wallingford and you have a potential riot on your hands! It was the best way to watch soaps, and made better because back then the soaps tried to be fun.

[SFK]

That does sound like a lot of fun quartermainefan. When I was in college, most people watched TV in their own rooms and it was more "ironic chic" for all sexes and sexualities to watch Golden Girls reruns on Lifetime opposed to the stories.

I wish I could remember his name, but at WoST there was a user who shared a piece he'd done in college, University of Alabama I believe, where students were interviewed about their soap watching habits before he did a sit down interview with Robin Strasser and Candace Earley who were doing one of those ABC soap tours. It was a good piece.

[SFK]

DP

[Soaplovers]

When I was in college in the late 90's/early 2000's, most everyone watched tv in their own places. However, The one's people watched were Days, Passions, and GH. Everyone in college watched soaps but where I went to college, we had several different affiliates that our college had.

[quartermainefan]

I actually knew this kid, he was a college wrestler and a friend of the family, and he was an avid Passions watcher and as straight and jock as can be. He loved the ape. He used to like to make fun of the fact they were named Lopez-Fitzgerald, and he liked the witch and the little guy and the nerd in geek glasses.

[All My Shadows]

There's a small restaurant in our student union with a big screen TV, and the ladies who work there always have it tuned to CBS, so every now and then, my friend and I go in and I try to explain Y&R to her. Well, I used to when I had a clue about Y&R... It's sad because the other students just talk over it/ignore it. I guess that's to be expected, but IDK, reading this article kinda makes me wish soaps still had the power to gather people around the television.