Continuing our look at Corollas of the past, these two volumes from the 1950s and 1960s are both in Acumen, and they document a rapidly changing student body and new student attitudes.

1959

With the Space Race now underway, the 1959 yearbook editors used imagery of rockets and space to anchor their introduction to the book, as well as to adorn the cover.

But closer to home, the students were still students — and the Corolla could be a little bit bolder about covering their activities:

Lest you think UA was all about football or the Greek system, there were also a lot of artistic endeavors being pursued:

But probably the most important event of the year, even if they didn’t yet know just how important, was Bear Bryant’s first year as coach:

1968

This volume from the late 1960s found UA in the thick of a cultural revolution, reflected in the topics discussed at the Emphasis symposium…and in the protesters outside:

Depending on when the book went into print, Martin Luther King Jr. was either a force to be reckoned with or a recent martyr. Here he is as part of a collage printed in the book:

Fields like engineering were really coming to the forefront:

Unsurprisingly, sports (and color photos!) were a major part of the book:

Our concept of beauty and fashion had changed a bit, seen here in a Corolla Beauty that the 1938 girls would’ve considered scantily clad:

Finally, the student body was also undergoing a change. While African-American students were still few and far between, even five years after the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, they were very much present, like the young man seen here (row two), a pre-med student:

In the next post, we’ll wrap up our look at the Corolla over the years with glimpses of the 1980s and 1990s.