William “Bill” Harris ’65, G’79 is all about doing the greatest good for the greatest number. So, when he considered joining a student organization, the Syracuse native carefully weighed his options.
With their signature straw hats and Jiminy Cricket buttons, Goons were easy to spot in the 1960s and ’70s. (University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
“I was a member of Phi Gamma Delta at Syracuse University, where many of my brothers also belonged to the Goon Squad,” recalls Harris some 65 years later. “Despite their unusual name, the Goons had a reputation for helping others, particularly new students on move-in day.”
That many of his brothers-turned-Goons played varsity lacrosse or were on the Orange’s 1959 national championship football team made for memorable moments. “They were a fun bunch of guys,” says Harris, who taught low brass in the Setnor School of Music for more than 50 years. “I’ve kept in touch with many of them.”
As far as campus traditions go, the 80-year-old Goon Squad is one of the University’s oldest. The group also is a perpetual work in progress, explains Harris, who was a Goon for a year. “The squad has changed a lot over time, but underneath it all is a sense of pride and enthusiasm that never goes away.”
United by Enthusiasm
The Goon Squad is Syracuse’s official welcoming committee—a tradition that’s as enduring as No. 44, Otto the Orange and the Crouse Chimes.
Because they help new students on move-in day, Goons are among the University’s most coveted ambassadors. “They’re our front line,” says Butch Hallmark, director of New Student and Transition Programs. “Goons facilitate incoming students’ transition to college. They make the experience as fun and worry-free as possible.”
“Goons are united by their love of Syracuse and wish to pay it forward,” says the group’s historian, Carrie Abbott G’03.
Carrie Abbott G’03 agrees. As the Goons’ historian and former director, she considers the 400-member squad, which represents 40 student organizations, a signature part of the Orange experience.
“Goons are united by their love of Syracuse and wish to pay it forward,” says Abbott, noting that Goon Squad members strive to make new students feel as welcome as they were. “Their collective desire to greet new students and their supporters, ease anxiety, and provide advice and guidance embodies 80 years of students helping other students.”
The Goon Squad comprises more than 400 members, representing 40 student organizations.
The Goon Squad is rooted in a tradition that’s almost as old as the University itself. According to a student handbook from the 1890s, new students were required to wear soft orange caps, or beanies, during their first semester on campus.
In 1944, the Traditions Commission established the Goon Squad to enforce the so-called beanie code. “Goons made sure that new students also tipped their beanies to and held doors open for older students,” Abbott continues.
While beanies eventually went out of style, the Goon Squad did not. “We began taking on a more supportive role,” says Harris, who later co-chaired the Traditions Commission, which handpicked Goon volunteers. “I’m proud of what we’ve become.”
Forging Friendships
“Boy, that was a long time ago—ancient days,” says Rabbi Robert Kravitz ’69 of his Goon Squad experience.
He marvels at the difference in appearance between today’s Goons and those of his youth. Flat-brimmed straw hats and orange Jiminy Cricket buttons—the Disney character was then the squad’s mascot—have been supplanted by custom T-shirts and durable fanny packs. “I maintained my straw skimmer [hat] until it fell apart before my 50th reunion,” says Kravitz, laughing.
Members of the Goon Squad, c. 1972. (University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
His time at Syracuse marked a golden age of academia, with student enrollment skyrocketing. Organizations like the Goon Squad helped make campus life more desirable. Kravitz found himself planning homecoming activities, organizing The Goon Show talent contest and leading cheers at home sporting events.
Lifelong friendships were also forged, like the one between Interfraternity Council leader Jon “Jack” Eberenz and track and field letterwinner Ron Brzezinski, both members of the Class of 1964. “Those [Goon Squad] relationships gave me the confidence to serve on the senior executive council and chair the greatest senior ball that Syracuse ever had,” Eberenz says proudly.
Brzezinski, who later joined the Traditions Commission, echoes these sentiments. He remembers dancing the can-can with Eberenz at The Goon Show (which later evolved into The Slice Is Right quiz program) and organizing animated pep rallies.
The senior class president also befriended fellow Goon Linda Menaker ’64, who became class vice president and the “love of his life” for 57 years—the second such marriage in Syracuse history between student leaders. “So many memories,” Brzezinski says with a trace of emotion.
Cultivating Leadership
Morgan Opp ’25 is a second-year Goon majoring in biology and chemistry. Of all the perks of membership, none is greater than belonging to a close-knit, welcoming community, she says. “I’m part of an ongoing legacy.”
In addition to expanding her social circle, Opp uses the Goon Squad to cultivate leadership skills like critical thinking, creative problem solving and effective communication.
She invariably fields lots of questions: What if I don’t like my roommate? How do I make friends? How do I meet other students on my floor? Opp responds by encouraging new students to be themselves and say hi to someone new every day. “It’s super-cliché advice, but it works.”
Parents and alumni agree that the Goon Squad is in the student-satisfaction business. “Goons provide peace of mind,” Rockette Brunetti ’70 says.
Not too different from what Alicia Calagiovanni ’74, L’77, G’85 encountered some 50 years ago. Arriving on campus, she was nervous, and it showed. “The Goon Squad tempered the anxiety of my transition to college life,” she says.
So impressed was Calagiovanni with her move-in experience that the beneficiary became the benefactor. “I decided to pay it forward.” A year later, Calagiovanni was wearing a straw hat, an orange button and an ear-to-ear smile.
The Goon Squad is often students’ first brush with leadership, Hallmark explains. “We try to launch them into their next opportunity,” he says, noting that many Goons become orientation leaders, resident advisors, and Goldwater and Remembrance scholars. “Goons are empowered to be authentic, to share their stories, to network, and to relieve some of the anxiety that new students, families and supporters encounter during move-in.”
As a result, Goons see it all. The oppressive heat and humidity. The sudden, unexpected rainstorms. Tear-filled parents. Students who overpack.
Rockette Brunetti ’70, daughter of Syracuse football coaching legend Rocco Pirro, volunteers every fall for move-in day—partly because she loves the Orange, partly because she understands the anxiety of going away to college. That’s when small acts can make a big difference, she admits.
“The Goons do more than help with move-in; they provide peace of mind,” says Brunetti, who joined the Goon Squad in 1966 and never left. “Then and now, they’ve been a calming presence to students and parents. The Goons remind us that everything is going to be OK.”
