Syracuse’s Goon Squad: Photos Capture Decades of Move-in Day Help
Explore the beloved University tradition that sees student volunteers hauling boxes, welcoming nervous first years and hyping up families on campus across generations.
The Goon Squad has assisted first-year students adjusting to college life on campus during Welcome Week and spreading school spirit since the 1940s. One of several beloved campus traditions, the student volunteers helping out on move-in day has become a signature part of the Orange experience.
Below, find pictures of the Goon Squad and its memorabilia through the years, all from the Syracuse University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries.
The Goon Squad helps first year students move in on opening day, September 1974. (Photo from the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)A Goon Squad member with a rag doll in the 1980s (Photo from the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)Goon Squad members helping first-year students move into their dorms in 2013. (Photo by Stephen Sartori, from the Syracuse University Photo and Imaging Collection)A 1953 Goon Squad button (from the Syracuse University Memorabilia Collection)Goon Squad members in 1956A Goon Squad member moves a full cart during move-in, circa 1980s. (From the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)A Goon Squad hat worn by Pamela B. Baumgartner Luchsinger ’67, circa 1964-1967. (From the John F. and Pamela B. Baumgartner Luchsinger Memorabilia Collection)A member of the Goon Squad holding a box of items on Opening Day in 1968. (From the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)A Goon Squad member in 1959The Goon Squad helping first-year students move into Shaw Hall in 1971. (From the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)The Goon Squad poses in front of the Goon Stop Information booth on Opening Day in August 1972. (From the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)Goon Squad members assist with move-in in the 1980s.Goon Squad members at work in 1970.A Goon Squad member helps out in 1979.Goon Squad ride in a Jeep with a “Goon Squad Trouble Shooters” sign in August 1972. (Photo by Jim Blick, from the Syracuse University Photograph Collection)The Goon Squad performing in 1979.
