Spring Break: Throwback Thursday by: Brett Briggeman

Spring Break is right around the corner at Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) and marks the halfway point of the semester. Many of us are ready for the break and are looking forward to whatever activities we may have ahead of us, from mission trips to spending time with loved ones, to studying and preparing for the rest of the semester. This sentiment has stayed true throughout the history of our school, and the Cowboys of the 1980s were no exception. 

“Folks this mornin’ been goin’ to class with books in one hand and a suitcase in the other,” Greg Jaklewicz wrote in the March 14, 1980 issue from the HSU Brand. “Abilene sure’ll be lookin’ fine in that rearview mirror.” 

Jaklewicz writes that he left a day early for spring break to go watch the HSU Cowboys baseball team play the Texas Longhorns down in Austin. 

“I’m taking my break a day early,” Jaklewicz wrote. “Ashby, David Khale, Sarge, the Fish and I are hittin’ the road this afternoon for Austin to watch the Cowboys and Longhorns play a little baseball. The Cowboys probably’ll sweep the ‘Horns with McLeod and Richard hurlin.’ Is HSU tough? Ask them to play baseball in Aggieland? Anyways, we’ll have things covered in the stands.”

Jaklewicz also focuses on how students are taking homework with them on their break, while sharing parts of his story of being in his final senior semester. 

“What happened to havin’ all your tests before the break and getting them out of the way?” Jaklewicz writes. “Looking at the spring semester from the senior sides of things, it’s tough trying to finish up… As you might be able to tell, I’ve caught a classic case of senioritis. But, hey, I deserve it. After four years of books and term papers and projects and book reviews and labs and cafeteria food and arguing about my bill and cold showers and everything else, I can’t take it anymore!”

Jaklewicz ends the column with a concise and clear message, encouraging students to have fun and to stay safe on their travels. 

“Seriously, everybody,” Jaklewicz writes, “have a nice spring break and be safe too and from!”

We here at the Brand leave you with the same encouragement. Enjoy your spring break, you have earned it. And to our seniors, you are almost there, just keep at it and the end is soon enough. 

Note: Greg Jaklewicz would later become editor of the Abilene Reporter-News.

The HSU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 21, Ed. 1, Friday, March 14, 1980, newspaper, March 14, 1980; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth98958/m1/2/?q=Spring%20Break: accessed February 27, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.