text:
Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The 1338 acre main academic and residential campus is 15 mi south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the natural and social sciences, education, arts, business, health and wellness, humanities and applied technologies. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education. The university has developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public research university. It is a part of University System of Ohio and currently classified as R2: Doctoral Universities with high research activity

In 2019, Bowling Green offered over 200 undergraduate programs, as well as master's and doctoral degrees through eight academic colleges. BGSU had an on-campus residential student population of approximately 6,000 students and a total enrollment of over 19,000 students. The university also maintains a satellite campus, known as BGSU Firelands, in Huron, Ohio, 60 mi east of the main campus. Although the majority of students attend classes on BGSU's main campus, about 2,000 students attend classes at Firelands and about 600 additional students attend online. About 85% of Bowling Green's students are from Ohio.

The university hosts an extensive student life program, with over 300 student organizations. Fielding athletic teams known as Bowling Green Falcons, the university competes at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference in all sports except ice hockey, in which the university is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Background
The movement for a public high learning institution in northwestern Ohio began in the late 1800s as part of the growth in public institutions during the Progressive Era to meet demands for training and professional development of teachers. During the period, people of northwestern Ohio campaigned for a school in their region to produce better quality education and educators. The movement argued that the existing universities, Ohio State University in Columbus, Miami University in Oxford and Ohio University in Athens, were distant and the region lacked a state-supported school of its own.

Lowry Bill
In 1910, the Ohio General Assembly passed the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized Governor Judson Harmon to appoint the Commission on Normal School Sites to survey forty communities for two sites for normal schools, one in northeastern Ohio and one in northwestern Ohio. The commission examined population within a 25 mi radius of each community, along with railroad and transportation infrastructure, the moral atmosphere, health and sanitary conditions and site suitability.

Bowling Green offered four possible sites and became one of four finalists including Fremont, Napoleon, and Van Wert. Despite the town being the home of John Lowry, Napoleon was ruled out because the commission found it had numerous saloons. Fremont was eliminated mainly due to the specific stipulations imposed by the President Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Commission. Bowling Green was chosen on November 10, 1910, over Van Wert in a 3–2 vote by the commission. The site located on 82.5 acre of primarily rural land and a small town park, nearby railroad and transportation infrastructure, its central location in the region, and Bowling Green's dry status were major factors that the town was chosen by the commission. At the same time, the commission chose Kent for a school in Northeastern Ohio. Over the years 1911 and 1912, the board of trustees was appointed by the Governor and elected a school president on February 16, 1912. A campus plan was created and $150,000 was appropriated to develop the campus and construct the first buildings.

Founding
The school opened on September 15, 1914, as Bowling Green State Normal School in two temporary locations at the Bowling Green Armory and at a branch school in Toledo for the 1914–1915 academic year. The first honorary organization of the college, the Book and Motor was conceived around this time. It initially enrolled 304 students from Ohio, Michigan, and New York who were taught by 21 faculty members. The school graduated its first class in 1915, consisting of 35 certified teachers. University Hall and Williams Hall opened that year, the school's first two permanent buildings. Two years later the first baccalaureate degrees for teacher education were awarded. The university began to invite notable guests to campus during the 1917–1918 semester, including the Zoellner Quartet, and the Ben Greet Shakespearean Players.

On March 28, 1920, a tornado, part of the 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, damaged three of the school's buildings. The tornado touched down near Bowling Green and strengthened as it moved into Ottawa County where it killed two people in Genoa.

Early expansion
Over the next decade the school expanded academic facilities, athletics and student life, as enrollment grew to over 900 students. On October 28, 1927, Ivan "Doc" Lake, a BGSU graduate and sports editor of the Daily Sentinel-Tribune, established the nickname "Falcons". Lake thought the nickname fit with the school's colors. Prior to "Falcons," sports writers used various other names, including: "B.G. Normals", "Teachers", and the "B.G. Pedagogues". The school achieved the status of college in 1929 when the Emmons-Hanna Bill renamed it to Bowling Green State College (BGSC). At the same time, the college expanded its curriculum through the addition of the College of Liberal Arts, now known as the College of Arts and Sciences.

Great Depression
Enrollment levels held steady into the Great Depression, with enrollment surpassing 1,000 for the first time in 1931. However, in 1933, the Ohio State Senate Welfare Commission proposed a plan to convert the school into a mental health institution. Students, faculty and administrators organized with the Bowling Green community to counter the proposal. The Student Protest Committee coordinated with the faculty and administration to organize a campus rally and march through the downtown Bowling Green. Members of the Protest Committee then launched a letter-writing campaign to community leaders throughout northwest Ohio, which helped convince the state legislature that closing the school would be counterproductive. The measure was defeated by a 14–5 vote. A few years later, in May 1935, the college was granted university status and changed its name to Bowling Green State University. The university added the College of Business Administration to the existing College of Education and College of Liberal Arts. Within a year BGSU added master's degree programs in Education, English, History, Social Science and Mathematics. In 1938 the university adopted an official tenure policy. In 1939 the university began training pilots, led by instructor Mike Murphy at the Findlay Airport. In 1939, the university established The Committee for Gifts, Endowments, and Memorials, its first private endowment fund.

World War II
The 1940s, including World War II and its aftermath, brought big changes to BGSU. The war caused a drastic decrease in male enrollment and by 1943, the university canceled dances and formals, citing the lack of male students.

The university continued expanding facilities including its first student union, The Falcon's Nest, and new cottage-style dorms for social groups and learning-living communities, and dedication of the Wood County airport. Bowling Green was one of 240 colleges and universities to take part in the V-5 and V-12 Navy College Training Programs to supplement the lower enrollment during the war. The programs offered students a path to a Navy commission, enrolling cadets in regular college courses as well as naval training. Faculty were added to accommodate the military training programs.

Student life adapted to the wartime era with efforts such as the War Relief Committee, blood drives and War Bonds initiatives. In December 1942 Sherwood Eddy spoke on campus on topics relating to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. In July 1944 the university was selected by officials at Camp Perry as a potential temporary prisoner of war camp.

Post-war era expansion
In the post-war era, BGSU constructed temporary structures to keep up with the increased housing demands for veterans and their families. BGSU added 40 trailers to house male and married students in 1945, known as "Falcon Heights". In 1946, the university added 15 steel buildings to house male students in an area near the football stadium that became known as "Tin Pan Alley". By the late 1940s, the student house shortage became so severe that the nearby National Guard Armory and ODOT garage were converted to house male students.

The Federal Housing Authority provided two wooden barracks, ten trailers, and more steel buildings. The BGSU Army ROTC was established on campus in 1948 as enrollment increased dramatically in the post war era. The university continued to add academic programs as the enrollment increased during the mid to late 1940s, including the Graduate School in 1948 after Dr. Emerson Shuck led the effort to create school. In 1948 the university hosted the world premiere of the last play by Lennox Robinson, The Lucky Finger. By 1950, enrollment grew to new record highs, with over 5,000 students.

1951 saw major changes when Ralph W. McDonald was appointed the fourth president in school history, following the retirement of Frank Prout. McDonald was the first university president from outside Ohio and came to BGSU with a focus on improving teacher education and certification standards. Prior to becoming president, he served as the Executive Secretary of the Department of Higher Education of the National Education Association for seven years. Under McDonald, BGSU reorganized its three colleges to group common departments together within each college. Reflecting the Cold War era, BGSU added an Air Force ROTC program and a Department of Air Science and Tactics. BGSU continued to add programs and in the early 1950s added a Master of Education (M.Ed.) and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Education. The university constructed new residence halls during the decade, Prout Hall in 1955 and Founders Quadrangle in 1957. The new student center opened in 1958. In the years 2012–2014, the residence hall was renovated and remodeled.

1960–1990
The College of Education experienced rapid growth and expansion during the 1960s when the university added various specialized education programs, including majors in special education, school psychology, guidance and counseling and vocational rehabilitation counseling. It expanded arts and music programs when the music department became the College of Education's first "school", renamed the School of Music in 1961. Specializations in guidance and counseling were added to the Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees in 1964; as well as a new department for teaching college administration. By 1965, BGSU's College of Education enrolled 5,470 students and was ranked the 16th largest producer of teachers in the United States. The university added new academic, administrative, and athletic facilities during the 1960s. Memorial Hall, later known as Anderson Arena, opened in 1960.

The new Administration Building opened in 1964 and the William T. Jerome Library opened in 1967. Student activism became common in the 1960s, reflecting the various social and political events of the time period. Vietnam War protests were common in downtown Bowling Green and on campus.

In 1969, a Black Student Union formed to encourage unity, scholarship, leadership, culture and political awareness of African Americans students. The majority of student activism at BGSU was peaceful and Bowling Green was the only public college or university in Ohio to reopen in the spring of 1970, following the Kent State shootings during anti-war protests. Bowling Green added two colleges in the early 1970s when the College of Health and Human Services opened in 1973 and the School of Music was elevated to the College of Musical Arts in 1975.

In addition to the new colleges, the BGSU Popular Culture Center opened in 1970 as one of the first pop culture centers in the United States. In 1978, the university established the University Honors Program.

Throughout the 1970s construction continued, starting with the Mathematical Sciences Building, followed by the Offenhauer Towers in 1971 and Industrial Education & Technology Building in 1972. The Business Building and the Industrial Arts Building opened in 1973 and University Hall received renovations in 1974 that included new seating, an improved sound system, and air conditioning in the auditorium. In 1979, the Student Recreation Center and the Moore Musical Arts Center opened. In 1970, the Board of Trustees ended an alcoholic beverage ban on campus. The Cardinal Room, an on-campus eatery, began serving beer. A growing trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s was the development of large apartment complexes adjacent to campus.

By the 1970s approximately 4,000 students lived in private, off-campus housing. On campus, Darrow Hall became the first co-ed residence hall in 1972 with men and women inhabiting alternating floors.

In 1981, the university hosted Xing-Fang Olu, a geneticist from Fudan University to study cytogenetics, and sent its own Jong Sik Yoon to teach at Fudan in return. This was the first such exchange in Ohio since the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1984, ties were strengthened with Fudan University, along with then Xi'an Foreign Language Institute, following a visit to china by university president Olscamp, and establishment of more regular exchange programs.

The School of Technology was given college status in 1985 and renamed the College of Technology. The university expanded many of the technology and science facilities during the 1980s, including constructing the Planetarium and Physical Sciences Building. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the seventh president or president-elect to visit the university after Warren G. Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford.

1990–2008

During the 1990s the university renovated and constructed many buildings.

In 1993, the Electric Vehicle Institute of the College of Technology began working on an electric race-car known as the Electric Falcon, and had it racing by 1994. The vehicle used a liquid cooled 255 horsepower three phase AC induction motor and reached a top speed of 140 mph. The vehicle was donated to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in 2010.

In 1996, student government elections began allowing for Electronic voting over the internet.

In 2006, the university established an electro-mechanical systems technology program.

2008–2019

The Stroh Center, a 5,000-seat arena to replace the aging Anderson Arena, opened in 2011, hosting basketball and volleyball in addition to graduation ceremonies, concerts, and other events.

In 2009, the university began construction on the Wolfe Center for the Arts. The 93000 sqft facility opened in 2011 with performance space, as well as work and classroom areas for art studies of the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the College of Musical Arts. That same year, BGSU built a $40 million residence hall project that included two new residence halls, one a traditional-style dorm and a second suite-style for upperclassmen. The residence hall project added more than 800 beds. In the fall of 2011, BGSU opened The Oaks dining hall.

The Oaks was constructed with sustainable designs that included a hybrid solar and wind power system to fulfill Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an electric-powered truck to distribute food on campus, and a rooftop garden. The building used sustainable and recycled construction materials.

In Fall of 2016 the university began offering a degree in Mechatronics engineering. In 2016 and 2017, three major renovations were complete to three original campus building, totaling about $70 million. The former South Hall was re-opened in fall 2016 after undergoing a $24 million renovation and renaming to The Michael and Sarah Kuhlin Center. The building is home to BGSU's School of Media and Communications. Following a $25 million renovation and restoration, University Hall re-opened in Fall 2017. It was originally built in 1915 as one of the first buildings on campus. Today, University Hall houses the Office of Admissions, classrooms and active learning spaces. Also, in Fall 2017, Moseley Hall reopened, following a $21 million restoration and renovation. Moseley Hall, built in 1916, originally housed the university's agricultural science program. Today, it features technologically advanced laboratories for chemistry, biology, geology, and medical lab science.

In January 2019, the university began offering a winter session, with an enrollment of at least 1,000 students. In November 2019 the Computer Science Department celebrated its 50th anniversary, with former Stanford University Computer Science chair Dr. Alex Aiken and Dr. David Fulton giving speeches.

2020–present
In June 2020 the College of Health and Human Services created two schools, a school of Nursing, and a school of Physical Therapy. In July 2020 the College of Business became the first named college on campus when it was renamed to the Allan and Carol Schmidthorst College of Business following a 15 million dollar donation. The renaming coincided with the moving to the College of Business from the Business Administration Building to the new Maurer Center, a $44.2 million structure built onto the former Hanna Hall.

Bowling Green
The main academic and residential campus is located on the northeast side of Bowling Green. The campus is arranged in a rectangle roughly 1.5 mi long and 1 mi wide. It includes over 116 buildings on 1338 acre. The campus is bordered by Wooster Street to the south, Thurstin Avenue to the west, Poe Road to the north, and I-75 to the east. The university also owns buildings and parking lots throughout Bowling Green and the Bowling Green Research Enterprise Park just east of I-75. Ridge Street and East Merry Street run east–west through campus and Mercer Street bisects campus on a north–south axis.

Old Campus
The oldest portion of the BGSU campus is located in the southwest corner and hosts the original campus buildings. This area offers green space with large trees and historic buildings built in the early 1900s. Administrative services and classrooms occupy these buildings. Although not part of the historic section, Founders Hall, a large dorm, is located on the Southwest corner. Hanna Hall housed "The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater and Gallery" prior to its renovation as the Maurer Center. Dedicated to BGSU in 1976, it features early film memorabilia and highlights the careers of both Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish. The theater was renovated and rededicated in 1990. It seated 168 and was home to Tuesdays at the Gish, an International Film Series, and a Sunday Matinee Series, which were free and open to the community. On May 3, 2019, the trustees voted to remove the Gish name from the theatre following calls to do so from the Black Student Union and a subsequent task force report, which found that naming the theatre after Lillian Gish created a "non-inclusive learning environment" due to her involvement with The Birth of a Nation.

Mike Kaplan, co-producer of The Whales of August (1987), Lillian Gish's final film, circulated a petition urging Bowling Green State University to restore the names of the Gish sisters to the film theater. The protest was signed by over 50 film industry figures, including actors Dame Helen Mirren, James Earl Jones, Malcolm McDowell, and Lauren Hutton, and directors George Stevens Jr., Peter Bogdanovich, Bertrand Tavernier, Joe Dante, and Martin Scorsese.

Science Research Complex
The Science Research Complex is located on the northwest side of campus. The buildings of the science research complex were built in the mid-60s. They include Mathematical Science, Life Science, Psychology, Physical Science, and Technology (engineering). The Geology, Chemistry and Earth Science departments are located in Overman Hall.

Student life facilities
Three large residence halls occupy the western edge of campus. Offenhauer Towers consist of a ten-story and an eleven-story tower, connected by a first-floor lobby. Offenhauer shelters a small convenience store. McDonald Hall houses over 1,200 students. The western edge hosts The Oaks, an eco-friendly dining facility. Falcon Heights, a new residence hall, was added in 2011 across from Offenhauer Towers.

The Bowen-Thompson Student Union opened in 2002 in the west-central part of campus. It houses eateries including The Falcon's Nest food court, Starbucks and The Black Swamp Pub. Other facilities include Falcon Outfitters, convenience store, computer labs, meeting rooms, a 250-seat movie theater, ballrooms, and various student lounges.

Central Campus features large lecture halls and classroom buildings. One of the most prominent is the 95,000 sqft Olscamp Hall, which contains 28 classrooms and lecture halls capable of seating a total of 2,000 students. Others include Business Administration, Education, Math/Science and the Eppler Complex, home to the Sport Management department. Anderson Arena is a 5,000-seat arena, current home for BGSU women's gymnastics and former home of BGSU men's and women's basketball and volleyball. Memorial Hall is connected to Anderson and houses the college's ROTC programs. Jerome Library is the main library on campus and the second tallest building at nine stories. Conklin North is another residence hall in the central portion of campus. Oak Grove Cemetery is located in the north-central portion of campus. Bowling Green State University opened the Falcon health center in 2013, after demolishing the Popular Culture building in 2012. The Falcon Health Center is located across Wooster Street from the Education Building. The Health and Human Services building is located near the Library.

The BGSU campus police station as well as counseling services are located in the College Park Office Building on the southern edge. Kohl Hall is a dormitory exclusive to members of the Chapman Learning Community, Partners in Context and Community for Urban Educators. A new, predominantly freshman dormitory known as Centennial Hall was established in 2011 and is adjacent to the Carillon Place Dining facility. The southern edge hosts on-campus fraternity and sorority houses.

Nearby is the Kreischer Quadrangle and the Alumni Mall. Kreischer quadrangle contains four connected halls, Ashley, Batchelder, Compton, and Darrow, that operate as separate units. Kreischer features a late night dining hall called The Sundial as well as a convenience store in Kreischer-Ashley. Kreischer-Compton is home to the Arts Village Learning Community, for students with interests in dance, art, creative writing, theater, or music. This community offers members-only classes.

Arts facilities
Arts programs are located to the east of Anderson Arena and Jerome Library in the east-central area. The Fine Arts Center is home to the School of Art and houses classrooms, a studio, workshop spaces, art galleries, a glassblowing studio and faculty offices. BGSU is one of only a few schools that offer degrees in glassblowing. The Moore Musical Arts Center is located along Ridge St and is the home to the College of Musical Arts. Moore includes classrooms, recording studios, rehearsal halls, and Kobacker Hall, a large theater where many performances on campus are held. Moore also includes MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, a national center with a focus on the study, performance, creative work and promotion of contemporary music. The Wolfe Center for the Arts opened in December 2011. It is the new centerpiece for the Arts, located between Fine Arts and Moore. The 93000 sqft building houses the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the School of Musical Arts. It includes classrooms, rehearsal space, performance/theater space, as well as design and office space, the 400-seat Thomas and Kathleen Donnell Theatre, and a black-box stage, editing and digital laboratories, classrooms, studios, faculty space, and choral rehearsal rooms.

Athletic and recreational facilities
Most athletic and recreational facilities are located on the eastern half of campus. The Student Recreation Center is a 185,000 sqft facility that includes two swimming pools, four weight rooms, a cardio room, an elevated running track, an Activity Center for aerobics and a large sports center which accommodates basketball, tennis, volleyball, and badminton and other sports. North of the center lies Perry Field House, a 127,000 sqft athletic facility with a 100 x 60 indoor synthetic turf, four batting cages, and a 200-meter track encircling four courts for basketball, volleyball, or tennis. The Slater Family Ice Arena is a 5,000-seat ice hockey arena that is used by various teams and clubs as well as public use. The rink is also home to the Black Swamp Ice Frogs, a special needs hockey team. The arena also includes a smaller ice sheet for curling, figure skating, youth ice hockey, and public skating. The Eppler complex is the oldest building on campus for athletics and is the main practice area for cheerleading, gymnastics, dancing and fencing. At one time it housed the original natatorium. Doyt Perry Stadium is a 28,600 seat football stadium located on the eastern edge. The Stroh Center is an on-campus venue for athletics, concerts, commencement, lectures, and numerous campus and community events. The facility serves as the home for the Falcons men's and women's basketball and volleyball programs. Notably, the structure is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings on campus, designed to achieve challenging Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. There is also the Poe Ditch Rugby field on the north side of campus on Poe Road. BGSU was also home to Forrest Creason Golf Course located to the north of Doyt Perry Stadium until the course closed in 2017.

Transportation and safety
The campus fare-free bus transit system began in 1990 and runs throughout the campus and surrounding neighborhoods. In 2005 the university started testing Hybrid buses on the service's main route. The first hybrid bus on the system used a proprietary diesel-electric propulsion system, known as a Hybrid Booster Drive (HBD), and was developed by the Electric Vehicle Institute (EVI) within the BGSU College of Technology. The system is made up of four routes. It includes major stops at various residence halls, academic buildings and athletic buildings. The campus has a mobile application that allows the students to track the location of the different buses around campus. This application also gives an estimated time of arrival for each route to reach a given bus stop.

The Orange Bike program began in 2008 as part of an increase in campus sustainability. The program offers a community bike rental service to students to reduce the carbon footprint of commuters.

The University Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement and security, campus escort service, motorist assistance, educational programs, and crime prevention information for the BGSU campus and surrounding areas.

BGSU Firelands
The college is located in Huron, Ohio, about 60 mi east of Bowling Green. BGSU Firelands is a non-residential, commuter school that offers associate degrees and prepares students for transfer to bachelor's programs or for entry into the job market in technical or paraprofessional areas. The college also offers some on-site bachelor's degree programs and general education classes that students can apply for majors at the main campus classes or transfer to another four-year institution.

First offered in 1946 in the Sandusky area and later expanded to serve Erie, Huron, Lorain, and Ottawa counties, extension programs established a foundation for BGSU Firelands, the university's regional campus. The college was established at a site located near Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio, when the first building (now Foundation Hall) was opened. In 2003, Cedar Point Center opened its doors on the Firelands campus. The facility houses a 450-seat divisible public meeting area, smaller conference rooms, a cyber cafe, multimedia classrooms, and two distance learning classrooms.

Academics and rankings
Bowling Green State University offers more than 200 undergraduate majors and confers degrees. BGSU has full accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Bowling Green has been fully accredited by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning Commission since 1916 and received its ten-year renewal in 2002–2003. In addition, BGSU has accreditation from the HLC to offer full degree programs online. The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its eight colleges:

 * College of Arts and Sciences
 * Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business
 * College of Education and Human Development
 * Firelands College

 * Graduate College
 * College of Health and Human Services
 * College of Musical Arts
 * College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering

BGSU was ranked 119th on the Top Public Schools ranking by U.S. News & World Report. The university remains a leader in teacher preparation and was ranked 127th among America's Best Education Schools by U.S. News & World Report. Students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Development may choose majors from among several teacher licensure areas, including early childhood (grades Pre-K to 3), Middle Childhood (grades 4–9), Adolescent-Young Adult (grades 7–12), Special Education (grades K–12), and foreign language (grades K–12). In addition, BGSU continues to have one of the top four programs in the United States for Industrial & Organizational Psychology per U.S. News & World Report. The university is also ranked the most affordable college in Ohio by Business Insider. Both its part-time MBA program and graduate program in education are ranked in U.S. News & World Report's 2019 Best Grad School Rankings, at 163 and 124, respectively.

BGSU offered the nation's first Ph.D. program in photochemical science. BGSU's graduate program in chemistry is ranked 150 in U.S. News & World Report's Best Grad School Rankings. BGSU also offered the first Ph.D. program in applied philosophy. Due in part to a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, BGSU is building a digital forensics lab to complement its digital forensics and cybersecurity courses. The college of Business opened a facility at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, Ohio, for its Professional MBA program. BGSU opened a satellite campus offering MBA classes at Owens Community College in Findlay, Ohio, in January 2013. BGSU is one of only two universities with an airport on its campus.

Tuition and graduation rates
Spring 2019 undergraduate tuition for the main campus costs are $379.00 per credit hour for in-state tuition while out-of-state tuition is $711.85 per credit hour. The prices for incoming freshmen tuition and fees are a 5.9% increase from the 2017–18 academic year in response to state funding policies. Fall 2019 graduate tuition costs are $445.40 per credit hour for in-state tuition, and out-of-state tuition is $778.25 per credit hour.

The six-year graduation rate for the university's main campus was 61 percent. Bowling Green State University's six-year graduation rate exceeded its predicted rate of 47 percent. The university's was named in the top five positive differences between actual and expected graduation rates of similar public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Graduation rates for by race among this group are 60 percent unknown race, 60 percent white, 55 percent Asian-American, 50 percent African-American, 50 percent international students, 48 percent Hispanic-American, and 43 percent Native American students. Both its part-time MBA program and graduate program in education are ranked in U.S. News & World Report's 2019 Best Grad School Rankings, at 163 and 124, respectively.

Faculty and research
BGSU has a student-faculty ratio of 18:1. The university currently has 1,982 academic staff, including 797 full-time faculty, 312 adjunct faculty, and 873 graduate assistant and research staff. Since November 2010, BGSU full-time faculty have been represented in collective bargaining by the BGSU Faculty Association, a chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

In 1979, American author James Baldwin taught at BGSU for one quarter as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Ethnic Studies Department, after a month-long stint as writer in residence in 1978.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classified Bowling Green State University as a Doctorate-granting Research University with high research activity. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, BGSU received about $8.1 million in research funds from federal, university, private and others sources with over 52% from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Education.

The BGSU Center for Sustainability and the Environment conducts research on renewable energy such as solar energy and wind generation on Lake Erie, energy conversion, and using algae to generate biofuel. Research in conjunction with the University of Toledo created new ways to effectively determine appropriate Ohio windmill sites.

The "Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan" primarily focuses on research pertaining to areas such as physical health, substance use and abuse, mental health, voice and speech science, family and marriage research, and health communication. It houses the first National Center for Family & Marriage Research, established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with the Center for Family and Demographic Research, which received long-term funding by the National Institutes of Health for voice and speech science research.

Presidents
BGSU presidents include:

 * Homer B. Williams (1912–1937)
 * R. E. Offenhauer (1937–1938)
 * Frank J. Prout (1938–1951)
 * Ralph W. McDonald (1951–1961)
 * Ralph G. Harshman (1961–1963)
 * William Travers Jerome III (1963–1970)
 * Hollis A. Moore Jr. (1970–1981)
 * Paul J. Olscamp (1982–1995)
 * Sidney A. Ribeau (1995–2008)
 * Carol A. Cartwright (2008–2011)
 * Mary Ellen Mazey (2011–2017)
 * Rodney K. Rogers (2018–present)

Notable faculty

 * Bruce L. Edwards (1981-2012), professor and administrator and C. S. Lewis scholar

Athletics
Bowling Green's athletic teams are known as the Falcons. The university participates in NCAA Division I as a member of the Mid-American Conference, part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. In ice hockey, the Falcons are members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Falcons' main rivals are the Rockets of the University of Toledo. Separated by just 20 mi on Interstate 75, the two schools celebrate a heated rivalry in several sports. The most well-known of these games is the Battle of I-75, a football game held each year in which the winner takes home the Peace Pipe, a Native American peace pipe placed upon a wood tablet. The university sponsors 16 athletic teams: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross county, football, men's and women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's ice hockey, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, women's tennis, women's track and field, and women's volleyball.

In March 2024, Bowling Green announced that it had hired back Dennis Williams as the hockey team head coach.

The Falcons women's basketball teams had recent postseason success. The team won conference championships in women's basketball in 2005, 2006, and 2007. At the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the Falcons lost in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but then reached the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2007. The 1984 Falcons hockey team defeated the University of Minnesota Duluth in the longest college hockey championship game in history, to win the NCAA National Championship. Former BGSU head football coach Doyt Perry led the Falcons to the NCAA "Small College" Football National Title and undefeated season in 1959. Several BGSU coaches went on to prominent careers. Football coach Urban Meyer went on to great success at the University of Florida, earning two BCS National Championship Game appearances in a three-year span, winning in 2007 and 2009. He also won the first College Football Playoff championship while coaching at Ohio State University in 2015. Hockey coach Jerry York became the winningest active coach in NCAA hockey, winning four NCAA National Championships at Boston College in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012 after his Bowling Green championship in 1984.

Club sports and events
BGSU offers a variety of sports at the club level. Men's sports include cross country/track and field, rugby, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, soccer and ice hockey. Women's club sports include rugby, cross country/track and field, Lacrosse, soccer, softball, equestrian, figure skating, and gymnastics. The club rugby team has been very successful, winning the Fall 2018 D1AA championship. Also, in April 2011, BGSU hosted the National Club Track and Field Championships at Whittaker Track on the east end of campus. BGSU has had an esports team since 2014.

Demographics
Ohio residents account for 85% of the undergraduate student population while out-of-state students come from all 50 US states and 70 foreign countries. The student body consists of 54% women and 46% men, of which, 22% are either of international origin or members of ethnic minority groups. Bowling Green had an on-campus residential student population of 6,500 students. Approximately 85% are in-state students. The majority of students attend classes on BGSU's main campus. In addition to the main campus enrollment, 2,500 students enrolled in classes at BGSU Firelands. 300 students attend classes at BGSU extension locations, and over 600 students attend classes via distance learning.

BGeXperience
In 2012 Bowling Green redesigned its undergraduate curriculum, creating an interdisciplinary program known as the BGeXperience (BGeX), that places a focus on personal growth and development, social connections, critical thinking, problem solving and diversity. First-year students begin the BGeX program during the BGeX Introduction Weekend prior to the start of the semester and continued taking courses designed to meet BGeX criteria throughout the four years of the undergraduate programs.

Outdoor Program
As part of the Department of Recreational Sports, the BGSU Outdoor Program offers outdoor trips, an indoor climbing wall, team-building, and an outdoor equipment rental center to BGSU students, faculty, staff and surrounding community members. In August 2008 the program introduced the Freshman Wilderness Experience, which couples a week-long backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail with a monthly class to assist students in transitioning from high school to college life. In 2009 The Outdoor Program won the David J Web Award by the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) as an outstanding non-profit outdoor program.

Student organizations
The university has an extensive student life program, with over 300 student organizations; club and recreational sports programs; nationally ranked living-learning communities and freshmen experience programs; student media organizations and publications; and Greek organizations. In BGSU's residential learning communities, students with similar interests, majors, cultural connections, and goals live and study together. In the academically based communities students work closely with faculty members who teach classes and have offices in the residence hall.

Greek life
Bowling Green is home to many fraternities and sororities. Greek Life on campus started in 1922 with the first fraternity; the first sorority was founded that same year. Many other local societies were founded in the following years

While fraternities and sororities used to own their own houses off-campus, starting in the early 1960s, the university refused to recognize any organization's off-campus house. Chapters then moved into on-campus houses owned by the university. In 2014, BGSU demolished its Greek Town Homes located on old Fraternity Row, old Sorority Row, and the North and South Greek Conklin buildings and finished construction of a new Greek Village in 2016. The current Greek Village consists of 10 buildings divided into 33 sections.

In 2021, Bowling Green student Stone Foltz died as a result of alcohol poisoning at the Delta Beta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. Two of the fraternity's members were found guilty for hazing Foltz and given jail sentences.

Newspaper
Campus newspapers include the independent student newspaper, The BG News, published since 1920. It was known as the Bee Gee News before assuming its current name on September 21, 1951. The paper is available for free at 135 newsstands. In 2009 the paper became available on the Internet as an online newspaper. The paper prints Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters.

The university's independent, student operated yearbook was first published in 1918 but stopped after one edition for six years. In 1924 it resumed production and was published every year as a record of students, activities, and events for a given year. In 2008, the yearbook was replaced with a magazine format, The Key Magazine, and is published semi-annually, in fall and spring semesters.

Broadcasting
Electronic media on campus includes two radio stations and one public television station, as well as student-produced television. BGSU's Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, WBGU-TV, broadcasts to nineteen counties in northwestern and west central Ohio and hosts PBS programming, local programming and BG24 News, a student-run television newscast airing live at 5:30 pm twice a week. The campus is home to two student-operated radio stations as part of the Department of Telecommunications. WBGU 88.1 FM and WFAL Falcon Radio. WBGU-FM serves as an independent radio, non-commercial educational (NCE), FCC-licensed station that focuses mostly on independent music programming and broadcasts women's basketball and hockey; while WFAL Falcon Radio, formerly WFAL 1610 AM, is a student-run commercial radio station that broadcasts music including Modern rock, Top 40, hip hop and talk shows. Both radio stations host news and sports talk shows and BGSU athletic events through partnerships with other student-media organizations. The Bowling Green Radio News Organization (BGRNO) provides radio news coverage Monday–Friday through student-produced shows; while the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) broadcasts BGSU athletic events on WBGU-FM and WFAL as well as local high school sports on WFAL.

Journals
The Mid-American Review is an international literary journal published through the BGSU Department of English. The Mid-American Review showcases contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. It was created in 1980 when the format changed from a student-published literary magazine, known as the Itinerary, to an international publication. Prairie Margins is a national undergraduate literary journal published by students in the Creative Writing Program. The annual journal features literary work by both BGSU students and undergraduate creative writers from other institutions. The Projector is a peer-reviewed electronic journal on film, media and culture published twice a year by the Department of Theatre & Film.

Mascots
BGSU's official mascots are Freddie and Frieda Falcon. Freddie Falcon began appearing at athletic events in 1950, while Frieda first appeared on February 25, 1966, as Mrs. Freddie Falcon. Frieda returned in the 1980–81 academic year as Freddie's little sister. 1980 marked the first official female Frieda after the 1966 version was played by a male cheerleader. Freddie and Frieda routinely make appearances at BGSU athletic events and other major events around campus and the community. In a similar tradition to SICSIC, the identities of the students who play Freddie and Frieda are not revealed until the end of the basketball and hockey seasons.

SICSIC is an official spirit organization and secret society at BGSU that began in 1946 by President Frank J. Prout. SICSIC routinely attends major BGSU sporting events and other campus activities promoting school spirit. The organization is secret and contains six members, two each for sophomore, junior and senior classes. Two new members are chosen at the end of their class's freshman year to replace that year's two graduating seniors. The group is characterized by their use of gray jumpsuits and masks of famous pop culture and political figures to hide their identities, which are not revealed until the last home basketball game of their senior year.

Events
BGSU currently is the home of Ohio's largest student-run philanthropy, Dance Marathon. BGSU's chapter is one of the largest and most active Dance Marathon organizations in the nation. BGSU Dance Marathon operates similar to other dance marathon events held nationwide at other college. The event is run entirely by college students and the proceeds go to local children's hospitals. Funds raised through BGSU's Dance Marathon benefit children at the Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo via the Children's Miracle Network. 2011 marked the 16th year the BG has conducted the Dance Marathon. Since the event began, it has raised over $2.2 million for the Children's Hospital.

Other notable events held by student organizations at BGSU include Ohanami by Japanese Club, and Oktoberfest by the German Club.

Bowling Green hosts an annual event for three days in February similar to other winter cities to celebrate winter, snow, and cold weather activities. Winterfest was first held in 2009 and centers around the town's rich ice skating and ice hockey traditions. Winterfest events are held all over Bowling Green. Many of the on campus events are held at the Slater Family Ice Arena, including curling, skating, BGSU ice hockey and figure skating exhibitions.

Bowling Green hosted the American Legion event known as Buckeye Boys State from 1978 to 2016. The program gathered high school juniors from all over Ohio for a nine-day program in June. At Buckeye Boys State, the students operated a full government modeled after the Government of Ohio.

Marching band
The Falcon Marching Band is the largest student organization at BGSU, with over 250 members. The band performs at home football games and other university functions including select road football games and various bowl games including the Raisin Bowl in Fresno, California, Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, the Military Bowl in Washington, D.C., and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit. In 2007, the band was invited to the Bands of America Regional in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Athletic Band is auditioned group that at most basketball and hockey games, as well as other university events.

The first band to represent what would become Bowling Green State University was formed during the 1923–1924 academic year. Making its first appearance early during the football season, the band's premier performance that year as at the dedication of the new athletic field at Homecoming. The Falcon Marching Band, features a symphonic sound and chair step marching that rivals bands of larger conferences. Under the direction of Dr. Michael King, the 250 member marching band is the largest student organization on campus. The band performs at all home football games, which are hosted in Doyt Perry Stadium as well as other various university functions. The Falcon Marching Band only exists during the football season.

Membership is open by audition to students of all class levels and all majors.

Notable alumni
Alumni of Bowling Green State University have become notable in a variety of different fields including politics and government, business, science, literature, arts and entertainment, and athletics. A number of Bowling Green Falcons have excelled at the collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels sports, including: Kevin Bieksa, Rob Blake, Dan Bylsma, Scott Hamilton, Dave Wottle, Orel Hershiser, Mike McCullough, George McPhee, Ken Morrow, Don Nehlen, Jordan Sigalet, Nate Thurmond, and Mark Wells.

Alumni involved in government and politics include: former Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon, Ohio state senator Theresa Gavarone, Ohio Department of Higher Education chancellor Randy Gardner, current Ohio congressman Bob Latta and former congressman Tim Ryan. Other notable alumni include: explorer Conrad Allen; author Philana Marie Boles; TCU chancellor Victor J. Boschini; actor Tim Conway;, former ESPN sportscaster Jay Crawford; CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman; ESPN sportscaster Jason Jackson; NHL Network host Steve Mears; Adobe Systems president and CEO Shantanu Narayen; Owens Corning CEO Brian Chambers, actress Eva Marie Saint; Adena Williams Loston, president of St. Philip's College, Sri Lankan Entrepreneur and animal welfare advocate, Otara Gunewardene, author James Carlos Blake, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Jeff Strand; and Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Jennifer Higdon.

title: Bowling Green State University


text:
The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displayed to riders waiting in the queue line. Each location differs slightly in design, utilizing a range of technology from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects, including spectral Audio-Animatronics. The Haunted Mansion inspired two similarly themed but distinct attractions, Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, which exist at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, respectively.

Considered one of the most popular Disney Parks attractions, the Haunted Mansion launched a small franchise including two feature film adaptations, comic strips, television specials and merchandise.

Disneyland
Guests enter the mansion's grounds through the front gate and walk through a garden containing a pet cemetery and a carriage led by an invisible horse. Once inside, the deep voice of the invisible Ghost Host (Paul Frees) introduces himself in the foyer. Guests enter the mansion's art gallery, which contains four paintings, each depicting a person from the chest up. While the Ghost Host challenges guests to find a way out, the room stretches vertically, and the portrait frames appear to elongate, revealing the following grim fates depicted in humorous fashion: As the Ghost Host states that the guests can take "his way" out, the room goes dark, the ceiling vanishes, and lightning flashes to reveal the cupola, in which hangs the Ghost Host's skeletal corpse from the rafters by a noose, implying that he committed suicide by hanging to try to escape. A shriek is then heard, followed by the sound of bones shattering. After the Ghost Host apologizes to the guests, a wall opens, exposing the portrait corridor leading to the loading area. The subjects of the portraits on the right flicker briefly into macabre versions of themselves when lighting flashes from the windows on the left. At the end of the corridor are two busts who appear to "follow" the guests with their gazes. In the load area, black carriages called "Doom Buggies" descend one staircase and ascend another to the second floor.
 * An elderly woman holding a rose: revealed to be sitting on a tombstone with a bust of a man named “George” with a hatchet in his head, implying that the woman was an axe murderer.
 * A bearded man with a piece of paper in his hand; revealed not to be wearing lower garments, standing on a dynamite keg with a candle lighting the fuse.
 * A young woman holding a parasol: revealed to be on a fraying tightrope over an alligator who wants to eat her.
 * A man with the crossed arms: he is being carried by another man, who a third man is carrying, and they are sinking into quicksand.

Guests pass by a candelabra floating down an endless hallway. Near the hallway's entrance is a moving suit of armor and a chair with an abstract face. The Doom Buggies then turn to view a glass conservatory filled with dead flora surrounding a casket whose occupant (X Atencio) is heard calling out for help to escape; his bony hands are seen trying to pry the casket lid open. The Doom Buggies then travel down a hallway of doors where sounds of pounding, calls for help, screams, knocking, and maniacal laughter can be heard from behind the doors. Knockers and handles move independently, and some doors appear to be "breathing." Guests then pass by a demonic grandfather clock, while a shadow of a claw passes over it.

Guests enter a dark séance room that contains occult objects. Madame Leota (Eleanor Audley as her voice, Leota Toombs as her face), a blue-haired medium whose disembodied head appears within a levitating crystal ball, summons the Mansion's spirits. Floating musical instruments respond in turn to her spell.

After leaving the séance circle, guests move onto a mezzanine overlooking a massive ballroom where many ghosts are enjoying a birthday party (or a deathday one, in this case). Ghosts fly into the room from a crashed hearse and the windows. Several ghosts sit at the table where one blows out the candles of a birthday cake. When she blows out the candles, the other ghosts seated at the table disappear to then reappear when she "inhales" again. Playing on the chandelier over the dining table are several drunken ghosts holding glasses of red wine. Six ghost couples waltz to music played by a gentleman's spirit on a pipe organ, several wraiths fly out of its pipes as the haunting refrain echoes throughout the scene. Hanging on the wall are the portraits of two duelists who come to life and fire their revolvers at each other. Guests enter the attic filled with wedding gifts and portraits. In each portrait, the same bride is seen with a different groom, whose heads disappear only to reappear a moment later. They then see an invisible pianist playing a sinister version of the Bridal March and the ghost of the bride, Constance Hatchaway (Kat Cressida), the latter reciting wedding vows. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears in her hands.

The Doom Buggies drift out of an attic window and onto a balcony towards the Hatbox Ghost (Corey Burton) amidst a starry night sky. The Doom Buggies then fall backward underneath dead trees that have humanoid faces. Reaching the ground, they turn towards the gate of a private graveyard, where guests see a frightened caretaker holding a lantern and a shovel with his dog cowering at his feet. Around the corner, ghosts have risen from their graves and are partying enthusiastically. Ghouls also pop up from behind the gravestones, some of which appear to move. In the graveyard are multiple comical sights, such as the following:

 * The Singing Minstrels: A group of five ghost musicians playing the attraction's theme song, with a group of cats and a family of owls joining in "with spooky harmony".
 * The Stuck Hearse and the Cycling Ghosts: A horse-drawn hearse stuck in the mud; multiple ghosts on a hill riding bicycles.
 * The Beheaded Knight and the Executioner: A masked executioner (Candy Candido) clutching an axe singing a duet with a decapitated knight who holds his severed head in his extended hand.
 * The Mummy and the Deaf Guy: A seemingly deaf elderly man (X Atencio) trying to get a mummy, who's risen from its grave and is muffeldly singing the theme song through its grave wrappings, to speak up.

Other sights in the graveyard are a skeleton's hand popping out of a hole in a tomb, a duo of ghosts singing opera, a king and queen balancing a seesaw on a gravestone and a duchess (Betty Taylor) sipping a cup of tea. Guests also pass by a group of five busts (Verne Rowe, Thurl Ravenscroft, Chuck Schroeder, Jay Meyer, and Bob Ebright) singing the attraction's theme song Grim, Grinning Ghosts. As the Doom Buggies approach the entrance of a large crypt, the Ghost Host warns them about hitchhiking ghosts as the Doom Buggies pass a group of three ghosts thumbing for a ride. Around the corner, in large mirrors, the guests see that one of the ghosts from the trio is in the buggy with them. The guests then disembark their Doom Buggies and begin to leave the mansion. A small ghost known as Little Leota (Leota Toombs) encourages them to return and to bring their "death certificates."

Magic Kingdom
The Haunted Mansion was an opening-day attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, where it is part of Liberty Square. During the production and assembly of the props and audio-animatronics for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, duplicates of everything were being made for Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. It was decided that the Florida version of the attraction would be slightly longer and more elaborate than its California Counterpart with extra scenes such as the library and the music room. Paul Frees recorded additional voice-overs, including the "Ghost Host" to accompany the extra scenes in the ride. Because of the ample space within the park, the attraction's show building is much larger and not restricted by any railroad berm.

In the Foyer, there is a portrait of the Aging Man from the Disneyland version. The stretching rooms are not elevators; instead the ceiling rises. After this, the door opens to the Doom Buggy loading area.

Upon boarding, guests pass under the staircase, with a candelabra floating above, then pass the changing portraits as seen in the queue at Disneyland. Then the guests go through the library where busts of ghost writers stare and follow them when they pass by as also seen in the queue at Disneyland. Once they enter the music room, an invisible pianist plays a sinister version of “Grim Grinning Ghosts” and into the Endless Staircase, where footprints can be seen and candelabras are blown out occasionally by unseen ghosts. Passing by bat-eyed wallpaper that glows in the dark, the guests see the Endless Hallway, but the Hatbox Ghost appears next to it from a blue door, his footprints visible in front of the Hallway. Passing through the conservatory where a corpse tries to get out while crying for help, the guests travel through the corridor of doors. A demonic grandfather clock chimes 13.

Guests then enter the seance room, where Madame Leota is seen floating and reciting her spell as instruments play. A green specter floats alongside the instruments. The Doom Buggies enter the ballroom, where ghosts have gathered for a party.

The Doom Buggies then proceed to the attic. The piano player can be heard, but not seen. The bride is now blue and white and has a stained hatchet.

The Doom Buggies pass through the cemetery, where many of the ghosts are singing Grim Grinning Ghosts and into the crypt, where the Hitchhiking Ghosts are playing around in the mirrors. Little Leota appears above the vehicles as guests disembark and pass a mausoleum and then a pet cemetery.

In 2011, the queue's graveyard was reworked and expanded into an interactive experience, consisting of a Composer's Crypt designed after the Ballroom's pipe organ, the water-spouting crypt of Captain Culpepper Clyne (originally created by Ken Anderson for the ride), a library inspired mausoleum for a poet named Prudence Pock (related to Phineas Pock) that asks for help with rhyming couplets, and a set of busts with a murder mystery attached to them. When passing the graveyard gates in the queue, guests see six head busts, two on one stand, that contain the Dread Family: a family that killed each other for wealth. The members are Uncle Jacob, Bertie, Aunt Florence Dread (née McGriffin), twins Wellington and Forsythia, and Cousin Maude. Bertie killed Jacob with poison from his snake, Florence killed Bertie for revenge with her gun, Wellington and Forsythia killed Florence as revenge for Florence doing a rogue shot and killing their pet canary, and Maude killed the twins with her croquet mallet. Maude accidentally killed herself by forgetting that she put matches in her hair to hold her bun together and setting a fire that killed her, a solution that is shown in a painting added to the Hitchhiking Ghost vignette. At this time, the Hitchhiking Ghosts mirror effect was also updated to replace the physical figures with computer animated ghosts playing around with the images of riders reflections.

Tokyo Disneyland
Like the Magic Kingdom version, the Tokyo Disneyland version of the Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction, but is relocated to Fantasyland rather than Liberty Square. This version is largely a duplicate of the Magic Kingdom version, although it has some minor differences, such as a haunted painting of a man vaguely resembling Peter Lorre whose face pops out and stretches, a tall, legless ghost in the Séance Room, and more advanced lighting. The attraction did not receive the changes made in the 2007 refurbishment of the Magic Kingdom version.

Development
The idea for the Mansion precedes Disneyland and WED Enterprises, dating to when Walt Disney hired the first of his Imagineers. At the time, the park they were developing the attraction for was supposed to be located across from the studios. In 1951, the first known illustration of the park showed a main street setting, green fields, western village and a carnival. Disney Legend Harper Goff developed a black-and-white sketch of a crooked street leading away from main street by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street.

Disney assigned Imagineer Ken Anderson to create a story using Goff's idea. Plans were made to build a New Orleans-themed land in the small transition area between Frontierland and Adventureland. Weeks later, New Orleans Square appeared on the souvenir map and promised a thieves market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through. Anderson studied New Orleans and old plantations, landing on an image of the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. He came up with a drawing of an antebellum manor with features from the Baltimore house, overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats and boarded doors and windows topped by a screeching cat as a weathervane.

Disney, however, rejected the idea of having a run-down building in his park. He visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, and was captivated by the massive mansion with its stairs to nowhere, doors that opened to walls and holes, and elevators. Anderson envisioned stories for the mansion, including tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with well-known Disney villains and spooks.

In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance. Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963. The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but the attraction itself did not open until 1969. The six-year delay owed heavily to Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964–1965 and to an attraction redesign after Walt's death in 1966.

After the fair, many Imagineers such as Marc Davis, X Atencio and Claude Coats contributed ideas to the project. By this time, Ken Anderson had left the project. Rolly Crump showed Walt some designs for his version, which included bizarre objects like coffin clocks, candle men, talking chairs, man-eating plants, tiki-like busts, living gypsy wagons and a mirror with a face. Walt accepted these ideas and wanted to make the proclaimed "Museum of the Weird", a restaurant side to the now-named Haunted Mansion, similar to the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean.

When Walt put Imagineers Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey in charge of creating illusions for the attraction, they intended to make the "Museum of the Weird" into a separate section that guests could walk through, where they could see transparent ghosts and other apparitions utilizing the Pepper's Ghost technique used in the theater since the early 1800s. Crump and Gracey were eventually given a large workshop to develop their ideas. One night, the two Imagineers decided to play a prank on the night cleaning crew. As Crump explained: "…We got a call from personnel saying that the janitors requested that we leave the lights on in there due to the creepiness of all the audio-animatronic ghosts and such. We complied, but put motion sensors in the room that would extinguish the lights and turn on all the ghost effects when triggered. The next morning, we came in and found all the ghost effects still running and a broom lying in the center of the floor. Personnel called and said that the janitors would not be back."

Marc Davis and Claude Coats, two of the Mansion's main designers, disagreed on whether the ride should be frightening or funny. Coats, originally a background artist, wanted a scary adventure, and produced renditions of moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridors of doors, and bleakly spooky environments. Davis, an animator and character designer, proposed a variety of mostly comical characters, and thought the ride should be silly and full of gags. In the end, both artists got their ways when X Atencio combined their approaches and ideas, creating a transition from dark foreboding to "spirited" entertainment. The ride narration was performed by Paul Frees in the role of the Ghost Host. The attraction's theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts", was composed by Buddy Baker with lyrics by Atencio. Different versions of it can be heard in nearly every area of the ride.

After Disney's death in December 1966, the project evolved significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned. The Imagineers objected to a walk-through attraction's low capacity, going so far as suggesting building two identical attractions to accommodate twice as many guests. A solution appeared with the development of the Omnimover system for Adventure Thru Inner Space. Renamed the Doom Buggy, the system's continuous chain of semi-enclosed vehicles offered high capacity. The cars could be set to rotate in any direction at any point, allowing the Imagineers to control what guests saw and heard. Because each car held from one to three people, it was a convenient way to divide guests into smaller groups—a better fit with the story of people wandering "alone" through a haunted house.

Debut
Employee previews of the Mansion were held August 6, 7, and the 8th, followed by "soft" openings on August 9 and 10 where limited numbers of park guests were allowed to ride. A "Midnight" Press Event was held on the evening of August 11. The Mansion opened to all guests on August 12, 1969.

In around 1977, WDI considered utilizing the unused designs, creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion and the Museum of the Weird as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery—"a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder," to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area. The idea was dropped when the expansion's plans fell through.

Updates
In 1994, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was updated. A phantom piano player sat at a run-down piano in the attic scene, whereas the original faceless bride was given a full-fleshed appearance. In 2001, a newer, more detailed safety spiel was added to the Doom Buggies' onboard audio as they left the loading area. Recorded by voice-over artist Joe Leahy in English and Fabio Rodriguez in Spanish, in a recreation of the character of original actor Paul Frees' Ghost Host, the bilingual spiel was part of a park-wide campaign to increase safety. The seasonal overlay Haunted Mansion Holiday also premiered in October, featuring characters from the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

In 2004, the Seance Room was updated so the crystal ball with the talking head of Madame Leota floated above its table rather than sitting stationary on it, with the original projection-mapped effect replaced by a rear-projection effect within the ball. In 2006, the original attic bride was replaced by Constance Hatchaway and a storyline for the new character.

In 2007, the attraction was renovated, with changes including the installation of the changing portraits and lightning-filled windows from the Disneyland version, and new vocals for most of the ghosts in the graveyard. In the Walt Disney World location, an endless staircase was added after being previously a dark space with spider webs. The portrait hall was originally decorated with portraits, known as the Sinister 11, situated on both sides and on a doorway, all of which have eyes that stared at guests as they pass through; these were later transferred to the load area during the refurbishment and their eyes no longer followed guests.

In March 2011, a new "interactive queue" debuted at the Walt Disney World location, with new crypts and tombstones honoring Imagineers; a murder mystery for guests to solve featuring the sinister Dread Family; the Composer Crypt, which features musical instruments that play variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" when touched; the Mariner's brine-filled sepulcher, whose ghost sings and sneezes from within, and a crypt for Prudence Pock the poetess, which features haunted moving books and Prudence's ghost writing invisibly in her poem book. Guests can solve the unfinished poems by speaking into microphones located on the crypt. The FastPass+ line skips the queue altogether and leads guests straight to the Foyer doors. There is also an extended queue line that uses the former Mike Fink Keel Boats dock.

On April 10, 2015, it was officially confirmed that an iconic Haunted Mansion character, The Hatbox Ghost, would return to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. The character returned on May 9, 2015. The Hatbox Ghost was originally a part of the attraction when it opened in 1969, but was removed when the illusion involving the specter's head was not convincing enough. The Hatbox Ghost was added to Disney World's Haunted Mansion on November 30, 2023, as part of The Walt Disney Company's 100th Anniversary celebration.

On April 2, 2019, PhotoPass ride photography was added to the attraction at Magic Kingdom. A hidden camera takes pictures of the riders as the doom buggy passes the final portrait in the portrait gallery, with the flash disguised as flickering lightning. A black and white photo featuring the riders framed by several of the ghosts surrounding the photo is automatically added to the guests' PhotoPass account by reading the RFID data from the guest's second-generation MagicBand.

On January 21, 2020, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was closed for an extensive refurbishment to add lighted steel panels, improved lighting, mechanical touch ups, and new paint and trims to the exterior of the attraction. The changes were originally scheduled for completion in spring 2020, but an extended park closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic created uncertainty. It was later confirmed that the refurbished attraction would reopen with the park on April 30, 2021. This refurbishment came with a refreshed pet cemetery, now with new greenery and plants. The portrait gallery was given new drapes curtains and the loading area is much more decorative with wallpaper and the return of one of the Haunted Mansion's original portraits being "April to December". Also featuring a statue of the one-eyed cat. The rest of the attraction was given repairs and new lighting. In addition, new secret entrance was added to the ride by using the chicken exit. Once the crypt door opened, visitors would be directed down a flight of stairs and through a utility passageway usually used by cast members.

Beginning in January 2024, the Disneyland Haunted Mansion began another extensive refurbishment to reform and expand the outdoor queue, modify the nearby Magnolia Park in New Orleans Square, and add a gift shop at the ride's exit.

Haunted Mansion Holiday
The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween and Christmas seasons and has been since 2001, inspired by Tim Burton's 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Haunted Mansion is closed in mid to late August for a few weeks as they revamp the attraction before opening again in September, replacing many of the props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from the movie. The Haunted Mansion Holiday closes in early January to restore the attraction back to the original Haunted Mansion and reopens late January.

The Magic Kingdom does not have its own holiday edition of the Haunted Mansion and the regular ride operates continuously through the holiday season. The Magic Kingdom was initially supposed to have the overlay as sets, props, and animatronics were created for Magic Kingdom, but they rejected the overlay because Walt Disney World gains more tourists than Disneyland due to being a vacation destination unlike Disneyland being more of a regional theme park with reoccurring guests, so keeping the original ride year-round felt more appropriate. The sets, and props were sent to Tokyo Disneyland as their Haunted Mansion is a duplicate of Magic Kingdom's version.

Related attractions
Disneyland Paris features Phantom Manor, a "re-imagined" version of the Haunted Mansion. The house is a Western Victorian, in the Second Empire architectural style, based on the look of the Fourth Ward School House in Virginia City, Nevada. Along with the Western architectural style, the attraction uses a Western plot to fit in with the Thunder Mesa and Frontierland backdrop.

Mystic Manor opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in spring 2013. Unlike the Haunted Mansion, however, it does not include references to departed spirits or the afterlife, due to differences in traditional Chinese culture. Continuing the Society of Explorers and Adventurers theme of Tokyo DisneySea, the attraction tells the story of Lord Henry Mystic and his monkey Albert. Having recently acquired an enchanted music box with the power to bring inanimate objects to life, Albert opens the box and brings all of the house's artifacts to life. The attraction's exterior is that of a large Victorian mansion in an elaborate Queen Anne architectural style, and the experience features a trackless "ride" system and a musical score by Danny Elfman.

Adaptations
Walt Disney Pictures produced two standalone theatrical live-action feature film adaptations based on the attraction:

The first adaptation, The Haunted Mansion, was directed by Rob Minkoff and starred Eddie Murphy was released on November 26, 2003.

The second adaptation, Haunted Mansion, was directed by Justin Simien and released on July 28, 2023. In July 2010, Guillermo del Toro announced that he was set to write and produce a darker film adaptation also based on the attraction, promising that it would be both scary and fun. The film was officially confirmed in July 2021, with Tiffany Haddish playing a hired psychic that attempts to commune with the dead and LaKeith Stanfield playing a lackluster tour guide in New Orleans's French Quarter.

In popular culture

 * In January 2014, Marvel Comics began publishing Seekers of the Weird, a five-issue miniseries and first under the Disney Kingdoms imprint. The miniseries was based on the Museum of the Weird, Rolly Crump's unused precursor designs for the attraction. In 2016 another miniseries was published under the same imprint, based on the haunted mansion itself.
 * In July 2014, it was announced that Disney Television Animation was developing a animated special based on the attraction, the project originally was going to be helm by Phineas and Ferb writters Joshua Prett and Scott D. Peterson with Gris Grimly as art director and executive producer, the project was later re-developed as a potential mini-series for Disney XD with Shannon Tindle as executive producer but executive changes at Disney Branded Television in 2017 shelved the production.
 * Madame Leota appears in the second half of the seventh season of ABC's Once Upon a Time, portrayed by Suzy Joachim.
 * From 2016 to 2019, Disney Press released Tales from the Haunted Mansion, a four volume children's horror anthology series presented as selections from the Mansion's library. Narrated by Mansion librarian Amicus Arcane, the stories ranged from homages to classic horror to origin stories for different members of the Mansion's ensemble.
 * In the 2018 film The Predator, the characters enter a large elevator room and a security guard recites part of the Haunted Mansion script "is this haunted room actually stretching?"
 * In October 2018, it was reported that the Magic Kingdom was turning into a popular place for families to deposit ashes of their deceased loved ones, with the Haunted Mansion picked as their favorite location. Disney considers this to be unacceptable and unlawful, and stated that anyone caught doing so will be escorted from Disney property.
 * The Bride, the Hatbox Ghost and the Hitchhiking Ghosts appear as playable characters in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, as limited time characters to unlock during Halloween Events.
 * Funko Games partnered with Disney to release family strategy board game The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits in 2020.
 * Disney+ released the Muppets Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion in October 2021.
 * The Haunted Mansion is part of Disney Television Animation short series Chibi Tiny Tales, the first one is a crossover with The Ghost and Molly McGee. The ghosts making an appearance in this Tiny Tale are Madame Leota, the blondette ghost girl from the ballroom scene, the Hatbox Ghost and Constance Hatchaway. Along with them are two specter waltzers, the ghost organist, the dueling portraits and the five marble busts from the graveyard finale scene.
 * Another Tiny Tale, released in 2023, revolves around the Mansion's groundskeeper (alongside his dog, who tries to tell him about the Happy Haunts after seeing one of them through a window whilst on the front porch). The Hatbox Ghost and the singing busts make another appearance in this Tiny Tale, along with the King and Queen, the Duke and Duchess, the singing minstrels, one of the cycling ghosts and the duo of opera singers.
 * In 2023, Disney Television Animation released another The Ghost and Molly McGee crossover short, this time within the Random Rings shorts series using the show's artstyle, the short features Scratch calling the Mansion to see if there's space for him as part of the 999 Happy Haunts ghosts while getting rejected on the process, the short features the current voice actors of the attraction reprising their roles.
 * A Lego set based on the Haunted Mansion was released in 2022.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: The Haunted Mansion


text:
England and Wales

England and Wales (Cymru a Lloegr) is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law.

The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly for Wales – was created in 1999 under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the legislature were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom.

History of jurisdiction

During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except for the land to the north of Hadrian's Wall – though the Roman-occupied area varied in extent, and for a time extended to the Antonine/Severan Wall. At that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages, and were all regarded as Britons, divided into numerous tribes. After the conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit, the province of Britain.

Long after the departure of the Romans, the Britons in what became Wales developed their own system of law, first codified by Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good; reigned 942–950) when he was king of most of present-day Wales; in England Anglo-Saxon law was initially codified by Alfred the Great in his Legal Code, c. 893. However, after the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century, English law came to apply in the parts of Wales conquered by the Normans (the Welsh Marches). In 1283, the English, led by Edward I, with the biggest army brought together in England since the 11th century, conquered the remainder of Wales, then organised as the Principality of Wales. This was then united with the English crown by the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284. This aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law.

Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century by the Welsh House of Tudor. The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into the legal system of the Kingdom of England. This was in part to update outdated Welsh laws, but also to control Wales alongside England; through these acts, the Welsh could be seen as equals to the English, which was reflected on both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I's coat of arms where the dragon represented Wales and the lion represented England, but as soon as the Tudor dynasty ended with the death of Elizabeth I, the red dragon of Wales was dropped and replaced with the unicorn of Scotland with the succession of King James I who demoted Wales' status on the coat of arms and on the first adaptation of the Flag of Great Britain.

Prior to 1746, it was not clear whether a reference to "England" in legislation included Wales, and so in 1746, Parliament passed the Wales and Berwick Act 1746. This specified that in all prior and future laws, references to "England" would by default include Wales (and Berwick-upon-Tweed). The Wales and Berwick Act was repealed by the Welsh Language Act 1967, although the statutory definition of "England" created by that Act still applies for laws passed before 1967. In new legislation since then, what was referred to as "England" is now "England and Wales", while subsequent references to "England" and "Wales" refer to those political divisions.

Wales jurisdiction
There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for a Wales criminal justice system.

Law

England and Wales are treated as a single unit for some purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707, and as a consequence English law—and after 1801, Irish law—continued to be separate. Following the two Acts of Union, Parliament can restrict the effect of its laws to part of the realm, and generally the effect of laws, where restricted, was originally applied to one or more of the former kingdoms. Thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England (and vice versa), a practice which was rare before the middle of the 20th century. Examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998. Measures and Acts of the Senedd apply in Wales, but not in England.

Following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the Senedd can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011, the Senedd gained direct law-making powers, without the need to consult Westminster. This was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of Senedd Cymru.

Company registration
For a company to be incorporated in the United Kingdom, its application for registration with Companies House must state "whether the company's registered office is to be situated in England and Wales (or in Wales), in Scotland or in Northern Ireland", which will determine the law applicable to that business entity. A registered office must be specified as "in Wales" if the company wishes to use a name ending cyfyngedig or cyf, rather than Limited or Ltd. or to avail itself of certain other privileges relating to the official use of the Welsh language.

Other bodies
Outside the legal system, the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as "England and Wales", others are separate.
 * In sports, cricket has a combined international team (simply called "England") administered by the England and Wales Cricket Board, who also govern the sport across both nations, and Glamorgan County Cricket Club participates in the English county cricket system. In football, rugby union, rugby league, the Commonwealth Games and other sports have separate national representative teams for each country. A few Welsh association football clubs, most notably Cardiff City F.C. and Swansea City A.F.C., play in the English football league system, while The New Saints F.C., which represents places on both sides of the border, plays in the Welsh football league system. The Anglo-Welsh Cup was a rugby union competition contested by Welsh regions and English Premiership clubs between 1971 and 2018.
 * Some religious denominations organise on the basis of England and Wales, most notably the Roman Catholic Church, but also small denominations, e.g. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Anglican church in Britain operated under the jurisdiction of the Church of England throughout Wales and England.
 * The Electoral Commission maintains a register of political parties, organised according to where the party operates (either England, Wales or England and Wales). The Green Party of England and Wales stands candidates only in English and Welsh constituencies; separate Green parties exist in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
 * Some professional bodies represent England and Wales, for example the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the General Council of the Bar, The Law Society, the National Farmers Union and the Police Federation of England and Wales.
 * Other examples include the Canal & River Trust, the Charity Commission, the General Register Office for England and Wales, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, HM Land Registry, His Majesty's Prison Service, Mountain Rescue England and Wales, the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants and the Youth Hostels Association.

Order of precedence
The order of precedence in England and Wales is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland, and from Commonwealth realms.

National parks
The national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history.

title: England and Wales


text: Talk:Peoples' Global Action

title: Talk:Peoples' Global Action


text:
User:Zarquan42

And the great prophet Zarquon spake down from the heavens as he shook his left fist in righteous anger: "UNGRATEFUL WRETCH! HOW DARE YOU MISSPELL MY NAME?"

And Dara squeaked pathetically that she could rationalize it and say that she was trying to avid infringing on the First Commandment, but in reality she just didn't bother to check the spelling before registering her username.

The thunderbolt just missed. "GOSH-DARN RIGHT-HANDED THUNDERBOLTS, CAN'T GET USED TO THROWING EM BACKWARDS..." Zarquon grumbled as he receded back into the dark storm clouds.

Dara got back up and patted her Bride of Frankenstein hairdo with satisfaction. She skipped off to wherever she was going next.

...real information will be here eventually...

title: User:Zarquan42


text:
Rexhep Meidani

Rexhep Qemal Meidani (born on 17 August 1944) is an Albanian physicist, professor, diplomat and politician. Meidani was the president of Albania from 1997 to 2002, and the second to be elected after the first multi-party elections in 1991.

Education and work in academia
Meidani earned a degree in physics from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Tirana in 1966. He completed postgraduate studies at the University of Caen in France in 1974. He also holds PhDs from the University of Paris XI and the University of Tirana.

From 1966 to 1996, Meidani held various roles at the University of Tirana, including professor, department chair, and later, dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. During this period, he authored numerous studies, books, and articles, both within and outside of Albania. Alongside Eqrem Cabej and Nelson Cabej, he is recognized as one of the prominent academics in the country.

Political career
Meidani's political career began in the 1990s. He assumed the role of the chair of the Central Election Commission during the inaugural multiparty elections in 1991 and was a member of the Presidential Council in the same year. From 1992 to 1996, he actively participated in civil society, serving as the chair of the Board of the Albanian Center of Human Rights from 1994 to 1996. Joining the Socialist Party in 1996, Meidani was elected its Secretary General from 1996 to 1997.

Following his election to the Albanian Assembly in the parliamentary elections of June 1997, Meidani became a member of parliament. Subsequently, after the left coalition, led by the Socialist Party, emerged victorious in the elections, he was proposed by the SP and, on July 24, 1997, was elected as the President of Albania by the Albanian Assembly. He held the office until 2002, with Petrit Ago as his counselor.

In the 2005 Socialist Party Leadership Convention, convened to select a successor to Fatos Nano, Meidani faced defeat at the hands of the present Chairman of the Socialist Party, Edi Rama.

Meidani is a member of the Club of Madrid.

Honours

 * Order of the Star of Romania - Ribbon bar.svg Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Star of Romania (1999)
 * Ribbon of an order of king Tomislav.png Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav ("For outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and development co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Albania." – April 4, 2001)
 * Honorary Degree Recipient from The American University of Rome

title: Rexhep Meidani


text: Talk:Invisible ink

title: Talk:Invisible ink


text:
Buggery Act 1533

The Buggery Act 1533, formally An Acte for the punishment of the vice of Buggerie (25 Hen. 8. c. 6), was an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed during the reign of Henry VIII.

It was the country's first civil sodomy law, such offences having previously been dealt with by the ecclesiastical courts.

The term buggery, not defined in the text of the legislation, was later interpreted by the courts to include only anal penetration and bestiality, regardless of the sex of the participants, but not oral penetration. The act remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31). Buggery remained a capital offence until 1861, though the last executions were in 1835.

Description
The Act was piloted through Parliament by Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell (though it is unrecorded who actually wrote the bill), and punished "the detestable and abominable Vice of Buggery committed with Mankind or Beast". Prior to the 1550s, the term "Buggery" was not used in a homosexual sense, rather related to any sexual activity not related to procreation, regardless of sex or species involved in the sexual act, and also covered sexual crimes of a non-consensual nature. The law was not designed to police sexual activity, rather was simply taking a canon law and making it a civil law, a test case in removing church power. "Buggery" was not further defined in the law. According to the Act:

This meant that a convicted sodomite's possessions could be confiscated by the government, rather than going to their next of kin, and that even priests and monks could be executed for the offence—even though they could not be executed for murder. In moving what had previously been an offence tried by ecclesiastical courts into the secular ones, Henry may have intended it as a simple expression of political power along with other contemporary acts such as Submission of the Clergy Act 1533 and one year before the Act of Supremacy 1534. However Henry later used the law to execute monks and nuns (thanks to information his spies had gathered) and take their monastery lands—the same tactics had been used 200 years before by Philip IV of France against the Knights Templar.

In July 1540, Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford of Heytesbury, was charged with treason for harbouring a known member of the Pilgrimage of Grace movement. He was also accused of buggery, as he was suspected of raping his own daughter. Hungerford was beheaded at Tower Hill, on 28 July 1540, the same day as Thomas Cromwell.

Nicholas Udall, a cleric, playwright, and Headmaster of Eton College, was the first to be charged with violation of the Act alone in 1541, for sexually abusing his pupils. In his case, the sentence was commuted to imprisonment and he was released in less than a year. He went on to become headmaster of Westminster School.

16th-century repeal and re-enactment
The Act was repealed in 1553 on accession of the staunchly Catholic Queen Mary, who preferred such legal matters adjudicated in ecclesiastical courts. However, it was re-enacted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1562, "An act for the punishment of the vice of buggery". Although "homosexual prosecutions throughout the sixteenth century [were] sparse" and "fewer than a dozen prosecutions are recorded up through 1660 ... this may reflect inadequate research into the subject, and a scarcity of extant legal records." In 1631 Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven, was beheaded because of his rank. Numerous prosecutions that resulted in a sentence of hanging are recorded in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Even if the charge of sodomy was reduced for lack of evidence to a charge of attempted buggery, the penalty was severe: imprisonment and some time on the pillory. "The lesser punishment—to be stood in the pillory—was by no means a lenient one, for the victims often had to fear for their lives at the hands of an enraged multitude armed with brickbats as well as filth and curses ... the victims in the pillory, male or female, found themselves at the center of an orgy of brutality and mass hysteria, especially if the victim were a molly."

Periodicals of the time sometimes casually named known sodomites, and at one point even suggested that sodomy was increasingly popular. This does not imply that sodomites necessarily lived in security.

In Rex v Samuel Jacobs (1817), it was concluded that fellatio between an adult man and an underage boy was not punishable under this Act. The courts had previously established, in Rex v Richard Wiseman in 1716, that heterosexual sodomy was considered buggery under the meaning of the 1533 Act.

In light of R v Jacobs, fellatio thus remained lawful until the passage of Labouchere Amendment in 1885, which added the charge of gross indecency to the traditional term of sodomy.

The last two Englishmen who were hanged for sodomy were executed in 1835, when James Pratt and John Smith died in front of the Newgate Prison in London on 27 November.

Repeal in 1828
The Act was repealed by section 1 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31) and by section 125 of the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (c. 74). It was replaced by section 15 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1828, and section 63 of the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828, which provided that buggery would continue to be a capital offence. The new Act expressly specified that conviction of buggery no longer required proof of completion ("emission of seed") and that evidence of penetration was sufficient for conviction.

Buggery remained a capital offence in England and Wales until the enactment of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

The United Kingdom Parliament repealed buggery laws for England and Wales in 1967 (in so far as they related to consensual homosexual acts in private between people over the age of 21), ten years after the Wolfenden report. Jurisdictions in many former colonies have retained such legislation, as in the Anglophone Caribbean. Heterosexual sodomy, i.e. anal sex, remained a criminal offence, regardless of consent, until the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 decriminalised it for adults. In 2001, the age of consent for male homosexual acts and for heterosexual anal sex was reduced from 18 to 16, which is also the age of consent for all other types of sexual intercourse. The offence of buggery was formally removed from the legislation of England and Wales in 2003, although by then it was only prosecuted if it was nonconsensual or if it had taken place in public.

Notable convictions under the act

 * John Atherton, Bishop of Waterford, 1640
 * Vere Street Coterie, 1810
 * Percy Jocelyn, Bishop of Clogher, 1822

title: Buggery Act 1533