UMSL @ 60 - Rachel Berlack

Transcript 00:01:00Sarah Johnson

OK, my name is Sarah Johnson and the date is Sunday, December 3rd, 2023. This oral history interview is part of the UMSL at 60 celebration and will contribute to a collection of alumni oral histories focusing on alumni's memories of their time UMSL. This interview is being recorded, and if you're comfortable, I'll have you sign a release form at the end. So to begin, can I have you state your first and last name and also spell it out?

Rachel berlack. R-A-C-H-E-L B-E-R-L-A-K.

Sarah Johnson

And what year were you born?

Rachel Berlack

1969.

Sarah Johnson

And are you originally from Saint Louis or...

Rachel Berlak

No.

Sarah Johnson

OK. Have you lived here your whole life?

Rachel Berlak

Pretty much with the exception of a very short time, not even a year. 00:02:00Sarah Johnson

OK. And what neighborhood did you grow up in?

Rachel Berlak

University city.

Sarah Johnson

OK, that's pretty close to downtown, right?

Rachel Berlak

No, it's actually- it's right outside the city of Saint Louis.

Sarah Johnson

OK.

Rachel Berlak

It's actually, you know, sort of the beginning of the suburbs of St. Louis. So like we're right bordering on Clayton, bordering Ollivette. Are you from St. Louis?

Sarah Johnson

No, obviously not. Did you grow up with siblings?

Yes.

Sarah Johnson

Are they older? Younger? Brother? Sister?

Rachel Berlak

I have an older sister and a younger brother.

Sarah Johnson

And can you tell me a little bit about how you got along with them growing up?

We got along OK. My brother was a very difficult child and so there was a lot of sort of family drama surrounding him. 00:03:00I got along with him OK, but there was just a lot of sort of family drama surrounding him. Not the case with my sister. I wasn't really- excuse me. I've got a cat trying to sit on my lap here.

Sarah Johnson

It's OK. We welcome cats here.

Rachel Berlak

She doesn't understand why there's a computer in my lap and not her. So my sister is 3 1/2 years older than me. We weren't super close. My brother's a couple years younger than I am, but you know I'm closer with my brother today. I'm not super close with my sister.

Sarah Johnson

I see. Where did you go to school growing up.

Rachel Berlak

The University City Schools. I went to, sorry about this. I went to Clayton High School for one year. I went to- that's not true. Actually, my parents were educators and they sent me to a lot of different schools. 00:04:00Sarah Johnson

OK.

Rachel Berlak

Growing up private schools, I did graduate from U City High School though.

Sarah Johnson

OK. And with your parents being educators, was going to college something that you imagined yourself doing when you were a kid.

Rachel Berlak

Yeah, I think so.

Sarah Johnson

And did you feel that the school that you went to prepared you for college.

Rachel Berlak

At the high school? Not terribly. I mean, it was not terribly I I wasn't ever a great student and I think it was maybe more- if you were a good motivated student, maybe it prepared you a little bit better, but I felt like it was kind of easy- 00:05:00it would have been kind of easy for people to fall through the cracks at U city unless they were kind of like the cream of the crop, kind of upper echelon, very highly motivated, very good students. And I wasn't like the worst student in the world, but I wasn't like a particularly good student.

Sarah Johnson

OK. Did you end up going to college anywhere else before you went to UMSL?

Rachel Berlak

I did. I went to Earlham College in Indiana for two trimesters. That's when I, the only time I ever lived out of Saint Louis.

Sarah Johnson

And how did you first hear about UMSL? When did it come onto your radar?

Rachel Berlak

I think when I decide- I was out of school for a long time before I went back, so I was a little bit older actually.

Sarah Johnson

OK. How old were you? 00:06:00Rachel Berlak

So I graduated from UMSL and I was there from 1994 to 1998, so I didn't go from the age of 18. What 18/19/18 to 21 or 22 like your average traditional college student. So since I obviously since I graduated in 1998, I'm not sure how long I was-. I'd have to actually sit down with and calculate how long I was out of school, but you could probably figure it out from my date of birth and from when I graduated. 00:07:00Sarah Johnson

OK, like in your 30s you would say?

Rachel Berlak

I would have to calculate it but probably, yeah. Because let's see. I graduated from high school in 87 so like my other friends who were my age, 87,88,90,91 00:08:00would have graduated in like what 1991 right? If they went straight out of school? 92 maybe. Right? Probably 1992 and I graduated in 1998.

Rachel Berlak

So I was maybe six years older than your average 18 year old person who went out straight from college, from high school into college.

Sarah Johnson

OK. So did you go to- How did you say Earlham College? Yeah.

Rachel Berlak

Yeah Earlham. E-A-R-L-H-A-M.

Sarah Johnson

Was that straight out of high school or was that-?

Rachel Berlak

Yes, yes, yes.

Sarah Johnson

What was going on in those couple gap years between Earlham and UMSL? 00:09:00Rachel Berlak

I ended up actually getting really sick and so I wasn't- I just had to quit school, basically. So what did we just say, six years? So I ended up, you know, spending a number of years out of school and then finally, so when I went back, originally, I wanted to major in music education, but then I realized I can't- I'm severely learning-disabled, and I really couldn't learn to read music. So I switched and decided I wanted to do physical education. And so I looked for a program that had a- school that had a PE program and UMSL had one here in Saint Louis. So that's why I ended up choosing UMSL.

Sarah Johnson

Awesome. And did you have any like relatives or any friends that had gone to UMSL before you went there?

Rachel Berlak 00:10:00Sarah Johnson

When you first attended UMSL, what did you picture for yourself as like the end goal?

Rachel Berlak

To be a PE teacher.

Sarah Johnson

OK.

Rachel Berlak

I was looking for something where when I came out of school I actually was qualified to like step into a job and do something. So without having to like, go to graduate school or something like that. I was never a fan of school, so I wanted to be like qualified to step into something practical when I left school. 00:11:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, it totally makes sense. When you first started attending UMSL, what was your first impression of it? 00:12:00Rachel Berlak

It was school. So I mean I wasn't super- I guess I wasn't super impressed with my education classes. My PE classes were OK. And I liked some of the requirements. Like I really like my biology class, which just was- probably did have to have biology actually, for my degree, for PE. I'm not really sure- and I really liked my anatomy and Physiology classes, so some classes I really liked and other classes I was like whatever. I just kind of have to get through it kind of a thing.

Sarah Johnson

Was it how you expected it to be, being on campus and taking classes?

Rachel Berlak

Yeah, I think so. I don't think I had- Yeah, 00:13:00I mean UMSL is you know- Here's the other cat now. UMSL is, you know, it's mostly a commuter school, so that made me a little more, even though I was a little bit older, it made me a little more like everybody else because I mean, there were dorms. Actually, the dorms were actually built while I was in school there. There weren't actually- I think there were frat houses, but I don't think there were dorms. 00:14:00So they were, actually, I remember them being built. I remember driving by them every day on my way to school. Them being built, but really it's mostly a commuter school so in that sense, I fit in pretty well because a lot of people didn't live on campus.

Sarah Johnson

OK, so it was like nobody lived on campus unless they were living in in frat houses basically?

Rachel Berlak

No, well, the dorms did get finished while I was there. So I want to say maybe my last couple of- there may have been some dorms before that. All I know is, there was a big chunk of dorms being built while I was a student there and I want to say they were finished, maybe my sophomore or junior year or senior. I can't remember, but I mean, I was in the dorms, you know, with friends and stuff like that. So there weren't a lot of- if there were, which there could have been. There weren't a lot of them when I first started there. 00:15:00Sarah Johnson

And since you lived off campus, did you live with your parents? Did you live in an apartment by yourself?

Rachel Berlak

I lived in apartment, for the most part I had roommates. And then at a certain point I transitioned to living by myself.

Sarah Johnson

And did you enjoy that aspect of college of, living off campus and then driving in every day or taking the bus or whatever?

Yeah, I think I definitely would prefer that to actually living on campus.

Sarah Johnson

So with UMSL being primarily a commuter school, how did you feel was the community aspect? Did you feel like there was a good sense of community?

Rachel Berlak

If there was, I wasn't super involved with it. And maybe it's because I was a little older or maybe just kind of the person I was and where I was in my life. I wasn't really super involved with anything on campus outside of going to school.

Sarah Johnson

Right. Did you end up making friends from UMSL while you were there? 00:17:00Rachel Berlak

I did. There aren't any that I'm still in touch with, although I would say there's probably one that I would like to be in touch with, but I didn't end up making kind of long lasting friendships.

Sarah Johnson

Whenever you did make those connections, how did that happen? Was that classes? Was it in clubs?

Rachel Berlak

They were all, yeah, people that I was in- other students in the PE program.

Sarah Johnson

OK, so then what did a normal day look like for you when you were going to college?

Rachel Berlak

I feel like I would probably be up at school for a good chunk of the day. So I'm trying to remember- I would have- it was a long time ago, but so. Between classes I would be over in the PE building. So I would probably like go work out or, you know, go get some food or whatever and just kind of be- at a certain point, when you've finished all of your requirements, like your literature and all that kind of stuff, at a certain point, then all my classes were in the PE building. And so I felt like I would be there for kind of like a good chunk of the day. I mean other part of my classes were in the Education department which was on the other side of Natural Bridge- is that right? Natural Bridge right there, the Education Department was on the other side of the campus, across the street. I don't know if that's where it is now. 00:18:00Sarah Johnson

I'm not sure either. 00:19:00Rachel Berlak

But it's completely on the other side 0f the-. 00:20:00Sarah Johnson

Do you know if the PE building is still there? 00:21:00Rachel Berlak

Apparently it is still there. Laura told me it's still there. When I was there, that's where the gym was, and all the athletes’ sports practices and all that was there. Apparently now there's a whole other Fitness Wellness Center that's available. Fancy new one. When I was there it was just that building that's kind of down the hill. Do you know where that is? 00:22:00Sarah Johnson

I think I'm imagining it, yeah. 00:23:00Rachel Berlak

OK. Yeah. So that's where that building is still there. OK, so and they still do have the same- Laura said they still have a gym and everything over there. It's just that people, probably- if people are coming to work out, they're probably going to the other new one that's in the middle of campus. 00:24:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, probably. Did you like that space in the Phys Ed building? 00:25:00Rachel Berlak

I did like that space. It was kind of nice that it was kind of off down- I mean if you had to come to class, you had a big huge hill to walk up, it's like this big huge- excuse me, or at least it felt like a big hill at the time, but yeah. Yeah, I mean, it was kind of nice to have everything in one enclosed, you know in one compact space. 00:26:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah. And the whole thing about hills- I didn't realize UMSL had so many hills. 00:27:00Sarah Johnson

It was interesting to me whenever I first got here. 00:28:00Rachel Berlak

Do you- I'm assuming you don't live on campus? 00:29:00Sarah Johnson

No. Were you involved in any clubs or organizations as a student? 00:30:00Rachel Berlak

No. 00:31:00Sarah Johnson

OK. Did you have a job while you were attending UMSL? 00:32:00Rachel Berlak

I don't remember. If I did, it was probably part time, but for the most part I think I was mostly a full-time student. And I didn't have a job on the side. 00:33:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, yeah. What was your first job once you graduated from UMSL? 00:34:00Rachel Berlak

I was a PE teacher in the Saint Louis Public schools in a magnet school for gifted kids, actually middle school. 00:35:00Sarah Johnson

Is it the same job that you have now? 00:36:00Rachel Berlak

No, I actually am not a PE teacher anymore. I was only a PE teacher for three years, actually, and I haven't been a PE teacher for a long time. 00:37:00Sarah Johnson

Really? Well, what made you switch to- What are you doing now? 00:38:00Rachel Berlak

So I am a recruiting coordinator. Basically I work in human resources for an engineering design and consulting firm. 00:39:00Sarah Johnson

Sounds very different. 00:40:00Rachel Berlak

It's very different. Yeah, yeah. 00:41:00Sarah Johnson

So how did that transition happen? 00:42:00Rachel Berlak

I ended up getting sick again. And so I left teaching and I just kind of never went back and I ended up actually working in through kind of my like healing process, I ended up working in a couple of alternative healthcare provider offices where I was getting treatment, and then from that I transitioned to working in into more traditional healthcare like I worked for Mercy Health for six years. And then I transitioned- it was still sort of in healthcare, but I worked for durable medical equipment- a company that provided durable medical equipment, so it was kind of in healthcare. And then I ended up working- I guess prior to that, when I was looking for a job, I ended up going through a placement agency that placed people working in the medical field. I was mostly doing administrative work, like front desk work, like anything that was non clinical is the work I was doing at all these- even at the alternative healthcare place I worked the front desk there atthose couple of places and I ended up- when I decided I needed to transition just for the money aspect, I ended up going through a medical staffing agency that placed me at Mercy Hospital and- actually, let me back up. I applied through them, and they had me actually come and work for them instead of placing me somewhere. So I worked for them, and then they actually downsized, and so then they placed me somewhere. They're like, well, we're going to have to lay you off. We're downsizing, but we're not going to just, like, fight. We're not going to let you go. We're going to find you a position. So then they found me this position at Mercy Hospital and from Mercy, I went to the Durham Medical Equipment Company and then I went back to this agency that placed me at Mercy. They actually asked me to come back and work for them again. And then from there, I ended up- so when I was working at the staffing agency, that was kind of working in the area of HR. So that transitioned me- this job that I have now is the first time I'm working not in the medical industry. After I left teaching, everything was medical. 15 years was medical and then I went with the the HR part of it rather than in the medical direction. So that's how I ended up kind of where I am now because of the experience I got on the HR side working with the staffing agency. So that's how I ended up where I am now. 00:43:00Sarah Johnson

Sounds like a lot of bouncing around, but it sounds like a fun journey. 00:44:00Rachel Berlak

It's a lot. I mean, I'm hoping where I am now is where I'll retire from. So that's my, excuse me, I took a lot of time. When I was applying for the job I have now I took a lot of time, and was very picky this time around because my idea was let me not have to do this again. 00:45:00Sarah Johnson

Right. 00:46:00Rachel Berlak

I went about the process of looking for this job very differently than my last job, and I turned interviews down. I turned offers down. I was employed so I didn't have to jump at anything and I waited until I found something that was a good fit for me. So my goal is to hopefully stay where I am and not move again. 00:47:00Sarah Johnson

And do you feel like it's a good fit for you? Do you do you like your job? 00:48:00Rachel Berlak

Yeah, I do. 00:49:00Sarah Johnson

Good, I'm glad 00:50:00Rachel Berlak

And I'm working from home, which is nice. I wasn't working from home until I got sick a year ago, and they've just been also really, really gracious with me. Like, whatever you need to do, very accommodating of me going through this whole last year of treatment, which is- You know, I'd be having to miss work. And so I was actually, I was really the only one on my team who was working from the office full time and my team is spread out around the country. So I transitioned to working from home after I started treatment and they've just been very gracious and very kind and very understanding through all of this. And I feel very thankful for that. It's hard enough without that, but I can imagine that not all employers would be this good and kind. 00:51:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad that you have found that with an employer. To back up a little bit, whenever you had first graduated from UMSL, what was it like trying to find that job? 00:52:00Rachel Berlak

Actually surprisingly, it was very easy. One of the teachers who I had done student teaching with, who was actually, I had had her as a PE teacher and then I asked to be placed with her because she was still teaching because I liked her so much- 00:53:00Sarah Johnson

Do you remember her name? 00:54:00Rachel Berlak

Yes. Her name was Joyce Sabine. 00:55:00Rachel Berlak

And I liked her so much. The thing is, interestinglyingly, I actually hated PE class. I was always very physically active and liked being physically active, but not exactly in a sports kind of a way and I just remember really loving this teacher and I when I first asked to be placed with her and when I first went and met with her, I'm like, I don't really know why I liked you. Because I hated PE's. And she was like, I just like kids, you know? So just the fact that she just loved teaching and she loved kids and just the fact that, like, I hated PE but still loved her like that, says a lot, you know? And so she actually had a friend who was teaching at this school, and they had a PE opening, she put me in touch with him. They had a PE opening. It was like my first and only interview and like, I just started. So it wasn't much of a job hunt, actually. 00:56:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. So you got that job like, right upon graduation? 00:57:00Rachel Berlak

Yep. Almost right away, yeah. 00:58:00Sarah Johnson

Did you feel like UMSL had prepared you well for that job? 00:59:00Rachel Berlak

Yeah, I feel Like their PE program was pretty good. 01:00:00Sarah Johnson

Even though you're not still involved with physical education with your job now, do you still feel that you are able to apply the things that you learned at UMSL to your current job? 01:01:00Rachel Berlak

I don't know if I would necessarily apply them in my current job, but before I got sick, I’ve continued to be a super physically active person and I feel like I learned a lot of things about health and wellness and the body through my schooling, that helps me in my own personal kind of like, you know, like I just know a lot that helps me with my own health and wellness, I guess. 01:02:00Sarah Johnson

OK, tell me more about that. Is that like, physical health or like mental health or-? 01:03:00Rachel Berlak

I would say probably more physical health, but I still remember some of my anatomy stuff, you know? Like that was probably my favorite class, was my anatomy and Physiology class. And so I still remember some of those things and still feel like I some of the things I learned in school or- Kinesiology, maybe. And then there was a sports training training class-. I can't remember what the actual title of the class was, but I just feel like there's still things that- sometimes things will come back to me about what to do when you get injured kind of a thing, some of those things. I kind of still remember-. Sorry, I'm trying to move this out of the way. This is what's going on here. 01:04:00Sarah Johnson

The cat just wants to be interviewed too. 01:05:00Rachel Berlak

That's right. He just doesn't- Neither of them understand why they wouldn't be the center of attention and if I'm sitting around, they're used to being on my lap. 01:06:00Sarah Johnson

Are you still involved with UMSL in any way? 01:07:00Rachel Berlak

I'm not. 01:08:00Sarah Johnson

OK. Has your perspective about UMSL changed since you graduated? 01:09:00Rachel Berlak

Maybe a little bit. Just just from being in touch with Laura, I learned a little- I know a little bit about what it's like for her. And so, just having a different perspective from someone who teaches there and works there. 01:10:00Sarah Johnson

How, from your perspective, what has been like the biggest change there? 01:11:00Rachel Berlak

It seems like maybe- I don't know. Maybe the Education Department is better than it was. That's the sense I got from Laura. I wasn't, like I said, I was my my PE classes I feel like I got a lot out of them, but I felt like my actual classes in the Education Department were sort of dumb. They didn't really teach you to think or question things. It was a more of a memorization kind of a thing. And it wasn't a lot of the thinking kind of a thing and maybe because Laura works, you know, she obviously isn't quite in the Education Department, but it sounds like a lot of good things go on there from what I hear from her. So, and I realize it's a different department and it was undergraduate which is probably different too, but I just felt like there wasn't a lot of, let's question things and discuss things and it was just sort of like let's just memorize a lot of things. And maybe that's the difference between undergraduate school and graduate school. I'm not sure. 01:12:00Sarah Johnson

OK, so you kind of felt that way in your Education classes, but not your phys Ed classes? 01:13:00Rachel Berlak

Well, I mean, I guess in in my Phys Ed classes, that was kind of what you were there to learn in a lot of ways, is learn very specific, very concrete things. So I felt like education and learning about like what is education for, what's it about and how do we teach? That could have been more of an area for questioning and thinking and philosophizing about things. So could have and should have been more of that in that area, and PE was just very much like you got to learn this stuff and I felt like in a lot of ways, it was just stuff that I just really had to learn. 01:14:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, that makes sense. With that being said, did you feel like your professors were focused on teaching students? 01:15:00Rachel Berlak

I think so. I mean, that's what they were there for. I just think some of them- I don't know, I feel like some of them probably taught the same thing every year, and there wasn't like, what's new out there and what are the issues that we could talk about? It was just kind of like, we're just going to teach kind of the same thing every year and not really do anything outside of that. And in education, I would imagine that's one place where you should be like, what's new and what are the issues and what are the- that's a thing that that should happen in an education department. That didn't happen. 01:16:00Sarah Johnson

Besides- we talked about UMSL affecting your views on health and wellness out outside of your career. Do you feel like UMSL has affected other areas outside of your career? 01:17:00Rachel Berlak

Not really. 01:18:00Sarah Johnson

Were there any particular individuals who impacted your experience in a particularly important way that we haven't talked about yet? 01:19:00Rachel Berlak

I don't think so. I remember really loving my biology class there. But I didn't really develop a relationship with the professor or anything. I did mention this, but I actually did do a number of years- I bet you I was working at the time. I did a number of years at Community College too and just took some of the like the basic stuff. And I took a couple of courses at Webster University as well, because my mom had taught there. So I think the classes might have been free. I had forgotten about that. But I took a bunch of classes, so some of my classes did actually transfer over to UMSL and I was able to get credit for them. I didn't actually get an associates degree, but I was able to transfer some of my classes over. 01:20:00Sarah Johnson

With that biology class, why do you think you liked it so much? 01:21:00Rachel Berlak

The guy was just really interesting and really dynamic. Apparently he's still there. 01:22:00Sarah Johnson

Oh, what's his name? 01:23:00Rachel Berlak

Charles Granger. 01:24:00Sarah Johnson

I wouldn't know him, but.- 01:25:00Rachel Berlak

Apparently he's got quite a reputation, but he was just really dynamic and really interesting like I just never thought I would have ever been interested in science and it was just very interesting and it was for the first time, I was like, oh wow, this is really interesting. He was a dynamic guy. He's a dynamic guy. So on the last day of class, he would always, and I don't know, if he still does this, but he wrote his motorcycle up onto the- I don't know if they call it the stage, but the big front- one of those huge lecture halls and he would apparently at every class, every year, he would ride his motorcycle up onto the podium. Every single year, I wonder if he still does that. He may be a little old for that, but I'll have to ask around. It’s a thing apparently. 01:26:00Sarah Johnson

I see what you mean by dynamic. 01:27:00Rachel Berlak

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:28:00Sarah Johnson

Are there things that you learned in college that's changed the way that you view the world? 01:29:00Rachel Berlak

I don't think so, no. 01:30:00Sarah Johnson

Or like or like, did you ever have your values or beliefs challenged in some way from UMSL? 01:31:00Rachel Berlak

Not a lot, not a lot. 01:32:00Sarah Johnson

I hear you have an interesting story to tell about UMSL. Unless it was the motorcycle thing. 01:33:00Rachel Berlak

No, it's not the motorcycle story, no. So the story is that, and actually, Laura and I recently when I was over at her house, we looked and found all of the articles and things in the archives of the current. You can actually go back and, I didn't realize there were that many articles around all of it, but you can actually go back and read all of it. So this the story is that they used to have a sexy legs contest in one of the frat houses, I don't even know if they still have frat houses. I think we tried to look at that. So right in the middle of campus on one of the sidewalks, every year would have this really obnoxious sign advertising their sexy legs contests like it was one of those kind of things that you stand up there's 2, it goes like this and you, you know how, you see signs in front of stores and things. Like that it's two large boards. 01:34:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, yeah. 01:35:00Rachel Berlak

Yeah. So it's just like that. And so it was this just really obnoxious sign with an obnoxious painting on it of, women and legs advertising their sexy legs contest. And I was walking by every single day I had to walk by this sign and I found it really obnoxious and really offensive and. And so one day I went home and I got a can of green paint and came back and destroyed the sign with paint and it became a huge thing on campus. 01:36:00Sarah Johnson

Oh my gosh. 01:37:00Rachel Berlak

Like they held this big forum to discuss what happened and why they should- they wanted input from peoples in- they wanted to know basically how people felt about all of it, so it created this huge like, you know, discussion on campus of, excuse me, should we have this and is it offensive and all that kind of stuff. To me it was like- that would never fly now. But even in 1998 or 1997. Whatever date it was like I I just sort of was like, what's going on here? Like it was just so obnoxious? I don't care if we're in the middle of Missouri. This is just it was just so obnoxious. So they must have printed in the Current, basically inviting me to come and speak out about why I had done that and my feelings and whatever. And at that time so being up in the PE department, as you might imagine, it was like very male and very like testosterone heavy. You're going to see a lot of kind of sexism up there. So I heard a lot of talk, and of course, they're like people were blaming- like, well, it must have been such and such. This woman, who they thought was a lesbian on campus like you heard them- people whispering about, well, it must have been her. I would be up there and I would be in the gym working out and the whole baseball team would be working out up there or whatever, and I would hear all these whispers. And I was like y'all have no, like, I'd be walking around hearing this and be like y'all. I'm sure, they thought it was some, like lesbian, you know, whatever stereotype they had about a lesbian and so they pinned it- they were like, oh, it must be- I can't even remember her name now, but this was someone who was very out and very outspoken, so people on campus knew her and knew her name. People were just at that time I was just picturing like if I actually showed up at this thing to speak I was picturing retaliation, I was actually feeling like it might not be a safe thing to do, so I instead I wrote a letter, and at that time the Current had on their front lawn, they had this mailbox, like one of those mailboxes on a wooden post. And I just went and put a letter in there explaining why I had done what I had done and I signed it “the vandal”. 01:38:00Sarah Johnson

SIgned it what? 01:39:00Rachel Berlak

I signed it the vandal because they were calling me “the vandal”. So I signed it “the vandal”. So then it ended up getting printed in the Current and the title of it said “the vandal speaks out”. The whole thing for me, my main thing was I was just tired of looking at that **** every day, you know what I mean? Like F’ing obnoxious, you know, walk by this thing every day and I didn't want to look at it anymore. Like I wasn't trying to- I'm not sorry because it was a discussion that needed to happen but I just didn't want to look at it anymore and that was my main thing. I was like, I'm just gonna get rid of the sign was basically my thing, but it ended up being quite a bit- that's the only time I've ever been actually published. I can say that I've actually been published now so. It was very- I had forgotten how much Hullabaloo and how much- there had been discussion there had been around it, like when we went back and looked at it. I didn't realize there were all these articles and things like that, and I actually did show up at the forum in the audience, but I didn't stay for very long because I had somewhere to be. But when Laura and I were looking through these articles, turns out this was not the first time this had been an issue that somebody had maybe spoken out about it. And believe it or not, that sexy legs contest- It was dismantled for a while, but then it actually ended up coming back for a while. Isn't that something it? It was still going on obviously when I was there. But it's just amazing to be out entrenched that kind of stuff was it's like, you actually brought it back? Because obviously this had been an issue so. 01:40:00Rachel Berlak

That's my- and that's Laura was like you got to participate in this project and you got to tell this you got to tell this story. 01:41:00Sarah Johnson

So is this the first time you telling this story? 01:42:00Rachel Berlak

Well, I mean, I've never, I've told it to friends before. Not, I mean, obviously I told it to, Laura, I've told it to several people before, but it's not something I tell on a regular basis these days. So there are a couple of people who I told it to many years ago, like when it happened. 01:43:00Sarah Johnson

Right. 01:44:00Rachel Berlak

But I ended up talking to- it must have been a month or so ago talking to Laura about it, and we ended up- she's like ohh the Current is actually archived. And we went and found all this stuff and I had sort of forgotten how much, excuse me, how much sort of hullabaloo? It's kind of like an old person's word, I'm sure, but how much- Mayhem is not even really the right word. I don't know what the word is but I remember the forum and I remember them printing my letter, but I hadn't really remembered- I think somebody ended up, which I didn't maybe realize or maybe I did at the time, but somebody ended up printing an editorial about like, it's time to let this sexy legs contest go. There were more things around it that I had sort of forgotten about. 01:45:00Sarah Johnson

When you did it, did you expect that to cause so much of a discussion about it? 01:46:00Rachel Berlak

I don't think I thought about it. I feel like I was just really ****** *** that I had to look at this ******** every day, you know. And I don't think I thought much beyond that. I probably didn't think it was going to cause much- Maybe the frat boys would just be, like, darn it and make a new sign. I don't think I thought it would make such a big thing. 01:47:00Sarah Johnson

I said it's cool that you that it that it did. 01:48:00Rachel Berlak

It is. And frankly it wouldn't have, but obviously somebody in the fraternity must have complained about it. Rather than them being embarrassed and slinking away and realizing that, like there's a reason somebody did it and it's because a bunch of like ******** were doing this- You have to beep out all this stuff probably. I should watch my language. Does it matter? 01:49:00Sarah Johnson

I don't think so. 01:50:00Rachel Berlak

But it's not like they went like, Oh my God, you know, we're real jerks. We shouldn't be doing this. Like, they just probably like, ohh, they've defaced our sign. It probably never occurred to them that- they just thought it was somebody being obnoxious rather than like, actually, obviously, if they created in the first place, they're not going to be the kind of people that are like, oh, maybe this is offensive. You wouldn't have done that in the first place if you thought that that would be offensive, but obviously they must have been the ones that made a thing about it, because how else would it have become, become such a thing? So they must have complained and said- I don't actually know how that happened. But they must have complained that their sign got defaced and that's why it became such a big thing. 01:51:00Sarah Johnson

So you had said that that the Phys ed department was like a male dominated space. So how did you feel about being a woman in that space? 01:52:00Rachel Berlak

You know, there were a number of women becoming PE teachers. If you're in the space where there's a lot of male sports teams, then there's definitely- there must be or must have been more men's sports teams than women's sports teams, because I just remember being in the gym working out and there being like a whole team down there, and I don't remember that nearly as much with women. I mean, I know they have a women's basketball team, but I'd be interested to know, and I don't know the answer to this, if at that time or at this time, there were more men's teams than women's teams. I felt like in my PE classes, there were definitely women, but like then when you would be- that's the place where all the sports teams were. Besides that, like in the gym or wherever that there were a lot more men around. 01:53:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, yeah. I know with like all the title 9 stuff now, sometimes it actually causes some campuses to have more women's sports than men’s because it's more difficult, like to like if you're losing funding, it's harder to get rid of the women's sports now because they’re protected. If it wasn’t created in the first place though, then, it could be a different story. 01:54:00Rachel Berlak

Right. Well, that's interesting. I'd be curious to know if there are more women's sports now than there were when I was there. Or if it was just my imagination, and it felt like more male-dominated because there would be the whole baseball team down there. It could be just- I felt like that's how it was and maybe- that's not how it was. I don't know. 01:55:00Sarah Johnson

But as far as like the administration of those sports went, did you feel like it was also pretty male dominated? Were you involved in that kind of space at all? 01:56:00Rachel Berlak

I wasn't. I used to help out sometimes with the women's basketball team. Like at their practices cause I had a friend who was maybe assistant coach? So there were a couple times when I helped out with practices onthe volleyball team and in the basketball team. But I wasn't playing a sport, so I don't know a whole lot about that whole thing. 01:57:00Sarah Johnson

If there's one thing that you could change about your experience at UMSL or your experience with the phys ed department or the Education department, or just UMSL campus in general, what would it be? 01:58:00Rachel Berlak

I think it would be like we talked about earlier, the actual education, not the PE part, but the education part, better discussion of ideas and theories and issues around education and teaching and what it's about and different ideas about it. I think it would have been nice to have more of that as opposed to just the rote- memorize these things. So I think that would be the main thing that I would have liked to have been better there. 01:59:00Sarah Johnson

And what was your favorite thing about being a student at UMSL? 02:00:00Rachel Berlak

I think some of my classes. Like my anatomy and Physiology class my applied kinesiology class. And there was an exercise Physiology class. Like some of my sort PE science classes, I think I liked a lot. 02:01:00Sarah Johnson

And is there anything else that you want to share that we haven't covered yet or anything else you want to speak on about, UMSL? 02:02:00Rachel Berlak

I don't think so. Not unless you have any additional questions. 02:03:00Sarah Johnson

I don't think so. I think we've basically covered it. But thanks again for your willingness to sit down with your, with your busy schedule and your limited energy. I really appreciate you making the time. 02:04:00Rachel Berlak

Well, thank you. I appreciate it too. It was fun. 02:05:00Sarah Johnson

Good, good. I had fun too, so thanks for contributing to our UMSL at 60 project. I enjoyed it, and your insights are very profound. That story is just- That's great. Thank you. 02:06:00Rachel Berlak

But I think I might actually go back and find some of those articles, and read some more of them. Or reread them anyway. I probably have hard copies of some of them at least saved somewhere, but it was kind of fun to go back and, like read those. 02:07:00Sarah Johnson

I'll have to ask Dr westoff what issue it was. 02:08:00Rachel Berlak

There were several issues that talked about it because there was- there must have been maybe three or four issues because there was maybe the issue where it happened and they made a comment about it. Then there might have been then another issue inviting me to the forum. There was probably the issue where they published my letter and then I think there must have been at least the issue which- that's part of what I didn't really remember- is the issue where somebody wrote kind of an editorial about it so. I think we looked at several different issues of it, but she can probably point you towards at least when the whole thing started. We looked through several different issues to find stuff. 02:09:00Sarah Johnson

Did it happen over a long period of time? 02:10:00Rachel Berlak

I don't think it could have been more than a couple of months, but I can't say for sure. I can't imagine that it went- I don't know, how often does the Current get published? 02:11:00Sarah Johnson

I'm not sure. I thought it was once a month, but I'm not sure. 02:12:00Rachel Berlak

So then maybe it was several months. I can't imagine that it went on for much longer than that though. 02:13:00Sarah Johnson

OK, I'll have to find it, but otherwise, thanks again. 02:14:00Rachel Berlak

Thank you. And I'll sign that- I'm assuming I can e-sign the thing. 02:15:00Sarah Johnson

Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna hit and on our recording. 02:16:00Rachel Berlak

OK.