Strips 53-57 of the popular comic strip Molarity, which previewed in The Observer in 1977.
53 This is the first cartoon from my sophomore year, August 26, 1978. The Observer headline was “Over Crowding Greets Freshmen.” The sports articles had the audacity to hope for a repeat national championship.
54 No one ever noticed, but Chuck’s annual debut would involve emerging as Jim’s roommate no matter what Jim did. A below-the-fold cover article in The Observer noted that annual tuition rose by $300 to $3,780 and room and board was up $50 to $1,400.
55 Being in The Observer on a regular basis allowed me to hit campus issues right away. The campus population expanded in part to an increasing number of female Domers and more upperclassmen staying on campus. (Was there a link?) Notre Dame scrambled to provide on-campus housing. This was before the 1990s when Notre Dame could randomly select an alumnus and ask him/her to donate $8,000,000 to build a new dorm.
56 This was the last remnant of an appearance for the mysterious fourth roommate to Jim, Mitch and Chuck. Doug, as previously noted, appeared in one cartoon (the pep rally) and was referred to in another series (where Jim poses as Doug but his laundry label gives him away).
57 Okay a little toilet humor is standard fare for college humor. FYI, WRBR was the dominant local rock station, which, compared to WPLJ or WNEW in New York, was pretty bad. How bad? Google “Martian Boogie” by Brownsville Station and you’ll get an idea.
See the first five classic strips. Check back monthly for more classic Molarity strips. Molarity Redux, the updated, continuing adventures of Jim Mole and friends, also is posted monthly. For those new strips, check out the cartoon archives.