Wesley L. Peterson (1924-2018) graduated from Syracuse University in 1950 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He entered the University as a sophomore owing to transfer credits from a two-year college and integrated to the social scene quickly. He was a member of two fraternities, Pi Kappa Alpha, a Greek-letter society, and Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity open only to former Boy Scouts. He was also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Peterson served in the United States Army in World War II and was part of the wave of veterans who attended college afterward thanks to the G.I. Bill. He took classes in the College of Applied Science, but like many buildings across campus, L.C. Smith Hall could not accommodate all the new veteran students, and he and fellow students were bussed to an off-site building for at least part of his studies. In this, Peterson felt the effects of the so-called G.I. Bulge, when the University's student population more than doubled, and many students took classes and lived in prefabricated army buildings. By his senior year, Peterson and his wife lived in the trailer park at Drumlins set aside for married student housing. These had kitchens and running water but only detached communal bathrooms.