University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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The Purification of Freshmen Whether freshman hazing will ever totally die out is a question you or I had better not answer. Faculty legislation so fai seems to have been in vain. The sight of the verdant newcomer on the campus stirs the primal savage in the sophomoric breast and leads surely to some outrage of insignificant proportions, perchance, though just as likely to end in something more momentous. It has been the brutal gloating over a defenseless victim that has brought about the very general practice of giving the freshman a thorny entrance into the University. And yet the custom is not utterly reprehensible. To wit, the men who were hazed the hardest in their freshman days show the keenest ingenuity in devising similar trials for the novitiate of others succeeding. Originally a freshman was subject to mere physical torture in order to test his manliness. The custom persists in the tenderness which characterizes some forms of modern Greek letter society initiations. Later the test became less physical and more mental, an effort being made by the upper class men to discover any latent intelligence in the newcomer. Hazing had as many forms as freshman verdure permitted- Particularly of service was the marvelous intricacy of the matriculation scheme as laid down by Recorder ' s Office, military department and gymnasium. Each of these offered infinite fields for the fertile brain of the sophomore. Bogus examinations in all kinds of subjects were given in out-of-the-way rooms by grave student professors. Impossible questions. Blue end ' COMPLETE VICTORY OF THE FRESH. VEX O ' EK THE SOPHS fAT THEIR FIRST RUSH OX THE CAM PC . Blur and Gold, iggo the failure to answer which meant disgrace and rejection, were hurled at the trembling preps. Often more picturesque tests were made, and history is still fresh concerning the case of a certain aspirant for forensic honors, who had his vocal powers tried from North Hall steps to the library, the extemporaneous oration being hurried to its chJse by a deftly thrown bucket of water from the upper floor. Measurement for gymnasium work was a limitless field. Scared freshmen were ' ped in the gymnasium by bogus professors and given a blood-curdling medical examination with strength tests galore. Particularly gullible subjects were sent away king with the understanding that they were so deficient physically that it was a miracle that they could still stagger around alive. Others were given an entirely frent impression of themselves and were flattered to hear that their muscular development had broken all records. Measurement for military suits was always a sure trap, and the undergraduate tailors saw to it that the freshman candidate for regalia furnished enough amusement to pay for their trouble. The greenest freshmen were often given a preliminary drill as a try-out for the colonelcy. One squad a few years ago was so imbued with martial ardor that their drill-master brought his men to a halt about the flagpole and had a dedicatory service with prayer and song, concluding the ceremony with an adjournment to the co-operative store, where eternal allegiance to that institution was sworn. In connection with the military department one perverse tradition holds and is hard to eradicate. It is the very general reception accorded to the awkward -nman recruits on the day that they first line-up for heroic treatment at the hands 21 :

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lue and Mrs. Carrie Nation ' s recent visit to the college town and her enthusiastic reception by a sympathetic student body was a very characteristic undergraduate demonstration. Her arrival in Berkeley, her speech at the hall and her departure were all signalized by some bold action on the part of the college crowd that regarded the Nation tactics as peculiarly adaptable to undergraduate conditions. Both Mrs. Nation and the boys regarded the whole affair with good humor, and the only disgruntled element seemed to be the students ' affairs committee. Another incident, not particularly laudable, but indicating the temper of the students and their arbitrary rule in the town, deals with the refusal of a certain saloon-man to sell liquor to a large party of undergraduates. His place was wrecked by a bombardment of stones, and every chair in the house was taken to the campus and hidden in the most inaccessible heights of the campus trees. Some of the skeletons of these chairs have been only recently found when the trees were felled for new buildings. On another occasion a wagon was taken to pieces, transported to the campus and placed with infinite pains upon the little octagonal gymnasium, where it stood until the college authorities turned a squad of campus workingmen upon the vehicle, dismantled it and restored it to its indignant owner. Poor Alma Mater! Depredations of all sorts have been committed against both town and college, and it would be idle to chronicle more than a few characteristic instances. South Hall has had its dignified roof decorated with an army of barrels, each spire on the top of the building bearing these ornaments. Barrels (and other objects less worthy) have been hoisted to the top of the flagpole, and the ingenuity of the college authorities has been taxed to the utmost to get the unsightly things down and to keep the persistent mischief-makers from repeating the trick. Poor old North Hall once had a bell with a clapper, which was the coveted prize of many student generations. The bell is now dismantled, but a number of clappers are still kept as precious trophies by graduates who recount the exploits with undisguised glee. The library clock has suffered many indignities. It has had its face painted white, much to the mystification of the college public next morning. The clock ' s bell has been tinkered with by adepts so that it has rung hours that never existed in or out of the calendar. And so, ad infinitum. The feud between professors and students died out and was fanned into a blaze according as the undergraduate mind felt that the faculty needed disciplining. A story, very much suppressed, concerns the discomfiture of a certain unpopular president of the University many years ago. When the head of the University sent out invitations to a presidential reception, he little thought of the consequences, for some of the invitations were procured and counterfeits struck off. These were sent to every pugilist and sporting man that could be reached. On the day of the function, these worthies appeared and would not be turne d away. The mingling of college culture and the stars of the prize-ring was most gratifying to the perpetrators of the practical joke. The guests were further electrified that day, so the story goes, by being driven home by very dmnken hackdrivers. their inebriacy being directly due to the quantity of presidential wine furnished them by sly undergraduates who coolly invited the cabbies to make free with the host ' s wine closet in the rear of the house. College tradition does not recognize the famous maxim that to swipe is to steal. Theft, petty larceny, the coveting and removal of a neighbor ' s property has never been considered a very serious breach of the moral law, when the offender was a student. This is a principle that modern enlightenment is jolting. Chicken stealing has long been regarded as an offense peculiar to college men and the darkies. It is interesting to note that in the ' present day this offense in Berkeley is occasionally laid to other doors. O I cm fora ! O mores! The furnishing of student rooms, particularly in fraternities and clubhouses, with stolen goods has, until recent years, been a recognized practice. More than one Greek letter society has its table graced with spoons and silverware gleaned from all the fashionable cafes and hotels in San Francisco, and often from the whole State. But, besides such domestic considerations as tableware and food, the college fraternities have been further fitted out with elaborate decorations in the form of barber poles, mirrors, cushions, and other curios, the ' source of which the present chronicler can well afford to leave in mystery. It might be profitable for the reader at this juncture to consider again the exact nature of the escapades of which he is reading. IT the writer ' s point of view be correct, the persecution of townsman and professor is really all part of the broad hazing custom which is characteristic of the young college. It had its place perjiaps still has its place ; but it is bound surely to ultimate extinction. Official Rush

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lue and of their drill-masters. On account of the fact that sophomores and juniors are all busy in the ranks, this courtesy devolves largely on the senior class, which, only recently liberated from the thralldom of the military department, finds its new-granted liberty so volatile that there must needs be some little celebration of the change. Under self-appointed officers, the seniors usually form a mock company and march in review past the timorous freshman ranks, their exhibition of tactics being scandalous after three years ' instruction. This march often takes the form of a close inspection of the freshman material and a very free comment on the striking points in the demeanor and general appearance of the more noticeable recruits. The first day ' s drill is always made so farcical that nobody in command expects results. The ignorance of the average freshman concerning campus customs was made the excuse for many tricks. New arrivals were sent to the exclusive fraternities to negotiate for board, yes, even for membership. One class a few years ago hit upon the clever device of printing free meal tickets for luncheon at the Dining Association and distributing them to the hungry freshmen. The campus restaurant received a tremendous influx of trade and its proprietors had a sad time collecting their money. The thorny days of intrants are now almost over. With the dissemination of knowledge over the earth and the presence of information committees at all possible places of need, the freshman, though a fool, need not err in the path. These Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. committees after all stand for the broad college spirit which is taking the place of the old class spirit. In the change there is some loss, but there is also great gain. As the old Roman says : Then none were for a party ; Then all were for the State. Out of the custom of hazing have grown several unique organizations, established for the prime purpose of putting the freshman thr ugh his paces. Theta Nu Epsilon is such a society, its active membership being sophomores and its object, the subjugation of unruly freshmen. In order that no evil results may ensue, the sophomore names have ever been kept discreetly secret. The Axe Club, which flourished a few years ago, had a spectacular initiation and s ' everal freshmen were made conspicuous in the eyes of the college world. Just recently, so strong is the hazing spirit, the mysterious Chi Kappa Pi society came into existence and lived long enough to make a number of freshmen famous for the rest of their college career. Rushing the Measly Sophomore Interclass hostility, aside from the practice of hazing, had its manifestations in the hoary custom of rushing, a trial of strength between the two lower classes, in which the freshman was allowed a chance to prove his mettle instead of meekly submitting to a one-sided ordeal where he had no chance to defend himself. Although there were many skirmishes in the intermittent guerilla warfare between freshmen and sophomores, there have come to be in the past a number of set battles, whose times and nature were as fixed as Commencement and Christmas. The initial rush was often the fiercest. It brought out more men, for it meant much to the victor. The class that tied its rival vip on this occasion established a prestige which lasted, as a rule, throughout the whole of the year, and often longer. Hence the seniors and juniors saw to it that a full representation from the lower classes put in an appearance. Often this recruiting developed pitiful cases of bashfulness and quiescence. But on the whole a very determined array of hostile forces assembled. The battle was fought out on the campus plain at night, the whole area being devoted to the conflict. The freshmen got the place of honor and nervousness, waiting for the onset of the sophomores from the hill above. A long line of anxious youths stretched from goal post to goal post and had their spirits kept up by the exhortations of pugnacious juniors. Up on the hill in the gloom the sophomores were gathering, and the unexpectedness of their onslaught helped in no small degree to disquiet the nerve of the waiting freshmen. The clash, always delayed, came with both sides on the qui vive and meeting each other in full gallop. The onslaught once made, the rush became an individual affair, and man-for-man the two classes worked out the question of supremacy. Rope, preferably tarred, and liberally used, baling wire and even handcuffs, if the honor of the class, as well as its purse, demanded heroic measures. all these came into play ; and soon a pile of victims removed to the backstop began to indicate how the fortunes of the battle were turning. Often a sudden rally would turn the tide. Sometimes the deft hands of co-eds, with scissors and penknives, would release a 22: Class Pilgrimage