University of Virginia - Corks and Curls Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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COR? 8 AND C1135 OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR the opening of the University, shown themselves to be uncommonly fond of a good, refreshing riot. An attempt, possibly, to keep the students quieted down was made by some of the members of the faculty in 1842 when they formed a Temperance Society. There was, as might have been expected, considerable opposition from many of the students and, exhilaratingly enough, from members of the faculty as well. Some success was made, however, and a Temperance Hall was erected where the Corner now stands. It is probably safe to say it never received the patronage which the Corner receives to-day. At any rate, demon rum seems to have triumphed in 18 56, for at that time, the Tem- perance Society disappeared. Sports continued to be limited to gymnasium work and fencing and boxing until 1859, when a short-lived Cricket Club was organized. This development of an organized sport was probably due in some measure to the increased enrollment, which had passed the five hundred mark. Nevertheless, commentators were already be- moaning student lethargy and indiEerencc to all forms of extra-curricular endeavor, much as they have done ever since. Interest in diversions seems to have turned by 1845 from debating and crating to the more social phases of entertainment. The Jefferson Society took on the features of a social club and began to give dances. Another club made its appearance at that time and gave prizes each year to the homeliest, prettiest and vainest students. It was not long, however, before the frivolous spirit gave way to an intense interest in political affairs. Before Lincoln's election, the general opinion at the University seems to have favored maintenance of the Union at all costs, but immediately after his victory, a general swing to the secessionists was noted and two student com- panies were formed. In F ebruary of 1861, two students procured a Confederate flag and hoisted it over the Rotunda. Although they were forced to take it down, there was much excitement shown among the students. When President Lincoln called for volunteers to coerce the seceding states, the enthusiasm of the students rose to fever heat and they departed in droves to offer their services to the newly born Confederacy. The student companies were awarded a weeks leave of absence to go to Harper's Ferry with the Charlottesville troops, but the expedition proving uneventful, the students were disbanded on their return and sent home to act as oHicers for their respective states. It is neither easy nor stylish in these days of pacifism to understand the spirit which sent the young Virginia gentlemen into battle. They, however, were not confined and bound in with realistic novels, Laurence Stallings' photographs, or conscientious- objector philosophies. Duty and obligation combined with the prospect of adventure I131

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CORiS AND CURLS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR of examinations which college faculties carried on at that time. In an eEort to do away with this at the University of Virginia, he submitted a resolution to the faculty that a pledge be signed by each student on his examination paper to the effect that he had received no assistance, and that all tutorial espionage be abolished. This was the beginning of the present Honor System and, although for a number of years, the pledge was still directed to the faculty and was under its administration, the matter was soon recognized as a right and possession of the student body who came to guard it jealously from any attempt at faculty or any other supervision. The social life of the students had already, by 1844, taken on many of the aspects which it shows to-day. We find a commentator in the magazine bemoaning the fact that the students were divided into small cliches and that they had become unsociable except in their own sets. He divided all of the students into four categories which could, interestingly enough, he applied with success to-day. They were: The swells, the sheepskins twe call them grinds to-dayi, the men of leisure who talk osten- tatiously of experiences in Europe and . . . complain that the local beauties fall short of what they have recently seen . . . , and the good-for-nothing man, who thinks himself a wit but is really a bore . . . a mannerless man. One of the first purely social organizations was formed in this same year under the name of the Calathumpian band. The membership of this organization was composed, apparently, of the more lawless element and in the next year, the riot fever which had died down after Professor Davis' murder was revived by them. The up- rising started with an attack on the home of the chairman of the faculty and spread from there, starting a week-long ruction. Again, the authorities were forced to call for civil aid. When calm was finally effected, 126 students out of the 194 registered, withdrew from the University and we can suppose that all 126 had been implicated in the riot. The effect of this, coupled with the earlier murder of a professor, had a bad etiect on the impressions of the public concerning the University, and registration fell 03 considerably in the ensuing years. Nevertheless, riots continued. A circus riot in 1846, a political riot the next year, a pitched battle between the Charlottesville police and the students in 1850, and numerous other smaller uprisings, marked gala days for the students of those times. So great was the fear of the people of Charlottes- ville that they stationed a bugler at the top of Vinegar Hill and instructed him to blow a warning blast if he saw a large body of students approaching. As late as 1859, the students were required to pledge themselves unarmed with either pistol or dirk. The last of the riots took place, as many of the older students can remember, in 1929 as a consequence of alleged unfair prices at the local movies. Virginia gentlemen have, from I171

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V CORKS AND CLIBLS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR to send them with single-minded fervor to answer the call of war. It is estimated that 515 of the approximately 600 in attendance in 1861 joined the army before the close of the year. Twenty-seven per cent. of those who had matriculated between 1825 and 1865 saw active service. One has only to see the long list of names on the tablets on the Rotunda to realize that there were many men who dared: One-fifth of the University's sons in active service did not come back. Many of the faculty joined the students in the army, but those who were unlitted for service stayed with the University and performed a beneficial oliice by managing to keep the University in existence. For students, they had men who had been too seriously wounded in battle to return to their troops. In 1862, a military hospital was founded at the University over the protest of the faculty, who felt that other sites could be adopted just as easily and that the use of the grounds for that purpose would endanger the existence of the school. This was not, however, their only difficulty, for three years later, Federal troops took possession of Charlottesville. At the news of their proximity, the facultyis apprehen- sions for the safety of the University knew no bounds and with unconscious bravery, a group of the professors met the incoming troops and demanded protection for the University property. Apparently appeased by the earlier destruction of V. M. I., the Federal oHicers agreed, and set guards over the buildings. Little, if any, looting was done. After the close of the war, it was the faculty again who rose to the occasion and succeeded in keeping the University going. The professors borrowed money to advertise and to restore buildings, and exercised great energy in procuring students. Their success is shown by the fact that 220 matriculated at the start of the session. There began a period of renaissance in the University both in material and more abstract lines. The students were of a different type from those who attended previously. Older and more experienced as only a war can give experience, they exhibited a thirst for knowledge and a seriousness in behaviour which warmed their professor's hearts. The change of the South from agricultural lines to the more in- dustrial types of work, which necessarily followed the War, was reHected at the University by the establishment of a course in engineering and an increased emphasis on the sciences. A new chemistry laboratory was built, and in 1879 a geology building and an astronomical observatory were presented to the University. This same economic and institutional change brought about a number of modifi- cations in the scholastic structure and the system of degrees. The B. S. degree was established in 1868 and the B. Litt. followed in the next year. The Master of Arts degree remained the highest award of the University until 1880 when the Ph. D. ll9l