Clemson University - Taps Yearbook (Clemson, SC)

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The 1966 TAPS Junior-Senior provided a perfect end of the year as students en- joyed shagging to the band provided by CDA. The last social event of the year, the dance vjos follov ed by the usual houseparties and fraternity parties. Dionne Warwick performed at the Saturday night TAPS Junior-Senior, pro- viding Sonne of the best entertai nment at any dance. ;-vW? .»»A m m ' - J- Slow dancing had not yet evolved to putting both arms around a date in 1967. Couples like this one still enjoyed getting as close as possible while gazing soul- fully into each others eyes. 29

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Homecoming ' 66 featured the show- manship of Little Anthony and the Impe- rials. Bringing a good show to the cam- pus, the group provided music for a great weekend of partying. By 1973, the student body was too large for dances to be held. Concerts be- came the main occupation of the CDA and other groups. Flash Cadillac brought 50 ' s rock and roll to a packed Harcombe Commons. yi4 28

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College talk Nix on the slang Take it from us, kid, there ' s no nourishiment in slinging the slang stuff. That ' s a cinch. Slang ' s all to the bad. It don ' t get you anywhere. Forget that Norwegian college professor who says the American slang is the swell talk. He ' s trying to put one over on us. Either somebody ' s been handing him a lemon or else he ' s trying to con us. Listen! You can ' t make a hit with the tony guys unless you get a little style into your lingo. The trouble with slang is that it puts your vocabulary on the blink in a jiffy. And then when you want to have a touch of the high life and throw the lugs, you ' re in bad. See? Do you get us? Have some class about you, and cut it. This paragraph appeared in the 1913 TAPS. The following is a new release from the Clemson University Educational News Service by Ross Cornwell. ' Man, even though I was suckin ' wind, the rack monster got me today, I was late for an eight and bombed BUGS 200. For the uninitiated, this statement by a college stu- dent means: Even though I was worried about failing the course, I overslept this morning, was late for my eight o ' clock class and failed a test in introductory entomology (study of insects]. The jargon by which college students communi- cate - often to the bewilderment oftheirparentsand older friends - is a curious blend of colorful phrases, mixed metaphors and invented words that will be a long time finding their way into the dictionary. At Clemson University if you are a male and a coed calls you a gorp, she finds you unattractive, and if you were the last man on earth, she ' d be reluctant to date you. Or she might call you a nerd, which is a gorp who isn ' t bad looking but is conceited. If she calls you a hunk, you pass with flying colors. It means you ' re ter- rific looking. Skip Eisiminger, an English department professor who has studied student jargon on the Clemson campus, calls slang that area of language that al- lows the linguist to show himself human and reveals much of the humor and ingenuity of language mak- ers. Eisiminger says, The naming by students of well- known places, both public and private, on campus provides a vivid picture of experiences associated with such places. Thus, commuter and resident parking lots are vari- ously dubbed East Egypt, the Pit, the Hole and the Jungle. The College of Architecture building, where student projects often go on day and night, is The Land of the Midnight Sun. Old Green Tom is the statue of the university ' s founder, while Tilly is the clock in Tillman Hall tower. The Wall is the brick wall in front of a particular dormitory upon which, according to one coed, jocks (athletes) sit while they practice girl-watching and wolf-whistling - a good place for a girl to stop to tie her shoelace. Society Hill is the term used by residents on west campus to refer to students who live in new high rise dormitories and eat in the new cafeteria on east campus. The term slums is used by Society Hill students to refer to their counterparts who live on west campus. Like professional football, college slang relies heav- ily on the military for key words. You can bomb a test (flunk it] or blitz it (do well]. A male student can fire on a coed (ask for a date] and run the risk of getting shot down (be refused or stood up] . And if a couple say they ' re off to the submarine races, they plan to do what used to be known as parking. Thething a person with a big appetite - a lunch lip - does best is to pork it up, and he might consume a lot of munchies (snacks]. A person who isn ' t with it is a Space Cadet or Out in Left Field. A person without nimble fingers is a Lobster, while one who talks a lot, says little and is generally undesirable to be around is a Turt ey. Care packages contain food from home, the dude ranch is fraternity row, and to scope is to look at a classmate ' s quiz paper, Intercollegiate rivalry also crops up in Clemson slang. In reference to the University of South Carolina, a chicken breast sandwich bought in the canteen is a Gamecock 90 (it costs 90 cents]. With lettuce and tomato added it becomes a Gamecock 100 (10 cents extra). Even armed with a complete primer on college slang, there are so many variations that parents might be tempted to throw up their hands and say. It ' s all Greek to me - a statement open to misinterpreta- tion. For decades Greeks have been the college stu- dent ' s way of referring to fraternity members. 30