College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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:owards decentralization as students alee advantage of what little night life is available in the Burg. The dating scene, previously as formal as the dances. Now informal relationships where often a quiet evening with wine and cheese and a ood guitarist at a coffee house 3r a rap session in a dorm replaces :he drunken highs of big :ollege dances. PACil. 2(i: Lcll: 1473 Immcaiiiiing dance. Riyhl: 1449 Humccoming Quccn lUuii. PAGI: 27: LcH: lasliiiien wdiikmi durins; due week. Top riiihl: 1474 Wednesday night al (ho Hoi I ' olloi. Boiioni right: Ounean Charlton nlavins; al L ntlc Morris ColVcc House. •• ••• ••• I • J- A ,m if I ' llRSI ' ICTIVL 27

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ormality summarized William and Mary ' s social life during the fifties and sixties. A spring ball held in the sunken garden high- lighted the year. Required chap- perones at fraternity functions until 1965. The administration ' s prohibiting the consumption of ' ' ■W :l V alcohol on campus in the mid fifties made for very stiff, for- mal social affairs and. for a very unpopular administration. A Beer Rebellion by students who claimed that the college should not serve as a parental substi- tute in either social, moral, or P- T? - - MING OUEEN-1 educational matters. Yet the policy stood until 1966. Now the alcohol runs freely but a statement in the new Student Life Policies Handbook prohibits the use and distribution of any drugs. Freshmen at the college twenty years ago were required to wear Due Caps at all times except on weekends to afford upperclass- men the opportunity to get to know the new students. Senior Day when all seniors were excused from classes. A common sight - hoards of college- men gathered daily on the steps of the old Methodist church to watch the girls as they made their way to the P.O.. then located in the arcade. Others preferred jockey corner for its overall view. Plus the silhouettes against the cars were terrific. For meals and entertainment, the fifties offered the Corner Greeks. and Danny ' s Campus Hangout. More recently. Georges, the Delly ' s. and the Pub, and a tendency • ••♦ S % h If , .r • w 26 PERSPEGTIVE

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u--. ; • . Dormitories — a one room home away from home, with everyone except men over 21 required to hve in them. As httle as $55 per semes- ter rent in the fifties. After twenty years of steady deteriora- tion, over $200. In some cases, occupancy was nearly twice normal capacity. Building new dorms, emphasizing smaller units and a more intimate atmosphere alleviated the problem. Resident Assistant no longer just a title, but a responsibility. Change comes slowly: window screens slashed and rooms entered during the sixties. Heavy duty screens installed in late 1973. Once upon a time, William and Marv coeds re- ceived demerits for breaking dorm regulations. Right up until 1971. In 1966, lates were approved for Upperclassmen. A senior was allowed nine one o ' clock curfews a semester, juniors, seven, and sophomores, five. A running record of late minutes could mean a strict campus penalty that restricted a girl to her room for one or both nights of a weekend. A demonstration for individual responsibility in ' 67 and then 28 PERSPECTIVE