Davidson College - Quips and Cranks Yearbook (Davidson, NC)

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ORIESTATIOX, lauded as an cnUglittniny LA-ptrii iia, pruvcd otherwise. GRUESOME REALITY dawned . . . when the Orientation tests were given. In a year of innovations, Davidson College tena- ciously clung to many of the same weathered faces and conservative institutions which yet remained impervious to the flow of liberalism. The foremost of these traditional elements was the gullible fresh- man who slyly tucked his high school annual under his arm and followed his parents to the registra- tion table on the first day of Orientation. The proud alumnus beamed as his heir carefully chose his hand-blocked beanie. Little did that innocent one realize that in the weeks ahead this bit of red and black was to become his passport to campus distinction — the benign symbol of the bootblack and stud-runner. Proudly he slipped the red badge of courage onto that wee head so filled with the dreams of naivete. This was it — he was the College Man. The Orientation labyrinth, .so lauded in the college propaganda sheets as an enlightening experience, proved decisively otherwise. Long-suffering upperclass- men acted as counsellors to their bewildered charges, and they privately jotted down many pre-Rush Week notes. The chapel .seats were uncomfortable ; the audi- torium was stuffy ; there were no girls ; the reception line was endless and — Say! Was that really a girl? You don ' t mean to tell me she is only 14? Wow! What a girl! What a body! The freshmen adjusted to the norm rather quickly. Gruesome reality dawned upon many an ex-valedic- torian when the Orientation tests were given. The College Man was, after all, only three months removed from high school days and their easy glory. He began to feel homesick.

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. . . MASS HYSTKRIA. torn tiiifii riiailx, chcircd prucils . . . STrDKSTS AM) FACri rV ohsrrvtd tluir croicdt ' d chissi-donis icitli disnuiii. With awe he watched the upperclassmen rirajj hack from their summer experiences. He eaves- (li-()l)pe(l on tales from Myrtle Beach ail the way 1o Walla Walla. A lot had hapi)oiied. The only place it apparently did nut happen was at Fort BragR. He made a mental note not to take advanced ROTC. The line at the Bursar ' s office reminded one of a two-hit peej) show, liills were paid and tickets were houKht while the secretaries were mentally seduced. The registration tables became the focal point of the upperclassmen ' s attention. Sophomores ploried in their first electives. Juniors contemplated their niaicis. In mass hy.steria, amid torn fin rernails and chewed pencils, Seniors counted hours and re- checked quality points. Confusion reijrned for several days as quite a few people deserted .some of the professors while there was still time. Durinjr that period, the Collepe Man began to find his place. His cap assumed its automatic fold, and he boujrht his pipe at the stud. The mould was the same; only the faces varied from vear to year.