Dominican College of San Rafael - Firebrand Yearbook (San Rafael, CA)

Page 94 text:

SHIELD DAY COLOR and movement, a sense of unity, the fresh- men ' s thrill of pride in being received as full members of the student body, the older students ' pride in receiving them: these things make Shield Day, these things and many more. The Shield Day ceremony dates back to nineteen twenty-four. It is among the earliest of our traditions and our elders tell us that it will be among our pre- cious memories when we have forgotten almost all of our history except the Battle of Hastings. It comes on a Friday evening, and this one Friday all the school stays on campus with comparatively little lamentation. The event used to fall on the Fri- day nearest to Saint Raphael ' s Day; now it takes place on Hallowe ' en. The final celebration begins at four of the afternoon of Shield Day. Preparations go on for weeks before. The high moment of the ceremony is the presenta- tion to the freshmen of a shield that bears a device and motto carefully chosen by the senior class and set into the class colors of the year. The shield is made of wood, on which the device is painted by the art students, and at the Shield Day banquet, miniature shields mark each freshman ' s place. The president of 90

Page 96 text:

the class is presented with the great shield which she guards in her room and carries on state school occa- sions, but every freshman can place her tiny shield on her own door or in her room. Part of the pleasurable agony of the preparations is in the composition of class songs and practice of the Shield Day play, which is the first dramatic production of the year. At four in the afternoon the freshmen, in impres- sive new caps and gowns, assemble in front of Benin- casa. There they wait until the student body, in aca- demic attire, march in a long train up the twisting road from Anne Hathaway to Benincasa, singing the class songs. Each class is distinguished by the leader who bears the class shield. The freshmen are wel- comed and presented with their shield, which their newly elected class president accepts. Seniors, juniors, sophomores sing in turn their songs, and the fresh- men, in great volume, reply. A serious address given by a faculty member adds to the solemnity and beauty of the occasion. Then the whole student body marches to the chapel for Benediction. At the banquet which follows, the spirit of unison is heightened by the passing of the loving cup, and all the songs are sung again. There follows the excite- ment of the play. The freshmen are now an integral part of the student body. 92