Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

Page 23 text:

The Union began its round of activity by spon- soring tea dances . . all pub- lications issued calls for sophomore workers: and Playshop, Al Stewart, P.l.A., and W. S. C. A. sought talents suitable for their needs . . juniors began strutting around the Union Building, important in their new found glory . . seniors tried to look sophisticated and p ro b a b l y deceived everyone but themselves . . the Sweet Shop, Bowling Alleys, Grill, and Card Room were four o'clock rendezvous . . The Union was a beehive from four to six, became full of meeting- seeking students by eight, and the coke dates stream- ed in at ten. By eleven o'clock the building was deserted save for those cleaning up and a few ac- tivity workers who had to side-step the buckets of water and mops in the halls . . The seniors were stealth- ily going to the Village to be measured for their cords about this time . . they didn't dare bring them home until the last minute . . the sophomores were dil- igently tracking down clues while the frosh were eyeing mustaches with increasing envy . . unshaven lips, cul- tivated since the beginning of school, were mutilated and cleaned by freshmen d r u n k with temporary power . . The frosh-Varsity game turned the rhinies out en masse to cheer their repre- sentatives on the football field . . the football season was approaching wh i ch meant that Saturday after- noons could no longer be spent in sleeping.

Page 22 text:

Remember how the Book Exchange raised a howl from the village merchants. . Things happen- ed in rapid succession after classes began on Sep- tember l5 . . the first Variety l-lour was held in Fowler l-lall two days later and the following Fri- day Skull and Crescent sponsored the Freshman Mixer-it was here that the new eds learned the meaning of the six to one ratio . . the ballroom was so jammed that only one conclusion could be drawn-there were enough coeds, just too many fellows . . About this time W,S.G.A, started its an- nual Date Bureau . . uninitiated freshmen and op- timistic upperclassmen tried their hands at the system . . they probably thought that the beauti- ful girls at the W.S.C.A. desk were samples . . lt wasn't much later that the freshmen's UUNT BE world of dreams came tumbling down on their heads. . fraternities faced about and convinced them that each pledge class was the worst in his- tory . . the newcomers were forced to wear those ridiculous pots and throw away their dignity . . the sophomores tormented them, the juniors ignored them, and the seniors paid them too much attention . . instructors picked on them, parents admonished them, and fellow classmen comforted them . . the center of attention, they were made to feel their insignificance . . In direct contrast, the freshman girls were swept into the whirl of social events . . the omnip- otent law of supply and demand was asserting it- self . . joes , personality men, B.lVl.O.C.'s, and social lions all sought their favor . . teas, formals, mixers, dinners, coke dates, and shows were rou- tine. of'

Page 24 text:

Do you recall the Detroit game on September 24 . . summer had not quite giv- en up and the thermometer suggested anything but football . . the seniors par- aded in their derbies, canes, and clean cords, each school trying to out-parade the other . . the Ags brought their usual farm machinery while the Chemicals rode on something which looked as complicated as their equa- tions . . the coeds marched in their corduroy skirts for the first and last time . . The C-old Peppers proved their interest in athletics by opening their mouths at the wonders of a football game . . the first touch- down saw a thousand der- bies fly into the air and two seconds later a thousand derbies came down . . everyone was not surprised later to learn that C-. A. Youngs boys in the M. E. School had won the Ci. A. Young trophy for the best attendance . . the P. S. E.'s were a poor second with a hundred percent turnout . . The night of the game all seniors with cords were admitted to the mixer with- out charge . . the crowded dance marked the last time that the cords were to be recognized as yellow . . their color was to pass from a bright gold to a light tan . . thence to a dirty brown and finally to black . . the ultimate was reached by the second semester when every good senior's cords would stand by themselves in a corner . . The football team began taking those long trips, and the student body marched over to the Big Four station to see them off . . Cimlet, Reamer, and Skull and Cres- cent sponsored pep ses- sions, while the fire depart- ment and the Chamber of Commerce furnished the noise along with student vocal cords.