University of Kentucky - Kentuckian Yearbook (Lexington, KY)

Page 26 text:

mmI nces Chill October air . . . loudspeakers . . . signs . . . side- shows . . . painted men and near-bare coeds . . . noise . . . masses of people . . . several combos blaring. ... A few such nouns and adjectives help describe Lances Carnival, the first big social event of the school year, but only after wading through the crowd under McLean Stadium amid deafening noise and mass confusion can one appreciate the tremendous blast that is the Carnival. Here, the Greeks have one of their first chances to gather up some more trophies, put the pledges through their paces, display the peculiar quality of ham most people have, and too, to raise some money for the Lances' charity fund. At Lances' Carnival, one is likely to see pretty nearly what he saw the last year, but yet he pays his his 15 cents again because generally the skits are worth seeing again. For the carnival midway-wanderer, there is an old car he may beat with a hammer, dancing sorority girls, two rows of pros- pective Queens, bare-legged female barkers, a fraternity sattire of the University administration, skits dealing with anything from segregation to TV Westerns. At the dance the following night, the winners of the skits competition, the Queen and her court are announced, the trophies are passed out, and the revelry continues until midnight in an apparent effort by the celebrants to ward off the approach of Monday, 8 a. m. I

Page 28 text:

1 i The year 1958-59 was no more significant than most years to anybody except the seniors, perhaps, yet in many ways it produced things that will defi- nitely linger in the minds of people who were on this, or any, campus then. Certain styles such as Como sweaters the men wore and the crazy pointed- toed shoes the girls began wearing were peculiar to this year, a year which of course featured carry-over styles from the last season. The rapid influx of for- eign automobiles also became quite noticeable around campus, as sports and economy-minded students and professors alike began taking advantage of their low- mileage performance. Pizza Pie continued to gain in popularity as a tasty, casual meal, which caused several shops featuring the Italian food and its ac- cessories to spring up near the campus. Hi-Fi lost some ground to stereo during the 1958-59 time in- terval, and the jazz music of Brubeck, the Four Freshmen, Garner, Winding and others was heard with increasing frequency from private phonographs, radio and occasional concerts. Playboy magazine did anything but lose its wide following, as its presenta- tion of men's clothing sty'es, music, art, travel, cheesecake and fiction made the monthly worth the required 50 cents for many UK males. Some elements locally found Mad's sattire entertaining, while others studied, and some imitated, characters of the Jack Kerouac variety, who became generally known as the voice of the beat generation, for his books, On The Road, and Dharma Bums. The racks of con- temporary cards in city bookstores provided good browsing and timely gags of sharp wit for use on friends—or enemies. Though it probably won't occur to the class of '59 until it happens, it will be interesting to observe current slang expression such as out to lunch, cool, crazy, don't bug me, man, and others as they gradually suffer the same fate as the 23 Skidoos, etc. of the previous generation. The Contemporary