University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 20 text:

4,4 A A a 1 ! lx -:--,W - 'quiz 6' s V 'V 'w 1' W : 5: i ' 1 1 , as ' ' A , . I V Q 1 .,,. . 'Q .Q . ,M ru filfyj 'Q '- V-. ir f t.-I ' f If - K i- ' W ' 1 k '-f-:un . ,J- to be sure-yet it is an experience far dearer to the Freshman heart than any class-room honor could be. Tradition places next in the college year inter- class football games. Not only do the Freshmen and Sophomores engage in this strenuous sort of contest, but even the two upper classes forget the dignity of their positions and meet in open combat on Bovard field. The struggle between the under- classmen however is by far the more important, for its result is regarded as a fair indication of where the honors will rest throughout the year. This year for the first time a debate was introduced into the program of underclass contests, a prece- dent which bids fair to be followed 'by future classes. The willing rivals find that college cus- tom offers other opportunities too for matching their strength, and with irrepressible spirit they continue to divide honors. It is said that some years ago a similar spirit of rivalry found its way into the ranks of our Faculty, who, deeming it beneath their dignity to strive with one another, undertook to give vent to their surplus energy in a baseball game with the Seniors, the most harmless looking of the classes from the stand- point of athletics. So every year the Faculty and Seniors try their hands at baseball: the former in the hope of administering the Final touch to four 'iv 19

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College Tradltlons just as experience and habit serve largely to mould the personality of the individual, so it is that tradition and custom are most important factors in creating the atmosphere of an institution. There arc few institutions to which tradition means more than to colleges. ln fact, it is tradition largely that controls the life of a collegeg and woe to him who disregards it! For nearly thirty years our University has been growing, and nearly thirty different classes have had a part in making and preserving the traditions which we so honor today and which add a peculiar interest to the years we spend here. VVC have enough of tradition to initiate the Freshman into our honored company with all due impressiveness, and enough to lend an air of fitting dignity to the Senior's farewell. It is not expected that the Fresh- man will grasp immediately the full significance of the term tradition, but it is expected that he will learn from experience. So it happens that before he has spent many days in our halls of learning, he suddenly finds himself in the midst of a great rush. a terrible mix-up of heads, legs and arms that belong to numerous Freshies and Sophs struggling in a determined effort to defend their chosen colors. This inevitable class rush has sometimes led the zealous rivals to the roof of our highest building, sometimes to the dark depths of the old duck pond. A rather violent introduction to college customs, 18

Page 21 text:

.1 Y iv YS 'YW Lrli 'f,.:T i ' i Y - v. ai A L., -,., ' ' . is . , m - . I PM ' I ff' - x ,. . H -'A f ilu V P T :ki t V I .5 .. ' ' 'X'-fi. r E ' yf 2 . . - - L L - -, 3, 5-' Q ' . 45 Q Y, s .-.rp .e 1-LI i ., 5-' 'f Ffx , t, t D- it . -- V, .-, .4-4.-. -psi'-'. years of disciplining, the latter in a desperate at- Une who has tempt to get even with the l,'rofs. never seen the Faculty play can scarcely realize what a formidable foe the Seniors haveg for equipped with ily-paper to catch the llies, coops to hold the fouls and automobiles to carry the players from base to base, the Faculty has been known to put np a brilliant game. Tradition not only controls interclass etiquette, but also sets the fashions of the campus. ln ac- cordance with its dictates the Seniors early in the year appear at chapel in caps and gowns, and some time later, reserving' their somber regalia for special occasions, they don the sombrero. This is the sig'- nal for the other classes to display distinctive hats and caps, which, in their gay colors contrast sharply with the more modest Senior apparel. 1'll'CCCliClll. has assigned class hats to the juniors and caps to the Sophomores and Freshmen. The men of the Senior and junior classes enjoy also the sole right to wear corduroys, and the duck pond could tell many a tale of the sad fate of corduroyed under- classmen. As the year draws to its close and the days of college life are carefully numbered by the Seniors, the influence of tradition is felt more than ever. Ever to be thanked is the class that established the precedent of Sneak Day for Seniors, when they declare their independence by leaving books and classes behind and betaking themselves to the beach or mountains for a day of merry-making. Of course me miss them, especially when we see those 20 '