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

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Twenty long drawn-out sighs! Twenty girls snuggled guiltily down for those last delicious forty winksf, This is six- thirty in the morning at the Girls' Hall. llut an hour later- what a change! The insistent summons of the japanese chimes are answered by each of those twenty girls, but in vastly dif- ferent ways. Mrs. Collins stands at the head of the table and watchesg first, the one or two girls who are always on time and who are always quite prepared for the day even to their stocks and beltsg then come the hungry girls who are always on time but whose collars and belts are always missingg finally, the rest of the girls come in with a wild rush and scramble, showing plainly that their forty winks have lasted until just live min- utes before the breakfast bell rang. X'Vhat a sight! There are short dressing sacks for the small change, and usually a long kimona for the girl with the most hair, a funny Chinese-looking blouse for the athletic girl, and other charming effects too numerous to mention. llut, at last, everyone is assembled, the Lord's Prayer is repeated, chairs are drawn back, everyone sits down and the day really begins. Dormitory spirit. Of course you have heard of it, but to get the real concentrated essence of the condensed article you have to live right with the girls and be a part of that spirit in order fully to appreciate and understand it. First, last, and al- ways the girls are good friends. To be sure it is kind of hard to realize it sometimes, for these same good friends do stunts which make the offended want to say things. Now wouldn't it exasperate you to come to your room late some night and find your bed all taken to pieces and stacked outside the doorg the contents of your bureau drawers suspended from the chan- delier: your pictures tacked neatly on the floor and your rugs gracing the ceiling? All because you had kindly and generously told the girls to make themselves at home while you were gone! And then wouldnlt you want to throw things when the girls stood around afterward and moralized on the evils of get- ting into a temper over trilles? Wlell, liess didn't throw things, she pinched, and since then the two musical girls have had to ' 24 5524 it

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i1.l selves sitting under the motto, Wisdom will die with usef, It seemed so good a joke that at the end of the exercises the President of the junior class was called to the platform and presented with the Button-partially in retaliation for the motto mutilation-with instructions that it should always remain in the Senior class and be jealously and care- fully guarded. From that time it has passed from the outgoing to the incoming Senior class with seeming' regularity. By the time it reached the class of '95 the bar had become so loose that it was replacedxwith a silver one. NVhen it reached the class of '98 they were compelled to place a new back upon the now historic emblem, and in 1900 the rim had become so worn that a silver one was put on itf' So the history of the old tin Button may be traced. However much the llutton itself may have changed through all these years, its his- toric significance and the jealousy with which it is guarded still remain the same. Many an interesting' tale might be told that has come down to the students of today from the early history of our University, and it would he a pleas- ant task to recall themg but traditions for the most part have been noted here, that take the form of cus- tom, because they are the ones that have more vital interest for the student life of today. I af , ' 5 gif l WY? 23

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1nake mysterious purchases at XVeaver Jacksons After all, that kind of thing is mighty good for a girl. She learns to keep her wits and to prevent others from getting the best of her, she learns to sail serenely through little annoyances, striving all the while to be gameg and she develops her creative ability in thinking up new stunts to outdo the lately victorious ones. But it does seem pretty hard on the college boys when they have to be victimized in this educating process. Wfhy, a fellow never knows, when he calls on one of the Hall girls but what thc entire household will solemnly greet him and stick around as though they considered themselves the light of his eyes, while they are inwardly shrieking over his evident discomfort. And a good many have had their last good-night word QU interrupted by a pitcher of cold water descending mysteriously from the front balcony. Then, too, it is not the most pleasant thing in the world to make a first attempt to call at the Hall and find your- self greeted enthusiastically by a tender serenade. llut then, there certainly is not a dearth of boys which these circumstances would lead one to suppose. Oh, no, the appearance of the Hall is far from feminine most of the time. incidentally, tl1e girls study. Yes, I know it does seem fool- ish when there are so many other things to do, but there are spasmodic streaks of it. Even though some of the members may be off for a jollilication there is sure to be one who has a per- fectly Herce paper to write for Tully, or some who have to cram all night for one of Prof. Ulrey's exams. And so there is a sort of studious atmosphere Hoating around after all. And when the brain-storms become too numerous Mrs. Collins gets together all of her girls and their masculine accessories, and takes them off to one of the parks for a moonlight picnic. It is such impressions as these, such experiences which, taken as a whole, form the good-fellowship life of the Girls' I-Iall. And under the womanly guidance of Mrs. Collins, the Matron, this life has proved to be one which smoothes away rough places, and rounds out the character of each and every girl who stays there. WIN HODGE HALL HASH ' The fellow who is so fortunate as to go through college with- out having some of the sharp corners rubbed off by the gentle processes known only at boarding clubs, has surely missed a val- uable part of college life. Any one who doubts this statement of a fact which is true regardless of any proof to the contrary, may verify it by spending a few weeks with the boys at Hodge I-Iall. llefore he has been engaged for half an hour at the game in which the glad hand plays a prominent part, he will be ready to believe anything without proof. Society there is not divided into classes-unless it be into Fellows and More Fellows,-but every fellow is as good as the next. If one seems to have forgotten that others exist besides himself, 'his memory is likely to be jogged somewhat violently,- for he will sometimes come home late at night to Find his door 25