University of Idaho - Gem of the Mountains Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

Page 16 text:

The Wearin’ o' the Green Ce OVERCOME all the ill-effects of scrapping and hazing between the Sophomores and Freshmen which held sway until the year of 1914 a series of athletic contests was adopted by the students and faculty by means of which the youngsters of the student body could learn to admire and love each other in the shortest possible time. As soon as the classes are organized a day is set for the big contest and Frosh meets Soph in a manly struggle to :decide which is worthy to lay down the law. They wrestle and race—pick-a-back—tug-o-war through a stream of water from a fire-hose and do the Hulme fight, originated by Dean E. M. Hulme. Then when it is all over they attend the “Bury the Hatchet” dance and amiably forget their differences in a general get-together in the gymnasium. Of course it is now nceessary for the Frosh men to wear green caps in order that the “uppers” can readily distinguish them from the Sophomores. This is accepted by them in all good spirit because they know it has been done by generations of Frosh before them and wear them with as much nonchalance as the Junior does his corduroys and the Senior carries his cane. Another object in the enforcement of green cap wearing is this—it is based upon the theory that if a man can bear humiliation without becom- ing naughty he can bear elevation without becoming haughty and thus a ‘ man is quickly catalogued as a good fellow or a “small-town sport” by the manner in which he reacts toward his little green cap. Page Twelve

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th —Kedsins Harvard Contest Gf bee not thoroughly established as a tradition as yet the Harvard Contest may well be considered as such. In no other way is the true spirit of a school expressed so unmistakably as in its rooting at any ath- letic contest. Is the school behind the team? Are its members true sports- men? Are they big enough to take defeat and smile? Can they win a vic- tory without becoming arrogant? All those questions are answered by the way in which the rooters conduct themselves and are conducted by the yell- leader at a game. [or any school to win a prize for its rooting is a com- pliment to its ideals. On the afternoon of October 15, 1920, when Idaho and Washington State College lined up for the kick-off, no Idaho student present felt that Idaho would win, but they were there to put all the fight they could into the men who wore the gold jerseys and when the Cougars went home they felt they had tasted all the blood they wanted. The score was 7-14 in their favor, but Idaho won the Harvard contest by a wider margin than that and proved herself broad-minded enough to root for a victorious team’s players that were knocked out. The Pullman game is never a milk and water affair— it is a battle to the finish and brings out everything that a school stands for. When Idaho roots for a man she doesn’t do it merely because her yell leader asks her to, but because she admires fight even in a Pullmanite. The fair-minded, cheerful attitude, the loyal support of the team and the old “Idaho fight” won for us the Harvard contest in the fall of 1920, Page Eleven

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Campus Day ce wearin’ 0’ the green, instead of being an observance of the “Sey- enteenth of Ireland” alone, is continued throughout the year until Campus Day, when the Frosh is forever declared mature enough to doff his verdant emblem. It is on this day, in the early part of May, that every man on the campus turns out under the supervision of authorized leaders to clean up the campus, repair drives and side-walks, and put the tennis courts in proper shape. Right merrily do the “hard-workin” college men wield picks and shovels and mix honest sweat with the rubbish they are loading onto the trucks and drays. All morning long they work—their courage bolstered up by the paddles of an enthusiastic vigilance committee and generous sup- plies of lemonade and sandwiches from the hands of the Campus Queens. When noon arrives, as it does all too soon to allow for the thorough completion of all the work, everything is finished as well as it can be in the time; tools and drays are returned and the hungry mob retires to the various campus eating houses to restore its inward and outward self to more pleas- ant normality. Everyone must be attired as on an Easter Sunday morning, for now comes the coronation of the May Queen. She is elected a week ahead of time by popular vote. On this afternoon she marches down from the garden hill with her attendants and followers to her throne on the Senior seat under the maples. Here she holds her court. The May-pole is wound —the dancers do their utmost to please her gracious majesty and entertain Page Thirteen