University of Virginia - Corks and Curls Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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small paper sevens showered from the rafters and the band played Good Night Ladies, with seven beats to the bar. mI'he fame of the 7 society has spread far and wide. In one of John O,Hara,s nov- els, From the Terrace, a prominent Character is spoken of as one whose name is always mentioned when Virginians get together to speculate on membership in the 7 Society. tlAdm. iBull, Halsey,s grand-daughter tells me of the famous Navy man,s funeral, which was held in the National Cathedral in Washington and attended by the highest oflicers of government. The funeral was an occasion of military and gov- ernmental solemnity. As she entered with her brother, a student at the Uni- versity, they were stopped by the sight of a large wreath beneath the casket - the symbol of the 7 Society in white flowers against magnolia leaves? Gotts, in a state of near collapse, said, iiThan amazing! Where in the world did you ever find out so much about those societies? Phelps, not giving Randolph a Chance to reply, said, lilfs wonderful how much you learn, living in Richmond. A bit reluctantly, Cary joined in the laughter that ensued from Phelpsi comment. 01 wish the venerable Seven Society would give a new Geology buildingfl de- clared Grant Sayers. People are always griping about that architectural monstrosity of a Geology building, but few realize that it is supposed to be one of the best constructed buildings on the Grounds. In 1924, a party was given there in honor of the mar- riage of the daughter of Dean Lile. It seems that a certain student, notorious for never breathing a sober breath, was allowed to attend under stipulation that he keep his wits for that particular evening. While walking home after the party, he noticed smoke streaming out of the roof of the building and reported the tire in time to save the building from destruction. After that, everyone wished that he had been his usual happy self that night. Cary interrupted the laughter by saying, nThere are many stories that go with that old building. iiLate in the 19th century, a geology professor, whose true identity shall remain anonymous, managed by patient and careful lobbying in Pavilion VII, to per- suade the University to give a home to several wild beasts. Now these animals, al- though wild and woolly, were not the least bit dangerous because they were stuffed. The told rock; as the geology professor was known, was particularly proud of a woolly mammoth reputedly 10,000 years old, and he gave the animal the prime space of the newly completed Brooks Museum. Thereafter, every day the iold rock, would dust off the mammothk head and polish his tremendous tusks. ltRecognizing the professofs righteous pride and wishing to increase it to the overflowing, certain mischievous students declared that they would clandestinely transport the creature to the professors home on the East Lawn. Thus, late one night, they broke into the museum and succeeded in carrying several of the smaller animals up to the Lawn and placing them in a semi-circle around the told rocks door. The mammoth, alas, would not Et through the door, through most of the night was spent in trying either to enlarge the door or reduce the beast. Mean- while, the told rock for some reason or another came to the front door and was shocked to see his animals staring back at him, out of the night. Fearing the worst for his mammoth, he quickly dressed and headed for the Museum, where he caught the students in the act.

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isacred steinf Each member had the title of a courtier, some of which were color- ful, to say the least, and they were attired in outlandish regalia. nThe coronation became an extremely popular highlight of the spring semester, and became more rambunctious as the years passed. Finally it got so out of hand that the then President Alderman suspended four members of the Hot F eet, ex- pelled four more, and banished the group from the Grounds. Two members of the Zeta ribbon society were also members of the Hot Feet, and when it was de- cided to petition for re-instatement of the group, the Z members would not go along with the move. Shortly thereafter IMP society appeared, numbering among its members several of the old Hot Feet. As you might know, the head of the IMPs is designated as the King. It appears that no member of the IMP society has also been a member of the Zs, just as no member of T.I.L.K.A. has been a member of Eli. It is little known that the Z Society was originally the Zeta ribbon society, and its members actually were ribbons with the letter Z and the mystic number 3711, just as the Elis and T.I.L.K.Afs once wore ribbons with the name of their group. Mystery surrounds their founding date, for although they iirst appear in the 1891-92 Corks and Curls, a later edition gives the founding date as 1894-95. In any event, they were the first honorary society which drew mainly on the ribbon societies for its membership. Originally they made their signs on the blackboards of classrooms, but soon they began chalking the symbol in many other places around the Grounds. Eventually these signs became the painted ones which can be seen in prominent locations around the University today. 70f course the most mysterious of all the societies is the 7 Society. A Corks and Curls of early years graphically depicted its unique position in the University community by showing a student at the foot of a mountain, the base of which was a jumble of Greek letters designating fraternities. Above that were the liter- ary and dance societies. On the next level were the two ribbon societies. On the summit were the two ring societies. At the peak of a misty mountain in the background was the symbol of the 75. Tales of the 75 are numerous and legendary. It has always been amazing that a group, so shrouded in mystery could get away with the bold actions that charac- terize their donations. tiAt the close of Commencement exercises some years back, an explosion went of? above the head of the speaker and a check for $17,777.77 drifted to the floor. At- tached directions stipulated that the sum was to go to the establishment of a loan fund for students and faculty. The loans were to be interest-free and to be re-paid at the discretion of the borrower. The fund was established in the name of the re- tiring president of the University, Dr. John Lloyd Newcomb, revealed as a mem- ber of the Society at his death. iiOne 0f the most amazing tales is the investigation undertaken by the 7 Society in behalf of a student who had been expelled for cheating on an examination. His guilt had appeared obvious to the Honor Committee, but one member was not con- vinced. He wrote the 75 that he suspected a frame-up, and appealed for their help. Several weeks later, the accuser found a file containing evidence of his guilt lying on his desk. A brass 7 held the papers in place. An attached note gave him the option of signing the dossier and handing it over to the Honor Commit- tee, or he could request to be tried for lying. The note was signed. liFollowing World War I, a dance was given for students of the University, com- plete with food and wine. Those hired for the dance as well as the guests did not know the sponsor. At midnight, as the highly successful event drew to a Close,

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iiOne of these unlucky students when brought before the Dean of the University made a most noteworthy defense of his actions. Claiming a certain veneration of the past, the student professed his concern for the happiness of the iold rock and the prehistoric creature and that he only hoped to get them both togetheri where they might be more happy. The Deanis comments on this concern went unrecorded, but we note that the mammoth remained in Brooks Museum. iiBut getting back to what Martin said about politics? Cary went on, upolitics at the University has often been concerned with issues other than those immediately concerning the student body? Student political demonstrations have not always been disorderly amalgamations of bearded iconoclasts. Fm sure the old Charlottesville families remember the demonstration once held here in behalf of Grover Cleveland. On a designated evening just after his election, U.Va. students marched through town en masse, making quite a noise with their tin horns and drums. At 11 RM. all returned to the Lawn with a brass cannon and plenty of ammunition. Salutes commenced to be fired. The next morning all was well, but certain members of the faculty could be found nowhere. At noon, the missing Chairman of the math department sud- denly appeared, rifle in hand. After being told that the festivities of the previous night were simply a political rally, the red-faced old veteran of the Civil War, embarrassed beyond words, finally admitted that he and some of his uninformed colleagues had feared that the University was under siege, perhaps by some new- ly-sprung extremist group. These men had looked themselves in their basements for protection. He was the only one Who would dare venture out to see what had finally happened? With the same whiskey sour in his hand, Cleghorne promised to relate a story on the riots at the University before the Civil War. Silence greeted this announcement. But he went on, iiProbably the two most se- rious riots in the history of the University occurred in 1836 and 1845 when . . . , 'Cleghorne paused, and turned to find where an irritating new noise was coming 'from. Gotts, who had been a student guide for three months, was noisily scrib- ibling notes with a dull pencil to use on his next tour. Cleghorne asked him to look in Bruceis history of the University for the details. iiThe fact is, resumed Cleghorne, iithat riots occurred about every five years at the University before the Civil War, and were caused mainly by the resentment of the students against the petty rules at the University then. During the usual riots the students rang the bell continually all night, caned any professors who came out to identify the riot- ers, threw bricks through the pavilion windows, and fired pistols from horseback on the Lawn? Sparked by the interest shown his latest story, he decided to relate another one along the same lines. iiMost students are intimately familiar with the traveling carnivals that come to town during the year e they are anticipated with great excitement. Back in 1846 a fair came and situated itself about a mile out of town. Naturally, the first night attendance was not very large, as most of the students hadnit heard that the fair was in town. During that first night, however, several students became involved in a fight with one of the showrnen over a card game. The argument was quickly ended when the man pulled out his pistol and shot one of the students. The news spread quickly the next day, and that night every student in the University proceeded to march on the fair, the tromping of their boots and their wild yells throwing the town into a state of petrified alarm. Women and children cowered in their beds as the mighty juggernaut rolled unhesitatingly towards the carnival grounds. Bullets ricocheted in the streets and the civic leaders of Charlottesville dared not to stop the onslaught. The students