Yale University - Banner / Pot Pourri Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

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DEATH OF THE SOPHOMORE SOCIETIES I90I the School of Music was founded in 1894, the School of Forestry in 1900, and the School of Nursing in 1923. At the turn of the century George Joseph Hannibal, L. W. Silliman, Es- quire was the favorite campus char- acter, only very little hazing remained, and rushes had degener- ated into comparatively gentle scram- bles. The annual wrestling matches between the Freshmen and Sophomores took place each year, and although there was a Commons , most of the undergraduates ate in eating joints. Although there was plumbing, the shower bath had not yet appeared, and although there were street cars they were still drawn by horses. Gas light and heat had, however, added to the conveniences of that era. A second transformation of Yale ' s social structure occurred in 1901 with the disappearance of the last of the Sophomore secret societies. After the World War of 1914-19, Town and Gown relations once more suffered a relapse, and there was much serious disorder. In 1920 a revo- lutionary change shook the foundations of Yale tradition, with the advent of the Common Freshman Year. No longer was the Sheffield Scientific School course to consist of merely three years. Both Scientific School and Academic students would study together for one year before determining in which school they wished to register for the remaining three years. As a result of this transformation a higher scholastic average, a lower scho- lastic mortality rate, and improved training were attained. Almost all courses were elective now, with the exception of several in Freshman year. But it was in the 1920 ' s that Commons became compulsory for all first- year men, whereas it had at one time been a voluntary institution, and in the same decade the second Yale Fence lost whatever significance it had achieved in the undergraduate mind. In 1922 the first University Budget Drive was instituted in the inter- est of charity. The University continued to grow, and finally in 1923 a limit was placed as to the number of students entering Yale both in the Freshman Class and in the graduate and professional Schools. It was in 1926 that compulsory daily chapel was finally voted out by the Faculty, after student balloting had condemned it, and since then attendence at religious services has been purely voluntary. In 1938 the first University Christian Conference was held and attracted wide interest, and in the same XVII

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VOLUNTARY RELIGION ACCELERATED WITH FOUNDING OF DWIGHT HALL IN l886 dents. It was in 1886 that the Yale student ' s voluntary religious activities were greatly accelerated by the founding of Dwight Hall. A number of new buildings were erected in the 1880 ' s and 1890 ' s, but a heavy loss to Yale tradition was suffered in 1888 when the Old Yale Fence was torn down. Shortly afterwards a second Yale Fence was built within the campus, and for a number of years, this, with its annual Fence Orations , took the place of the old Fence to a certain extent. Yale ' s social struc- ture received a blow in 1890 when the last of the Freshman secret societies departed from the com- munity, and since then there has never been a society of that type. After the death of the first-year societies, an annual celebration, the Omega Lambda Chi , sprang up, only to disappear in the 1900 ' s. In 1 89 1 the Yale Alumni Weekly was established, and in the following year Commons once more reap- peared and a new Gymnasium was constructed. Near the close of the nineteenth century, the Old Brick Row was rapidly being torn down, and many new buildings appeared. No longer was the College enclosed within a single block of New Haven ' s munici- pality. Architecturally, the University had now branched out in many directions from the Old Campus. In addition, one of the most amazing transformations was the gradual increase in the size of the undergraduate body in Yale College as the years sped by. In the thirty years prior to 1900 the Sheffield Scien- tific School students themselves had more than doubled in numbers. It was in 1894 that a new publication, the Yale Scientific Monthly, appeared on the campus, and a little over two decades later the old Yale Courant withdrew from the scene. Yale broadened out still more as a University; THE SECOND YALE FENCE- ABOUT 1895 XVI

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COMMON FRESHMAN YEAR INSTITUTED IN 1920 year a social service organization, the Yale Community Council, was established. It seems that since 1920 there has always been in evidence a trend towards smaller classes, abler teachers, more individual responsibility, and a wider scope of courses. The Yale of 1941 has many more conveniences than the College of one hun- dred years previous. 1941 has inherited modern plumbing, steam heat, the electric light, the telephone, the radio, the moving picture, the electric trolley, and the auto- mobile! There are good roads and park- ways, and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad can transport the student to New York in an hour and twenty minutes. Not only is there running water in each dormitory; the undergraduate is now provided with the shower bath ! The recently built Payne Whitney Gymnasium is recognized as one of the best-equipped in the world. The undergraduate lives in a transformed Yale, a Yale of un- believable architectural splendor. The College plan had been adopted, and since the completion of Silliman College, there are ten of these resi- dential Colleges, each equipped with its own dining hall, library, common room, music room, and squash courts, and each presided over by a Master, assisted by members of the Faculty. Class unity has declined to a great extent, but the dormitory problem has largely been solved and virtually every undergraduate lives in a University-owned dormitory. The student can now pursue elec- tive studies throughout his last three years, and in two-fifths of his Freshman year courses. Moreover, the Yalensian is offered a selection of hundreds of studies from which to choose. The 1941 undergraduate, in addition, finds himself in an environment which houses innumerable complex, extra-curricular activities. The Old Brick Row has disappeared completely with the ex- ception of South Middle College, known XVIII RUSHING TO COMPULSORY MORNING CHAPEL IN 1925