2A- Thursday, September 6, 2007
NEWS
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
4
HAZING RITUALS BEFORE THE DEPRESSION
When all freshmen were potheads
If you'rea freshman, you're prob-
ably a little bit stressed out right
now between trying to figure out
when Angell Hall ends and Mason
Hall begins and weaving in and out
of the shelves of Ulrich's.
Imagine doing all that clad in a
shiny green beanie.
Up until the 1930s, freshmen
were forced to wear green toques -
a type of close-fittinghbeanie - and
perform for the upperclassman at
the beginning of the fall term.
Freshmen were requiredto wear
"pots" - the nickname for the
headgear - at all times from Con-
vocation well into the beginning
of the term, except for Sundays,
accordingto a notice The Michigan
Daily printed in 1919.
Generally enforced by the soph-
omore class, hazing rituals forced
freshmen to do things like climbing
light posts, mimicking monkeys,
miming paddling a canoe down
State Street and proposing to pass-
ing girls on the street for onlookers'
enjoyment.
Michiganensian yearbooks from
the time reminisce about the inevi-
table skinned knees and scraped
noses that resulted from the tom-
foolery.
In 1922, two freshmen ignited
a campus controversy when they
rebelled against the tradition,
refusing to wear the hats.
According to "The Making of
the University of Michigan" by
Howard H. Peckham, the strongest
backlash against the two outliers
came not from upperclassmen but
from their peers in the freshman
class. The class voted to shun the
students and even campaigned for
their expulsion.
After one of the non-compliant
freshmen had his head shaved by
fellow students and the student's
parents became involved, then-
University President Marion Bur-
ton stepped in to investigate.
A faculty committee ruled that
the customs should not be forced
on students. Conformity, it wrote,
"cannot be made a prerequisite to
the enjoyment by any student of the
privileges of the University."
But the tradition continued until
fizzling out during the Depression.
The Undergraduate Council offi-
cially put an end to the practice in
the fall of 1934.
The council declared that the
custom was simply "outdated."
KELLYFRASER
A freshman wearing a "pst" on his head prsposes te a girl
en the streets et Ans Arher in 1931.
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4
CRIME NOTES
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Bike swiped
WHERE: Northwood IV
WHEN: Tuesday at about 5:30
p.m.
WHAT: A red Honda Dual sus-
pension bicycle, valued at $55,
was stolen from the exterior of
an apartment, the Department
of Public Safety reported.
Truck hits
parked car
WHERE: Parking Lot NC-37,
1919 Green St.
WHEN: Tuesday at about 9
p.m.
WHAT: A Pord F-1S0 struck
s parked white Pontiac Grand
Am, resulting in minor dam-
ages, DPS reported.
Three dollars
stolen
WHERE: University Hospital
WHEN: Tuesday at about 2:45
p.m.
WHAT: Three dollars in cash
were taken from a patient's
room, DPS reported. Police
have no suspects.
Man's best
friend bites man
WHERE: University Hospital
Emergency Room
WHEN: Tuesday at about 8:45
p.m.
WHAT: A victim was taken to
emergency after being bitten
by the family dog, DPS report-
ed. DPS was uninvolved in the
matter but was informed as a
formality.
Ring missing
WHERE: University Hospital
WHEN: Tuesday at about 9
p.m.
WHAT: A patient lost a wed-
ding ring, valued at $3,500,
after leaving it on a food tray or
in the bathroom, DPS reported.
Dar Williams
concert
WHAT: Dar Williams brings
her folk-pop act to Ann
Arbor
WHO: Dar Williams
WHEN: Today at 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Ark, 316 S.
Main St.
Welcome Week
free skate
WHAT: A free ice skating
session to welcome students
to campus
WHO: Yost Ice Arena
WHEN: Today from 8 to 10
p.m.
WHERE: Yost Ice Arena
the Diag
WHO: Office of Student
Activities and Leadership
WHEN: Today from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
WHERE: The Diag
Free movie
screening,
snacks
WHAT: A meet and greet for
new North Campus students
with free food and a showing
of the newest Bond Movie,
"Casino Royale"
WHO: University Unions
Arts and Programs and the
Society of Women Engineers
WHEN: Today from 8:30 to
11:30 p.m.
WHERE: North Campus
Diag
1A California man is suing
the police for the return
of his seized pornogra-
phy stash, The Smoking Gun
reported. The pornography,
valued at $25,000, was taken
after the man was jailed for
videotaping a woman and 17-
year-old girl in their rooms
and bathrooms.
2 Despite controversy,
New York City's school
system opened the first
public Arabic language school
in the nation yesterday.
3 A former Chinese Com-
munist Party chief
plagiarized an apol-
ogy letter during his trial for
corruption charges from a
different resigned chief, the
Procuratorial Daily reported.
Festifal ORCIN
WHAT: Representatives CORTIN
from more than 400 student Please report any error in
groups recruiting at tables on the Daily to corrections@
michigandailycom.
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