AUG.,13, 1938
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE SEVENTEEN
They Wild Men? No, Merely Honors Men Holding An Initiati
on
Are,
iI
mndian Btraves
And Sphinxes
tRide' In May
A.
Michigamua Oldest
:SSocieties Exist To Honor
Men Who Are Prominent
In Cam'us Activities
When spring comes to Ann Arbor
1t brings with it not only the showers
and resulting flowers, but a group of
tniversity of Michigan students, gone
temporarily beserk, whom the Univer-
sity and its undergraduates proudly
point out as "honors men."
Indian braves, forest bard's, dunces
on skates, Egyptians, and fire-wor-
shippers-shouting madly, and run-
ning across the walks and awns of
the ordinarily peaceful campus, make
ftiei appearance in May. Why that
month nobody has ever troubled to
find out, but at any rate they are
not really mad, they are merely
dressed up in the grotesque costumes
of their various tribal orders and are
"riding" for new members.
:ive honor societies exist on the
campus to honorMichigan men who
have distinguished themselves in ac-
tivities: Mchigamua, Druids, Sphinx,
Vulcans and Triangles. Their his-
tory and traditions are interesting
and the initiation ceremonies color-
ful.
Bach year these honor societies
choose from among the 8,000 or more
undergraduates in the University,
mien whom they believe will carry out
not only the aims and purposes of
the r individal societies, but also the
tradition of Michigan-something, it
has been said, which no university
or'college can well do without.
Michigamua Oldest
Michigamua, oldest and most fa-
!nous among the campus honor so-
cietis, came into being in the fall of
1900 in order to study philosophy
uAder the famius Prof. Robert Mark
Wenley. It is said that because those
WhO wrote the most under Wenley
seemed to get the highest grades, the
gB#ip was originally called the "hot
al"club.
T' Indian motif came two years
later. The iMichigamua tribe, from
which the state took its name, was
ntiai very large one, though well-
knwr' in this region. Charter mem-
bertook .upon themselves Indian
naies, all bearing upon the particu-
larofeat or activity in which the Tribe
menber was engaged., To put it in
the words of the "fighting braves"
of Michigamua, each name "must
catchem plenty signif."
Some of the names applied to the
various members are "Pontiac" Fred
Dewy, "Raven Locks" Holilster,
"K'ing" Phil Bursley, "Billy Bowlegs"
Temple. Listed in the directors of
the Tribe are also some Michigan
men who today are leaders in their
fields. Among these are "Great
Scalper" Yost, H. C. L. Jackson, well-
known Detroit columnist, "Three
Thunder" Kipke, "Warrior Builder"
Click Hoyt, "There He Goes,"
Chauncey S. Boucher, "Big Ten"
Ralph Aigler, "Wally Neugance" Em-
ory Thomason, at one time the high-
est paid business executive of any
newspaper, and at present the owner
of the Chicago Daily Times and Tam-
pa Tribune, and "Friendly Chief"
Mortimer E. Cooley.
Michigamua is the one honor so-
ciety on the Michigan campus that is
known from coast to coast and ranks
along with Yale's Skull and Cross-
bones.
Called 'Tribe'
"Tribe," as it is more familiarily
called, initiates its young palefaces
in a public ceremony in which the
"fighting braves," of last year's mem-
bers, assume the Indian headdress
and red war paint (brick dust), and
bring the supplicant initiates into the
wisdom of Indian lore in an impres-f
sive ceremony, the location of which
is. the Tappan oak in front of the
General Library.
In this initiation the "palefaces"
are made to do much to prove that
they will 'fight like hell for Michi-
gan and Michigainua.' " Part of the
torture consists of making the in-
itiates "duck walk" across the cam-
pus and up seven flights of "stairs in
the Michigan Union.
At one time the annual "Tribe"
party used to be one of the most im-
pressive functions of the year. It
would start as a steak roast early in
the afternoon and the dinner would
be served by the "young bucks."
At the present time, the annual
IFT
Michigamua,.Druids) Sphinx On Annual Ride'
Honor Societies Are Key Stone
For Role Of Campus B.W.O.C.
To become a B.M.O.C. or a B. W.-
O.C., according to certain sages on
campus. all you have to do is to be
seen at the Parrot about 10 a.m.
every morning, sipping a coke. But if
you ask the big men and women on
campus, you'll find their sailing
wasn't as smooth as all that.
Michigan women learn that the
more you put into college life, the
more you get out of it, and for a rich-
er and fuller college career the ambi-
was founded at the University of Il-
linois, was organized here in March,
1928. Dean Alice C. Lloyd is faculty
adviser.
Sophomores have no society of their
own, but instead spend their time
in trying to meet the requirements
of the junior organization, Wyvern,
which was founded fifteen years ago
under the supervision of Mrs. Fred-
erick J. Jordan, then Dean of Women.
The society chooses its members, on
Lion of every woman is to attain { the basis of scholarship and activ-
membership to various campus honor
societies. Elgibility to most of these
societies is based on scholarship,
leadership and activities.
Honor Societies Important
Freshman women strive for mem-
bership into Alpha Lambda Delta,
national honor sorority, for freshmen
women, for which a half-A and half-
B scholastic average is required, dur-
ing the first semester of work. A
chapter of Alpha Lamda Delta, which
cieties carry on at Michigan one of
the greatest assets it can possess-
tradition. The boys initiated into the
societies for the most part, are defi-
Vulcans also attempts to present a
broadening program to its members.
Around Huge Fire
The informal part of the initiation
of Vulcans is conducted around a
huge fire in front of the engineering
clock tower and the initiates, stripped
to the waist and blackened, crawl
about the fire, blowing on it and
pounding an anvil.
Three years ago, the society, which
like all of the others, "rides" for its
men at night, disturbed the populac'e
of Ann Arbor to such an extent with
their anvil-pounding that the local
"bobbies" were summoned and the
boisterous fellows were placed in the
"bastille" temporarily.
Later in the initiation ceremony of
the society, the legend of Prometheus
is reenacted in a remote room in the
basement of the engineering building
There is the picture of men's hono'
societies at the University. These so,
ities from the sophomore class early
in the spring.
New Members Tapped
On "tapping night," the active
members march around to the homes
of the new members, routing them
out and taking them for refreshments
to the home of Mrs. Byrl Fox Bacher,
assistant dean of women, and sponsor
of Wyvern. The formal initiation,
which is followed by a dinner at the
League, is held in the League Chapel.
During the school year, the society
endeavors to acquaint freshmen
women with the different phases of
college life. Last year members of Wy-
vern sponsored a series of six lunch-
nitely "good Michigan men." They
are the alumni who come back for
the 'big games they are also the al-
umni who frequently help the Univer-
sity materially with financial assist-
ance. They feel closer to Michigan
than the average undergraduate no
doubt, because they have done things
on the campus.
PHYS. ED. REQUIRED
Credit for a full year of physical
education is required of all students
before they graduate from the Uni-
versity. These courses for the fresh-
men, centering in Waterman Gymna-
sium for men and in Barbour Gym-
nasium for the co-eds, may be sub-
stituted for in the case of men by
courses in the military training de-
partment under the R.O.T.C., by
freshman 'team competition, or by
participation in sports.
eon meetings for freshman Women,
at which they discussed the 'various
fields of activities which new students
can enter at the beginning ofrthe
second semester, such as the Fresh-
man Project, Sophomore Cabaret,
Junior Girls' Play and the various
student publications.
The highest honor a wofnan can re-
ceive in her senior year is to be asked
to join Mortarboard, national sen-1
ior honor society. With membershipl
based on scholarship, leadership and'
service, only the outstanding members
of the Senior class are selected. Mor-
tarboard, which was founded at Syra-
cuse in 1918, has chapters at Cornell,
Ohio State, Swarthmore and Mich-;
igan.
One of the most colorful campus
traditions is the ceremony at which,
Mortarboard members of the outgo-
ing senior class choose new members
from the women of the junior class.
All women students of the University,
attend the Installation Banquet.
After the new League heads are in-
stalled, the old members of Mortar-
board gather in the outside rooms
in caps and gowns, and at a signal
from the ,president of the group,
march through the room. Each sen-
ior member goes to a junior woman
who has been elected, taps her on the
shoulder and places her own morttcr-
board on the new member's head.
The number of womenchosenvaries
each year, and to be eligible a junior
must have a scholastic average above
the general average of all campus
women, and take an outstanding
part in college life.
Mortarboard is not limited to sor-
ority women, but the independent
women have their own senior honor
group, the Senior Society, a local
group by preference. The organiza-
tion, founded in 1905 by Myra Jordan,
chooses about twelve outstanding
junior women to membership in the
spring. Senior Society has been in-
strumental in founding the League
Assembly, and gives a $50 scholar-
ship to one outstanding sophomore
annually.
Other societies are: Athena, literary,
society; Zeta Phi Eta, speech group;
Theta Sigma Phi, national journalism
sorority; and Phi Lamda Theta, na-
tional education sorority.
Lending Library
H as Textbooks
Available H er e
Michigan's Textbook Lending Li-
brary, enlarged upon a broad basis
last year, is patterned after the Loring
W. Apdrews library of Yale Univer-
sity, and is designed to enable stu-
dents financially incapable of bear-
ing the cost of expensive texts to have
access to volumes needed in their
academic work.
Under the University plan inaugu-
rated by a faculty committee appoint-
ed by President Ruthven, the library
started with volunteer donations from
students. These books were collected
by the various departmental and gen-
eral libraries about the campus, and
through the efforts of the General
Library which organized the collec-
tion and kept records of the books
available, the textbook library was
concentrated in Angell Hall Study
Hall. Two alumni gifts, totalling
$1,500 swelled the number of volumes
in the library and recent grants are
continually increasing the number of
volumes to be had.
Students may gain the use of the
books in the Textbook Lending Libra-
ry for one semester upon recommen-
dation by Dean of Men Joseph A.
Bursley, Dean of Women Alice C.
Lloyd, Prof. A. D. Moore, of the endi-
neering college, or any of the other
academic counselors. The eligible stu-
dent is issued a certification of eligi-
bility and upon the strength of that
he draws books from the fund for one
semester at a time. At the end of the
semester, he may again become eligi-
ble to receive books by returning those
in good condition.
The Textbook Lending Library is a
campus-wide organization and is not
limited to the use of students in the
literary college.
Although still a young institution
at Michigan, the library through al-
ready rapid growth promises to realize
unusual proportions and become an
established University library.
Michigamua party is known as the
"Peace Paddle," and each "young
Buck" paddles a "fighting bi ave" and
his "squaw" of the moment up the
Huron River where, in a secluded and
"Indianish" territory, much amber
"fire water" and many sandwiches
are consumed.
From All Colleges,
Members of Michigamua come from
all colleges of the University and are
chosen on the basis of their records
in their activities, but more import-
antly as to their character.
Druids, senior hon:r society, which'
honors only literary college students,
found its inception in Joe Parker's
traditional Michigan rendezvous in
1910. :
Its motif is taken from the Druids
-bards of the forests-taken from
German legends of the middle ages.
Its chapter room in the Michigan
Union is decorated -appropriately (as
is a room devoted to Michigamua)
and features a cave-like hole with
trees and rocks lending atmosphere.
At the weekly Druids' meetings,
members are togged in medieval
hooded robes, and assemble under
the direction of the "arch-druid."
Druids' initiates assemble around
the Druid rock in front of Angell
Hall and crawl about with planks tied
to their backs, rendering homage be-
fore the bon-fire. Each year incom-
ing members are responsible for giv-
ing the historic rock a bath.
The Egyptian theme runs through
the ceremonials of Sphnix, junior;
honorary literary society, which was
founded more than three decades
ago.
Sphinx For Juniors
Intended solely to pay homage to
distinguished and promising juniors,
Sphinx originally had the job of con-
ducting a tag day to pay the expenses
of the Varsity Band, assisted in the
enforcement of campus traditions,
and helped to entertain visiting ath-
letes.
Old members wear red robes in the
initiation ceremonies, and initiates,
stripped to the waist and well covered
with venetian red, are tied to a board
and loaded on to a hay wagon for a
ride through the city. There was a
time, according to records, when
members of Sphinx carried .45 revolv-
ers with which they startled the citi-
zenry, but someone objected. And
then also in those "good old days"
there used to be an overhead water
release on one of the campus drives,
under which the Sphinx wagon would
drive in order to assure the initiates
a thorough dampening. If any of the
initiates suggested that they were
cold, obliging members would paddle
the sOles of their feet to insure better
circulation.
On one part of the ceremonial ride
the members of Sphinx run up the
steps of Angell Hall and assemble
under a bronze Sphinx head in the
foyer of the building to sing their
traditional song.
Feud Formerly Existed
A constant feud used to exist be-
tween Triangles, junior honorary en-
gineering society and Sphinx. It used
to occur that when Sphinx wanted
to drive their wagon-load of initiates
through the !engineering arch-way,
the Triangles would be having their
initiation there and would rather
naturally object. Unable to stop the
inroad of Sphinx, members of Tri-
angles, about five years ago, poured
hot water on them from windows
above as they passed under the arch.
Triangles formed more than 20
years ago, has a program of regular
lectures at its meetings intended to
present broadening material outside
the field of engineering. s y
In accord with its philosophy of
cleanliness of the soul, Triangels has
in its initiation a regular scrubbing
of the Engineering Arch. Initiates
must also crawl around in the steam
laboratories with the same idea of
purification by heat in mind.
Of more than general interest on
the University campus is the regular
Triangle skating contest in front of
the General Library. Initiates in
dunce caps and carrying pails of
water, and some of whom have been
given no opportunity to learn to
skate are tested for speed and en-
durance.
Outstanding seniors in the engi-
neering college are honored by mem-
bership in Vulcans, which was found-
ed in 1904. Meeting every two weeks,
h d
Showing of
HATS..
... in BLACK, BROWN and NAVY.
Some are extreme, some more con-
Get'Your
Name Stamp
(See Calkins-Fletcher's ad p. 4)
servative, and All
just right for im-
mediate wear.