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Here is a picture of a Freshmen Meeting in Butler Gym. All the students have on the dinks and nametags. 1960 Yearbook, pg. 90. |
Freshman Rules:
Additional Information about the Rules
What is the Student Senate?
The Student Senate exists as a clearing house for student opinion and as an intermediary between the faculty and the Student Body. One of their duties is to supervise all Freshmen activities.
1940-41 Students Handbook, pg. 26-27
The "rules drawn up by the Senate are approved by college president and Board of Discipline."
Student Court created to enforce rules, held once a week, judges included President of Student Senate, VP Senate, Day Hop Senator and Junior Senator. People bringing charges of breaking rules had to be supported by at least two witnesses.
Student Court Inaugurated to Enforce Freshmen Rules, BV, October 18, 1940
Did the Rules Last All Year?
| The following is a synopsis of information that I have put together, based on all the research I compiled. Some of the ideas change by year, but it is a general "timeline" of the rules during the year. |
The first few weeks of school was the "hazing period", in which all the punishments for not obeying the rules would take place.
-"hazing season"--less than three weeks after school started (Yearbook,1941, Freshmen section)
-sophomores yell at the Freshmen when they first came back to school (Yearbook, 1942, page before Senior section)
-one week hazing, not two, and hazing permitted only during the day, when before it was allowed all the time (Short, Strict Hazing Period to Begin Wednesday Night, BV, September 30, 1955)
-Monday nights, there were meetings in Butler to "tell" students what they were supposed to do; possible hazing as well (Jack McMillan Writes Freshmen Rules Missing Target, Change Them!, BV, October 10, 1952)
-weekly meetings to teach songs, cheers and history (Let's Pick the Ball Up and Start it Moving, BV, February 29, 1954)
-hazing ends October 12 (Short, Strict Hazing Period to Begin Wednesday Night, BV, September 30, 1955) OR roughly around this time depending on the year; notice that this year, the rules started in late September
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Here is a picture of a Freshmen Meeting in Butler Gym. All the students have on the dinks and nametags. 1960 Yearbook, pg. 90. |
| Someone caught these sophomores off guard in their little initiation ceremony, answering the Frosh's prayers for the punishment to stop! Freshmen Folder. (picture lopsided due to technical difficulties) |  |
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Taunting sophomores. 1959 Yearbook, pg. 117. |
| Most articles obtained from the BV about the rules are all from the beginning of the year (September, October, November), so rules probably did not last that long. |
Freshmen Rules Would End by the Completion of First Semester
-Freshmen Rules end late November, then Frosh Day (Short, Strict Hazing Period to Begin Wednesday Night, BV, September 30, 1955)
-Frosh Day is when the sophomores and freshmen would switch roles and the sophomores would be attacked (Yearbook, 1942, page before Senior section)
-January end of Freshmen Rules (Yearbook, 1947, start of Freshmen section)
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These Freshmen are glad the rules are finally over...that's why they are burning their dinks! 1955 Yearbook, pg. 81 |
| The Freshmen Rules seemed to end at different times in various years, but by the end of the first semester. Notice above that they ended in January in 1947, but in 1955, they ended in November. This may be because as the years went on, the rules became more lax. |
Important Events in the Freshmen Rule Year
-"General Initiation" took place in mid-December (Yearbook, 1941, Class of 1944 page)
-"General Initiation" was worst day (Yearbook, 1942, page before Senior section)
-Hell Day, Initiation Day, and contest against sophomore class ends rules program (Short, Strict, Hazing Period to Begin Wednesday Night, BV, September 30, 1955)
| This is a "Hell Nite" collage taken from the 1947 yearbook, the page before the Freshmen section. Various hazing activities that took place that night are pictured. |  |
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Here is a freshman laying muddy, possibly from initiation or Hell Nite. Courtesy of the Freshmen Folder. |
| Although none of the sources come out and say it, General Initiation, Hell Nite and Hell Week were probably strict periods of hazing and initiation. This idea is based on pictures found in the yearbooks and Freshmen Folder, and comments seen in the newspaper and yearbook. |
Were the rules ever suspended or taken away at certain periods?
-in 1954-55 school year, the rules were taken away before they were over (Short, Strict, Hazing Period to Begin Wednesday Night, BV, September 30, 1955)
-the program was terminated by Very Reverend Francis William Kearney, OFM, because they are "outgrowing their time" (Frosh Rules Program Eliminated, BV, May 25, 1962)
-(Shattered Rules Program Won't be Missed Long, BV, September 28, 1962), title going along with above article
| It is not quite clear why the rules were taken away, but they were listed in the student handbook for the above years and up until 1967, so they must have been reinstated at some point. |
What were some positive comments people had to say?
What were some negative comments people had to say?
Additional Information About Rules
Bibliography, Links, Author and Acknowledgements
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updated: 02 March 2006