The scene was downtown Schenectady, the time was the mid-1880s, and the event was the annual freshman parade, designed to give first-year students a little college spirit.
But things got out of hand.
When the parade passed the corner of Union and Lafayette Streets, a group of “hoodlums” opened fire with apples, and two freshmen, armed with rotten eggs, retaliated. Soon, all kinds of things were being thrown through the air, and a nearby garbage heap was raided for more weapons.
The freshman parade was just one of the many traditions that have arisen at the College over the years to instill pride and a sense of belonging. Some, like that raucous parade, have disappeared; others continue to this day. On this and following pages, we take a look at some of the traditions that have contributed to the uniqueness of Union.
Alumni organizations
The Association of Graduates of Union College, founded in 1825, was the fourth formal alumni organization in the country (preceded by those at Williams, Brown, and Middlebury). The organization came and went during much of the nineteenth century, but was reinvigorated in 1910 as the Graduate Council-essentially the same organization that exists today. Shown here is the 1890 New York Alumni Association annual banquet.
Alumni recognition
The Alumni Gold Medal, given for outstanding leadership and participation, began in 1937, and the Alumni Award for Meritorious Service, recognizing a member of the faculty or administrative staff for exceptional contributions to the College, first appeared in 1958.
The Anable Cup, named after Cortland V. Anable, Class of 1881 and a lawyer and trustee, is given
to the class with the largest number in the parade. The McClellan Cup, named after Samuel McClellan, Class of 1881 and the man called the “father” of Alumni Day, is given to the class with the greatest percentage of classmates at ReUnion. The VanVoast/Class of 1941 Cup, named to honor John VanVoast, Class of 1887, goes to the ReUnion class with the best costume. And the Class of 1943 Award goes to the class whose ReUnion effort is deemed most outstanding.
Annual Fund
The Class of 1911 was the first class to take part in the College's formal annual giving effort. Begun in 1911-12 as the Alumni Gift Fund, and renamed the Annual Fund in 1949, this is the oldest continuously operating annual fund effort in the country. In its first year it raised $1,932; the most recent annual total was $3.7 million.
Baccaleaureate
An early tradition that
disappeared, the annual
baccaleaureate service reappeared in 1992. Planned by students, the event is held on the Saturday before Commencement and includes remarks by a faculty member, vocal selections, and
a moment of silence to remember alumni and employees who died
during the year.
Schenectady Pipe Band
Formed in 1917, the band has been a longstanding staple at campus ceremonies such as Commencement. One of the oldest bagpipe bands in the United States, the Schenectady group has traveled to Scotland three times to participate in world championships, winning a first place for “Dress and Drill” in 1993. College records do not show when the band made its first appearance at Union; do any alumni know?
Bailey Cup
Frank Bailey, of the Class of 1885 and the College's treasurer for more than fifty years, established the Bailey Cup in 1912. The cup is awarded annually by a vote of the faculty to a senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College. The cup is generally considered the most prestigious undergraduate award, and a plaque in the Reamer Campus Center lists all past winners.
Bells and chimes
The chimes in Memorial Chapel have rung ever since the building opened in 1925. They ring automatically every quarter hour during the day and once an hour at night, and they are rung manually on special occasions. The melody is the same as that rung by the chimes at Oxford University.
The College once used bells to awaken the campus at 6:30 and to signal the start and end of classes. In the mid-1930s, after campus expansion had made outside bells less effective, gongs were put in classroom buildings. The last gong sounded in 1970, after some faculty said the practice was too much like high school.
Stephen F. Brown Memorial Trophy
Established in 1953, this trophy is awarded each year to the fraternity that has the best overall record in scholarship, community service, intramural athletics, and participation in student activities.
Caps and gowns
Technically, the wearing of caps and gowns at Commencement is optional, although most students wear them (even circa 1970, at the height of student protests). Although the wearing of academic regalia at graduation was common in the nineteenth century, the custom didn't become generally accepted at Union until 1891.
Chapel services
At its founding, Union required students to attend morning prayers (ten minutes, at dawn) and late afternoon prayers (twenty minutes) plus services on Sundays at a local church designated by their parents (a Sunday service at the College didn't begin until 1871-72).
As you might expect, students did not always embrace chapel. For many years, their criticism had little effect. In the 1890s the faculty actually tightened the attendance rules, with chapel cuts resulting in a reduction in academic standing. In 1932, though, President Frank Parker Day reduced devotional services to two days a week, with the other days going for student meetings, organ recitals, singing, speakers, or other secular programs. In 1960, the administration eliminated noon chapel, replacing it with ten formal programs each semester (students had to attend at least six). In 1968, nearly three-quarters of the student body petitioned to end compulsory convocations -and they disappeared.
Class Day
For more than a century, the senior class gathered a day or two before Commencement to say goodbye to each other and to their college days. Gathered under the elm trees in Jackson's Garden and attired in their caps and gowns, the seniors smoked a traditional pipe (a replica of the Nott Memorial) and drank from an old-fashioned jug. By the 1960s, some of the day was taken over by a senior class party, and Class Day began to degenerate into what the Concordiensis called “a drinking and swearing contest.” The last Class Day was held in 1968.
Class fights
Class fights between freshmen and sophomores probably began in the mid-1800s. In 1870, the fight was so serious that many students were injured, and the administration forced the classes to stop the custom.
The peace lasted only until 1873, when the cane rush began. Basically, a freshman would appear carrying a cane (then a symbol of adulthood), and the sophomores would try to wrest it away. Chaos would ensue. In the 1890s, the cane rush was preceded by a salt and tomato fight (the freshmen threw rotten tomatoes, the sophomores retaliated with small bags of salt). And in 1911 the classes added the Idol fight, where they competed to leave the Idol their color (the sophomores used green paint, the freshmen red).
These annual fall rituals developed into spectator sports, with crowds reaching as high as 2,000, and one year a local radio station actually broadcast the event. The main fights in the fall eventually were joined by other fights at other times, such as the class snowball fight (shown is the 1921 version).
Where were the administration and faculty in all this? At times, they deplored the fights; at other times, they passed rules banning the fights; and at other times, they tried to encourage freshmen-sophomore athletic contests as a substitute. But it wasn't until the 1930s, when the
students themselves seemed to tire of the shenanigans,
that the class battles became sporadic. They disappeared entirely during World War II.
Class suppers
For more than fifty years, beginning in the late 1800s, undergraduate class suppers were the only formal social gatherings of the entire class. The suppers were held off-campus, at a hotel or restaurant, and were run entirely by the students. These were not the most sedate affairs. One of the wildest came in 1910, when sophomores stormed the room where freshmen were dining, threw bottles of ammonia, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the freshmen.
These freshmen vs. sophomore clashes continued for years, becoming so bad that the students had to travel as far as Glens Falls to find a hotel willing to host a dinner. In 1923, the College required the freshmen to have their banquet in Alumni Gym; after two quiet years, the Class Supper tradition disappeared.
College magazine
The first magazine published primarily for alumni appeared in 1904. Over the years, the name has been the University Quarterly, Union Alumni Monthly, Union Alumni Review, Union Alumnus, Union College Alumni Review, Union Review, Union College Review, Union College Symposium, Union College Chronicle, and the current Union College.
Cremation of textbooks
For more than forty years in the late 1800s, students held an annual mock funeral for the textbooks they had used in courses they had just completed. After the ceremony, they burned copies of the books. Naturally, the administration didn't like the ceremony, threatening at one point to kick participating students off campus.
Dances and weekends
Until the 1960s, campus social life for students was centered on dances and prom weekends.
The oldest regular dance was The Commencement Ball, held on the evening of graduation day. Probably begun in the very early 1800s, the last Commencement Ball was held in 1927.
The Junior Prom appeared in 1884 and disappeared in 1965. At its most elaborate, it was “the” major social event of the year, and Alumni Gym was elaborately decorated for the evening.
The sophomore class began its Sophomore Soiree in 1887, held several soirees a year in the early 1900s, and then abolished the whole thing in 1935, when the Depression caused
a large decline in attendance.
The freshman class began
a regular spring dance in 1939, but gave up soon after World War II. Other dances held on and off over the years included the Gridiron Ball, Spring Weekend, and the Aerospace Ball (sponsored by rotc). In recent years, there has been an annual Fall Formal, held on Library Plaza on a Saturday night in late September.
Dean's List and Latin honors
The Dean's List, recognizing high academic achievement, appeared in 1921. Eligibility requirements have changed several times; they now are a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the year, at least three regular courses in each term, and no grades of “D” or “F.”
The system of Latin honors (summa, magna, and cum laude) didn't appear at Union until 1963. For many years before that, up to ten seniors with outstanding academic records received “stage appointments” at graduation. Standards are a grade point average of 3.8 or better for summa, 3.6 for magna, and 3.35 for cum laude.
Dutchman
When the College's athletic teams began in the 1800s, they were called “The Garnet.” The nickname “Dutchmen” was coined by twentieth-century sportswriters, and the Dutchman insignia was conceived by the manager of the Union Bookstore sometime in the 1940s. The late Bob Ridings, longtime equipment manager for the Athletic Department, regularly donned Dutchman garb at sports events and fired a small cannon to
celebrate a Union score.
Eliphalet Nott Medal
Created in the early 1990s, the Eliphalet Nott Medal is awarded on an occasional basis to alumni for outstanding achievement in their careers.
Faculty Take-off Day
Students have always had fun with their teachers, but Union students didn't institutionalize the lampooning until the 1900s. In 1910, a freshman pageant, consisting mainly of the impersonation of local and national figures (and a few professors) was planned as part of a parade on the day of a big football game. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Concordiensis staff revived the fun with an annual party that included skits roasting college personalities. The tradition died out in the 1960s.
Feigenbaum Forum
Entering its seventh year, the annual Feigenbaum Forum is designed to stimulate dialogue about the integration of corporate management principles to the administration of institutions of higher education. The event was conceived by Armand V. '42 and Donald S. '46 Feigenbaum, founders of General Systems Co., an international systems engineering firm.
Founders Day
First observed in 1896 as Charter Day, the College's birthday was celebrated on an occasional basis for much of the early 1900s. After being suspended during World War II, it reappeared as Founders Day in 1947, ceased in 1970, and restarted in 1986. Founders Day now is held on the College's actual birthday-February 25-and classes march behind their banners on their way to the chapel. The program pays tribute to the academic life of the College by awarding an honorary degree to an outstanding teacher-scholar.
As part of Founders Day, the College presents the Gideon Hawley Award each year to several secondary school teachers who have had a continuing influence on the academic life of Union students, who make the nominations. The award is named after the 1809 Union graduate who was New York State's first superintendent
of public instruction.
Fraternities and sororities
The first chapters of six national fraternities were founded at Union-Kappa Alpha (1825), Sigma Phi (1827), Delta Phi (1827), Psi Upsilon (1833), Chi Psi (1841), and Theta Delta Chi (1847). There are now thirteen national social fraternities and four national sororities (the first sorority appeared in 1977-78). The College's claim to be “Mother of Fraternities” comes because the oldest secret Greek letter social fraternity with a continuing record was founded here. The Psi Upsilon flagpole was given to the College at the centennial of the fraternity's founding.
Hazing
For years, hazing was a rite of passage at colleges and universities, and Union was no different. A common early practice was “smoking out,” in which attackers would invade a victim's room, smoking pipes furiously and trying to create enough smoke to make the victim sick. Other popular pastimes included taking someone into the countryside and leaving him there, or carrying him to Jackson's Garden and dunking him in Hans Groot's Kill. Naturally enough, the victims didn't always cooperate, sometimes carrying their opposition to extremes. In 1876, a freshman repelled a group of sophomores with a revolver, and in 1880 another freshman scared off sophomores with three shots from
a derringer.
In the early 1900s, the sophomores began to come up with elaborate rules for freshmen. They had to don beanies as soon as they arrived on campus (as shown in this 1962 photo), greet upperclassmen they met, remain seated in chapel until the other classes had exited, and learn the College songs and cheers . The rules were revised often (e.g., freshmen couldn't smoke pipes or cigars outdoors, freshmen couldn't sit in the front row of any theater), and the freshmen objected from time to time. Still, this kind of activity went on for decades. In the 1960s, though, students in general began to accept the idea that hazing could be seen as oppression, and in 1967, the Dean of Students began to enforce a ban on hazing.
Honor system
From 1909 until 1925, the
College had an Honor System. Introduced by students, it required an undergraduate who spotted another student cheating on an exam to warn the offender not to hand in his exam. If the offender did so anyway, the witness was supposed to report the matter to the honor court. In 1925 the faculty voted to abolish the system.
Moving Up Day
Each spring, on Moving Up Day, students gathered in Memorial Chapel to bid the seniors goodbye and to turn over the affairs of the College handled by the student honorary society (the Terrace Council) to the new senior class. After seniors were praised and lampooned, they rose, and the junior class marched to the seats the seniors were vacating. The outgoing Terrace Council tapped seven members of the junior class as the new council. After the ceremony, all adjourned to the Idol, where the first-year students burned their black caps, symbolizing their release from freshman rules.
Naked Nott run
A tradition that is exactly what its name implies-students stripping down (generally late at night) and running around the outside of the Nott Memorial.
“Ode to Old Union”
The alma mater was first sung at the 1856 commencement exercises. The words were written by Fitzhugh Ludlow, one of that year's graduates, and the tune is an old drinking song known as “Sparkling and Bright.” There has been minor tinkering with the words over the years.
Opening Convocation
Another tradition that has waxed and waned, the opening convocation was revived in the early 1990s. Today, students carrying class banners and faculty in academic regalia march around campus behind the Schenectady Pipe Band. All come together in Memorial Chapel, where welcoming remarks open the year and Dean's List students are recognized.
Orientation
Students have been welcomed in a variety of ways. In recent years the members of the entering class have joined members of local volunteer organizations to clean parks and city-owned properties, paint bridges and underpasses, and plant shrubs and flowers. Last fall, about 125 first-year students spent
a weekend at Lake George in Outdoor Orientation. On the following weekend, all four classes took part in John Calvin Toll Community Service Day, named for the 1799 graduate who was the great-great-grandfather of the alumnus who supports the day, Al Hill '46, and his wife, Perrie.
Painting the Idol
The Idol-a Chinese stone lion dating from perhaps the fifteenth century-was unearthed near Shanghai and sent to Union by an alumnus, the Rev. John Farnham. In 1876 the gift was placed near the President's House, and the first night after it was unveiled four students applied the first coat of paint. The practice soon became a tradition, and it is impossible to estimate how many coats
of paint now cover the Idol (shown in original and painted versions).
Parents Weekend
Parents were first invited back for a planned weekend in 1950. The event has been held every year since, with the exception of 1972, when it was cancelled because of fears that parents might be exposed to campus unrest.
Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi
Union's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of New York, was established in 1817-the first chapter in the state of New York and the fifth in the country. Eligible for membership are students who are candidates for the B.A. or general B.S. degree, and election is one of the highest distinctions to be gained by academic achievement. Sigma Xi, an honorary organization dedicated to the encouragement of scientific research, elects students in science or engineering. The Union chapter, begun in 1887, is the third oldest in the nation.
Prize Day
The awarding of student prizes at Commencement was long a Union tradition, but it became an event of its own in 1932. The change shortened graduation and broadened the Prize Day audience beyond seniors. In 1964, at the request of the Parents Association, Prize Day became part of Parents Weekend; the weekend now includes the Steinmetz Symposium (see next page). The College catalog lists about 100 prizes, although not all are awarded each year.
Rah for Union
For years, freshmen had to learn the College songs and cheers. Here, from the 1942 Freshman Handbook, is one of the cheers they had to memorize:
Rah-Rah-Rah-Rah!
Un-ion, Un-ion,
Rah-Rah-Rah-Rah!
Un-ion, Un-ion,
Rarrahrahrah!
Un-ion, Un-ion, Ray!
Team! Team! Team!
Perhaps you had to be there.
ReUnion and Homecoming
“Alumni Day” has been a part of the College from its earliest years, when graduates returned for Commencement. In the late 1800s, the College began to organize and actively encourage the alumni to return, and in 1911 the first alumni parade was held. Alumni Day has become ReUnion Weekend, and it is now held
a couple of weeks before Commencement. Costumes à la the Class of 1924 are still part of the fun.
College Day, the major fall alumni gathering, began in 1923. Interrupted during World War II, it returned as Homecoming Weekend.
Spring Night
Beginning in 1922, students gathered on a spring night to sing College songs and hear stories about Union traditions, told by faculty and administrators. Gradually, the storytelling declined, the singing increased, and the night became popular enough that fraternities competed in song with the winner getting the President's Cup. Spring Night disappeared during World War II, but after the war the Interfraternity Council brought back the interfraternity sing, which continued until the mid-1960s.
Steinmetz Symposium
About eighty-five percent of the College's students complete some kind of undergraduate research, senior thesis, or independent project, and the event that has become a capstone for all the work is the Steinmetz Symposium on Student Creative, Scholarly, and Research Achievement. Held each May, in conjunction with Prize Day and Parents Weekend, the symposium is an intellectual fair, held in buildings all over campus and featuring everything from research in science and technology to original dance and music. More than 350 students take part. The event is named to honor Charles
P. Steinmetz, the legendary General Electric engineer
and inventor who taught at Union from 1902 until his death in 1923.
Student publications
Dozens of student publications have appeared over the years. Major ones still going include Concordiensis, the thirteenth-oldest student newspaper in the country, and the principal newspaper of Union since November 1977; The Freshman Record, begun in 1937; the Garnet yearbook (also known as The Union Book), begun in 1877; and Idol, the student literary magazine, begun in 1928.
Terrace Council
There have been two Terrace Councils. The first dates to the first decade of the twentieth century, when a group of undergraduates joined forces to
create an organization that would provide leadership for the student body. The second Terrace Council, begun in 1970 and named to honor that first group, comprises those who donate $2,000 or more to the College's Annual Fund.
Town Meeting of the Air
On each Sunday afternoon between 1938 and 1946, local radio station wgy broadcast a half-hour “Town Meeting of the Air.” The program, administered by the College, featured speakers on public issues, followed by discussions in front of an audience. Most programs were introduced by President Dixon Ryan Fox, who thought they were good publicity (one survey found a listenership of 200,000). The program stopped shortly after Fox's death.
Union College Concert Series
Now in its thirty-first year, this international festival of chamber music has become one of upstate New York's premier concert series. Held in Memorial Chapel
-widely hailed for its wonderful acoustics-this year's series includes such artists as the Emerson String Quartet, the Nash Ensemble of London, Musicians from Marlboro, the Boston Camerata, the violinist Midori, and the pianists Yefim Bronfman, Arnaldo Cohen, Ursula Oppens, Ignat Solzhenitsdyn, and Dubravka Tomsic.
Union-RPI football
No matter whose statistics you believe (Union says it leads the series by 75-20-4, Rensselaer says the numbers are 73-22-4), this is upstate New York's oldest football rivalry. It began in 1886, and this fall's game was the 100th (the series was interrupted from 1905 to 1913 and from 1920 to 1923). With the recent upswing in Rensselaer's football fortunes, the game often has playoff implications for both teams. The winner
gets the Dutchman's Shoes trophy; the game photo is from 1939 (that's Union in the striped helmets).
Union Week
Originally Union Week was a long winter weekend (Thursday through Sunday) devoted to dances and other entertainment. It began in 1905 with fraternity parties, the Junior Hop, a debate, the Sophomore Soiree, and a concert by musical clubs. As it changed over the years (the Thursday and Friday dances became all-night affairs, for example), enthusiasm declined, and Union Week disappeared in 1940.
WRUC
On October 14, 1920, wruc made its first regularly-scheduled broadcast with makeshift equipment from a shed behind the Electrical Engineering Lab. That twenty-seven minute broadcast of vocal and musical selections has evolved into a seven-day-a-week operation with modern equipment and facilities in the Reamer Campus
Center. One of the College's largest extracurricular activities, wruc provides alternative programming for the campus community and a listening audience within a fifteen-
mile radius.
