by Tanessa Dillard
Features Editor
The freshmen of today might think deferred rush is unfair. However, freshmen of yesteryear adhered to their share of strict and sometimes silly underclass rules. In the University of La Verne’s history, freshmen were often targeted to participate in “school traditions.”
In the past, they could not wear the class insignia until their second semester; they had to wear a Frosh cap and pin throughout their first semester; they were required to know the songs and yells by a week before the first conference football game and repeat them to any junior or senior on demand; and they were not allowed to wear corduroys (cords and sombreros were a special distinction for seniors only).
Freshmen had other obligations as well. For instance, they had to clean off the rocks and line the athletic field before games. Along with sophomores, the freshmen boys participated in a mud roll tug of war. After it was over, a freshman girl was thrown in the mud.
According to the 1927-28 student handbook, “Each year the college dismisses classes for the celebration of “L” Day, when the student body hikes to the “L,” the freshmen clearing the brush off the letter, the sophomores preparing the feed for the canyon party in the evening, and the rest of the students enjoying the mountain air and life in general.”
“L” Day, one of the longest traditions of ULV, began in 1919 (the same year as the Campus Times) after a few men received permission from the Government Forest Ranger. “I think we have real pride in the ‘L,’” said President Stephen Morgan.
Other past ULV traditions that parallel the existence of the Campus Times include the following. La Verne students could not smoke while on campus or while representing the college; college colors of orange and green had to be respected at all times; every La Verne student stood with head bared when the Alma Mater was sung; and everyone spoke to everyone else on campus—the “hello spirit.”
“Part of the beauty of this institution is that there has always been a tradition of caring for the students,” said Peggy Redman, director of teacher education.
By the 1970s, the role that tradition played on campus began to fade.
“I think traditions give an institution stability and continuity. They link the past with the present,” Morgan said. “I think we’ve outgrown some of the traditions. It is perfectly normal that we’ve moved on.”
