Freshman Rules of 1920

1. Freshmen will wear a distinctive cap everywhere on the campus, in Georgetown , to and on Wisconsin Ave. , to Montrose Park , and also on the river. N.B. – The cap need not be worn after a street car has been boarded, nor when in the street car in the Freshmen rule district of Georgetown.

2. Freshmen will yield right of way to all upper classmen. This rule applies to street cars, within the section of Georgetown where the Freshmen rules apply, to all the places on the campus including telephone booths, and excepting only the tennis and handball courts.

3. Freshmen will not wear bowties before seven o’clock in the evening.

4. Freshmen will be present at all College activities, and at athletic contests they will sit in the Freshmen section. Roll call will be made by the President of The Freshman Class or some other officer of the Class, and a report will be made to the President of the Sophomore class (later amended to be the Sophomore Vigilance Committee). Check will also be made at the gate.

5. Freshmen will walk on the north side of O Street from 37th to Wisconsin Avenue . Until seven at night they shall use the center gate and keep to the gravel drive until a place opposite the students’ entrance is reached.

6. Freshmen will use the small door near the mail box when entering or leaving the Healy building on all occasions.

7. Freshmen will commit to memory the official songs and bells of the College by noon of October first.

8. Freshmen, when called upon by the proper authorities, will aid in any work for the A.A.

9. Infraction of these rules will be reported to the President of the Sophomore class.

10. These rules shall be enforced throughout the entire Freshman year, with this exception only: that the Freshman caps need not be worn if the Freshman class is victorious in the annual game with the Sophomore class.

New Student Orientation has long been a tradition at Georgetown University, but in the early 20th century, activities like Pluralism in Action, freshman convocation with gowns and spelling out H-O-Y-A in the parking lot were hardly considered by the planning committee.

Georgetown students proudly oriented new students through a process of hazing with freshman rules vigorously enforced by the Sophomore Vigilance Committee.

As soon as THE HOYA was in print in 1920, Freshmen Rules were published there by the Sophomore Class or the chairman of the Sophomore Vigilance Committee.

For the next few decades, these rules were changed and adapted. An eager committee of sophomores met secretly to plan the hazing period with a variety of activities aimed at generating a sense of class unity and school spirit.

Certain rules regulated appearance, requiring haircuts in a “butch” style trimmed by sophomores, who required it be no more than one-quarter inch long.

On top of their shorn locks sat distinctive black “beanie” hats (formerly the skull cap) and ties were required to be worn. In the 1940s, freshmen were required to go to class with large sandwich signs listing their names, and garters and suspenders were forbidden. At one point in the 1940s, freshmen were only permitted to wear pajamas for the week.

Upperclassmen took advantage of the new students to make life easier, or just to provide amusement. Freshmen were required to greet upperclassmen whether they knew them or not and were required to sing in baritone when the college songs were sung at midnight.

They were also required to bow in obeisance and shine the shoes of upperclassmen. Sophomores, however, were forbidden to raise their voices to freshmen except in 25 minutes in the evening and during “duckwalking.”

And just to complicate things, some rules were contradictory. Freshmen caught throwing water bags at the John Carroll statue or not throwing them after 11 p.m. would be punished.

The torture culminated in an eight-day Hell Week. At 8:30 a.m., on one of the first days on campus, the freshmen assembled in the quadrangle and divided into four squads. Sophomores then threw water balloons and buckets of water at the freshmen at this “Copley Raid.” After midnight, freshmen had the “right” to receive buckets of water on their heads.

In the late 1940s, freshmen paraded around Union Station in their pajamas and bathrobes. At the “Peanut Derby,” freshmen pushed a peanut along the ground with their nose. In 1948, freshmen were asked to sweep the White Gravenor esplanade with their toothbrush. When some objected to this practice, a compromise was offered with freshmen instead sweeping Copley Drive with their shoebrushes.

On the last day, the juniors awoke the freshmen for a service project announced only on that day at 9 a.m. In 1972, the service project was washing windows, performing janitorial activities and caring for children. In the next few years, the service project was replaced with a service seminar.

The vigilance of the sophomores came in varying degrees. In 1940, each freshman exercised a revolt against his hazer. Claiming that the freshmen did not have enough spirit, the sophomores tried to rein in the freshmen with two fire hoses.

The freshmen relented and exercised their “Frosh Revolt.” The sophomores then tried to get the freshmen to remove their trousers and shoes in one action as a punishment.

A freshman in 1940 said of the hazing period, “Since this was Freshman Week, we were immune to studies . It was during this week that we learned what was expected of us as Georgetown men, of our duties to the school and what we could expect of the school. It was also during this week that we first learned in detail of the terrible sophomores . A sophomore has but to wish and he will be obeyed. That was the purpose of Hell Week.”

When females were admitted to the College, the hazing process enforced by the Sophomore Vigilance Committee was then toned down. Other academic and social activities were added in the 1970s, including speeches, dances, a Mask & Bauble production, folk concert, tours and reorientation events similar to those present today in NSO. Ted Owens said in 1971, “We tried to think of every possible question a freshman could have and answer it.”

Despite the excessive action of the sophomores against the freshmen, many positive responses were written about the hazing process. In 1948 Yard President Bob Hogan said that hazing was “a time of generosity, principally.”

In 1975, Rich Pastor (SLL ’75) said, “The people have been very friendly . I think I’ll send a letter of commendation to the admissions committee on its selection.” In an editorial in 1936, THE HOYA wrote that “the hazing of freshmen is one of the greatest breeders of spirit that there is. Sophomores become the curse of the freshmen and in their fight against this common foe all freshmen unite to gain strength.”

The editorial board added, “If they have no spirit, who will give spirit to the succeeding freshman classes?”