The Rochester Review, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
The primary object of this journal is to furnish the friends and patrons of the University with reliable information concerning its workings and history."
--From the first issue of The University Record, October 1873
Introduced by a group of eight junior men, the University's first student newspaper was a monthly journal devoted primarily to samples of collegiate wit, literary essays contributed by students and faculty, news items from Rochester and other colleges, and "personals" about classmates and alumni. Over the succeeding 125 years, throughout a series of name changes and shifts in frequency, literary tone, and editorial slant, Rochester's undergraduate newspaper has persisted as a lively and engaging chronicle of campus life as viewed through the eyes of those at its center.
Following is an admittedly arbitrary selection of excerpts culled from items that happened to catch our eye while dipping into a century and a quarter of student newspapering.
October 1873
An admirable class-room illustration of the relation between cause and effect is furnished by the following announcements:
July 1. The Trustees of the University of Rochester have voted to add $400.00 per annum to the salaries of Professors Lattimore, Gilmore and Mixer, and $250.00 per annum to the salaries of Professors Robinson and Morey.
September 22. The Trustees of the University of Rochester have voted to raise the price of tuition and incidentals from $20.00 to $25.00 a term.
Well, the laborer is worthy of his higher, and the boys don't mind owing the University $15.00 more per annum in so good a cause.
(Twenty years later, the Record had a new name, and along with it, a somewhat more traditional newspaper format.)
October 26, 1893
The Prospect for Athletics in the U. of R.
It must be admitted that the outlook for athletics in the University for the present season is rather dismal. The manager and captain of the foot-ball team, and nearly everyone is discouraged. Why? Because of the almost entire absence of college spirit. . . .
Some degree of patience and tolerance must be observed, however, toward the coldness and seeming indifference of the students in regard to athletics, owing to the lack of proper facilities. . . .
What we need is a gymnasium erected on the campus fully equipped with baths, and the appliances for athletic development. With such a feature attached to the University, the task would indeed be very far from arduous to be present every afternoon. There would be some attraction; something to stimulate the attendance of men. Surely every man is in need of physical development and recreation, for with-out it men become dull and study grows tedious. . . .
(Women were first admitted to the University in 1900. In large measure they remained an unwelcome novelty for a number of years, their presence frequently evoking ungentlemanly conduct on the part of classmates.)
October 14, 1903
A Select Affair
On Friday afternoon of last week, a French Tea Party was given to a small number of High School and College students of both sexes. In spite of the fact that a large proportion of those who had been invited from the College were refused admittance at the last moment owing to certain ungrateful behavior of which they had been guilty, yet there was enough of the University element present to give the affair a "tone," and indeed the atmosphere of selectness created by the exclusion of the less desirable guests made the occasion pass off even more pleasantly.
November 11, 1913
1917 Picks Class Yells
There was a meeting of the freshman class on Wednesday, November 19th, to decide on the class yells. The two following were chosen:
"Rickety rax, colax Colleen;
Rochester, Rochester, Seventeen!""Cogito, Rogito, Nogito Si
M-C-M-X-V-I-I.
Boom-a-Reka, Doom-a-Recka, zip, zi, zeen,
Rochester, Rochester, Seventeen!"All the freshmen are urged to learn those yells as soon as possible.
November 16, 1923
Ink Filling Station Installed in Library
Automatic Penny Machine Ends Free Ink to Students --70 Cents First Day
No more can the students of the English novel course or other courses which make use of the library fill their trusty Watermelons or Sheaffers at the expense of the library. The library has installed a pen filling station which charges the somewhat exhorbitant price, some think, of one cent a filling for the fountain pens. The station is provided with a receptacle for any ink which may be left in the pens, so that the user's own ink may be sold to him again.
On the first day of operation, last Friday, 70 cents was taken in by the unique machine, almost as much ink being returned to the receptacle as was taken out. Librarian Donald B. Gilchrist was seen to remove the bottle which supplies the ink no less than three times on the first day, estimating the amount of ink gone and the profit to be made on each gallon.
(In 1925, women students found their own voice with the establishment of their first newspaper, The Cloister Window. Later, when Cutler Union was erected, it was renamed Tower Times.)
March 5, 1926
Macaroni First in College Taste;
Girls Struggle for Lunch ServiceThe favorite college food, according to Miss Margaret Evans, assistant manager of the lunchroom, is macaroni and cheese. Orange ice and chocolate ice cream run a close second, while chicken and tuna fish are also well liked. The general tendency of the lunchers is to get a dish of soup and two or three desserts. The average cost of a meal is twenty-five cents.
There is a division of opinion as to what is the favorite indoor sport of the lunchroom. That of some girls is to see how near the door they can break into the line and how many people they can cut out, while that of others is to see how many can sit around one table and still be able to touch it, and in some cases how many can sit on one chair without too much discomfort. . . .
(In 1930, men students moved to the new River Campus, leaving the women behind on a refurbished "Old Campus.")
December 4, 1931
Dear Editor:
The extreme silence which is insisted upon for the library and environs seems to be somewhat childish. The fact that the library is so still makes everyone look up at the entrance of anyone, no matter who it is, thereby losing time. The ferns which were placed in the window seat seem to detract from the appearance of the formerly stately lobby. They clutter up the place. When the boys were here we chatted in the lobby, and there seemed to be no dire results. Even if we chat in low tones now, we are asked to desist. This too-rigorous watching and pouncing has aroused a general feeling of resentment among the students, more than is thought. Sooner or later, the fight for freedom of speech will break forth, even as in the days of our forefathers. Can't we avert open hostilities and resort to the medium which intelligent people recommend and arbitrate?
Hoping this matter receives the attention it deserves on account of its general influence,
I am,
A. Liberty Lover of '32
September 29, 1933
Earthworms
Removal of most of the old restrictions on freshmen by the Traditions Committee has stirred up considerable comment around the campus.
Among the rules abolished are those in regard to walking on the quad, wearing knickers, smoking, talking to women, and growing moustaches. . . .
The change will help to make newcomers feel themselves to be welcome comrades rather than helpless goats harried by an unsympathetic student body. After all, it was rather inane to try to make freshmen earthworms by requiring them to use the tunnels.
(During World War II, with the arrival of the Navy V-12 unit, the River Campus became, almost literally, "The Good Ship Rochester.")
July 30, 1943
Demerits Pile Up In Black Book
There were 403 demerits handed out to the men in the navy and marines during the past week.
Many students received demerits for being late to classes. Most of them complained that they did not have enough time to change after forty "gruelling" minutes of P.T. and then dash to the other end of the campus to attend their next class.
One sailor was peacefully lolling in a bathtub studying his Analytic Geometry last week. A mate dropped in and the newcomer casually asked the studious bather if he had a class at that hour. Suddenly there was a terrific splash and the sailor flew out of the room, dressed hurriedly, and he was just in time to hear the bell ring for the end of the period. He explained to Capt. Coulter the next day that he was studying at that hour. After listening sympathetically, the captain took out a white card and marked down twenty-five demerits for the unfortunate sailor.
(Meanwhile, back on the old Prince Street Campus, women students enjoyed a somewhat uneasy relationship with their naval classmates.)
October 1, 1943
V-12ers May Hold Dance Saturday
The virile V-12ers, men of action, all from that far-distant place, the River Campus, may hold a maybe-formal, maybe not, maybe an orchestra, maybe none, maybe-not dance tomorrow night in a place maybe here, maybe there. If here, it will be held at the expense of the girls' generosity which managed to outdo that of the boys by a very wide margin. . . .
After looking the Prince Street coeds over last Saturday evening, the uniformed campus apparently has decided that we have nothing on campus that pleases them enough, and, consequently, they will be forced to pick a UR queen from their own personal stock of feminine friends. That is, there will be a queen if they can decide on their favorite girl if they have a dance, and if they can get an orchestra.
(The end of the war brought forth a whole new set of concerns.)
September 23, 1953
Editor, The Campus
Dear Sir,
As the owner of a car, I can see that the problem of where to park a car on the campus has become much more acute than last year. Traffic on the road between the new dorms and the fraternity quadrangle is miserable because cars are parked on both sides of the road. They are parked there because of the obvious nearness to the living quarters; and because the car is off the Boulevard and thus somewhat protected against theft.
But already many of us have received traffic violation warnings, and we run the risk of being fined because the University has made no extra provision for parking. It took one parking area away when it built the new dorms, and replaced it with nothing. But will we continue to be fined nevertheless?
Name withheld.
(The Campus and the Tower Times were united in 1954, when the former colleges for men and women were merged on the River Campus.)
September 20, 1963
Towers Depicted as Plush--
An Experiment in Coed LivingThe "Towers," UR's plush coeducational dormitories which had their debut last week, appear to have met with quick popular acceptance.
But as the residents settle down now and establish formal patterns of behavior, the Administration's present air of hope and excitement concerning the new dorms is bound to be tempered by a wee bit of anxiety.
For the "Towers" represent something new in dormitory living. First of all, they are coed; and although other colleges have established coed dorms in the past, these have usually consisted of separate men's and women's wings in the same building or on alternate floors with transit between adjacent floors forbidden. In the "Towers," men and women are housed on alternate floors but may move freely from floor to floor. Lack of both curfews and dormitory advisors add to the residents' freedom. . . .
November 7, 1973
A Homecoming Queen
The concept of a campus homecoming queen is long outdated. Though the CT has provided the space in today's issue to "publicize" the candidates, we hope that the contest will be eliminated in the future. We do not view this one event as monumental. But we believe it reflects the larger problems that women encounter every day.
November 14, 1983
Demonstrators protest Bush honors, Reagan policies
Despite snow and sub-freezing temperatures, approximately 200 people, most of them students, gathered near Strong Auditorium Friday afternoon to protest the UR's granting of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Vice President George Bush, and Reagan administration policies. . . .
The demonstrators sang chants and held signs protesting US intervention in Central America and the Caribbean. . . .
Associate Dean of Students Bill Spellman said that he and Dean of Students Peter Kountz were "at the demonstration to protect the students' right to protest."
(In recent years it has become tradition for outgoing editors to sign off with their own "personals" in their last issue.)
April 30, 1998
All I need to know about life I learned from the CT: Have fun. Be nice. Write with intention. Spellcheck. Choose your own music. Pick the Indigo Girls. Take pride in your work. Stand your ground. Unionize. Don't leave valuables unattended. Celebrate birthdays. Chairdance. Don't believe everything you read. Eat cookies. Drink caffeine. Sleep every night. Learn something from everyone. Practice respect. Recognize hard work. Look around. Treasure every moment. Hug. Remember that being a CT editor is "a very prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition."
Copyright 1998, University of Rochester
