19 April 1901: Law Students Thwart Sophomore Class

On this day in 1901, the Weekly Banner recounted this weekend tale of University of Georgia escapades:

Part of the feast was "eaten in darkness" because the Sophomore class did manage to cut the lights to the ballroom during the Freshmen's meal. There is no indication that the Freshmen gave a feast to thank the law students in 1901.

Over the next decade, this type of caper, and the resulting chaos to the businesses and citizenry around it, lead the University to encourage an annual pushball game between the Freshman and Sophomore classes to keep such collegiate antics to a minimum.

Learn More:

• Athens Weekly Banner, Nov. 1899 - Jul. 12, 1902 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Daily Banner, Feb. 1901 - Oct. 1901 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• The Red & Black Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• 1901 Pandora yearbook in the Heritage collection.
• The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History, 1785-1985 by Thomas G. Dyer in the Heritage and general collections.
• The University of Georgia Under Sixteen Administrations, 1785-1955 by Robert Preston Brooks in the Heritage collection.
• How to Survive Your Freshman Year by Mark W. Bernstein in the general collection.
• The Men from the Boys: Rites of Passage in Male America by Ray Raphael in the general collection.
• Charlemagne's Tablecloth: A Piquant History of Feasting by Nichola Fletcher in the general collection.
• College Life in the Old South by E. Merton Coulter in the Heritage and general collections.