Matriculations

Traditions
Attention was also paid to enriching the symbolism of the campus environment. A metal plate with the coat of arms was set in the corridor outside Hutchinson Hall and was not to be stepped upon. A Mitchell Tower curfew was rung for Coach Stagg's athletes each evening at 10:08 p.m. to the tune of the "Alma Mater." A fragment of stone from the Old University of Chicago was mounted in the wall of the passageway between Classics and Wieboldt halls. Rituals were invented for class gifts like the "C" Bench opposite Cobb Hall, which could be occupied only by varsity lettermen and their dates. Other places on campus conveyed a collegiate aura - the trophy room in Bartlett Gymnasium with its silver cups and game balls, or the barber shop in Reynolds Club with its photographs of football team captains, cartoon map of the quadrangles, and sponsorship of the campus mustache race. In these and other ways, most notably the adoption of an architectural style evocative of medieval learning, the University acquired the trappings of tradition and took its proper ceremonial place among more ancient institutions.