Traditions of Washington & Jefferson College
A college shaped by cheers, rushes, and ceremonial spoons.
The traditions of Washington & Jefferson College form a distinctive part of its campus culture, with roots stretching back to the 19th century. Notable among these are the "Freshman Rules," a system of restrictions enforced by upperclassmen, and the "Whichi Coax" cheer, which has become a pervasive symbol of college identity. These customs, ranging from violent class contests to formal academic ceremonies, have shaped the college's communal life for generations.
Quick Facts
- Year pushball founded
- 1910
- Year freshman court founded
- 1922
Facts from the source article.
Songs and chants
The college cheer "Whichi Coax" derives from frog sounds in Aristophanes' Ancient Greek comedy "The Frogs. Its earliest known appearance is in the 1892 yearbook, and it resembles Yale University's "Brick-ke-kex Coax," which also draws from the same play. President Tori Haring-Smith described the cheer as a "secret handshake among friends. It is used at Honors Convocation, Matriculation, beginning-of-year Convocation, campus re-dedications, and as a closing salutation in alumni correspondence, and it is shouted after the Alma Mater is sung. The "Alma Mater of Washington & Jefferson College," with lyrics by L. D. Hemingway (class of 1902) set to the 1857 tune "Annie Lisle," first appeared in the 1902 book "Songs of Washington & Jefferson College. It was not listed in any commencement program until 1908, yet the July 1908 edition of "College Bulletin" stated the college had no recognized Alma Mater song, expressing hope this "defect would be remedied. The Alma Mater is followed by a round of "Whichi Coax. A different piece, the "Washington & Jefferson College Hymn," was composed by Julian G. Hearne (class of 1926). In 2006, "W&J Magazine" reported several lost songs, including "My Term Report," "The Red and The Black," "M'Millan's March," "Alumni Song," "The College Anthem," and "Red and Black. The fight song "Good Ole W&J," first sung in the 1920s, is set to the tune of "99 Bottles of Beer. Its lyric "And the Sem will surely fail" references the Washington Female Seminary, which closed in 1948.
Color rush, pole rush, cane rush, and pushball
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, annual physical contests pitted freshmen against sophomores. During the 1890s and 1900s, the "color rush" involved freshmen wearing strips of fabric sewn into their jackets after Monday chapel service, then gathering on the lawn between Old Main and Thompson Library. Sophomores attacked to seize the strips, often leaving bruised bodies and torn clothing. The "pole rush," founded in 1894 by the Class of 1897, saw freshmen raise their flag on a campus flagpole while sophomores tried to bring it down; combatants used dirty tricks such as dousing opponents with "ancient eggs and flour." By 1908, rule changes aimed to prevent common injuries. The "cane rush" of the 1880s was a physically violent contest: a freshman taunted a sophomore with a cane, then ten freshmen placed their hands on it while classmates surrounded them; sophomores charged to take the cane. After twelve minutes of bloody fighting, the class with the most hands on the cane won. The cane rush served as a rite of passage for freshmen. Over time, rules varied, sometimes hiding the cane on campus for the classes to find. These rushes, which had escalated from annual rites into serious violence, were banned by the faculty in 1913. Campus attention then shifted to pushball, founded in 1910. Two teams of five or six freshmen and sophomores battled over a six-foot rubber ball, aiming to push it past the opposing team into a goal for two points. A tie was broken by awarding one point to the team holding the ball in the opponent's goal area at regulation's end. Pushball's popularity fluctuated through the 1940s and 1950s.
Freshman traditions
One of the college's oldest traditions was the "Freshman Rules," a system of restrictions intended to "make the frosh feel at home." The sock inspection provoked the most fear: upperclassmen could inspect any freshman's socks at any time, and non-compliant socks led to punishments ranging from paddling to being drenched in gym showers. Inspections often escalated into gang fights as freshmen defended their peers. In 1922, upperclassmen established the "Freshman Court" to enforce these rules. The court grew into a powerful campus organization, sponsoring contests and events for freshmen and dispensing punishment for violations. Rules changed yearly but generally required freshmen to wear "dinks" and ties on campus, along with prescribed sock styles. Other rules forbade walking on campus grass, required learning all college songs and cheers, prohibited wearing preparatory or high school colors or insignia, and mandated speaking when passing someone on campus. Minor infractions typically resulted in paddling or mouth-washing with soap. Ironic punishments included forcing freshmen caught smoking to wear a Chesterfield sign, those missing a football game to wear a large football schedule, and those forgetting their handbook during chapel to wear a toilet seat around their neck. One freshman, whose offense was unrecorded, was forced to wear toast over his ears and carry a sign reading "I am a ham sandwich."
Academic ceremonies
Throughout the year, the college hosts a number of formal academic ceremonies. Among the oldest is the baccalaureate service, which takes place alongside graduation. Washington College held its first in 1859, and Jefferson College followed in 1865. Early commencements stretched across an entire week, filled with banquets, dances, and debates put on by literary societies. The practice of honoring alumni who graduated fifty years prior as the "Old Guard" started in 1930 and was formalized as an official alumni group in the 1950s. During the senior procession, the faculty member with the longest tenure leads the way, carrying a ceremonial mace carved from a wooden column originally in McMillan Hall. The "Spoon of Knowledge" tradition dates back to 1865, where a large wooden spoon is handed from the graduating seniors to the juniors, symbolically "spooning" knowledge to the next class. The spoon is adorned with silver disks engraved with each class's name. This custom was paused in 1968 but revived in 1993 with a newly carved spoon. Founder's Day, which began in 1903, honored the college's founders John McMillan, Thaddeus Dod, and Joseph Smith. It went on hiatus in the 1970s and was officially retired in 2005. Taking its place is Convocation, held at the start of the academic year and open to everyone. To celebrate the first Convocation in 2005, the bell in Old Main was restored and rang for the first time in decades. At Matriculation, new students are formally welcomed: they sign the college's mission statement, receive their official college pin, and learn the school's songs and cheers.
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