Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-07
GLAZING a Freshman"

The subject OF Hazing," in our va
rious colleges, is one that has received
more or less comment from nearly
every paper in the Union, and has been
unanimously denounced as Q disgrace
to our famous institutions. Theprocess
known as "hazing" frequently sub
iects the freshman" to the most in
tense physical torture, and yet seems to
produce the greatest merriment for
those who have the victim in charge.
Did it ever occur to an operator that
we have "hazing" among ourselves =?
Most of us have been victims. Although
physically we may have suffered COM
paratively little, yet the mental agony
that freshman" operator is fire.
quently forced to endure is pitiful in
the extreme. He walks into an Office
full of strange faces, not friendly hand
to shake, with nothing to recommend
him but his ability as an operator,
and his implicit confidence in that
ability for his only encourage
ment. He hardly enters the Office
before that telegrapher's "devil, !"
the messenger boy, remarks to a com
rade: Jimmy, stab de tile on dat
bloat," which translated, is understood
to call the comrades attention to the
peculiar style of hat which happens to
adorn the head of the Freshman"
This does not have any great tendency
to create feeling of encouragement in
the breast of the freshman" and the
smiling chances from tue operators do
not serve to enlighten his heart to any
extent. He approaches the managers
desk, and after five or ten minutes
more of agony to the freshman" the
manager condescends to glance upward,
and in tone full of thunder, bluntly
inquiries, Well. sir, what is it" The
freshman states his business, and
the manager proposes to give him o
trial. Accordingly he is assigned to
an instrument, and told that he is to
receive special" His feelings at
this juncture are about the same as
those supposed to be experienced by
man who is about to be hung. Ner-
vously grasping the pen, he begins to
copy, the perspiration trickles down
his hand, which makes that member
adhere to the blank, his pen sticks fast,
the ink is tho thickest ever encountered,
and there is nothing left for him but to
break. Casting a guilty glance about
him, to see if any one is looking, he
reaches for the key and explains to the
sender that he is new man" please
take it steady )" but this only makes
matters worse. The sender begins to
"whoop 'em up" and the cold chills
run down his spinal column, the " fresh
mans" pen indites characters upon
the blank resembling the Chinese HE
roglyphics on tea box. This torture
usually occupies about half an hour,
when the welcome "n m falls sooth-
ingly upon his ear. He breathes sigh
of relief, and looks about him. Be-
hind him stand half O dozen operators,
whose grinning countenances would
convey the impression that they were
about to explode from the effects Of
something exceedingly ludicrous. A
couple of messengers in the crowd also
betray the idea that something unu-
sually amusing has occurred. In mo-
ment light begins to dawn upon the
freshman he is the victim OF q
joke. A glance in another direction
discloses the fact that the most rapid
sender in the Office has been transmit
ting to him from the columns Of daily
paper, for the amusement of the
"boys." If he accepts the situation as
a joke he is initiated, but il he becomes
angered, he is still freshman" -
The Operator.