The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
COLUMBIA IN TIE OLD DAYS
PRANKS OF STUDENTS BEFORE
THE COLLEGE MOVED.
"Reminiscences Of, the Times When n, N,
Butler Was an Undergraduate and
President BaFnRrd'S Cow Wa Taken
Up In the Belfry Fun With the PrOfb.

Butler Was an graduate ana
President BamRrd'S Cow Was Taken
Up In the Belfry Fun With the PrOfb.
Life at Columbia lie not what IL uso5 ~
be- mourned a man who was a student
while the institution was still in it's Forty
ninth street home, 1T seems to me that
the fellows have forgotten how to play .
joke now and have developed into a regular
set OF mollycoddles.
why, the gilt statue OF Alma Mater has
rested secure in it's golden Write for two
years now 10 front Of the library and not
once has a student dared 80 much as 10
paint his numerals on II. AS II such q
thing could have happened in the days
whenN Nicholas Murray Butler Harry Thure-
ton Peck and W. B. Parsons were college
hoysl
IF Nicholas Murray should remember
those days he might be easier IN some OF
the vouths'uow who transgress the college
laws, don recall if he was in the crowd
that took President BarnsTd's COW UP into
the belfry Of the chapel,
You see. when the college was down AZ
Forty ninth street we had Just a bit OF
campus and on this old President Barnard
insisted on keeping a cow. much to the
amusement Of those who passed by the
place and 10 the annoyance Of the students
All sorts of plans we're tried to get rid OF
her. Almost every morning she was found
with some sort of sign fastened to her horns,
such as For Sale or Free Milk, Apply az
the Presidents Office
"AU of these expediehts failed and the
animal still fingered on. Finally one night
a party OF students decided to make n
last effort 70 get rid 81 the creature.
About 3 A. NJ. they slipped on to the
campus, and capturing the animal led her
TO the door Of the old chapel. An entrance
was easily effected and then the task began
Of getting the COW up the stairs,
"Of course che objected, but the plottera'
insisted on her going and emphasized their
views by frequent applications Of a piece
Of scantling. The COW. once started in the
| right direction. finally found herself resting
ct the top. Once there We fastened her
head to the he'll rope and departed leaving
her ringing the hell.
at he two ~lanitors and four men who
ass isted them had more trouble getting
the COW down than we had getting her up.
That was the last of our troubles however.
Tor within a week DIR. Barnard sold the COW.
Tn good man never even started an in
vestigation TO discover the culprits.
Some of the professors had as queer
idea s as some Of them have now. Prof.
s tengle Of the German department hated
French. He wouldn't even look at a French
| book. We used therefore to carry German
cribs in French books, and if we laid them on
| the desk directly under his eyes he would
not see them.
The recitation rooms were all heated
by old fashioned cylinder stoves, which
il sufficient coal were put on and the drafts
opened would give out almost the heat
Of q blast furnace. One warm April DAY
while the fires we're still lighted every one
of Prof. Stengle's class of fifty threw 8
piece of coal on the stove as he entered
the room. Before the end OF an hour the
temperature Of the room was over a hum
dred degrees. and the class had TO be dis
missed.
son another day each student as he
entered brought along an apple which
he gravely presented the professor. The
apples were strung out along the front
OF the desk and then piled up until the table
looked like an Italian fruit stand.
The rules we're much more strict than at
present. For instance no student was al
lowed to smoke on the campus. In the
chemical laboratory the men used to smoke
when the professor was not around and
keep a beaker of ammonia ready into which
to dash some hydrochlorlc acid in case he
appeared. The combination produced such
| a smell and such fumes that all traces OF
| the tobacco smoke were lost.
"Once in this laboratory a woman put
in an appearance and began work at n
of the desks as II private student OF one
of the instructors. She was the only woman
in college, and the students regarded her
as almost as much OF an insult as the COW.
They Immediately started the tobacco.
ammonia and hydrochloric acid treat
ment, and in less than a week they had
succeeded in smoking her out for good.
One day President Barnard caught a student
smoking OF the campus. The first thing
he did was to ask the mans name. The
student knew that the president was deaf.
and replied by making motions with his
| lips. hut not u~ttering a sound:
'"The president repeated his question, !
and again the student moved his lips as u
shouting At the third repetition he ap-
pe The I president shook his head, and with
the remark that he must be getting more
hard of hearing walked away. The student
never heard further OF the incident:
There was only one instance OF q pro-
fessor who let his students smoke. That
was when Prof. A. L.. Holley was giving
his final examination in metallurgy. At
the beginning he walked into the room
with a box Of cigars, which he opened on
his desk, saying
'Gentlemen, IL a man has a hard problem
20 solve in practical life he usually smokes
over il. Now. ! have some hard problems
here for you and I think that It might ba
we'll for those Of you who care to smoke
"a do so. In the meantime / have not time
20 stay with you. so I will leave you TO yot9S
selves. OF course, you will conduct yoT1-
selves as honorably as II ] were present.
1.-THE announcement had a good effect
on the students. for there was only one
man. that tried to crib that day, n be
received a bloody nose at the hands OF one
Of the other students as q result. .
Most Of the professors took every pre-
caution TO keep the members of their claege4
from cribbing in an examination. ms
man used to station three proctors In thB
room 10 watch a class Of fifty. In this
case every effort was made by most Of
the students 10 gain illicit information and
most Of them succeeded.
zone of the most important OF college
observance was the burial Of the ancients.
Each year when the class in ancient his
tory had completed it's lsbors IL got
together and buried it's textbook In one
corner OF the campus.
"The whole college Joined in the parade
that followed down Fifth avenue. The
parade started on the ampus headed by
a band, while the students sans at the top
Of their lungs the irrevercnt song, To Hell
With the Faculty
"The crowd always marched past the
Rutgers Female Seminary, which was on
E;ftI uN,ap,,a mar Eorty-snnDd afpaaf