page_title: Trinity College, Toronto
section_title: Traditions and lore
hierarchical_section_title: Trinity College, Toronto / Student life / Traditions and lore
caption_attribution_description: English: Students departing from the annual Christmas dinner in Strachan Hall.
context_page_description: Trinity College is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of England. After five decades as an independent institution, Trinity joined the University in 1904 as a member of its collegiate federation.
  Today, Trinity College consists of a secular undergraduate section and a postgraduate divinity school which is part of the Toronto School of Theology. Through its diploma granting authority in the field of divinity, Trinity maintains legal university status. Trinity hosts three of the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Sciences' undergraduate programs: international relations; ethics, society and law; and immunology.
  More than half of Trinity students graduate from the University of Toronto with distinction or high distinction. The college has produced an unusually high number of Rhodes Scholars for an institution of its size, being 43 as of 2020.
context_section_description: Until 1993, weekday dinners at Trinity College were punctuated by the tradition of "Poorings Out". This tradition was a tongue-in-cheek way of imposing "discipline" on errant male members of college. The name "Pooring out" relates to the "poor" behaviour of the targeted student. Often spurious or humorous reasons would be given for a pooring out. Under this tradition, members of second year would attempt to expel an "errant" student from the dining hall during the first 15 minutes of dinner. The targeted student would lie across the dinner table, and was usually defended by three fellow students who linked together to form a strong a defensive shell over the table and on top of the targeted student. Upon a publicly announced "call" as to the alleged transgression, the assembled members of second year would stampede from their seats to the defenders, where they were given one minute to pull the targeted student off the table. On the rare occasion that a defence did prevail for more than one minute, the defendant was permitted to leave the dining hall on his own feet. Otherwise, the head of second year (or delegate) would drag the defendant out of the hall.
  In 1992 a campaign was organised against poorings out by a vocal minority of students who claimed victimisation. College authorities banned poorings out on the basis of legal liability in 1993. Rather than simply disappearing, the tradition of the pooring out has merely evolved to suit the contemporary climate. Today, pooring out is an honour generally reserved for students elected to prominent positions in the college, particularly the Student Heads. Both men and women may now be poored out; however the actual practice is most often gender segregated. For example, a man of college is defended by men and poored out by men, while a woman of college is defended by women and poored out by women. On account of the administration's aforementioned hostility to the practice, they are no longer supposed to take place on college grounds and are absolutely forbidden in Strachan Hall. Rather, poorings-out now often occur during The Lit. However, their actual form has changed little. The student selected to be poored out lies across a table while three of his fellow students lie across him to defend him. The assemblage is then rushed by the upper year students, who shred the gown of the person, while removing his or her defenders. Once a student has been poored out, they wear the remains of their gown bound as a sash. The gown is never to be washed, mended or sewn and must be worn in its original state as a sign of pride for the experiences of the student whilst at Trinity.
  Prior to the desegregation of residences in 2005, St. Hilda's College maintained a distinct residence life for the women of college, with its own institutions and traditions. These included an independent student government, literary institute, and dramatic society. Through till the 1950s, St. Hilda's students were required to attend services in the makeshift college chapel, as well as volunteer in the university settlement house. Other St. Hilda's-specific traditions included the wearing of halos, a reference to the nickname "Saints" given by the men of Trinity to the women of St. Hilda's. The men of Trinity often performed "Saints Serenades," which generally involved singing late at night outside the windows of St. Hilda's. Male students were strictly limited in their access to the residence for its first decades of existence. These restrictions were eventually loosened to reflect the changing moral norms of Toronto. Trinity men often found creative ways to sneak into the building after hours, or occasionally engaged in forceful panty raids, to the consternation of the administration. 
  Episkopon is a controversial student society at Trinity College, with a male branch founded in 1858
  and a female branch founded in 1899. The society operated mostly in public, and often with official support and encouragement until it was banned from Trinity grounds by the College administration in the 1990s. Episkopon has since
caption: Students departing from the annual Christmas dinner in Strachan Hall
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