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| Freshman "Guidance" took place
on a wide range of subjects |
| Rice students traditionally have been second-to-none in
finding creative rites of initiation and letting off steam. |
 In these days of Political
Correctness on American college campuses, when, at some venues, Diversity is sought after
as the Holy Grail, and any insolicitude is likely to be condemned as Insensitivity--the
Cardinal Sin, the behavioral antics of Institute days seem outlandish by comparison.
But there always was a pattern. In most fraternal groups, traditions and rites of
passage exist to facilitate entry into the group and convey a common world-view. At
Rice, even the relatively silly hazing of the 50s tended to celebrate the
Individual. One measured success at Rice much more by academic accomplishment than
by group affiliation and popularity. A person could be quite successful, by external
standards, while remaining outside any "In" group. Individuality
historically was respected--not considered "wierd". (Therein, perhaps, lay
the gulf which always seemed to separate, and cause irritation, between the student bodies
of Rice and Texas A&M--perhaps the ultimate GroupThink college community.) |
 The
group affiliation rites of Rice, as they have evolved over the years, have focused on
three major facts of life at the Institute: one, the population of men drastically
outnumbered the women; two, the amount of time required, and pressure imposed, by even an
average academic courseload was immense, and, three, the average Rice freshman typically
had tended to focus on academics in high school to the detriment of his social life.
Socialization, fraternization, and letting off steam-- particularly letting off steam--
were of paramount importance. The system typically was highly imperfect in getting
the sexes together in any relaxed, comfortable way-- before the institution of co-ed
residential colleges, the men's and women's quads seemed as two armed camps on opposite
sides of the campus. Things are drastically improved on that front, nowadays, but
the entering freshman weanie typically remains a couple social eggs short of a dozen, and
the workload is as pressure-filled as ever. |
| Some of the traditions at Rice which can be recalled by alumni of a
certain age, include: |
 Owl-bowing
For many years, the sidelines at football games were occupied by Rice
freshman, furiously making obeisance to a graven image consisting of a papier-mache, later
plastic Owl, "Sammy" by name. The greater the need on the field, the more
furious the bowing became. Owl- bowing was synonymous with the on-field success of
the Institute years. In recent decades, the practice fell out of use, as results on
the field declined. Fine. We old grads shall overlook the faux pas
for the time. But, if, this fall, we're 9 and 0, and playing for a conference
championship and a bowl game, we'll damn sure be expecting some freshman fannies out there
on the field, giving it the old, "Whooooa, Sammy!" |
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 Water-Balloon Ballistics
Weanies of every Rice generation have put their physics and engineering
lessons to work in the construction of ever- more sophisticated water balloon
launching devices, some capable of sending out missles hundreds of yards. It
continues to be a regular after-dinner pastime as students in one college tower pelt
another tower in the distance. Even the MOB has worked water-ballooning into its
halftime shows. |
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| Greased Pole Climb |
 For decades, the freshmen were
required to wear beanies--each college sporting a different color--until the successful
accomplishment of certain milestones. Primary among them was the Greased-Pole
Climb, or Slime Pit. A freshman beanie was placed atop a telephone pole in the
middle of a pit of drilling mud. The task of the freshmen was to retrieve the
beanie; that of the sophomores was to keep them from getting it. Alas, the event
came to an end in 1967 when a Wiess freshman cut his foot in the melee. Drilling
mud is nasty stuff; the fellow almost lost his foot and missed a full semester of
school. End of tradition. Nowadays, one could imagine injury lawyers with
clip-boards standing around watching the event in anticipation of a client. |
 Slime Parades
Rice freshmen were referred to as "Slimes," as in Primordial
Ooze. "Slime Parades" were organized in a variety of situations: to
amuse the upperclassmen, conduct public celebration, and to remind the freshman that,
while they may be individuals, they remain low-life-form individuals. After a major
football victory, Slime could be seen parading down South Main or in front of the Rice
Hotel, or, later, the Shamrock. The Rice freshman athletic teams were nicknamed
unofficially the "Slimes." |
Rice students back
athletic teams enthusiastically
(but they don't get there early) |
 Although
not, strictly speaking, a tradition, it must be said the the Rice student body, despite
being small in number, historically has backed its intercollegiate athletic teams to the
hilt. Most of the student body show up for home football games, and typically around
one-half, for basketball games in Autry Court. What the Rice student section lacks
in size, it makes up in enthusiasm and creative cheering. Occasionally cheers
directed at the opposing teams fall flat because they don't "get
it." But the Owlies' propensity for strong backing is not in any way
reflected by their showing up early. Five minutes before the start of any football
or basketball game, the Rice student section will be nearly empty. Ten minutes later
will find it almost full.
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