White: Remember Maypole Scrap

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

I used to believe that the University of Kansas History Web site was created solely for the Kansan’s weekly trivia drawing. My friend really wants to win the drawing. She’s tried for months, years even. But I recently found out that the Web site is interesting aside from offering a chance at winning a variety of gift certificates, when I came across a fascinating part of our past.

In 1891, when our university was not yet 30 years old, an event occurred that, during the next 15 years, would grow into a tradition. This event was the Maypole Scrap. Every year, early on May 1, the freshmen would get together and erect a maypole. They would then cover the surface of the pole with tar or molasses or some other sticky, gross or generally repulsive substance. Then as campus started to fill, the freshmen forced passersby to pay their respects to the class, and rubbed their faces on the pole if they refused. Later in the day the sophomores would get tired of the young ones’ insolence, and attempt to take the pole down. Over the years the sophomores became more innovative. They corralled the freshmen with a wire cable, and scared them from the pole by throwing live snakes, or flaming bales of hay.

nutgraf

In 1891, when our university was not yet 30 years old, an event occurred that, during the next 15 years, would grow into a tradition. This event was the Maypole Scrap.

Eventually the juniors would come to aid the freshmen, the seniors allied with the sophomores and a massive campus-wide brawl broke out. This led to bruises, dislocated arms, and broken jaws, but continued to happen. That is until Chancellor Frank Strong laid the boring hammer down in 1905 and forced all the classes to cease their good-natured violence. The ritual riot was replaced shortly thereafter with a lame ceremony involving white dresses, flower hats and that pole with streamers on it from the Safety Dance video. But then everyone realized it was dumb and put it down like the Joey spin-off.

Hearing about this made me think that the closest thing we have today would probably be the giant inflatable funland, straight out of the ‘90s classic “Blank Check” they put out next to Wescoe when the weather turns nice. If that isn’t aggressive enough, there’s always a highly passionate yet completely unproductive shouting match with Brother Jed Smock on Wescoe Beach.

But there is nothing today as pure or as boundless and essentially free as a giant, class-divided brawl. New activities merely attempting to placate the spirits of the student body to yield a generation more numb than any in recent memory. Which is why, if asked if I would rather have another wax replica of my hand made, or try my hand at dodging fireballs while engaging in a battle for the glory of my class, I would ask if you had a light.

White is a River City, Iowa sophomore in journalism and Japanese.

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