I spent a little time this afternoon sifting through some old Dean of Students papers, just because they were sitting on one of the book trucks in the back of the Woodson when I came in. This is one of my favorite collections, by the way. It’s extensive, covering the history of the office over the tenures of several deans, and it’s a truly peculiar hodgepodge, wherein a folder labeled “Bomb threats” sits next to one called “Bridge Tournaments.”
What captured my attention today was in the bland sounding folder “Building and Grounds.” It was a short notice declaring an All-School Holiday in October, 1967:
Only last week I’d noticed a short piece in a 1963 issue of the Thresher about what they called this “Machiavellian strategy” for keeping the students in regular order:
I note two things about this. First, the day of the 1967 holiday was a Saturday. Second, this is the last reference to an all-school holiday I can find. This leads me to wonder whether we dropped Saturday classes beginning in the 1968 school year. It would take too much time to look this up so if you know the answer, please help me out.
Bonus: The 1957 blockade.
