# Do people know details of things that happened years ago at school or university or camps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011 "2019-11-05T02:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dunmurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dunmurry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunmurry)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/1 "2019-11-05T02:59:59Z")
Well I want to know if there are any things that happened years ago at schools or universities or camps that wouldn’t happen today perhaps of boisterous play between pupils and teachers or campers and leaders. I think there was somebody who had to pick teams for sport and if the teacher threw a football boot at them it meant they were picked. Also people playing British Bulldogs which they don’t do now. If someone forgot their PE kit it was said they had to do it in their underwear. A teacher took a photo of me one day when I bent over to pick up a shuttlecock in badminton and had a laser pen he was pointing at my body and pretended he had list control of it and pointed it around my genitals. Any other stories of fighting between campers and leaders and a leader giving people wedgies in the changing rooms and things like this? Any more stories that people have in relation to this? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/2 "2019-11-05T03:11:45Z")
When I was in college, the fraternities still conducted [panty raids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panty_raid) against the sororities. I haven’t checked, but I doubt that happens anymore. In fact, many stories from anyone’s school days involve some sort of rebellion against authority and/or morals. As styles of authority and acceptable norms change, many of those stories have become quaint but archaic relics. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/3 "2019-11-05T03:20:57Z")
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this might be up your alley. [High schools, YMCAs, and nude swimming](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=395612&highlight=naked+swimming+ymca&page=4) ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/4 "2019-11-05T03:30:06Z")
High school gym teacher in the late 70’s. First day of class: “You play around in the shower, I’ll wring your neck”, “You don’t do what I tell you, I’ll wring your neck”, “You come late, I’ll wring your neck”. I was already barely there at school, but never went back to class again and a few weeks later stopped going to school at all. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/5 "2019-11-05T03:41:46Z")
The school yearbook gives details of the activities and clubs that students participated. School newspapers are another great source. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/6 "2019-11-05T13:04:04Z")
Freshmen in college wore beanies (caps) at the beginning of the semester. The movie Animal House was set in about 1963, and showed the beanies were still is use but apparently going out of style. And back in the 1920’s, there was apparently an acceptable, traditional prank of attacking freshmen with scissors and cutting off most of their hair. Here’s an entire Phd thesis on the hazing antics and pranks of college life back in the good ol’ days. [https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=epe\_etds](https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=epe_etds) It’s downright scary stuff by today’s standards. But they seem to have been enjoying themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/7 "2019-11-05T14:57:37Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > High school gym teacher in the late 70’s. First day of class: “You play around in the shower, I’ll wring your neck”, “You don’t do what I tell you, I’ll wring your neck”, “You come late, I’ll wring your neck”. I was already barely there at school, but never went back to class again and a few weeks later stopped going to school at all. I bet that showed them! ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/8 "2019-11-05T15:09:53Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > High school gym teacher in the late 70’s. First day of class: “You play around in the shower, I’ll wring your neck”, “You don’t do what I tell you, I’ll wring your neck”, “You come late, I’ll wring your neck”. I was already barely there at school, but never went back to class again and a few weeks later stopped going to school at all. What did your students do than when you didn’t show up? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/9 "2019-11-05T15:23:22Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > When I was in college, the fraternities still conducted [panty raids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panty_raid) against the sororities. I haven’t checked, but I doubt that happens anymore. When I was a freshman at Cornell in 1969, I went on what might have been one of the last panty raids there. I was living in a group of rather desolate all-men’s dorms when on some Saturday night, as bored guys were milling around outside, someone yelled “panty raid,” and a group spontaneously gathered to storm the women’s dorms on the other side of campus. As the article says, it was treated as a joke by both sides, and a great deal of hilarity was involved. A group of guys would stand outside a dorm chanting “Silk! Silk! Silk!” while giggling girls would toss their worn-out undies (rayon I’m sure) to the crowd. At one point some guys got in through a window but were quickly chased out. The following year all but one of the dorms on campus went co-ed, pretty much putting a stop to it. There wasn’t much point when you could just go down to the laundry room if you wanted to steal underwear.😃 And if you wanted excitement, you could occupy the administration building to protest the Vietnam War. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/10 "2019-11-05T16:44:29Z")
In 1984 a large crowd of women gather at the boys dorms and yell at them to throw out jocks. We would toss out water balloons instead. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/11 "2019-11-05T16:48:48Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > High school gym teacher in the late 70’s. At first I thought you meant _you were_ a high school gym teacher in the late 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/12 "2019-11-05T17:23:24Z")
I have friends who tell most amazing stories of the shenanigans we got into in college. I remember nothing of the sort, but I did drink heavily at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-details-of-things-that-happened-years-ago-at-school-or-university-or-camps/843011/13 "2019-11-05T17:26:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There wasn’t much point when you could just go down to the laundry room if you wanted to steal underwear. Meh. Where’s the sport in that? And the coeds are supposed to be dumping buckets of water (throwing water balloons was also acceptable) on the boys who are gathered at the windows.