Class Day
Class Day exercises were established by Samuel Eliot in 1858 to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class and to emphasize the lasting bonds of friendship. The ceremonies were “a similar fashion to the present custom at Harvard” and originally took place on the original campus around a small white oak that President Silas Totten planted in front of Jarvis Hall. 1)
A formal affair, Class Day was put on by both students and faculty, who took part in various committees assigned to organizing the components of the day. Students were appointed to various positions during the ceremonies in advance, and Class Day took time and planning to be successful.
Class Day took place just before commencement, typically in late June. The students read orations, poems, class chronicles and prophecies while smoking tobacco. James Williams or “Professor Jim” made the Class Day punch, and the lemon-squeezer was presented to the chosen class. Students also presented a gift to Williams, typically a purse of money, and in return, Williams recited a speech of farewell and advice. He then assisted the students with planting ivy along the College buildings. The ceremony was typically held in front of the Chapel at about 3:30 p.m. and was followed by a supper and dance in the evening, with music supplied by local bands.
Class Day continued as an annual event until the late 1960s.
Sources
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, p. 20.
History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, p. 109.
Trinity Tablet, April 27, 1878.
“Class Day at Trinity,” The Hartford Daily Courant, 19 June 1868.
“Class Day at Trinity,” The Hartford Daily Courant, 12 June 1861.