Rushes

Prevalent at American colleges and universities during the late 1800s and early 1900s, “scraps” between the college classes often took the form of “rushes.” Trinity College students participated fully in these rushes, which over the years included various iterations. The general premise of these rushes involved a contest between the freshman and sophomore classes, with the winners earning bragging rights or certain privileges and the losers typically having to follow some rule(s) imposed by the winners. Rushes could take place any time of year but historically were held during the fall semester (Bloody Monday in September) and on St. Patrick's Day in March. Bloody Monday rushes were followed by an annual parade of students downtown to the State Capitol, the site of the old College, where they would sing 'Neath the Elms. At other times, rushes were often followed by some type of celebration that included beer.

Predating rushes, students played football matches; in the 1870s, a serious student injury led to the abolishment of the game, and rushes soon took their place.

Bulletin Board Rush

Mention of the Bulletin Board rush first appeared in a Trinity College publication in 1900, and in the second issue of the Trinity Tripod in 1904, the rules of this rush were explained. Members of the freshman class challenged the sophomore class to a push rush later in the evening by writing the challenge on pieces of paper which the freshmen would attempt to stick on the bulletin board (which was guarded by sophomores). It was typical for the freshmen to win this rush – all they needed was one piece of paper to stick to the board. In later years the Bulletin Board Rush involved the freshmen attempting to touch the board for 10 seconds.

Cane Rush

Victorious Class of 1893 in front of Jarvis Hall after the March 17, 1890 Cane Rush ('92 vs. '93). Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

One of the earliest rushes at Trinity College–popular in the 1880s and 1890s–was the “cane rush,” which became a St. Patrick’s Day tradition (though in earlier decades cane rushes took place at different times of the year). Members of the freshman class would line up facing Jarvis Hall, with one man holding tight to a walking cane; the object was to deliver the cane to a junior’s room. Members of the sophomore class formed a defensive line opposite the freshmen, with the goal of capturing the cane and delivering it to the room of a senior. If the freshmen succeeded, they won the privilege of carrying canes at that year’s commencement ceremony. The whole student body would be present for the event, after which everyone would spend the rest of the day at Hublein’s, a local Hartford restaurant.

Because of the violent nature of the contest and the accidents that occurred inside the narrow hallways of Jarvis Hall, the cane rush was abolished by the faculty sometime around 1893 and replaced by a less violent flag rush, the first of which took place between the classes of 1901 and 1902.

Flag Rush

The flag rush began in the late 1890s after the cane rush was suspended. Members of the freshman class were to climb a tree (designated by the two upper classes) and raise a flag with their class year on it while sophomores defended the territory and kept the freshmen from hoisting their flag. Some years saw the flag planted on downtown Hartford buildings and establishments, and sometimes the police were involved. Other years included fireworks and launching pieces of burning trash to try to dismantle the flag. The 1924 flag rush was cancelled due to a head injury, which resulted in one student leaving the college.

Football Rush

Having found success at other colleges, the football rush came along in the fall of 1909 after the abolishment of the bulletin board rush and the push rush, which were considered too dangerous. The football rush took place on the regular football field, with a football set in the center of the field. Freshmen lined up under one set of goal posts, with sophomores lined up under the other set at the opposite end of the field. At the signal, both classes rushed toward the ball in order to take possession of it; the winners were those in possession of the ball after a designated amount of time had passed.

Hat Rush

This rush began with a member of the Freshman class donning a high hat on his head, thereby inviting members of the Sophomore class to a chase to capture the hat. The 1876 Trinity Tablet describes the freshmen as having chosen the hat-wearer “on account of his splendid physique and great capabilities for running.” The custom was for the freshman wearing the hat to run from the front of the chapel onto Mulberry Street, to a place where he would hide the hat. The remaining members of the freshman and sophomore classes would engage in a fight along the way, with the freshmen trying to keep possession of the hat, and the sophomores trying to take it away. Juniors and seniors were there to join in the fun and see to fair play.

Push Rush

The Push Rush is mentioned in the Tablet as early as 1869. Members of the freshman and sophomore classes (coached by the juniors and seniors) lined up on opposite sides of one another, thirty yards apart, standing four abreast, and as deep as there were members of the class. With arms locked around one another, at the signal, the two groups would begin marching toward one another, slowly at first, and then more quickly until at their meeting they had gained speed, crashing into each other, trying to push the other side back. The winners were the class with the best of three “pushes.”

Describing the object of this rush, one written account stated, “[i]t is the impact only that counts.” In 1909, a previous movement to abolish the Push Rush and “substitut[e] some less dangerous amusement” for the annual match between the two under classes gained traction, and in 1910, it was replaced with the Rope Rush.

Rope Rush

The first rope rush took place in 1910, and was described as “[combining] the excitement of other styles of combat with a minimum of danger.” In this rush, freshmen and sophomores were equipped with pieces of four-foot rope which were used in an attempt to catch, and then tie up members of the opposing class. At the end of the skirmish, the class with the most members tied up were the losers. It was not uncommon for articles of clothing to be muddied and torn when this rush was over.