Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1959

| 0 Comments

The Law School Prom takes place in just a couple of weeks, so Kicking it Old School decided to look into the RG archives to see what sorts of parties and dances Michigan law students have planned and attended over the decades. Issues of the paper from 1957-1959 provided a few gems, including this one. The Crease Ball seems to have endured for a while--KiOS has seen references to it in many an old RG. KiOS also hopes it's true that one could have a date served a subpoena by a police officer. Not shown here is an ad for Crease Ball tickets noting that the first 150 people to buy tickets would "receive a card entitling them to a free 'clean and crease' of a pair of pants at the Kwick n' Kleen." Does anyone need a plank in a platform for an LSSS run?

Other dances included the Wigge and Robbe fall formal that was, sadly, cancelled in 1958 due to a conflict with the booking of the hall where it was to be held. Students could still enjoy(?) "La Inquisicion" that November. According to the RG, it was a dance open to the whole law school community. Not sure what, besides dancing, one would have expected there.

The Chancellor's Court was the law school's springtime semi-formal in the 1950s. According to the RG in March of 1957, "Even though the dance falls into the category of a 'formal', the usual emphasis on that word will apply only to the ladies, and as a result, the men will be able to venture forth with dark suits with no fear of violating social mores." KiOS was not sure whether to take offense to that odd bit of fashion advice but was pretty appalled when it read that the Last Blast dance of 1957 would have a jazz band, refreshments, and "400 UNESCORTED GIRLS." The planners of the same event in 1958 must have been less successful in their recruitment efforts, as the ad for that one promised only "300 unescorted co-eds from sororities and dorms around the campus." KiOS hopes everyone can meet a special someone or whatever at the prom, but there's just something unsettling about that phrasing. The event was billed as "a FINE and GENTLEMANLY moment for acquaintanceships between LAW STUDENTS and some of the FINE young ladies gracing the undergraduate schools." Seriously.

Leave a comment