By April C. Armstrong *14

In this week’s installment in our recurring series, a bat disrupts a campus event, a student complains about dining hall etiquette, and more.

December 9, 1930—Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Evening News observes “That it is very hard to tell the difference between a street cleaner and a Princeton man because they both wear beer suits.”

December 11, 1869—A bat disrupts Senior Orations when it flies through a window, breaking the glass and “circling about the chapel in the usual fantastic way of its kind.” Fortunately for the speakers, “Its flights were mostly so elevated that no one felt obliged to scream…”

December 14, 1774—James Caldwell acknowledges receipt of £11 15s for Princeton’s Commencement dinner. (In American dollars in 2024, this will be about $2,000.)

December 15, 1958—Observing that students have been pushing and shoving each other in the dining Commons, Peter Pettibone ’61 questions the dress code.

Unless a new system of opening the Halls is inaugurated, or a manner of acting more befitting a “Princeton gentleman” appears, I see little sense in requiring the freshmen and sophomores to wear coats and ties to that meal.

For the previous installment in this series, click here.

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