Then & Now: Big & Little Sisters, Hazing Day, and Elfing 1947-2000

Anne K. Meade

From the moment one takes her first glance at the Mount Holyoke viewbook, it is clear that traditions are a major part of life here. Perhaps some of the most meaningful traditions at Mount Holyoke involve the relationship of first-year students to the upperclass women. While most of these traditions have been occurring for some time (even when Mary Browning enrolled here in 1947), they have changed slightly over the course of the past fifty years. The basic stability of these traditions seems to signify a reluctance to get rid of a very important part of the Mount Holyoke community. As Hobsbawm discusses, traditions imply a “continuity of the...past”, indicating that continuing the interactions between classes is important in order to connect current classes not only to the college, but also to those who preceded them. Even though the traditions of Hazing Day and Big/Little Sisters may have changed since 1947, the presence of Dis-Orientation and a similar Big/Little Sister program in 2004 indicates that the traditions are still important to this community. It has been important to continue these traditions in order to maintain their significance in the Mount Holyoke experience.

The Big/Little Sister tradition at Mount Holyoke is a way for first-year students to become acquainted with the junior class during the beginning of their time at Mount Holyoke. In Mary Browning’s time (1947-1951), Big Sisters wrote to their Little Sisters during the summer prior to their arrival at Mount Holyoke. This enabled first-years to create a connection with another student so that they would know at least one person on campus when they arrived here. When first-years arrived, Big Sisters, clad in white dresses and armbands made out of the first-year class color, picked their Little Sisters up at the train station. The Freshman Handbook of 1947 (which was, coincidentally, created by their Big Sisters) tells first-year students to use their Big Sisters because they will provide them with valuable information about the college during the first week (and “being utilized is part of a Big Sister‘s job”). First-years were expected to keep in contact with their Big Sisters and interact with them throughout the school year (i.e. at Junior Show). In short, Big Sisters were provided so as to prevent first-year students from feeling lost and alone. As it was put in the 1947 Freshman Handbook, the “whole point [of Big Sisters] is to make a natural, lasting friendship”. By having that connection, students were able to feel more at home as soon as they arrived.

While the idea is still to provide first-year students with an upperclass woman she can turn to during the beginning of her college career, it is clear that the current Big/Little Sister tradition is very different from that of the 1950s. Big Sisters no longer contact their Little Sisters during the summer before they arrive in September. Prior to 2003, first-year students were given the name of their Big Sister when they arrived at their dorm room on their first day at the college. From there, Big Sisters were to escort their Little Sisters to the September tradition of Convocation a few days later. Although this did not create as much of a bond as was probably felt in the 1950s, it allowed a first-year to interact with an upperclass woman that she may not have otherwise met. Some people created lasting friendships with their Big Sisters. Others never even met them. It seems that the newfound simplistic quality of the tradition as it is now has caused some upperclass women to become disinterested. The tradition changed in 2003, when Little Sisters found out who their Big Sisters were after classes had already started (and thus after Convocation). Many first-years who had heard about the tradition from other upperclass women or orientation leaders were confused when they discovered that no one would be escorting them to Convocation. Once classes had started there was a Big/Little Sister ice cream social that was supposed to bring the two classes together. However, once classes have started at Mount Holyoke, there is almost no way to get people to focus on things like traditions that appear to have lost some meaning, and turnout for this event was minimal. The new aspects of this tradition have prevented it from becoming an important bond between the first-year class and the junior class as it was in the 1950s. As people get busier and friendship circles get bigger, both the juniors and the first-years find it hard to be focused on such a tradition.

First-year students also get a chance to interact with the senior class during what Mary Browning referred to as Hazing Day, and what we now call Dis-Orientation. As the Freshman Handbook for 1947 declares, “in October, seniors may take it upon themselves to ‘give you the works’.” In other words, on a particular day in October, first-years were required to dress in crazy costumes (such as Mary’s teacup and saucer) and do anything their particular senior wanted them to do. First-years sang songs honoring the seniors and humiliating themselves. For example, Mary Browning wrote about having to learn the Mount Holyoke songs (such as the Alma Mater) and the Saucer poem (specific to her class) to perform on Hazing Day. Most importantly, every first-year was assigned a senior who not only hazed her, but also took her out to dinner and a movie afterwards, presumably to “heal hurt dignity” that may have arisen due to the tasks of the day. It seems that when it was created (in the early 1900s), Hazing Day was intended to be another form of bonding for the first-years and the upperclass women. It may be harder for first-years to get to know seniors who are already comfortable on campus and have their set group of friends. Hazing Day allowed for foolishness to the extent that both classes had fun during the process. Like the Big/Little Sister tradition, Hazing Day allowed the classes to interact and has provided a continuous tradition that is significant to each incoming class. Having that common bond ideally would have given the Mount Holyoke students of Mary Browning’s time the ability to take the Hazing Day experience they had during their first year and put it back into the tradition during their senior year.

Since the 1950s the tradition of Hazing Day has changed a fair amount. No longer called “hazing” due to the newfound inappropriateness of the word, Dis-Orientation (Dis-O) has now been extended to a weeklong celebration rather than an 8-hour period. Seniors still dress up in their graduation gowns while making the first-years wear crazy costumes such as plastic trash bags, capes, or even nylons on their heads (speaking from a personal experience). Dis-O is no longer only about being a first-year, but is now also a way of establishing dorm pride. The songs the first-years are required to chant differ depending on which dorm each lives in, and first-years go around campus “chalking” (writing with chalk) various words of support for their dorm. Like the 1950s, each first-year has a senior who may give her special tasks, like to give her breakfast in bed. Nonetheless, the tradition of Hazing Day/Dis-Orientation has not always been met with total support from the campus community. In fact, in 1950 it was dropped completely from the Freshman Handbook, but was written back in in 1955. Quite possibly the biggest challenge to the Dis-O tradition came in 1965 when a group of seniors came forward in opposition to the tradition, saying that it created “bitterness and embarrassment” amongst the first-years. It seems that these students felt Dis-O only created humiliation and left a negative impact on the first-years. With this opposition came support from other students on campus to investigate getting rid of the tradition. However, to prevent getting rid of the tradition all together, the college created Elfing, a tradition connecting the first-years and the sophomores. Elfing was a means of creating a positive environment for first-years after their Dis-O experience. Of course, throughout the years Dis-O has also taken on a slew of regulations and restrictions now that hazing has proven to be objectionable. Even so, it seems that with the passing of time and the growth of the Dis-O tradition, Mount Holyoke has been able to maintain this tradition that may have been humiliating for some, but that has created a bond to the senior class for others. As an article in the Mount Holyoke news states, Dis-O is the Mount Holyoke way to “truly welcome each incoming class.”

As I was reading some of Mary Browning’s letters to her parents, I began to notice that while she talked about Hazing Day quite extensively, she never mentioned the tradition of Elfing. I quickly became curious because, as a current student, Elfing is a very important part of interacting with upperclass women when one is a first-year. Upon examination of various materials in the archives, I discovered that Elfing is actually less than 40 years old, quite a change from those traditions that have been here since 1837. Elfing comes at a time in October when first-years are assigned an “elf,” a sophomore who leaves small gifts and notes outside of her door each morning. During the first night of Elfing, elves cover the doors of their “elfies’” rooms with newspaper, a part of the tradition that has continued from at least 1981 to the present. The identity of each elf remains a secret until a small gathering where their identities are revealed. While Elfing is a relatively new tradition, it is still important to consider when looking at traditions that bond first-year students and upperclass women. Even though it was originally created to ease some of the humiliation due to Dis-Orientation, it has quickly become a tradition that most first-years look forward to. It allows first-years and sophomores to bond creatively and to discover common qualities without forced interaction. While sophomores were previously left out of making a direct connection with the first-years, Elfing provides this bond and allows first-years an even greater support system in the college.

Tradition is very important throughout a student’s four years at Mount Holyoke. During the first semester of their first year, it is particularly important for new students to bond with upperclass women in order to connect with them, make friends, and figure out things about Mount Holyoke that may be difficult to understand. By looking at Mary Browning’s letters to her parents as well as many other primary sources in the Mount Holyoke Archives, we are able to see connections between then (1947) and now (2004). Even though events are most likely very different between these two times, most past and present Mount Holyoke students had experiences that evoked similar emotions and that have created a commonality amongst us. As the Freshman Handbook of 1983-84 states, “through [ Mount Holyoke traditions] [one] will soon discover the exciting spirit of unity that helps to make Mount Holyoke a very special place.” Older traditions such as Big/Little Sisters, Hazing Day and Dis-Orientation, or even newer traditions like Elfing, signify the uniqueness of Mount Holyoke and provide a specific experience for students that can be found no where else.

Bibliography

Hobsbawm, Eric and Ranger, Terence. eds. [1983] 1992. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The Mount Holyoke College Freshman Handbook, 1947-1948

Freshman Handbook of 1983-84

South Hadley, Massachusetts. Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College. Mary Elizabeth Browning Papers.