Frosh y 1912, a new (unsanctioned) tradition was establishing itself on campus — initiation of freshmen into the student body. Some of these initiations, long since banned, included pushing blindfolded “Freshies” out of a window and down a wooden slide, made slick with soap, into a tub of water where they could also expect to be dunked again. Tarring and feathering might also occur along with other high jinks. The initiation hazing rituals were officially banned in the 1934 Calendar following an incident that made its way to court as a lawsuit known as “Powlett and Powlett v. University of Alberta.” C. Armand Powlett was distressed by his week-long hazing experience, so much so he ended up in the psychopathic ward of the University hospital and dropped out of school. Powlett’s father later sued the University “for breach of contract and torturous neglect” and won Armand an award of $50,000 as well as $6,800 for himself. In the cross appeal by all parties the father kept his money while Armand’s award was reduced to $15,000 — the University also paid for his year in a mental hospital as well as his legal fees. (The award to Armand was purportedly reduced because of his mental history prior to enrolling at the U of A, and little is known of what became of him other than that he was admitted for treatment at the Homewood Sanitarium in Guelph, Ontario, and later transferred to a long-term care facility in the same city.) Freshman initiation was officially over.
B
Freshmen, blindfolded and in pajamas, stand in Quad (top) while the soaped wooden slide awaits its next victim (centre), and students find themselves in another fine mess (bottom).
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new trail