Introduction

Retro Fall at DePaul explores former back-to-school traditions that made the freshmen experience at DePaul University distinctive. DePaul's history of freshmen initiation generally equates to what we would call hazing today, but they make up an indelible part of the cultural history of student life at DePaul.

The traditions have been broken up into the sections Beanies and Bibs, Pushball, Signposts, and Kangaroo Court. Each of these sections contains an explanation of the tradition and how it related to the other rituals of freshmen life. The content for these sections are drawn from student newspapers, student yearbooks, and archival photograph collections.