by Jessalyn Pinneo
Special Projects Writer

Courtesy The Cherry Tree Students take to the Potomac River on the 1958 Colonial Cruise. The cruise was part of the annual spring festival, and tickets were included as part of the Campus Combo coupon book.

Courtesy GW Hatchet The front-page of the Sept. 23, 1958, Hatchet illustrated the unofficial version of freshman orientation from the perspective of fraternity rush.

Courtesy University Archives Quigleyıs, located at 21st and G streets, was a popular hangout for GW students.

"Another slug of my morning-after juice and weıre off. Hold fast Š tomorrow Š RUSH SEASON will be all over. (ŒIıll drink to that,ı many of you are saying under your breath.) Well, Iıll drink to it, too. Glug!!²

So reads the beginning of the Foggy Bottom column in the Sept. 30, 1958, Hatchet, written by the infamous ³Auntie² Hester Heale.

In the 1950s and Œ60s, Greek-letter life at GW was one of the largest social circles on campus. If students were not members of fraternities or sororities, most at least went to the Greek-letter parties, which, incidentally, usually featured one or two bathtubs ­ yes, bathtubs! ­ filled to the brim with gin or vodka.

Of course, this was when the legal drinking age was 18 and alcohol poisoning was not one of the top concerns of the nationıs universities.

The Foggy Bottom column quoted above was a sort of social register for the goings-on of GW fraternity and sorority members. Every week Hester Heale, the Greek gossip guru, updated Hatchet readers on the past weekıs rumors and events, from marriages and engagements to who finished the bathtub of gin at Phi Sigma Kappaıs latest mixer. Hester was no outside commentator, however. ³She² was a fraternity brother, selected each year to keep the GW student body apprised of Greek happenings on campus. Hesterıs identity was kept secret until the end of the year, when it was finally revealed in The Hatchet.

During the 1950s and Œ60s, GW had 14 fraternities and 13 sororities. Besides parties, many Greek-letter groups sponsored other social activities. Kappa Sigma had an annual Christmas party and sorority pledges presented skits in the Goat Show each November.

But Greek life didnıt occupy all of GW studentsı time. There were many activity clubs, including chess, sailing and rowing. The University also sponsored dances, dramatic productions and the Colonial Cruise, an annual spring festival to celebrate the end of the school year. For discounted tickets, students could buy a Campus Combo, or a book of tickets to ³All-University Features² such as Homecoming, two theater performances, the Colonial Cruise, the Colonial Booster Book and the Modern Dance. It also bought students a copy of The Cherry Tree, which was sold during registration at a reduced price. In 1958, the Combo was valued at $17 and cost only $10.35.

Although its future purpose is uncertain today, 50 years ago Quigleyıs housed a pharmacy and general store. It was also a soda fountain and a popular hangout for GW students. Between classes and on weekend afternoons, students would stop by Quigleyıs to relax over a root beer float and swap gossip.

There was also a more academic side to social life at GW. During the 1961­62 academic year students established, Speaking Out, a forum in which students could express their opinions and concerns about current events. Some of the topics discussed included the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee during Sen. Joseph McCarthyıs crusade against Communism, and the future of Cuba during Castroıs revolution and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Students also participated in a number of honor and service societies on campus, especially women. Each fall, Mortar Board ­ a senior society ­ held the Big Sis Tips Œn Tea for Topnotchers, an event that tapped likely future members. The tea began a process of guiding the younger women down the right path during their GW careers.

There was no end to the activities that occupied the studentsı time, and it was the general consensus of the University population that the four years at GW were to be enjoyed and celebrated to the utmost.