First cheer: "Yell high, Yell great! Rah rah, Colgate!" First Colgate yell in response to changing name from Madison to Colgate in 1890.
Class customs: "Oxford caps" (c. 1870s-1880s) were mortarboards, and each class was identified by the color of the tassel: seniors - purple; juniors - blue; sophomores - red; and freshmen - green. During Junior Prom, freshmen were not allowed to walk on Willow Path between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Freshmen were prohibited from smoking on the streets, in the buildings, or on campus except for in the dormitories. Sophomores were only allowed to smoke corncob pipes. Freshmen had to leave the Chapel last and remain seated until the other classes had left. Freshmen had to carry matches and hand books at all times, and only seniors were allowed the privilege of wearing blazers (all c. 1920s). All freshmen were required to wear green beanies, a black tie, and black socks at all times, except Sundays and when school was not in session. Freshmen had to provide wood for all victory bonfires and celebrations. They had to salute all professors.
"Ringing the rust": Ringing a bell in West from midnight to dawn to celebrate "emancipation from freshmanhood."
Freshmen-sophomore rivalry: Since canes were a mark of honor and distinction, all students wanted to carry a cane, but this was a privilege that had to be earned. Freshmen were not allowed to carry canes, and if a sophomore saw a freshman with one, the sophomore had the authority to remove the cane from the freshman by any means necessary. This often led to brawls between the two classes. At the end of the spring semester, the two classes would meet for Cane Rush (c. 1880s) to decide whether the freshmen were finally deserving of the privilege of carrying canes. Each class picked the strongest member of their class who then tried to wrestle the cane out of the others' hands. The victors then cut the cane into a number of pieces, one for each member of the class, for souvenirs. As classes grew in size and the violence escalated, the university banned Cane Rush.
Salt Rush: The Salt Rush and tug-of-war took place during the first week of the academic year. Members of the freshmen class armed themselves with packets of salt, ready to attack the sophomores, who they believed were too fresh, when they left class. On some occasions, this exchange led to physical altercations. Other events included the underclass track meet, the Frosh-Soph football, basketball, soccer, and baseball games, and the underclass debate.
Washington's birthday: Held from 1867-1890, the junior class celebrated Washington's birthday with a literary entertainment. They invited female guests, and this, along with a number of social activities that followed the formal program, would eventually evolve into Winter Party.
Pipe Day: Started by the Class of 1887, a group of seniors gathered on the quad to smoke pipes and drink tea or lemonade. This gave seniors an opportunity to thumb their noses at faculty and administrators who prohibited smoking and drinking.
"Cremation of Livy": Students would burn their textbooks after completing a course based on the writings of a Latin historian. This was later replaced with the "burning of the algebras." During moving-up week, the members of the freshman class, dressed in their pajamas, would parade around town doing the snake dance and then return to a sand pit behind the Administration Building. Here, around a large bonfire previously built by the first-year men, an elected orator would give an address. The students would then hurl their algebra books into the fire and dance around it.
Moving-Up Day: Held in the Chapel on the last day of the year, each class would march to seats of the preceding class, with seniors taking seats of freshmen and singing "Where, oh where, are the pea-green freshmen…." (c. 1900).
Burying the hatchet: On Moving-Up Night, held on the next to last day of the academic year, the two undergraduate classes would hold their last battle. After speeches had been given by members of both classes and the pipe of peace passed around, the rivalry and animosity of the last four years would be buried with the hatchet in Taylor Lake.
Junior Prom: This tradition seems to have developed out of the annual Washington's birthday celebration and included baseball games, a track meet, tennis matches, a glee club concert, and the Junior Promenade. Held in mid-May, the celebration culminated with the dance in the gymnasium where prominent juniors were pledged into the two senior societies. Special editions of Banter (humor magazine) and The Willow Path (literary journal) were issued as well as the unveiling of the Salmagundi.
Colgate-Syracuse football: Every year, Colgate students constructed a 13-yard-high bonfire on the Friday night of Syracuse week. The freshman class, under the leadership of Konosioni, guarded the fire site, and any Syracuse men caught trying to light the fire would have a large "C" shaved into their hair. Likewise, any Colgate student trying to do the same at Syracuse would have an "S" shaved into his hair.