The Free lance. (State College, Pa.) 1887-1904, March 01, 1900, Image 12

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    and before long the Sophomores gave up the fight. The
flag was left flying and in the morning, while the Freshmen
were taking an "exam," the Sophomores tore it down and
made it into neckties.
• This started the flag-scrap custom and every year since
then in the spring, or latter part of the winter term, a gag
has been raised by the Freshman class. In the two years
following 'B7 the flags were put up on the Main Building
pole, as the first had been; and fights occured very similar to
the.first one, resulting finally in the Sophomores tearing
down the flag. The idea seems to have been to keep the
flag up as long as possible and not to take it down until it
was torn down.
No more flags were put on the Main Building. The
next class, '93, attempted. to get their's up, but were inter
rupted by an unexpected call from the "Prex" and obliged to
disperse much more quickly than they had come together.
This lead to a new departure, the raising of the flag on the
Armory, which was then just completed. The class of '93
was the first to make use of the Armory pole. The top of
the tower on which the flag-pole stands was then reached as
it is now by a long ladder on the inside of the tower, start
ing from the landing, which opens onto the Armory gallery.
The Freshmen put up their flag on Saturday night and
after breaking off about twenty feet from the bottom of the
ladder in the tower, left the placd unguarded. It was
Sunday morning before the 'Sophomores knew of the
affair, and as soon as chapel was out (they had chapel at 9
o'clock in the morning then) the whole class made a clash
for the Armory. The Freshmen followed close on their
heels, and ,came tearing up the stairs just as the first class
had reached the Armory gallery. A terrific "scrap" follow
ed, the Freshmen trying hard to get up the stairs. While it
was raging several Sophomores ran into the tower to try to
climb up to the flag. All around were barei walls up to the
height of about twenty feet, where the lower end of the lad-