Class Day Activities

Sophomores honor their senior big sisters, and the seniors highlight their College years on the Friday of Commencement Week.

The little sisters spend the morning constructing two 75–100 foot daisy chains to be used for the afternoon’s Class Day exercises. The white-clad sophomores hold two daisy chains and sing as their sister class marches through the chains. Class historians recall and depict key events of the graduating class’ four years at Meredith. The sophomore and alumnae sister classes sing traditional songs to the seniors. The members of the odd year classes wear black gloves on their left hands and give their little sisters wish bone charms for luck. The even classes give their little sisters bags of sticks and stones “to protect them from the Odd Spirit’s bones.”

At the conclusion of Class Day, the chains form the class numerals of the graduating class. The seniors form a circle and celebrate with their classmates.

Bathtub Ring

Three members of the Class of 1970—Betty King, Ayn Sullivan, and Peggy Timmerman—founded The Bathtub Ring singing group in the spring of 1968 and first performed for Phi Luau during Rush Week. Their blend of rebellion against and honoring of Meredith traditions has made The Bathtub Ring a perennial favorite at Cornhuskin’ and other campus events. Membership is by audition, and selections are made by The Bathtub Ring from Phis who are members of even-year classes.

Big Sister-Little Sister Classes

The Big Sister-Little Sister program forms lasting relationships that help underclass students adjust to college life. Freshmen may choose to be assigned a junior to be her “big sister” until the upperclass student graduates. Throughout the year, sister classes participate in events such as ice cream socials, skating parties, pizza parties and class serenades. The culmination of the two classes’ years together is Class Day on which the members of the sophomore class honor their big sisters.

The Crook

Each spring the seniors hide a wooden crook from the juniors. The juniors, aided by enigmatic clues, spend a week searching the campus for this stick and very rarely find it.

If the crook is found, it is brought into Class Day with a black ribbon. If it is not found, the crook is brought into Class Day with a ribbon of the Senior class colors. Crook Hunt rules are available in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development.

The crook hunt was begun in 1906 when the crook was presented by an instructor to the seniors. This elaborate hide-and-seek has been staged annually since it was revived in 1929.

Odd and Even Classes

The four classes are divided into odd-numbered and even-numbered years. “Them Bones” is the song of the odd-numbered year and “Hail to the Even Spirit” is the song of the even-numbered year. On Class Day, members of the odd classes wear black gloves on their left hands and give their little sisters wish bone charms to wish them luck. The even classes give their little sisters bags of sticks and stones “to protect them from the Odd Spirit’s bone.”

The Oddballs

The Oddballs is a spirit group that consists of four very enthusiastic students in an odd class. To be an oddball, a student must be a member of an odd class and then audition at the end of her sophomore year when try-outs are held. Upon being selected as an Oddball member, a student will be inducted into oddball status at the following Class Day, held the day before graduation. The Oddballs entertain, if asked to do so, by doing cheers and other amusing stunts at Cornhuskin’ and other special events.