I had not realized that a couple of morons had forced the Princeton University administration to permanently remove the Nassau Hall bell clapper. I left Princeton in 1989 and the tradition of freshmen stealing the bell clapper was still going strong.

But, shortly afterwards, things got hairy.

In 1991, one student sprained an ankle while scaling Nassau Hall; another dropped the clapper from the roof, narrowly missing students on the ground. At that point, the administration had the bell clapper removed. The next year, officers of the freshman Class of 1995 assured the administration that the clapper could safely be restored. The University complied, but the clapper’s allure was too strong. In April 1992, Geoffrey MacArthur, a member of the Class of 1995, was injured when he fell 40 feet from the third story of Nassau Hall in pursuit of the clapper, which was then permanently removed. So that the campus would not be completely bereft of bell ringing, a recording of its peals was broadcast over speakers.

Now the Nassau Hall bell rings for only a few University events every year: the P-rade, Baccalaureate, Class Day and Commencement. Technicians reinstall the clapper for these occasions, and remain in the bell tower while it is in use.

And thus ended a 130 year tradition dating back to the last year of the Civil War.

The Nude Olympics were still going strong when I left Princeton, too, but that is now banned.

They still have Cane Spree but it’s been bled of all its ferocity. How can you get a proper education if you can’t beat a freshman senseless for having the effrontery of using a walking stick?

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