Hats Off! No, Wait—Hats On!

For much of the 1900s, UMass first-year students wore a distinct accessory. The beanie (white for women, maroon for men) was used as a way of identifying those new to campus to help them find each other and socialize. First-year students were expected to wear the beanie every day until the football team scored its first touchdown of the season. UMass was not the only school to embrace this tradition, which started as early as the 1920s in some places, but it fell out of favor in the early 1970s following reports of the unpleasant consequences for those who forgot to don their hats.

“I remember the fire drill that we had in the middle of the very first night on campus. I think we had to wear our beanie to the fire drill, but I lost mine in all the confusion. The beanie I found belonged to someone I later made friends with.”
–Arleen (Carroll) Burke