Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: A panty raid is a prank in which male students steal the panties (undergarments) of female students by intruding into their quarters. The term dates to February, 1949. It was the first college craze after World War II, following the 1930s crazes of goldfish swallowing or seeing how many could fit in a phone booth. The first documented incident occurred on February 25, 1949, at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Around 250 men entered the women's building (Carlsson Hall, since remodeled for classroom space) through heating tunnels beneath the school. Once inside, they unlocked the door for the remaining raiders to enter. Although a few panties were taken, the goal was to cause commotion. Police arrived. Although no pranksters were charged, news traveled, making the headlines of the Chicago Tribune, Stars and Stripes, Time magazine, and the New York Times. The next incident was on March 21, 1952, when University of Michigan students raided a dormitory. This led to raids across the nation. Penn State's first raid involved 2,000 males marching on the women's dorms on April 8, 1952, cheered on by the women, who opened doors and windows and tossed out lingerie. By the end of 1952 spring term the "epidemic" had spread to 52 campuses. At a number of colleges, panty raids functioned as a humorous, ad hoc protest against curfews and entry restrictions that barred male visitors from women's dormitories. This was particularly the case at colleges that had recently started admitting women in large numbers for the first time after World War II, where the role of female students on campus had not yet been worked out. At some colleges the large, leaderless crowds which gathered around panty raids were co-opted by student politician. More:
| | 1950s Fads And Trends |  | 15.17 |  |