Horses, although strong and obedient, are not very bright. In 1884, an event took place which continues to live on in college memory. The Superintendent of Shops owned a horse by the name of "Old Buckskin." One dark and stormy night, the horse was carefully maneuvered up the circular staircase in Boynton Hall to the third floor where he was stabled in the chapel among the hymn books and prayer books. The following day, chapel services, usually held punctually and with much dignity, were interrupted by the disconsolate beast and finally dismissed as the faculty and students tried to solve the problem of how to get the stubborn creature back down the circular stairway. The solution, Old Buckskin had his legs and eyes bandaged and was slid down a ramp while on his back.
The fraternity system has been a large part of the WPI community for a long time. In the 1930's, an Interfraternity Ball that was held each year as well as formal weekends hosted by each house. Before female students were accepted to WPI, dates were often brought to campus from hometowns or other local colleges such as Becker Junior and Anna Maria. During these weekends, the brothers were required to move out of their fraternity houses so that the women could move in. The faculty and their wives served as obligatory chaperones at all fraternity events.
At this same time in WPI history, classes were held six days a week. They were scheduled as follows, 8am to 4pm Monday through Friday and 8am to 11am on Saturdays. It was common to see students wearing tuxedos and accompanied by their dates form the previous night's formal at these Saturday classes. Professors would often take attendance and give quizzes on Saturdays to be sure all of their students attended. Also, a daily non-denominational chapel service was held in Boynton Hall.
Underclassmen are often advised by the experienced upperclassmen on which classes to take with whom. Some professors have become legends. One such professor that stands out is Dr. Ralph Heller. This professor was somewhat of a recluse; this is best exemplified by the fact that he lived in the Bell Tower in Alden Hall for about 30 years or so. He earned the nickname, "Red Vector," not because of his fiery red hair, but by requiring all of his freshmen physics students to complete a ladder problem without error in order to pass his class. If the student solved the problem incorrectly, Heller would mark the ladder with red vectors to show where the proper forces were.
Furthermore, Professor Heller had a keen memory. Within a few weeks, he would know the names of every student who be present at his classes. In his spare time, he memorized the log tables, which then required a slide rule to figure out, to the fourth place. Students would often try to stump him on these values, but never could succeed.
The people and events here at WPI continue to influence our lives for better or for worse. There is no denying that the first impressions made by your professors A term of freshmen year set the standard by which you judge those whose classes you are currently taking. Likewise, how you decide to spend your weekends is how you judge the social life WPI has to offer. Both people and events are made legend by the fact that they do not follow their expected characteristics, but go the path less traveled. The re-establishment of the goat's head tradition and Professor Al Sacco's journey into space are the type of things from which tales are told. Although we must learn from the past, we must take pride in the present as we proceed into tomorrow's future.
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