Class of 1970 beanie, 1966. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

The “Freshman beanie” or “dink” was established as a tradition by the class of 1909 as an initiation for incoming classes. Originally, freshmen were expected to wear a Trinity beanie at all times, “by which they may be identified at all hours.” This requirement changed in the 1950s to require beanies only during the first two weeks of the semester, during which freshmen were also expected to carry the furniture of the upperclassmen on move-in day.

Varied opinions of the beanies were surveyed by Trinity Tripod reporters in 1949. While some freshmen were in support of the beanies and their unifying effect on the freshman class, others responded resentfully: “I haven't worn one yet and I dare anyone to put it on me,“ said one student. Some students found creative ways to use their beanie, one telling the Tripod that he “uses his for a nightcap after taking a shower.”

Freshmen who bemoaned the beanie were encouraged of the tradition’s importance by the sophomore class in a 1953 letter published in the Tripod. The note reads: “[Freshman Beanies] are worn as a symbol of the position that your class hopes to attain; that of respect and confidence among your upperclassmen. It is up to you to learn that position, and you can begin to do so by observing the beanie tradition at all times. We, the class of 1956, believe in this tradition, and therefore will make every effort to continue it. Not only has it shown us the proper respect for our College, but it has also provided a bond of unity between us. We believe that you will find similar benefits, and we pledge ourselves to see that these advantages do not escape you. Please, therefore, do not resent any reminders if you are not wearing your beanie. We hope that the reminders need not be so frequent as to require further action.”

As enthusiastic as the class of 1956 may have been to carry on the tradition, following classes progressively became less enthusiastic. A member of the class of 1959 wrote a letter to the editor in a 1957 issue of the Tripod objecting to the lack of commitment of the underclassmen to the traditions of yore: “Has the Sophomore Class forgotten that it is the guardian of College traditions for the ensuing year? The Class of 1960 that entered Trinity last Fall with so much pep and enthusiasm has just ‘pooped.’ Noticeable around campus is the absence of the Freshman beanie and the usual inquisition for college songs,” the writer protests. The editors of the Tripod themselves declared their disapproval of the beanies in a subsequent issue, making the blistering statement that “Any spirit which can be synthesized from an ugly universality couldn't be worth much.”

Vice President Richard Nixon receiving a Class of 1964 beanie during his visit to campus in 1960. Photo credit: Trinity Tripod, October 17, 1960

During his surprise visit to a Trinity Chapel service in October 1960, Richard Nixon was given a beanie by a freshman among the 250 other students clamoring to meet the vice president. Upon receiving the beanie, Nixon responded, “I hope I’m not taking your good luck charm.”

As the tradition morphed over time, freshmen began to be allowed the opportunity to win the right to relinquish their caps by playing a game involving a large canvas ball. Freshman would attempt to push the ball from the middle of the soccer field to one end of the field, while Upperclassmen pushed the ball in the opposite direction. If the freshman successfully got the ball to their end of the field, they would be exempt from not just beanie wearing, but also from being conscripted by the upperclassmen as furniture-movers during the first few days of the semester.

Students responded with their own (sometimes satirical) gestures placing the symbol of the Freshman Beanie in context. A 1963 Tripod article analyzes the elements of a mural in the Cave located in Mather Hall. The writer speculates on the significance of the beanie as a symbol carrying the worldview of a young student as yet untouched by a Trinity education: “Of equal interest is the fact that the freshman ‘beany’ is in the right portion [of the mural] but that the graduate is in the left, suggesting a drift on the part of the Trinity student from far right upon matriculation to left of center upon graduation.”

By the arrival of the new millennium, the freshman beanie had become a tradition of the past. In an interview with the Tripod in 2004, interim President Borden Painter, a member of the Class of 1958, recalled the changes Trinity had gone through since his own time as an undergraduate, citing the beanie as a marker of how College traditions had shifted over time. “Can you imagine doing that today?” Painter reflected. “We had to do what upperclassmen told us to do, most schools had something like this, like a sort of initiation.”

Trinity Tripod, 2004-04-27.

Trinity Tripod, 1966-09-13.

Trinity Tripod, 1963-11-12.

Trinity Tripod, 1960-10-17.

Trinity Tripod, 1960-09-16.

Trinity Tripod, 1957-10-02.

Trinity Tripod, 1953-09-15.

Trinity Tripod, 1949-09-28.

The Trinity Ivy, 1909.