Leaving and Coming Back

For a century the Gazette has been reporting on the annual rite of spring —Alumni Weekend and Commencement —in which alumni renew their ties with Penn and each other and the latest set of graduates says goodbye to their student days.

“Yea-a-a … Who?”

Ever wondered where “Rowbottoms” came from, why they call it “Hey Day,” or what flings in the spring? Here are attempts at explanations—with illustrative excerpts—of some Penn traditions past and present.

The Student View

From freshman “dinks” to women’s “streaks”—and beyond. Some glimpses of campus life over the decades, as seen by the Gazette’s student columnists.

A Museum of One’s Own

Judy and Laurence Cutler were looking for an architectural masterpiece in which to set their immense collection of American illustration art. They found that at Vernon Court—along with a few disgruntled neighbors and a couple of missing doorknobs.