Any of you old timers remember panty raids?

[lucas80]

I heard part of yesterday's episode of Talk of Iowa on IPR, and it was about life at ISU in the 60's. Single sex dorms with tight curfew rules. Something like the ladies had to be home by 9, or 9:45. There was a segment about how the lads would come marching across campus, and somehow find an unguarded door to sneak into the women's dorms and conduct panty raids. I don't know much about ISU's campus, but they mentioned how the ladies could hear them coming from way off as they sang and marched their way over a series of trails and foot bridges.
I might be old, too. When I was at Northeast Missouri State we had single sex dorms with curfews. I might be wrong, but, I think there were open door rules during certain hours. And, by rule the woman had to have her feet on the floor if the RA came in. This was wildly ignored, by the way. I remember going on a panty raid or two. I can't remember the name of the women's halls. I think it was Ryan or Centennial. It was over by the union. They had a weird layout where in the middle the floors had a rise to them over the cafeteria. We were running through the halls and the kid in front of me leapt down the half flight of stairs. Or, he tried to. Instead he smacked his head on the ceiling.
Good times.

 

[Wahawk56]

Well, did you sniff them?

 

[Lone Clone]

Originally posted by lucas80:
I heard part of yesterday's episode of Talk of Iowa on IPR, and it was about life at ISU in the 60's. Single sex dorms with tight curfew rules. Something like the ladies had to be home by 9, or 9:45. There was a segment about how the lads would come marching across campus, and somehow find an unguarded door to sneak into the women's dorms and conduct panty raids. I don't know much about ISU's campus, but they mentioned how the ladies could hear them coming from way off as they sang and marched their way over a series of trails and foot bridges.
I might be old, too. When I was at Northeast Missouri State we had single sex dorms with curfews. I might be wrong, but, I think there were open door rules during certain hours. And, by rule the woman had to have her feet on the floor if the RA came in. This was wildly ignored, by the way. I remember going on a panty raid or two. I can't remember the name of the women's halls. I think it was Ryan or Centennial. It was over by the union. They had a weird layout where in the middle the floors had a rise to them over the cafeteria. We were running through the halls and the kid in front of me leapt down the half flight of stairs. Or, he tried to. Instead he smacked his head on the ceiling.
Good times.

I was a freshman at ISU in 1964. There had been a couple of panty raids a year or two earlier that got out of hand. People got hurt, property was damaged. So the authorities were REALLY cracking down. I remember going to a drive-in movie one night (with another guy, no fake ID, wanted to drink beer, it was "The Pawnbroker") and got back, parked my car, and when I got to the dorm, a bunch of guys were grouped at the door telling me I was crazy to be outside and lucky I made it back, etc. Apparently there had been an abortive panty raid and the campus cops were out in force, nailing every guy they saw outside.

The women weren't exempt either. The cops earlier had people taking photos of the windows of the girls' dorms and anybody who was at a window was in trouble. No throwing down underwear to the boys.

As to the history of it....a friend of mine was a year ahead of me and in a fraternity. He said one guy had both arms broken. Got into a sorority and was trapped there, and the girls went after him with pledge paddles. Tough crowd.

Dorms at the state schools were single-sex at the time. The girl I was dating at the time went to Iowa. Rules were pretty much the same everywhere. Curfew was 11, I think. Maybe 10 on weeknights and midnight on weekends; I don't remember. I know the scene outside Burge at curfew was a serous zoo. Couples having a final grope, cars trying to get close enough to drop off girls, folks puking everywhere. It was different at Ames because there were maybe half a dozen girls' dorms, all grouped together, so the crowd was scattered a bit.

(Trivia note: The girls' dorms were named for trees, and the wood inside them was appropriately chosen. In Maple Hall, for instance, the woodwork, desks, chairs, etc. were maple. In Oak Hall they were oak, Birch they were Birch, Etc.)

In the late '60s there was a big move for girls to have no hours. At ISU the women quietly voted it down. A majority of them wanted the excuse for getting back to the dorm from a bad date.

 

[fredjr82]

Geez, LC.

Banned panty raids in the 60s, Banned VEISHEA in the 2010s. ISU students ruin everything.

 

[Lone Clone]

Originally posted by fredjr82:
Geez, LC.

Banned panty raids in the 60s, Banned VEISHEA in the 2010s. ISU students ruin everything.

VEISHEA was very calm when I was there. A very big deal, but very calm. If you weren't Greek, you left town because it was a good opportunity to go home for a long weekend. The Greeks partied, but primarily they held charity fundraising events, and there were a number of major productions, topped by "Stars Over Veishea," usually a popular musical.

I don't know what it's like now, but when I was there, the Greek system was one of the strongest in the nation.....but you didn't have to be Greek. I mean, you'd hear the comments about GDI and sniffing armpits in the dorms, etc., but you could have a social life. And I never noticed a particular aversion of sorority girls to date independents -- although I'm sure that was the case with some of them.

 

[LuteHawk]

The first documented panty raid happened at
Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. It took
place on Feb. 25, 1949 and was featured in the
Chicago Tribune newspaper.
This post was edited on 4/7 6:48 PM by LuteHawk

 

[INXS83]

Heard about them but never participated in the 80's. 19 y-o drinking age. Liquor was quicker. Didn't need panty raids.

I remember my parents being appalled that there were co-ed dorms by then. Mom threatened to call the President of the U and file a complaint. Dad just rolled his eyes and changed the subject.

I told her to write a letter to the office of student affairs. I knew that wouldn't go anywhere.

Panty raids went the way of the dinosaurs once the popularity of spring break took off.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

Originally posted by LuteHawk:

The first documented panty raid happened at
Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. It took
place on Feb. 25, 1949 and was featured in the
Chicago Tribune newspaper.

This post was edited on 4/7 6:48 PM by LuteHawk

Those Lutheran schools!! There were a couple or 3 during my 1 1/2 years at Dana College. I missed the first as we had an away wrestling meet. Another came after a keg party, which I was sleeping off in a friends car in the parking lot across the street from the freshman women's dorm.

 

[hawkssox1]

Originally posted by lucas80:
I heard part of yesterday's episode of Talk of Iowa on IPR, and it was about life at ISU in the 60's. Single sex dorms with tight curfew rules. Something like the ladies had to be home by 9, or 9:45. There was a segment about how the lads would come marching across campus, and somehow find an unguarded door to sneak into the women's dorms and conduct panty raids. I don't know much about ISU's campus, but they mentioned how the ladies could hear them coming from way off as they sang and marched their way over a series of trails and foot bridges.
I might be old, too. When I was at Northeast Missouri State we had single sex dorms with curfews. I might be wrong, but, I think there were open door rules during certain hours. And, by rule the woman had to have her feet on the floor if the RA came in. This was wildly ignored, by the way. I remember going on a panty raid or two. I can't remember the name of the women's halls. I think it was Ryan or Centennial. It was over by the union. They had a weird layout where in the middle the floors had a rise to them over the cafeteria. We were running through the halls and the kid in front of me leapt down the half flight of stairs. Or, he tried to. Instead he smacked his head on the ceiling.
Good times.

At Loras College in 65 went on one to Clarke College.Those were the days.

 

[22*43*51]

Panty raids at ISU must have been a terrifying ordeal for both girls on campus...

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

Originally posted by 22*43*51:

Panty raids at ISU must have been a terrifying ordeal for both girls on campus...

Most of them took place on the north side of University and east of Stange Road.

 

[torbee]

So what did one do with the panties after one obtained them?

Did you try to track down the previous owner and engage in relations, or did you use them to abet a solo act?

Curious minds.....

 

[hawkssox1]

Originally posted by torbee:
So what did one do with the panties after one obtained them?

Did you try to track down the previous owner and engage in relations, or did you use them to abet a solo act?

Curious minds.....

All the above.

 

[LuteHawk]

Some Frat Houses would hang the panties on
the wall like the old gunslingers would put a notch
in their belt.

 

[hawkssox1]

Originally posted by LuteHawk:

Some Frat Houses would hang the panties on
the wall like the old gunslingers would put a notch
in their belt.

It wasn't just Frat Houses where that occurred.