The 1906 Commencement Issue celebrates the end of the academic year and outlines the schedule of events for the week. Representatives from colleges around the area congregate in Harrisburg to organize a college athletic association of Central Pennsylvania which would serve to uphold moves made by the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States.
The new Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which met in December at the height of the football controversy, produces a constitution and bylaws which are distributed to institutions throughout the nation. Dickinson faculty accepts the documents and joins the association. The newly-revived tennis team plays its first match in many years.
Belles Lettres Literary Society holds its annual oratorical contest for its sophomore members. The senior class easily claims victory at the inter-class track and field meet. The freshman cap scrap occurred, free from faculty interference.
The Comus Club holds an Easter Dance. Students prepare for the upcoming tennis tournament.
The annual banquet of the Alumni Association of New York is held. The association's president Horatio King distributes new college songbooks to the attendees and President Reed speaks about the college's current state. The 1906 Microcosm procures a profit for the first time in the publication's history.
The Glee and Mandolin Clubs return after a tour comprised of ten concerts in three different states. President Reed requests submissions for a new college song. The writer of the song deemed the best will receive a prize. The Philadelphia Alumni Association holds its annual banquet, electing new officers and listening to a presentation regarding the glory of Dickinson. The New Jersey Alumni Association also holds their annual banquet, an event similar to that of the Philadelphia Alumni Association.
The Glee and Mandolin Clubs open their season in Newville, Pennsylvania and prepare for their upcoming concert in Harrisburg. Coach Williams is scheduled to give a lecture on soccer football for the sport's inaugural game. The College Camera Club holds its first meeting.
Members of the Phi Beta chapter of Alpha Chi Rho attend the fraternity's annual convention. A meeting of the Association of College Presidents of Pennsylvania is called to discuss the recent controversies surrounding football, as well as the state's medical schools. The Civic Club closes a successful season with a performance at the Carlisle Opera House. The freshman class holds a smoker in celebration of the termination of the rule which restricted them from smoking on campus. Phi Kappa Psi's Founder's Day is celebrated with a smoker.
The annual banquet of the Baltimore Alumni of Dickinson College is held, presenting the progress of the College over the years. The evening ends with the presentation of $1000 to President Reed to be spent in whatever he considers the College's best interests. The Union Philosophical Literary Society celebrates its one-hundred-and-seventeenth anniversary.
The annual mid-winter sports cup is held in the college gymnasium. Those men wishing to join the baseball team are called to begin practice for the upcoming season. Horatio C. King, '58, author of Songs of Dickinson and A History of Dickinson College writes another college song. A call is made for a new college yell which would be more distinctively Dickinsonian, rather than similar to those of other institutions. The Inter-society debate between the Belles Lettres and Union Philosophical societies is held in Bosler Hall.
President Reed addresses the campus, speaking out against the current state of football and threatens to abolish it if major amendments are not made to the nature of the game. The college catalog for 1905-1906 is published. The Dickinsonian requests writing samples from those students who wish to join the publication's editorial staff. The greatly-anticipated freshman-sophomore basketball game is played. The sophomore class elects their Microcosm officers.
The Athletic Committee and President Reed discuss the possibility of introducing soccer to the campus on an inter-class and inter-fraternity level. The resources for a varsity team are not yet available, but if enough interest is shown such a team could be formed. The Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee amends the game, disallowing athletes to deliberately strike their opponents with fists, elbows, knees or feet in order to provide a safer environment for players. New rules are outlined for freshmen girls, including the regulation of parasol and hairpin use.
The schedule for the upcoming baseball season is released. Rumors of an engineering course being offered at Dickinson in upcoming terms circulate.
The tour schedule for the college's musical clubs is released with expectations for great success. Dickinson sends a delegate to a New York conference discussing potential amendments to the game of football. The passed resolutions serve to clarify the intent of the game and its place on the college campus, rather than reform the nature of the game. Lights are installed in the libraries of the two campus literary societies to aid students in their hunts for books. A freshman-sophomore rush occurs following chapel on Tuesday morning.
George A. Crider, college trustee, prepares to give a speech at Allison M.E. Church. Athletic Association officers are elected; the Athletic treasurer's report is released. The Philadelphia Club holds elections. The Kappa Sigma fraternity entertains Hon. Philip P. Campell. The Comus Club holds the second dance of the season.
Paul Jones Davis, captain of the football team, and Carl O. Benner, manager of the team, address the college. The coach, J.W. Williams, provides a "general resume" of the team.
"On a slippery field" Dickinson loses to State by one touchdown, 6-0. Dr. C.T. Winchester of Wesleyan University gives the first lecture of the Civic Club course in the opera house. Members of the Union Philosophical and Belles Lettres literary societies choose question and candidate for the Inter-Society Debate.
"On to State" is the present watchword as the Athletic Association plans a student trip to support their football team. The National YMCA Committee sets aside a "Week of Prayer." Reverends Dr. Wm. A. Stephens Hurt and John D. Fox lecture students.
A dramatic club is organized. Eligibility rules are adopted for athletes, including rules against receiving financial compensation or playing without taking a full course load. The ladies of Lloyd Hall entertain with a "Hallowe'en" party.
The need of a drama club is discussed. Washington and Jefferson defeat Dickinson on the gridiron by means of a safety with a final scoreline of 2-0. Dickinsonians prepare for the game against Penn State.
Dickinson defeats Ursinus 4-0 in a kick-filled football game that punctuates the differences from the modern game. Roswell Bates of New York City delivers a lecture in Allison M.E. Church.
Judge Hinkley of Danville, Pa. and Dr. J.D. Fox, a pastor in Trenton, N.J., prepare to address the student body. The National Biscuit Company demonstrates to the chant of "We Want a Biscuit at Halbert's Tonight." The Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity takes a tally-ho ride to Boiling Springs to forage for chestnuts.
The Business Men's Carnival, sponsored by Dickinson's Athletic Associatio and to be held in the Opera House, "promises to be THE event of the season." A Geology class, under the direction of Professor Stephens, goes on a field trip. The Reeds host a reception for Phi Kappa Sigma. The performance of the New York Symphony Orchestra under Walter Damrosch is an excellent success.
Various works, including Life of Bishop Hurst, are added to the library's collection. A college-wide holiday is granted for the dedication of the state capitol in Harrisburg. Walter Damrosch to lead the new York Symphony Orchestra in a concert in the Carlisle Opera House. The procedures of the Intercollegiate Debating League of Pennsylvania are set forth. The annual reception for the Freshmen is held, with the usual accompanying antics of the Sophomores. The YMCA handbooks are distributed in chapel. The Freshman caps (black with green buttons) ar
Harvard man Fritz S. Darrow, Ph. D. joins the college faculty. Dickinsonians await a performance by the 50-piece New York Symphony Orchestra. The annual Y.M.C.A. reception is held for new members in Conway Hall.