Willamette university

Willamette University was chartered as a university by the state of Oregon in 1853. The Willamette University Faculty Minutes provide a record of the issues that the Willamette faculty addressed from 1870 through 1939. The collection also contains the faculty and planning minutes for Willamette University’s Women’s College which operated from 1880 through 1888. In 1892 a group of faculty members broke with Willamette University and started Portland University on land north of the city of Portland. This collection contains the faculty meeting minutes for Portland University from 1892 through 1900. Portland University was merged back with Willamette University in 1900.

From the guide to the Willamette University Faculty Minutes, 1870-1939, (Willamette University University Archives and Special Collections)

Begun in 1909, the annual tradition of Freshman Glee at Willamette University started out as a simple singing competition between classes. The competition developed over time to become a major event with elaborate choreography, stage backdrops and numerous traditions.

The early years of Glee included a class singing competition that took place in Cone Chapel. Freshman Glee was, according to the 1918 Wallulah, “one of the most important and interesting affairs of the school year… Each spring the freshman challenge the other classes to a song contest i n which each class shall sing a Willamette song the words and music of which shall be original within the class.” The tradition endured through the Great Depression and both World Wars, and saw nearly 100% participation by the 1930s. The 1939 Wallulah describes the event as “Cheering and color, excitement and jubilation, crashing yells and the voluminous rise of countless voices pitched to unity in a rousing class song – that’s Freshman Glee.”

The 1950s is perhaps the “Golden Age of Glee” and by this time Freshman Glee involved extensive planning committees, larger budgets, and more elaborate lighting, decoration and choreography. Faculty and alumni judges were invited to the performance in the Gymnasium and determined class winners based on criteria such as quality, performance of composition and formations. Glee traditions by this time were in full swing, including the notorious walk of the losing class down the mill stream and outrageous glee bets paid on “Blue Monday”. Women sitting in the bird bath, men in dresses, and other Glee payoffs were part of Glee memories for every Willamette class of the day. Alumni from this era frequently remember Glee as the highlight of their college years.

The 1980s and 1990s saw decreased numbers in Glee participation and an increase in outrageous bets between the classes. An effort by the Glee planning committee after 1997 attempted to revitalize the event with new policies, but the performance was cancelled during the rehearsal process due to low participation. Consequently, 1996 was the final performance of Glee for a decade.

In 2007, the tradition was revived and performed in Sparks’s field house, but was not repeated for 2008 primarily due to low participation and attendance.

From the guide to the Freshman Glee records, 1914 - 1997, 2007, (Willamette University University Archives and Special Collections)