Sub-Freshman Weekend
During several periods between 1908 and 1956, Union designated a spring weekend as a time for visits by high school students whom the Admissions Office or the fraternities hoped to interest in attending the College. The rather awkward term "Sub-Freshman Weekend" was apparently borrowed from other institutions; in the beginning Union also called it "Preparatory School Day."
Introduced at the suggestion of Secretary of the Faculty Frank Coe Barnes, Sub-Freshman Weekend was largely run in its first year by the fraternities: although the College then took over management, the role of fraternities proved troublesome. Fraternity members frequently aided the College by recruiting applicants from their hometowns, but the administration worried that rushing would overshadow the weekend’s other activities.
From 1908 through 1913, the weekend coincided with Interscholastic Day, on which a high school track meet was held at Union. The First World War put an end to Sub-Freshman Weekend after 1914, and with the sole exception of 1924, it did not return until 1934.
The fraternities then agreed to refrain from rushing on Sub-Freshman Weekend, but three years later the Concordiensis pronounced that compact "not only broken, but almost forgotten." Fraternities continued to invite most of the visitors, although the admissions office also selected some.
The 1943 weekend was the last until after the Second World War. The event returned in March 1947, continuing annually through 1956, when it became impossible to house all the participants. In later years the College sometimes held an open house in the fall for local high school students.
Condensed from Wayne Somers, compiler and editor, Encyclopedia of Union College History (Schenectady: Union College Press, 2003), page 713.
Image courtesy of Union College, Schaffer Library Special Collections and Archives, Photograph Collection