Nassau Herald, The

Nassau Herald, The, published annually by the graduating senior class, first appeared in 1864. Beginning as a four-page newspaper, it took the form of a paperback book in 1869 and added a hard cover in 1892. At first the contents were limited to the text of senior orations and lists of participants in student activities. Gradually the editors added vital statistics and facts about the habits and opinions of the seniors, as gathered in an annual class poll. The Class of 1892 revealed that 84 of its 155 members smoked and 13 chewed, 41 had read the Bible through entirely, 36 had had to pawn some of their possessions to meet their bills, and 35 had written poetry. It also showed that 43 had supported themselves partly, 7 entirely, and that, among those who cared to express an opinion, 46 preferred brunettes, 35 blondes.

In 1891 the seniors chose their favorite professor and thus started a practice which revealed such recurring favorites as Woodrow Wilson, Stockton Axson, George B. McClellan, Edwin Grant Conklin, Walter P. Hall, David A. McCabe, E. Baldwin Smith, and Roy Dickinson Welch. In 1909 they began also to pick their favorite preceptors, singling out repeatedly Frank MacDonald, Albert M. Friend, Jr., George Modlin, Alpheus T. Mason, and Willard Thorp.

``Most likely to succeed'' was added to the class poll in 1904. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, got the most votes in 1929 as did his brother Laurance in 1932 and his nephew Steven in 1958.

The Class of 1915 was the first to publish a photograph and biography of each of its members, thus introducing the modern form of the Herald. The biography enumerated the senior's successes at school and college and indicated what he intended to do next. The future Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal '15 said he was undecided. Edmund Wilson '16 said he would ``enter the field of literature.'' F. Scott Fitzgerald '17 said he would do graduate study in English at Harvard and then go into newspaper work; instead he joined the army and wrote This Side of Paradise. George F. Kennan '25, who became ambassador to the Soviet Union, was another senior who ``didn't know'' what he was going to do.

One of the oldest Nassau Herald customs has been the inclusion of senior nicknames. In earlier years, when classes were smaller and campus life more leisurely, the nicknames could be pungent, as may be evident from the following garland of familiarities: Punk, Paddlefoot, Cupid, Toad, Bum, Phoebe, Sleepy, Wrinkle, Grouch, Biffy, Itchy, Rummy, Spider, Sourball, Fats, Runt, Tank, Welsh Rabbit, Wobbles, Noisy, Tubby, Booze, GiddleGuy, Purity, Beowulf, and Satan.

From Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion, copyright Princeton University Press (1978).