Madison College Beanie

Madison College Beanie

Madison College, students, beanie

By 1969 when this cotton beanie was handed to freshman Sandra Sanford, it was a far less formal occasion and met with little enthusiasm. Rules and expectations for wearing the beanie, very specific up until the mid-sixties, relaxed and the tradition began to fade not only at Madison College, but all over the country. Alumnae interviewed from the early 1960s reported no affection for the tradition. Amid the flurry of the counter-culture in the 1960s and the highly controversial Vietnam War, such a juvenile token was not welcomed. After World War II when veterans returning from combat entered the University of Kansas and were told to wear the beanie, their categorical refusal to do so caused the demise of the beanie there; however, it remained for over twenty years or more and not only at all-female institutions.

Madison College

Personal Collection of Sandra Sanford

James Madison University Libraries and Educational Technologies

1973

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72 dpi jpg

Still Image