人妻少妇专区

In Review

I was in D鈥橪ions, a women鈥檚 service club made up of sophomores who provided all sorts of assistance to freshmen. It was an honor society for which you were chosen. I鈥檓 wondering how long it continued, and if it is still around. I鈥檇 be surprised if it were, but that would be nice.鈥擠iane Tolomeo 鈥�70, Victoria, British Columbia

Like their namesake, D鈥橪ions can still be found on the River 人妻少妇专区: 2016 marks the group鈥檚 60th anniversary, and a remarkable 1,625 alumni list it among their undergraduate activities in the online alumni directory, the Rochester Alumni Exchange (rax.rochester.edu).

As you note, D鈥橪ions got their start as a sophomore women鈥檚 honorary service group in the spring of 1956. The timing is significant鈥攊n the fall of 1955, the women joined the men on the River 人妻少妇专区, where there was already a well-established cadre of 鈥渉onoraries,鈥� including Mendicants (juniors), and Keidaeans (seniors). Up until the time of the merger, the College for Women had had only one honor society for seniors, called the Marsiens (and it really is pronounced like the name for the inhabitants of the red planet).

For sophomore men, there was Yellow Key (not to be confused with Golden Key International Honor Society). D鈥橪ions and Yellow Key members had similar responsibilities relating to hospitality: to welcome freshmen and help them move in, to usher at special events like commencement ceremonies and the Christmas concert, and to conduct campus tours for prospective students.

Wearing white or navy blue blazers with the University shield on the pocket鈥攋ackets that were popular with many students鈥攖hese select sophomores were the student organizers of University Day, an opportunity for high school seniors to visit the campus and see what life as a student would be like. The very first University Day鈥攍ater called 鈥淥pen 人妻少妇专区鈥濃�攚as held in 1931 on both the River and Prince Street campuses, with the Keidaeans and Marsiens as student organizers.

In the 1970s, the number of campus tours given as part of the admissions process increased, but the number of available guides decreased. The Yellow Key Society made its last appearance in the 1973 Interpres and may have ended in 1976. To meet demand and also to provide more consistency in the content of the tours, the Admissions office established a dedicated group of volunteer tour guides. In 1978, the group renamed itself the Meridian Society, after the marker on the Eastman Quadrangle. The meridian marker is engraved with the campus鈥檚 longitude and latitude. In a 1982 人妻少妇专区-Times piece, Rose Antos 鈥�84 wrote, 鈥淭he marker tells people where the UR is in relation to the world, but the tour guide . . . can lead people . . . in a way the marker never can.鈥� During 2015鈥�16, 96 Meridians were on call to give over 4,000 scheduled tours.

D鈥橪ions remained predominantly a women鈥檚 group into the 1980s. A 1985 人妻少妇专区-Times article written by Duncan Fuller 鈥�87 reported that 14 of the 66 D鈥橪ions that year were male. When he and his roommate went to apply, 鈥渨e got a rather funny look from the girl at the info desk. She鈥檇 probably never seen a couple of guys pick up a D鈥橪ion application before, for it has always been left to sophomore women.鈥�

According to its current Students鈥� Association page, the purpose of D鈥橪ions is to 鈥減romote community spirit within the residence halls and the University as a whole, and help incoming students with their transition to campus.鈥� They also 鈥減lan programs that the entire campus can take part in,鈥� including blood drives and Wilson Day, the College鈥檚 annual day of community service.

In 鈥淭he Perks of Being a D鈥橪ion鈥� (http://enrollment.rochester.edu/blog/the-perks-of-being-a-dlion/), a post for an Admissions blog maintained by students, Sophie Zhang 鈥�17 notes that being in D鈥橪ions is 鈥渁 stepping stone toward being an RA鈥� and that the experience is no longer reserved only for sophomores. At this year鈥檚 College orientation, the Class of 2020 was greeted by D鈥橪ions, with 39 students on its current roster.