A Lafayette Quiz

carney2 · A Lafayette Quiz

A LAFAYETTE QUIZ

1. Who was Mr. Lafayette? (No, we’re not talking about the French guy.)

2. What does SRA stand for?

3. Who was the speaker at your commencement?

4. What College Hill landmark currently occupies the old Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house?

5. Only one of the current six sororities occupies a building that was NOT previously occupied by a fraternity. Which one?

5A. Name the fraternities that previously occupied the buildings currently occupied by the 5 sororities not specified in question 5.

6. Where did President Weiss get his undergraduate degree?

7. Who was the greatest Lafayette basketball player (men only) ever? (Totally subjective, but go for it anyway.)

8. Which College building is supposedly haunted?

9. Lafayette’s charter was approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826, but the school did not begin operations until another institution moved to Easton and picked up the charter in 1832. What was that predecessor institution and where did it move from?

10. At one time a book penned by former head of the English Department, William White (Willie) Watt was a required purchase for every incoming freshman. The book is no longer in print and commands seemingly astronomical prices on eBay. What is the title of that book?

Lafalum

1. Sam Pascal ( French Professor and later Dean of students. Ican't remember an athletic event he didn't attend)
2. student resident advisor???
3.the editor of the Christian Science Monitor ( I remember thinking to myself who and why??)
4. Lafayette Inn
6.GWU
7. Marty Zipple, never saw him play but I like the guy
8 Pardee Hall the top floor is rumoured to have ghosts
9 The Manual Labor Academy of Germantown Nyk
10 I think it was called an American Rhetoric and I still have it somewhere in my library. Before computers I would consult it when writing. I kept the copy in my office at work and referred to it when writing.

I'm sure I could get the others but it was too early.

seenalot

3. William Simon I think.....guess it wasnt too memorable, recall Mr Rodgers as Baccalaurette (sp?) speaker, and was mortified at the time.....

7. Tracy Tripuka

TheTruth

3. Can't remember. it was following that whole Jean Kirkpatrick fiasco and no one wanted to come to Lafayette to speak at graduation.
4 Lafayette Inn
5. Delta Gamma
7. Kelly Tripucka. Of course if Brian Ehlers wasn't such a team player, he could have easily scored another 500-750 points.
8. Van Wickle???? (old Library)

Franks Tanks

3.) Varitan Gregorian (spelling) former President of Brown University and the NY Public Library. Also an outspoken advocate of the Liberal Arts education

7.) Big Stephan (I will not attempt his last name) He was the most dominating Lafayette B-Ball player I have seen. Also a super nice guy

carney2

MID-TERM GRADES:

No one is even close to number 2 (SRA). C'mon Lafalum, 65, you know this.

Not even one shot yet at 5A.

Note to Truth: Kelly Tripucka may well have been the best of the basketball playing Tripucka brothers, but he's the one that got away. He went to his father's alma mater, Notre Dame, and then to the Detroit Pistons. Brothers Tracy and Todd were each 1,000 point scorers at Lafayette. Tracy, class of 1972, by the way, gets my vote as the best Leopard hoopster ever.

seenalot

5a - Kappa Sig is one of them, Alpha Chi Rho, Phi Delt - blanking on other two

Lafalum

[quote="seenalot"]5a - Kappa Sig is one of them, Alpha Chi Rho, Phi Delt - blanking on other two[/quote
I don't think PHi Delt. DU occupied the house for awhile and now it will hold the Dean of Diversity.
Sigma Nu (next to the President's house ) which was also briefly a dorm I think. The college refurbished it.

seenalot

Chi Phi and perhaps Theta Delt? Trying to reconcile current map and my memory...

Franks Tanks

[quote="Lafalum"]

Lafalum

DU now occupies the theta delt house, I think. (behind Marquis closest to the Hill accross from Easton) There is a sorority next to them.

Franks Tanks

Franks Tanks

[quote="Franks Tanks"]

TheTruth

Lafalum

[/quote] Let me re-phrase that. I meant is DU being shut down as they may be kicked out of their house? A frat without a house is a tough sell. I am aware of where the current DU house is located--thanks[/quote]

As I understand from my DU friends who are involved, they have that house as long as the Owners are still off campus. At the moment they still have not been NOT been granted permission to reform. As part of the agreement with the college when they took the original DU house (where Farinon now stands) the college is obliged to provide DU with appropriate quarters. There are now about 70 brothers in DU at the moment which may put it at least the second largest frat on campus.

The house you described next to Van Wickle is the old Phi Delt house was where DU used to be. They are now in the house on the right side of Easton facing east. I'm probably wrong it is not Theta Delt

Franks Tanks

Lafalum

I stand corrected...Chi Phi!!

DaveR

5A:
KKG was AXP
Alpha Phi was Theta Chi
Pi Beta Phi was Kappa Sig
AGD was Sigma Nu
Tri Delt was DTD

5 is a trick question. Delta Gamma is in Hamilton House, which was the original home of AXP, although not immediately prior to Delta Gamma moving in.

carney2

This thing has run its course. Here are the answers as I see them.

ANSWERS TO:

A LAFAYETTE QUIZ

1. Who was Mr. Lafayette? (No, we’re not talking about the French guy.)

Lafalum is awarded a gold star for the middle of his forehead as he recognizes that Mr. Lafayette was Sam Pascal, Class of 1927, Department of Languages, 1941-1972, and Dean of students. Sam was a marvelous human being who unfortunately – and I believe due to WWII injuries – had an appearance that would scare the bejeezus out of anyone seeing him for the first time. He supported anything and everything that the College and its students were involved in and would greet and converse with almost everyone he came across in his travels around campus.

2. What does SRA stand for?

SRA = Slide Rule Accuracy. If you took an exam that involved calculations you wrote it next to your final answer and circled it. It was a plea to the grader that went something like this: “The calculator has not yet been invented. All I have is this stupid piece of wood/plastic/metal that approximates the final answer for me. C’mon, cut me a break if I’m anywhere in the neighborhood.”

3. Who was the speaker at your commencement?

A different answer for each of us. For me it was Tom Watson, CEO at IBM. I think his message was something like “A man is known by the enemies he makes.” Of course, it could have been “Ice cream is good. Eat lots of it.” My hangover was not allowing me to concentrate.

4. What College Hill landmark currently occupies the old Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house?

Again, Lafalum was on this like white on rice. The pricey Lafayette Inn occupies the building that was formerly the home to Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.

(Apologies for 5 and 5A. I lost track of the fact that there has been a lot of Greek turmoil in the years since I was an undergrad. The answers therefore, are from the times I remember and may not reflect all the comings and goings of the decades of Greek decline.)

5. Only one of the current six sororities occupies a building that was NOT previously occupied by a fraternity. Which one?

Kappa Kappa Gamma is located in Lerch House on Sullivan Lane at the edge of March Field. (I am assuming that this is a misspelling, since the building is obviously named in honor of the Addams Family butler.) To the best of my knowledge this building was never occupied by a fraternity, but then most of the 70s and 80s are a drunken blur.

5A. Name the fraternities that previously occupied the buildings currently occupied by the 5 sororities not specified in question 5.

DaveR honed in on this like one of my hounds going for a Milkbone. Still, I take issue with one of his responses. “Trick question,” indeed!
Delta Delta Delta sorority – Delta Tau Delta fraternity
Delta Gamma sorority – Alpha Chi Rho fraternity
Alpha Phi sorority – Theta Chi fraternity
Pi Beta Phi sorority – Kappa Sigma fraternity
Alpha Gamma Delta sorority – Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity

6. Where did President Weiss get his undergraduate degree?

George Washington University where he double majored in Art History and Psychology.

7. Who was the greatest Lafayette basketball player (men only) ever? (Totally subjective, but go for it anyway.)

There is no wrong answer; ergo, there is no correct answer. As stated elsewhere, my vote goes to Tracy Tripucka, Class of 1972. He leads in so many individual categories that everyone else is irrelevant: most points (1,973), highest average (25.0 pts per game), most field goals made (760)/attempted (1,474), most free throws made (453)/attempted (543). And he accomplished all of this in 3 years (freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity), and before the 3-point shot and the shot clock which speeded up play. In his senior year he led the Pards to the NIT where they posted their first and, to date, only post season victory, a 72-71 thriller over the University of Virginia. He went to preseason camp with the New York Knicks, and word is that he outplayed their number one draft choice that year (Tom Riker, South Carolina), but was eventually cut – whether his 6’8”, 180 frame was deemed incapable of taking the NBA pounding or because management did not want the embarrassment of having an undrafted player beat out their number one choice is not known. In 2000 Tripucka was named one of Lafayette College's 15 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century.

8. Which College building is supposedly haunted?

Pardee Hall. From Wikipedia: “Campus legend states that the fifth floor of Pardee Hall is haunted. Believers point to the fact that there is no visible staircase to the fifth floor, yet the windows to a fifth floor can be viewed from outside. The staircase does in fact exist, but behind a locked door on the fourth floor. Professors have gone on record saying that the area is used for storage, and that artifacts from the College's Special Collections are stored there.”

9. Lafayette’s charter was approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826, but the school did not begin operations until another institution moved to Easton and picked up the charter in 1832. What was that predecessor institution and where did it move from?

The all-male Manual Labor Academy of New York from Germantown, NY

10. At one time a book penned by former head of the English Department, William Whyte (Willie) Watt was a required purchase for every incoming freshman. The book is no longer in print and commands seemingly astronomical prices on eBay. What is the title of that book?

Originally published in the 1950s, Willie Watt’s “An American Rhetoric” is still much revered, fetching as much as $200.00+ on eBay.

Pards Rule

OK Carney, I have two questions for you. Why is Pardee haunted? And why is An American Rhetoric such a valued book?

carney2

Some people are just determined to poop every party they attend. Anyway, here are the answers to Rule’s questions:

Why is Pardee Hall haunted?

Pardee Hall was completed in 1873, but was completely destroyed by fire twice in the 19th century – in 1879 and again in 1897. The second fire was supposedly set by a disgruntled professor of moral philosophy and ethics, who reportedly watched the building burn from across the river in Phillipsburg. This Professor of Arson had supposedly been dismissed from his position and was thus taking his revenge. Legend has it that, years later, after his demise, he established his other worldly residence in Pardee Hall to eternally show his displeasure with academia in general and Lafayette College in particular. His favorite haunt is supposedly the fifth floor where flickering lights are his way of showing himself.

Why is “An American Rhetoric” such a valued book?

Grammar, punctuation, style – it’s all there, and written with wit and a somewhat arrogant eye for perfection. John Gardner, a controversial and prolific writer of the 20th century said, “With the proper help and the proper book, any good student can cover the fundamentals, once and for all, in two weeks. The proper book, in my opinion, is W.W. Watt’s An American Rhetoric, the most accurate and efficient book on composition available, also the most interesting and amusing.” Add to this the fact that the book is a scarce resource - they aren't making any more of them. The book is still on the shelves at most reputable college libraries. If you have a few minutes to kill before some future football or hoops game, stop into the Lafayette College Library. Your alma mater definitely has one back in the moldy stacks.

The Maroon

Great stuff guys. I hate that I came in after the answer key was given...but I would've missed most of them.

3. Who was the speaker at your commencement?

James Jones....the Ambassador to Mexico....We much would've preferred James Earl Jones so he could do Darth Vadar.

At least he kept it brief.

4. What College Hill landmark currently occupies the old Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house?

This one I knew. It was a jewish fraternity--the only reason I know that is because some complete loon job anti-semite professor came from that fraternity. Jefferies?

5A. Name the fraternities that previously occupied the buildings currently occupied by the 5 sororities not specified in question 5.

Is AGD still around? They ALWAYS had numbers problems....Whatever.

What is the current state of the greek system? The fraternities seem to be reeling.

7. Who was the greatest Lafayette basketball player (men only) ever? (Totally subjective, but go for it anyway.)

It's impossible for me to argue against Tracy Tripucka given his gaudy resume. Best player I saw in the past two decades was, hands-down, Ehlers. Remember, we won a league title without Ciosici---Ehlers led the team in rebounding that year. He was easily the most "complete" player I've ever had the pleasure of seeing play for Lafayette.

Franks Tanks