From Woody's Couch

In 1906, the University published its first Students’ Rules and Regulations. As promised by then-OSU President William Oxley Thompson, revisions were made from time to time and reveal an ever-changing campus. The following excerpts reflect some of the more notable inclusions

Intelligence Tests

Beginning with the academic year 1920-21 all students entering the University are required to take an intelligence test under the direction of the Department of Psychology.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1920

Living Arrangements

All undergraduate women students, not living with their parents or guardians, are required to secure their rooms through the Office of the Dean of Women. Those Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors, who are sorority members are allowed to live in their chapter houses.  Other students live in dormitories and approved houses.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1929

Regulations Governing Student Social Events

The following rules for the regulation of student social events have been passed by the Council on Student Affairs:

Students arriving at a dance, circa 1938

(1)    All student dances must close at 12:00 midnight except as noted below.  Girls must register in at 12:45.

(2)    Only two one o’clock parties may be held during any academic year by each social group.

(3)    To maintain uniformity, all house dances are to close at 12:00.

(4)    Combinations of groups will be regarded as so many individual parties.

(5)    Permission for any two o’clock parties must be obtained from the Council on Student Affairs. (This is expected to care for the Homecoming, Junior Prom, etc.)

(6)    All parties must be held within the limits of Franklin County.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1936

Use of University Rooms

No rehearsal rooms will be available on Sundays, whether for music or dramatics.

No assembly rooms for motion pictures, lectures, or discussions unless it be of religious nature will be available on Sundays.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1952

The Use of Loudspeakers

Loudspeakers, either moving or stationary, can be used for advertising on campus only from 11:48 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 12:48 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1960

“Can we see your ID please?” (from the 1969 Makio)

Drinking and Possession of Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages in any form shall not be permitted nor possessed on University property nor in University living units nor on the premises.  This shall include all University Residence Halls without exception, all social fraternity and sorority houses without exception, and off-campus and/or undergraduate residences of all types including rooming houses and apartments except for student living off campus in categories as follows:

1. Commuting students who reside with their parents or guardians.
2. Married students who reside in their own homes, single or multiple living units or apartments, but not in rooming houses where students under age 21 reside.
3. Students, age 21 or over, who reside in their own homes, single or multiple living unites or apartments, but not in rooming houses where students under 21 years of age reside.

Students’ Rules and Regulations, 1968

 

 

From time to time we receive inquiries from patrons about an incident involving a jay-walking OSU student that eventually led to some serious rioting.

It all started in December 1963, when Marjorie Cocoziello, an OSU student from Paterson, New Jersey, and her friend each received a citation for jaywalking. By February, Cocoziello still had not paid her $5 ticket. So Columbus Police officers showed up with a paddy wagon at her sorority house and arrested her. This was apparently all the incentive that students – including Cocoziello – needed to engineer mass chaos.

According to reports, after the paddy wagon left at about 5 p.m. to take Cocoziello downtown, students who had gathered at the scene migrated to the intersection of 15^th and High, the spot where Cocoziello had received her citation. Students then proceeded to hold up traffic for seven hours by playing the game of Red Rover across High Street; chanting and participating in vandalism, such as cutting trolley cables; and climbing atop buses and setting a bonfire in the middle of High Street. The demonstration disrupted bus routes and the commute home for many people before police were able to re-route traffic.

Meanwhile, another 200 students paraded Downtown to protest at the police station. Seven students – in addition to Cocoziello – were

arrested for disorderly conduct. Two were later suspended from school and five were given probation. Cocoziello was released after 90 minutes in a jail cell and a call to her sorority house. Her bond was set at $13.

The media covering the event then became part of the story. Cocoziello made statements to The Lantern that she was strip-searched at the jail, locked in a darkened cell, and that the jail matron was “cruel.” Later, though, the Chief of Police explained the procedure for booking jaywalking offenders, and refuted Cocoziello’s account that she had been strip-searched. He went on to say that the light had indeed burned out in her cell but was quickly replaced, and the jail matron was one of the nicest ladies you would ever meet. After the investigation, The Columbus Dispatch reproached The Lantern for its account of Cocoziello’s story.

Ultimately, Cocoziello had her day in court, much to the amusement of the onlookers and Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Alan E. Schwarzwalder, who heard her case. He was reported to have said, “After all you’ve been through, I’m not going to charge you a penny” and suspended her sentence, even though he declared her guilty of jaywalking.

To review The Lantern’s coverage of the incident, go to The Lantern Online Archives, which you can find as a link on our home page at go.osu.edu/archives.

Filed by C.N.