| From
the Oct 20, 2005, edition of 'Northwest News' Newsletter.
by Dana Ternus
Decades ago, Walkout
Day meant picnics and woodland revelry. Today, the
annual Friday off is a time when students put the finishing touches
on
Homecoming floats, such as the 2004 creation shown above, and
otherwise
celebrate their Bearcat pride.
The Friday before Homecoming at Northwest
is known as Walkout Day. Classes are cancelled, and students forsake
their books and laptops for a long weekend of celebration. It’s
a tradition that dates back to the earliest years of Normal School
No. 5.
On the evening of Oct. 21, 1915, two campus
literary societies met and made plans for students to walk out
of their classes the following day. Word was passed from student
to student, but the faculty was kept in the dark.
The next morning, Friday, Oct. 22, students
went to class as usual, but shortly after the routine round of
lectures began, a bugle call sounded through the halls of the
Administration Building. Approximately two-thirds of the students
quietly rose from their seats and walked out, leaving their teachers
behind in nearly empty classrooms.
Gathering outside, a large group of students
marched jauntily past the presidential residence.
A man generally known for his mild-mannered
disposition, President Ira Richardson ran out of the Gaunt House
in the belief that the crowd was organizing a demonstration. He
met the students at the exit of the Normal School grounds and
urged them to return to class. His pleas were greeted with good-natured
laughter, and the students continued on their way to their final
destination, nearby Atherton’s Woods.
After they arrived, the assembly proceeded
to elect a president and secretary, “John and Sarah Doe,”
and appoint an “eats committee,” which was sent into
town to procure rations for a picnic lunch.
The committee members soon returned with
bread, hot dogs, apples and cider, and when a number of faculty
members joined the students for lunch around a big bonfire, the
coup was complete. Richardson, though invited, politely declined
to attend.
Then complications arose. Students at Maryville
High School heard about the walkout and rose to follow the Normal
School’s example. The local papers covered the story and
chose to cast the organizers in a negative light. This infuriated
Richardson, who wasted no time in calling three of the suspected
ringleaders into his office.
After a lengthy discussion, Richardson and
the students declared a permanent truce. The students managed
to convince the president that their actions were all in good
fun, and Richardson agreed to allow future Walkout Days –
with the understanding that he would be notified in advance.
So began one of Northwest’s most venerable
traditions. These days, working on parade floats while munching
pizza and hamburgers has replaced picnics in the woods, but Walkout
Day remains a time for celebration and comradeship enlivened by
Bearcat pride and the high spirits of youth.
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