Beanies were used for freshman hazing from 1923 through the late 1950s. This was a tradition from many other colleges across the United States but was adopted by Iowa State Teachers College in 1923 after 2 years of debate by the student government. Starting in 1924, all incoming freshman males had to purchase and wear green beanies, and all freshman women had to wear green arm-bands. These beanies and arm-bands had the letters of their major and I.S.T.C. on them. They could be customized for the individual wearer, this specifically came into effect in 1945 when women began to wear the beanies. The beanies were to be worn from the day they were received, typically at registration, until a specified date that year. In most cases, they were worn until "Dad's Day" or Homecoming when the freshman had to challenge the sophomores for the right to remove their beanies or be forced to wear them through the end of the semester. Repercussions of men not wearing the beanie were severe, if a freshman was seen by an upperclassmen not wearing their beanie, they would be subject to paddling, blanket tossing, head shaving, or horse whipping. Women faced less severe punishments and were subject to ice buckets, general humiliation, and only on occasion paddling. The colors and types of beanies changed over the years, they started as green, in 1929 they became purple and women adopted the beanies, in 1931 they added green bills to the purple hats at the same time that they changed from arm-bands for the women to pins. In 1941, there was not enough fabric to make the beanies so there were a few years in which they were not used. When they returned in 1945, it was decided that they would only be worn by women. Each year, when it had been determined that the freshman could remove their beanies, they burned them or destroyed them in some other way after the annual de-capping ceremony.
This beret was used in place of the beanie for women in 1930, as it was seen as more fashion forward. They were attempting to keep the girls in current styles while still setting them apart as freshman and initiating them to I.S.T.C.
Worn by the ISTC freshman girls in the fall of 1930. Purple with gold trim around the bottom. Made of felt. Black label: "Clothiers, Cedar Falls, Iowa" in center inside hat. Color: PR,GD
