Boar's Head Dinner collection (University of Rochester)
Biographical / Historical
The Boar's Head Dinner became a tradition at the University of Rochester in 1934. It replaced the December College Night Dinner, part of a monthly dinner series held by the College for Men. Student organizers based the Boar's Head Dinner on a sixteenth-century Oxford University tale, in which a student, alone in a forest, defends himself from a charging wild boar by thrusting a book of Aristotle down its throat (the boar chokes on the "dry" text). As part of the evening’s entertainment, the story is retold by a University of Rochester faculty or staff member with embellishments and revisions. The event is held annually in November or December, although it did not take place from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. Originating at the College for Men, it was open to men students only, and faculty and staff regardless of gender. Of equal longevity as the men’s holiday dinner, women students held their own Christmas College Supper with a plum pudding procession; in 1971, they began attending the Boar's Head Dinner after pressuring the organizers to justify why it was still for men only.
Early on, the Boar's Head Dinner was planned by the Traditions Committee of the Students’ Association. After the Traditions Committee was abolished in 1968, what is now known as the Student Programming Board took charge of planning the event. The Boar's Head Dinner includes food, costumes, speeches, music, and entertainment from invited performance groups on campus. Each course is preceded by a song, sung by the University’s a cappella groups who act as servers for the evening. Students, faculty, and staff may purchase tickets to attend.
Since 1992, the Boar's Head award (a plaque) has been presented during the event to a student organization in recognition of its efforts to create a stronger sense of community on campus. The previous recipient of the Boar's Head award decides which organization receives it the following year.
Scope and Contents
The Boar's Head Dinner Collection contains materials about the planning of the event, speeches by University faculty and administrators, music, formal invitations and posters, and some historical background. Much of the material about planning and speakers dates from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s.
Creator
- University of Rochester (Organization)
Dates
- Creation: 1934-2023
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1990 - 2010
Language of Materials
English
Extent
0.9 cubic feet (3 containers)
Conditions Governing Access
For access to this collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu) at least two business days prior to your planned visit.
Please note: Some materials may be restricted or require permission for use.
Conditions Governing Use
To request reproductions or permission to publish materials from the collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu). Researchers may be responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred by the Boar's Head Committee, March 2018. Also contains materials donated by Professor John Waters in September 2000 and posters and programs moved from the University Ephemera Collection in 2018.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Boar's Head Dinner Collection (University of Rochester), UA28, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Genre / Form
Topical
Processing Information
Several adhesive notes attached to materials were photocopied in their original location and then removed for preservation reasons in 2018.
Bibliography
Adams, Carol, et al. "Letters to the Editors: Women Point to Sexist Implications." The Campus. 13 December 1971, page 4.
Bian, Joy. "Boar's Head Dinner Tradition Continues." University of Rochester Newscenter. University of Rochester, 20 November 2016. Accessed 28 September 2018.
"Boar’s Head Dinner." Traditions at Rochester. University of Rochester. Accessed 20 November 2018.
"Boar’s Head Dinner to Offer Beermaids, Traditional Fare." The Campus. 8 December 1970, page 6.
"Campus Currents: Boar's Head Dinner." The Campus. 6 December 1968, page 8.
"Constitution of the Students' Association." The Campus. 4 October 1946 (Suppl.)
"First Boar's Head Dinner to Have Medieval Setting." The Campus. 7 December 1934, page 4.
"Revamp S&T." The Campus. 12 December 1967, page 4.
- Title
- Boar's Head Dinner collection (University of Rochester)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Miranda Zammarelli (Class of 2020)
- Date
- October 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the University of Rochester Archives Library
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd.
Rochester New York 14627-0055 USA
archives@library.rochester.edu