Founder's Day

Students with horns and drums at the baseball game, costumed as clowns or possibly the pantomime character Pierrot
1300 plates
Founder's Day has included a variety of activities since the first celebration on April 29th,1866, Matthew Vassar's birthday. The images in this series document visits to the founder's grave, step-singing and the Song Contest, the faculty-student baseball game, parades, and various performances. Attendees of the baseball game, the parades, and the performances were encouraged to dress in costume, according to either a predetermined theme or individual whim. With some frequency, these costumes and performances were based on racist or stereotypical representations of marginalized groups, including blackface, redface, and yellowface. Similarly, the faculty play or skit show which was given on the evening of Founder's Day, included racist and stereotypical costumes and performances.
Content Warning
The Vassar College Archives within the Digital Library include some images, texts, and material items that are racist, xenophobic, or otherwise harmful. The Vassar Libraries have provided descriptive text and additional notes whenever possible to alert Digital Library users to these items. The Engaged Pluralism Initiative Race and Racism in Historical Collections Project Group is working with the library on contextualizing and facilitating community conversations about these materials. For more information see: https://library.vassar.edu/rrhc
Students with horns and drums at the baseball game, costumed as clowns or possibly the pantomime character Pierrot
Class of 1920 marching to the song contest
President MacCracken dressed in a stereotypical Middle Eastern costume and Dean C. Mildred Thompson at the festivities after the Founder's Day parade
Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game
Matthew Vassar's grave, Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, which was visited by a contingent from Vassar on Founder's Day
Students in costume at the "County Fair"
Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game
Spectators at the faculty-student baseball game
Song contest
Class of 1929 performing at the song contest
Class of 1920 marching to the song contest
Students in costume for the Founder's Day parade, two dressed as ghosts
Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game
Class of 1922 marching to the song contest
Students boxing at the "County Fair"
Student at faculty-student baseball game with a basket of flowers
Henry Noble MacCracken at bat at the faculty-student baseball game. Sarah H. McLean (VC 1930) is playing catcher
Class of 1923 march to the song contest
Class of 1929 at the song contest
Faculty-student baseball game
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