Categories > Cartoons > Daria > 1960's Daria
1960s—Chapter 02
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to Daria’s original characters, etc., just my plot twists and OCs. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’ Note: some terms/language may reflect 1960s usages, rather the current ‘politically correct’ terms.
-60s-
Sunday, Sept. 11
Dear Aunt Amy:
First of all, thank you again for your contribution to my new checking account. While I am being careful about money and will continue to be so, I can see how some students can easily spend that much or even more in a short period of time. And in answer to your question, yes, Mother is sticking to her agreement so far, and of course expects me to do the same. She gave me $120 for books and supplies, and wanted any monies left over returned. By buying some of the texts used, I kept the costs to 90.78. In the letter I received yesterday, she acknowledged accepting everything on the supplied receipt as a valid expense (to my slight surprise), but that I need to send her a check for $29.22. I will mail it to her tomorrow when I mail this.
I know you have said that if Mother pulls her support and Dad is unable to keep his going, you will pay for undergraduate school, rather than my trying for a loan. I hope it does not come to either, as I may have to seek out loans if I decide to go on to graduate school.
To answer your inquiry, yes, I made it through the first week of classes and weekend without any minor let alone serious problems. No, I did not get drunk at any fraternity party. (Granted, in part because I did not go to any get-together sponsored by a social fraternity or sorority.) In response to another query, most of the professors seem competent at the least. The baseball coach who teaches the health class is okay at best, but that might be the material. The American Constitution professor was boring, but he does seem to know the material; we’ll see how the course goes. The two literature professors seem enthusiastic about the material – I admit I will be more interested when we get to the material later in the semester than what we are starting off with in either course.
The violin instructor seems nice as well as knowledgeable. He is also the orchestra conductor. I am actually the second chair/first folder in the second violin section. Most of the other second violins are either music majors but not violin majors or ‘community’ members – a couple of non-music professors, an administer, and some folks from town and faculty wives. The same is true of the cello section; Marcie Brown, who was in the cello section of the Youth Orchestra with me, is here specializing in voice but is also in the orchestra. She does have a gorgeous voice, but considering how shy she is, I would have thought she would have been doing cello or piano. Anyway, there is a variety of music in our folders, we will have to see what we end up playing for the winter concert.
Probably the best instructor is the History of England professor; he’s the best lecturer so far at least. Some of the readings are duplicates of what we’re doing in the English Lit I class, so hopefully that will help with my interpretations in both, rather than provide contradictions to sort out. Surprisingly, I don’t have any term papers for any classes, but I do have a number of book reviews and interpretive papers. If I don’t fall behind, it should be doable!
To return to a previous point, yes, there were a surprisingly large number of parties on offer this weekend. There was a ‘welcome’ party for the dorm Saturday afternoon, in part because as I told you it just opened this semester. Yes, the other wing is for boys; however other than the large room above the entrance area there are no connections above the second floor (there are some chairs and sofas in that middle room, and a large tv – I anticipate arguments over the channel selection). The doors will be locked and there is an alarm set at 11:00 on weeknights, midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Boys are not supposed to be on our floors at all; we’ll see how that works out.
Anyways, the get-together was from 1:00-3:00, and other than some good snacks it was mostly devoted to listening to the radio broadcast of the football team’s opening game up in New Jersey. Many stayed to hear the end of the game, including Jane. I, however, went to a get-together the music and band sororities and fraternities put on up in the music building (3:30-5:00) – therefore I don’t count them as being the same as those held in the frat or sorority houses. Just chips and punch (and no, the punch wasn’t spiked). I don’t think I would want to join the music sorority, assuming I earn enough music credits to qualify. Still, most of the people I’ve met in the music building have been polite and interesting. I really haven’t interacted with enough social science or English majors to have any real opinion of them.
The other girls on the floor (34 others plus the RA) are a mixed group. About a third of us are Freshmen, the rest equally divided between Juniors and Sophomores (no seniors here for some reason). There is a wide cross-section of majors. The College is of course well-known for its music and Home Ec programs, but there aren’t any music majors on the floor, but about half the fourth floor are in that program. There are sixteen Home Ec majors on this floor. Jane is hoping they’ll anything they cook back with them, but it seems a lot of what they study is home management rather than cooking, at least this early in the courses.
However, I know you want to know about the Friday and Saturday night parties. The so-called social fraternities and sororities all had open houses one night or another (or in the case of some of the fraternities, both nights). Neither Jane nor I have any real interest in joining a social sorority, and so did not go to any. There are honor fraternities for all three of our majors, plus education ones, but only the music ones did anything this weekend. With the big parties Friday and Saturday nights, Jane and I went the pizza place Friday night and the burger place Saturday – they weren’t nearly as crowded because of the parties. I must say, I really like pizza. I wish it had been available at home.
So far, Jane and I are getting along very well. I would even say we are becoming friends. Hopefully we will be able to continue to build on that friendship, if my having to get her awake in time for breakfast doesn’t cause problems!
Take care;
Love
Daria
-60s-
Two Fridays later, Daria was sitting in her somewhat uncomfortable desk chair, reading Chaucer. As it was close to 11:30 pm, she was in her robe, pajamas, and slippers.
She looked up when she heard a key entering the lock. “It’s open,” she called, but not too loudly, glad Jane was finally back so she could go to sleep. A smiling Jane opened the door, and she placed her key into her jacket pocket, and she came in and closed the door.
“If you leave the key there, you’ll forget in the morning,” Daria remarked as she bookmarked and closed the volume and reminded her friend, “Yet again.”
“True,” Jane had to admit; it wouldn’t be the first time she misplaced her key. She fished the key back out and placed it on her desk. As she started to strip, she remarked, “I’ll wait and shower in the morning.”
“So, I should go to breakfast without you?” Jane tended to sleep late on the weekends, and when she showered in the mornings, it was often close to 9:30 or even 10:00 before she was ready to leave.
“Probably a good idea,” Jane agreed. The two were becoming close friends, but they did not feel the need to do everything together.
As Jane slipped into the t-shirt and gym shorts she wore to bed, Daria asked, “So, good date?”
Jane shrugged. “Not bad. The movie was supposed to be a comedy, and a few parts were funny and more were amusing, but it wasn’t a ‘ha-ha’ comedy.” ‘It’ was ‘The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming,’ showing at the town theater. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Probably.”
Jane refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing by now that Daria would always correct her grammar habit. “Did you see that film classic from a few years ago, ‘Son of Flubber’?”
“Somehow, I missed that masterpiece,” Daria retorted, with an equal if small amount of sarcasm.
“Anyway, it’s being shown here on campus tomorrow night. John asked if I would go, and I said yes. He also asked if you could come with us, plus, well, his roommate.”
Daria glared at Jane.
Now Jane did roll her eyes. “Come on, you did date in high school, right?”
“Some, mostly as part of a group,” Daria had to admit. She frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with his roommate?”
Jane frowned at that comment. “Other than being a science ed major, so he’s probably shy? Nothing that I know of.” Jane shrugged and pleaded a little. “Come on, it’ll do you good to get out of this room on the weekends. You can’t stay cooped up, at least when the weather isn’t too bad.”
“We went to the football game last week, and then to see ‘The Music Man,’” Daria pointed out. The College put on older movies most Saturday nights.
“True,” Jane had to agree. “Still, I’m asking you to please come along.” She grabbed her bucket and towel. “I’m going to wash my face; tell me you agree you’ll go when I get back.” She didn’t want to sleep in her makeup – again.
Daria glared after her friend for a moment, sighed, then got up and turned on the built-in desk lamp on Jane’s desk. She then turned off hers, got into bed, and turned off the lamp on her bookcase.
When Jane came in and shut the door, Daria asked, “What exactly would the program be for tomorrow if I were to agree?”
Jane hung up her robe and answered as she went to turn off the desk lamp. “We’ll meet at the theater at seven forty-five, the movie starts at eight. The rest of the day is yours.”
It sounded simple and harmless enough, so Daria agreed.
-60s-
The next night, the two slowly changed clothes so they could shower, Daria glaring at her friend.
“Stop that,” Jane muttered.
“Shy?” Daria nearly snapped. “Shy? That word does NOT describe that…that creep!”
“Well, I guess shy can also be persistent,” Jane tried to argue weakly.
“H’umph,” was the simple retort.
“I didn’t know he was pledging Delta Tau Chi,* honest!”
Daria sighed. “Fine, you didn’t know he was pledging the worst, drunkest, most openly lecherous frat on campus. However, while I don’t know his drinking habits, he is at the least a lecherous lout! I swear, I need to buy a pair of heavy boots so I can go kick shins of jerks like that!”
Jane winced as an idea occurred to her. “Did he…grope you?”
“Not quite, but he was getting closer on each try, and he wouldn’t stop trying! By the end of that poor excuse for a movie, he was more of an octopus than a person – as you would have known if you had actually sat near us.” Daria sat on her bed, obviously distressed, her arms crossed and a pout forming. Jane sat down next to her and put her arm around her new friend.
“Again, I’m sorry.”
Daria’s pout moved into a slight and twisted grimace. “Not your fault he was a jerk, but you should have been closer – there was room.” She looked at Jane. “Did John at least act any better?”
Jane sighed, “Well, at one point he seemed to think my face was a lollipop, but I’d still say he was at least marginally not as bad. Otherwise, I kind of liked him.”
Daria laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. Jane could just see Daria now make a slight, twisted smile as she asked, “Did you ever see ‘South Pacific?”
“No, but my oldest sister used to play the album often enough.” Jane was confused at the segway. “Why?”
Daria stood and said resolutely, “Then as the song says, ‘let’s wash those men right out of our hair’.”
Jane stood as she gave Daria a smile in return. “Sounds good.”
-60s-
Three weekends later, Friday evening.
Jane opened her dorm room, having come back from a reception given for a visiting exhibiting artist. She and Daria had been among the many students at the show’s opening that afternoon, but Daria had gone to their room after dinner in the dining hall while Jane had gone to the reception that had started at 7:00. Jane wondered where her roomie was, as their room was dark and empty.
Since their room was dark, Daria was unlikely taking an early shower. While she could sometimes be coaxed into watching either ‘The Wild Wild West’ or ‘The Time Tunnel’ down in the TV room when she had no pressing work on Friday nights, those classes which had mid-term exams were the upcoming week, and their Health and Geology classes had such exams, as did Daria’s US Constitution class.
Closing the dorm room door, Jane started to circle the rest of their floor to see which study room Daria was in. She was surprised not to find her in any of them. There were, however, a few co-eds studying in each of the four rooms; even the one with the TV (which was off for once). After she had come back to the one between the stairs and her room, one of the students looked up. “Looking for your roomie?”
“Yeah,” Jane admitted. “She must be studying somewhere.”
“True,” a second co-ed commented. “I mean, does she date at all?”
“I think she would, but her first one here turned out to be a stereotypical Delta Tau Chi pledge,” Jane retorted.
“That would put me off for a bit,” the first student admitted.
“They aren’t all that bad,” the second student protested. Seeing the looks she got from the others, she added, “Well, they aren’t all perverts and drunks – well, no more than most of the other guys around here – a lot of them are just more obvious about it.”
“Anyways,” the first one continued, “she should be up on the fifth floor, there’s a group studying for that prig Wilson’s midterm.” That was the Constitution professor.
“Why is he a prig?”
The third student, a senior, answered. “Because he rarely gives any essay or paper even an A minus, and if gossip is to be believed, that B plus your roomie got on her paper might be the highest he’s given a girl in the thirty plus years he’s been here. If she wants an A in the class, she needs to score at least ninety-eights on the mid-term and final multiple choice/matching exams.”
“Yikes!”
“He’s the only instructor I got a B minus from,” the third co-ed complained. “Every paper and essay I ever did for him was at best a B, so I wish her luck!” She gave Jane a twisted smile and added in a much softer voice. “And she called him a prig because she’s too nice to call him a prick or worse.”
All four giggled a bit at that, and after thanking them, Jane headed up to the fifth floor.
-60s-
Daria and two other co-eds were in the first study room she came across. A bit surprising to Jane, one of them was one of the few Negro students attending LSC. Daria looked as she always did, although the third co-ed looked a little uncomfortable.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Do you think you’re going to be much longer?”
Daria looked at the clock on the wall, and was a bit surprised that it was already 9:34.
“Friend of yours?” the white student asked.
“Friend and roommate,” Daria responded. “I make certain she studies; she makes sure I don’t overdo it.”
Jane frowned a bit, but knowing that there was a fair amount of truth to both statements, didn’t dispute it.
“We have the amendments down, it’s just a few of the supreme court cases….”
“YOU have everything down, at this point you’re helping us,” the black girl retorted.
“Well, I hope I do at least,” Daria said with a small shrug. “In any event, Jane, this is Jodie and Andrea.”
“Hey.”
Daria’s two study partners waved back.
“Work with me until ten fifteen?” Daria asked.
“No,” Andrea said reluctantly. “Thanks for helping me get these flash cards right, but I need to review them some more. Will you have time Monday night?” She steeled herself and turned to Jodie. “You as well?”
“This floor, eight o’clock?” Daria suggested. The other two agreed, and Jane left, warning Daria she’d be back at 10:25 if Daria wasn’t in their room. Jane knew that even if the other two left, Daria would study at least until 10:15.
Daria was in fact in their room at 10:22.
“Good study session?”
Daria nodded, adding, “Not bad; explaining things to people who mostly understand helps me understand better at least.”
“And they did?”
Daria nodded, adding, “Yes, Jodie even more than Andrea.”
“You know,” Jane said, somewhat hesitantly, “there are people in this area, maybe even on this campus, who might give you grief for associating with a Negro.”
“There are,” Daria agreed as she changed into her nightwear. “Are you one of them?”
“No,” Jane stated firmly.
“Then hopefully I won’t have to deal with those who dislike it.”
Jane hoped so as well. She knew that Daria’s suburb was mostly very upper-middle class – the only non-whites who were ever present were service people – day maids, lawn care, and the like. Daria’s mother supervised such day help, and it was unlikely that Daria had had much interaction with ‘the help.’
Jane’s own hometown had a much more mixed population, and more racial tensions once its schools had been largely desegregated just a few years before. However, she thought it was best to change the subject. “I think you should take tomorrow off – you’ve been studying pretty hard the last few days. We have the Health midterm Monday and the Geology midterm Tuesday, plus you have the PoliSci thing. You’re going to review that with those two Monday night, and we can spend some time between dinner and then reviewing the Geology. That leaves us all Sunday afternoon. We can skip ‘Ed Sullivan’ and study that evening, too.”
“And what do you plan for us to do tomorrow?” Daria sked, somewhat suspiciously.
“You get up like you always do and practice.” In addition to her violin lessons and orchestra, Daria was also playing some accompaniments for Marcie. “We meet for lunch at 11:30, and we can watch the football game at least through half time. If the game is too boring, I’ll even let you convince me to study something after half time. After dinner, they’re showing that Japanese film, ‘Jo-yinbo?”
“Yojimbo,” Daria corrected. Both thought it might be interesting to watch.
“Right. Delta house is throwing a toga party so the nut cases should all be on the far side of campus.”
Daria thought a moment, and then said, “I’ll make you a deal. If you seriously study for at least an hour tomorrow morning or afternoon, on your own or with me, we’ll go to the pizza place for supper and I’ll buy – or, we can order the pizza in and I can ask Cathy to get us a bottle of wine. If we’re still sober enough, we can see the movie.” Cathy was a Senior English major (the drinking age in most states in 1966 was 21, including Maryland) who owed Daria some favors for the help she got in the History of England class.
Jane was surprised at both ideas, especially the latter. “Really?”
“She made me the offer,” Daria said simply.
“She can get it for tomorrow?”
Daria smiled. “Yeah, her father owns the store, and she works Saturday mornings.”
“Deal!”
-60s-
The next day at 5:15, the pair sat in their room, a just-delivered large meat-laden pizza on Jane’s desk and a newly-opened bottle of Mateus on Daria’s. The two had paper cups, but they toasted to their hopeful success at mid-terms.
After finishing their first slice (and first cup), Daria asked, “Have you stopped seeing John?” Jane had occasionally dated him after that first date, but she hadn’t mentioned him recently.
Jane shrugged. “Yeah; we had some fun, but neither of us thought we were really clicking.”
The two managed to finish off the pizza, but only had one more small cup of wine each – they did not want to be buzzed when they went to see the movie. When they returned to their dorm, they finished off the bottle, ‘paired’ with goldfish crackers and cheese twists.
-60s-
Delta Tau Chi is of course the fictional ‘animal house’ frat from the movie ‘Animal House.’
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to Daria’s original characters, etc., just my plot twists and OCs. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’ Note: some terms/language may reflect 1960s usages, rather the current ‘politically correct’ terms.
-60s-
Sunday, Sept. 11
Dear Aunt Amy:
First of all, thank you again for your contribution to my new checking account. While I am being careful about money and will continue to be so, I can see how some students can easily spend that much or even more in a short period of time. And in answer to your question, yes, Mother is sticking to her agreement so far, and of course expects me to do the same. She gave me $120 for books and supplies, and wanted any monies left over returned. By buying some of the texts used, I kept the costs to 90.78. In the letter I received yesterday, she acknowledged accepting everything on the supplied receipt as a valid expense (to my slight surprise), but that I need to send her a check for $29.22. I will mail it to her tomorrow when I mail this.
I know you have said that if Mother pulls her support and Dad is unable to keep his going, you will pay for undergraduate school, rather than my trying for a loan. I hope it does not come to either, as I may have to seek out loans if I decide to go on to graduate school.
To answer your inquiry, yes, I made it through the first week of classes and weekend without any minor let alone serious problems. No, I did not get drunk at any fraternity party. (Granted, in part because I did not go to any get-together sponsored by a social fraternity or sorority.) In response to another query, most of the professors seem competent at the least. The baseball coach who teaches the health class is okay at best, but that might be the material. The American Constitution professor was boring, but he does seem to know the material; we’ll see how the course goes. The two literature professors seem enthusiastic about the material – I admit I will be more interested when we get to the material later in the semester than what we are starting off with in either course.
The violin instructor seems nice as well as knowledgeable. He is also the orchestra conductor. I am actually the second chair/first folder in the second violin section. Most of the other second violins are either music majors but not violin majors or ‘community’ members – a couple of non-music professors, an administer, and some folks from town and faculty wives. The same is true of the cello section; Marcie Brown, who was in the cello section of the Youth Orchestra with me, is here specializing in voice but is also in the orchestra. She does have a gorgeous voice, but considering how shy she is, I would have thought she would have been doing cello or piano. Anyway, there is a variety of music in our folders, we will have to see what we end up playing for the winter concert.
Probably the best instructor is the History of England professor; he’s the best lecturer so far at least. Some of the readings are duplicates of what we’re doing in the English Lit I class, so hopefully that will help with my interpretations in both, rather than provide contradictions to sort out. Surprisingly, I don’t have any term papers for any classes, but I do have a number of book reviews and interpretive papers. If I don’t fall behind, it should be doable!
To return to a previous point, yes, there were a surprisingly large number of parties on offer this weekend. There was a ‘welcome’ party for the dorm Saturday afternoon, in part because as I told you it just opened this semester. Yes, the other wing is for boys; however other than the large room above the entrance area there are no connections above the second floor (there are some chairs and sofas in that middle room, and a large tv – I anticipate arguments over the channel selection). The doors will be locked and there is an alarm set at 11:00 on weeknights, midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Boys are not supposed to be on our floors at all; we’ll see how that works out.
Anyways, the get-together was from 1:00-3:00, and other than some good snacks it was mostly devoted to listening to the radio broadcast of the football team’s opening game up in New Jersey. Many stayed to hear the end of the game, including Jane. I, however, went to a get-together the music and band sororities and fraternities put on up in the music building (3:30-5:00) – therefore I don’t count them as being the same as those held in the frat or sorority houses. Just chips and punch (and no, the punch wasn’t spiked). I don’t think I would want to join the music sorority, assuming I earn enough music credits to qualify. Still, most of the people I’ve met in the music building have been polite and interesting. I really haven’t interacted with enough social science or English majors to have any real opinion of them.
The other girls on the floor (34 others plus the RA) are a mixed group. About a third of us are Freshmen, the rest equally divided between Juniors and Sophomores (no seniors here for some reason). There is a wide cross-section of majors. The College is of course well-known for its music and Home Ec programs, but there aren’t any music majors on the floor, but about half the fourth floor are in that program. There are sixteen Home Ec majors on this floor. Jane is hoping they’ll anything they cook back with them, but it seems a lot of what they study is home management rather than cooking, at least this early in the courses.
However, I know you want to know about the Friday and Saturday night parties. The so-called social fraternities and sororities all had open houses one night or another (or in the case of some of the fraternities, both nights). Neither Jane nor I have any real interest in joining a social sorority, and so did not go to any. There are honor fraternities for all three of our majors, plus education ones, but only the music ones did anything this weekend. With the big parties Friday and Saturday nights, Jane and I went the pizza place Friday night and the burger place Saturday – they weren’t nearly as crowded because of the parties. I must say, I really like pizza. I wish it had been available at home.
So far, Jane and I are getting along very well. I would even say we are becoming friends. Hopefully we will be able to continue to build on that friendship, if my having to get her awake in time for breakfast doesn’t cause problems!
Take care;
Love
Daria
-60s-
Two Fridays later, Daria was sitting in her somewhat uncomfortable desk chair, reading Chaucer. As it was close to 11:30 pm, she was in her robe, pajamas, and slippers.
She looked up when she heard a key entering the lock. “It’s open,” she called, but not too loudly, glad Jane was finally back so she could go to sleep. A smiling Jane opened the door, and she placed her key into her jacket pocket, and she came in and closed the door.
“If you leave the key there, you’ll forget in the morning,” Daria remarked as she bookmarked and closed the volume and reminded her friend, “Yet again.”
“True,” Jane had to admit; it wouldn’t be the first time she misplaced her key. She fished the key back out and placed it on her desk. As she started to strip, she remarked, “I’ll wait and shower in the morning.”
“So, I should go to breakfast without you?” Jane tended to sleep late on the weekends, and when she showered in the mornings, it was often close to 9:30 or even 10:00 before she was ready to leave.
“Probably a good idea,” Jane agreed. The two were becoming close friends, but they did not feel the need to do everything together.
As Jane slipped into the t-shirt and gym shorts she wore to bed, Daria asked, “So, good date?”
Jane shrugged. “Not bad. The movie was supposed to be a comedy, and a few parts were funny and more were amusing, but it wasn’t a ‘ha-ha’ comedy.” ‘It’ was ‘The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming,’ showing at the town theater. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Probably.”
Jane refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing by now that Daria would always correct her grammar habit. “Did you see that film classic from a few years ago, ‘Son of Flubber’?”
“Somehow, I missed that masterpiece,” Daria retorted, with an equal if small amount of sarcasm.
“Anyway, it’s being shown here on campus tomorrow night. John asked if I would go, and I said yes. He also asked if you could come with us, plus, well, his roommate.”
Daria glared at Jane.
Now Jane did roll her eyes. “Come on, you did date in high school, right?”
“Some, mostly as part of a group,” Daria had to admit. She frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with his roommate?”
Jane frowned at that comment. “Other than being a science ed major, so he’s probably shy? Nothing that I know of.” Jane shrugged and pleaded a little. “Come on, it’ll do you good to get out of this room on the weekends. You can’t stay cooped up, at least when the weather isn’t too bad.”
“We went to the football game last week, and then to see ‘The Music Man,’” Daria pointed out. The College put on older movies most Saturday nights.
“True,” Jane had to agree. “Still, I’m asking you to please come along.” She grabbed her bucket and towel. “I’m going to wash my face; tell me you agree you’ll go when I get back.” She didn’t want to sleep in her makeup – again.
Daria glared after her friend for a moment, sighed, then got up and turned on the built-in desk lamp on Jane’s desk. She then turned off hers, got into bed, and turned off the lamp on her bookcase.
When Jane came in and shut the door, Daria asked, “What exactly would the program be for tomorrow if I were to agree?”
Jane hung up her robe and answered as she went to turn off the desk lamp. “We’ll meet at the theater at seven forty-five, the movie starts at eight. The rest of the day is yours.”
It sounded simple and harmless enough, so Daria agreed.
-60s-
The next night, the two slowly changed clothes so they could shower, Daria glaring at her friend.
“Stop that,” Jane muttered.
“Shy?” Daria nearly snapped. “Shy? That word does NOT describe that…that creep!”
“Well, I guess shy can also be persistent,” Jane tried to argue weakly.
“H’umph,” was the simple retort.
“I didn’t know he was pledging Delta Tau Chi,* honest!”
Daria sighed. “Fine, you didn’t know he was pledging the worst, drunkest, most openly lecherous frat on campus. However, while I don’t know his drinking habits, he is at the least a lecherous lout! I swear, I need to buy a pair of heavy boots so I can go kick shins of jerks like that!”
Jane winced as an idea occurred to her. “Did he…grope you?”
“Not quite, but he was getting closer on each try, and he wouldn’t stop trying! By the end of that poor excuse for a movie, he was more of an octopus than a person – as you would have known if you had actually sat near us.” Daria sat on her bed, obviously distressed, her arms crossed and a pout forming. Jane sat down next to her and put her arm around her new friend.
“Again, I’m sorry.”
Daria’s pout moved into a slight and twisted grimace. “Not your fault he was a jerk, but you should have been closer – there was room.” She looked at Jane. “Did John at least act any better?”
Jane sighed, “Well, at one point he seemed to think my face was a lollipop, but I’d still say he was at least marginally not as bad. Otherwise, I kind of liked him.”
Daria laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. Jane could just see Daria now make a slight, twisted smile as she asked, “Did you ever see ‘South Pacific?”
“No, but my oldest sister used to play the album often enough.” Jane was confused at the segway. “Why?”
Daria stood and said resolutely, “Then as the song says, ‘let’s wash those men right out of our hair’.”
Jane stood as she gave Daria a smile in return. “Sounds good.”
-60s-
Three weekends later, Friday evening.
Jane opened her dorm room, having come back from a reception given for a visiting exhibiting artist. She and Daria had been among the many students at the show’s opening that afternoon, but Daria had gone to their room after dinner in the dining hall while Jane had gone to the reception that had started at 7:00. Jane wondered where her roomie was, as their room was dark and empty.
Since their room was dark, Daria was unlikely taking an early shower. While she could sometimes be coaxed into watching either ‘The Wild Wild West’ or ‘The Time Tunnel’ down in the TV room when she had no pressing work on Friday nights, those classes which had mid-term exams were the upcoming week, and their Health and Geology classes had such exams, as did Daria’s US Constitution class.
Closing the dorm room door, Jane started to circle the rest of their floor to see which study room Daria was in. She was surprised not to find her in any of them. There were, however, a few co-eds studying in each of the four rooms; even the one with the TV (which was off for once). After she had come back to the one between the stairs and her room, one of the students looked up. “Looking for your roomie?”
“Yeah,” Jane admitted. “She must be studying somewhere.”
“True,” a second co-ed commented. “I mean, does she date at all?”
“I think she would, but her first one here turned out to be a stereotypical Delta Tau Chi pledge,” Jane retorted.
“That would put me off for a bit,” the first student admitted.
“They aren’t all that bad,” the second student protested. Seeing the looks she got from the others, she added, “Well, they aren’t all perverts and drunks – well, no more than most of the other guys around here – a lot of them are just more obvious about it.”
“Anyways,” the first one continued, “she should be up on the fifth floor, there’s a group studying for that prig Wilson’s midterm.” That was the Constitution professor.
“Why is he a prig?”
The third student, a senior, answered. “Because he rarely gives any essay or paper even an A minus, and if gossip is to be believed, that B plus your roomie got on her paper might be the highest he’s given a girl in the thirty plus years he’s been here. If she wants an A in the class, she needs to score at least ninety-eights on the mid-term and final multiple choice/matching exams.”
“Yikes!”
“He’s the only instructor I got a B minus from,” the third co-ed complained. “Every paper and essay I ever did for him was at best a B, so I wish her luck!” She gave Jane a twisted smile and added in a much softer voice. “And she called him a prig because she’s too nice to call him a prick or worse.”
All four giggled a bit at that, and after thanking them, Jane headed up to the fifth floor.
-60s-
Daria and two other co-eds were in the first study room she came across. A bit surprising to Jane, one of them was one of the few Negro students attending LSC. Daria looked as she always did, although the third co-ed looked a little uncomfortable.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Do you think you’re going to be much longer?”
Daria looked at the clock on the wall, and was a bit surprised that it was already 9:34.
“Friend of yours?” the white student asked.
“Friend and roommate,” Daria responded. “I make certain she studies; she makes sure I don’t overdo it.”
Jane frowned a bit, but knowing that there was a fair amount of truth to both statements, didn’t dispute it.
“We have the amendments down, it’s just a few of the supreme court cases….”
“YOU have everything down, at this point you’re helping us,” the black girl retorted.
“Well, I hope I do at least,” Daria said with a small shrug. “In any event, Jane, this is Jodie and Andrea.”
“Hey.”
Daria’s two study partners waved back.
“Work with me until ten fifteen?” Daria asked.
“No,” Andrea said reluctantly. “Thanks for helping me get these flash cards right, but I need to review them some more. Will you have time Monday night?” She steeled herself and turned to Jodie. “You as well?”
“This floor, eight o’clock?” Daria suggested. The other two agreed, and Jane left, warning Daria she’d be back at 10:25 if Daria wasn’t in their room. Jane knew that even if the other two left, Daria would study at least until 10:15.
Daria was in fact in their room at 10:22.
“Good study session?”
Daria nodded, adding, “Not bad; explaining things to people who mostly understand helps me understand better at least.”
“And they did?”
Daria nodded, adding, “Yes, Jodie even more than Andrea.”
“You know,” Jane said, somewhat hesitantly, “there are people in this area, maybe even on this campus, who might give you grief for associating with a Negro.”
“There are,” Daria agreed as she changed into her nightwear. “Are you one of them?”
“No,” Jane stated firmly.
“Then hopefully I won’t have to deal with those who dislike it.”
Jane hoped so as well. She knew that Daria’s suburb was mostly very upper-middle class – the only non-whites who were ever present were service people – day maids, lawn care, and the like. Daria’s mother supervised such day help, and it was unlikely that Daria had had much interaction with ‘the help.’
Jane’s own hometown had a much more mixed population, and more racial tensions once its schools had been largely desegregated just a few years before. However, she thought it was best to change the subject. “I think you should take tomorrow off – you’ve been studying pretty hard the last few days. We have the Health midterm Monday and the Geology midterm Tuesday, plus you have the PoliSci thing. You’re going to review that with those two Monday night, and we can spend some time between dinner and then reviewing the Geology. That leaves us all Sunday afternoon. We can skip ‘Ed Sullivan’ and study that evening, too.”
“And what do you plan for us to do tomorrow?” Daria sked, somewhat suspiciously.
“You get up like you always do and practice.” In addition to her violin lessons and orchestra, Daria was also playing some accompaniments for Marcie. “We meet for lunch at 11:30, and we can watch the football game at least through half time. If the game is too boring, I’ll even let you convince me to study something after half time. After dinner, they’re showing that Japanese film, ‘Jo-yinbo?”
“Yojimbo,” Daria corrected. Both thought it might be interesting to watch.
“Right. Delta house is throwing a toga party so the nut cases should all be on the far side of campus.”
Daria thought a moment, and then said, “I’ll make you a deal. If you seriously study for at least an hour tomorrow morning or afternoon, on your own or with me, we’ll go to the pizza place for supper and I’ll buy – or, we can order the pizza in and I can ask Cathy to get us a bottle of wine. If we’re still sober enough, we can see the movie.” Cathy was a Senior English major (the drinking age in most states in 1966 was 21, including Maryland) who owed Daria some favors for the help she got in the History of England class.
Jane was surprised at both ideas, especially the latter. “Really?”
“She made me the offer,” Daria said simply.
“She can get it for tomorrow?”
Daria smiled. “Yeah, her father owns the store, and she works Saturday mornings.”
“Deal!”
-60s-
The next day at 5:15, the pair sat in their room, a just-delivered large meat-laden pizza on Jane’s desk and a newly-opened bottle of Mateus on Daria’s. The two had paper cups, but they toasted to their hopeful success at mid-terms.
After finishing their first slice (and first cup), Daria asked, “Have you stopped seeing John?” Jane had occasionally dated him after that first date, but she hadn’t mentioned him recently.
Jane shrugged. “Yeah; we had some fun, but neither of us thought we were really clicking.”
The two managed to finish off the pizza, but only had one more small cup of wine each – they did not want to be buzzed when they went to see the movie. When they returned to their dorm, they finished off the bottle, ‘paired’ with goldfish crackers and cheese twists.
-60s-
Delta Tau Chi is of course the fictional ‘animal house’ frat from the movie ‘Animal House.’
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