The gruesome art of “Black Friday”

Gruesome posters at U-M’s Bentley Historical Library document the old-school ritual of “rush” — not a sedate round of Greek sociables, but semi-violent warfare. First it was between “Lits,” “Laws,” and “Medics,” then, increasingly, between freshmen and sophomores.

Rush ruled from the Civil War to World War I — in the later years, on “Black Friday” in early October. The video here showcases 10 samples from the poster collection, most of them from the early 1900s.
 

 
For more on the early days of rush, see “Class Warfare.”

(All images courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)