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Prominent among the many student hijinks of the time was the disappearance of the university flag pole, the gift of the class of 1908, just before it was to be ceremoniously dedicated. After President Edwin H. Hughes issued a statement that he had the names of the five presumed perpetrators and that stern action would be taken if the pole were not returned, the pole reappeared the next morning just as silently as it had disappeared.

The DePauw Daily faithfully recorded the incident, including an account of the great difficulties students participating in the escapade encountered in retrieving the 1,200-pound flag pole from the water-filled quarry west of town where they had disposed of it.
Once again a ceremony of dedication was planned, with musical offerings by a band from neighboring Brazil and suitable speakers to solemnize the occasion. But alas, just as the ritual of hoisting the pole into place near Middle College began, it bent under the strain, threatening the safety of the entire throng in attendance. A few weeks later a sturdier pole was installed and the flag finally hoisted to its top with less ceremony and probably far less sense of triumph than originally envisioned.

A year later the DePauw Daily noted that the ill-starred pole had suffered further indignity. Its gilded ball on top had fallen during the summer and the upper section, which had been part of the original pole stolen and deposited in the quarry, had become rusted and unsightly. Not long afterwards it was discovered that the pole was leaning severely, as much as 22 inches out of plumb. The student paper's last notice of the matter was to quote the superintendent of grounds as saying he would attempt to draw the pole back to its vertical position by use of steel cables.

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