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In the aftermath of World War I there began a gradual relaxation of the older and stricter standards of student behavior that generally prevailed at DePauw up to the 1920s. University authorities, constrained by a relatively conservative faculty and board of trustees, to say nothing of still-potent ties to the Methodist Church, adjusted its policies and practices in this regard only slowly. Though the absolute ban on social dancing was lifted in 1926, coeds who wished to attend campus dances were required as late as 1935 to secure written parental permission, according to the official "Blue Book" defining student rules and regulations. Closing hour at all women's living units was 10 p.m., extended eventually to 11 p.m. on weekends and occasionally to midnight for special events such as the Junior Prom. After May Day senior women were permitted to stay out until 11 o'clock on any night of the week.

Male students could call upon women in the front parlor of their residence halls and also invite coeds to the public rooms of the fraternity houses on Friday and Saturday evenings. Housemothers and chaperones were a constant presence. No party which both men and women were expected to attend could be held without a hostess approved by the dean of women.

More informal dating took place on weekdays without university supervision, including "meeting at the Boulder" to attend chapel together and sharing a coke at the U-Shop or the Double Decker. Couples could also find a measure of intimacy in one of the three movie theaters in town-the Granada, the Chateau, and the Voncastle-or on a long walk out to Forest Hill Cemetery or the glens behind Blackstock Stadium. With sufficient funds in hand a young man might invite a coed to a dinner date in one of the local restaurants, such as the Cafe Royale, the Crawford Hotel, or the Elms, or even escort her via the Interurban to the English Theatre in Indianapolis.

The coming of the automobile brought few changes in dating patterns because the university maintained a strict policy regarding its use. Except for the first and last days of the academic year, students were prohibited from having cars on campus without special permission. Such permission was granted only to those needing transportation to jobs or student teaching assignments and to commuters from nearby communities. Later upperclassmen with outstanding academic records were also allowed the use of cars upon application to the dean of men. The rule forbidding women to ride in automobiles after seven o'clock in the evening effectively limited their usefulness in dating.
 

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A favorite student haunt in the 1930s was the U Shop across College Avenue from the Library.  For most of its history this building served as a confectionary, ice cream parlor, bookstore, the Barn and eventually Faculty Office Building.
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Card-playing, formerly banned along with social dancing, became a popular activity among both men and women. Bridge games, and an occasional bridge tourney, occupied a great deal of many students' free time. Most fraternities and sorority houses and some residence halls had their own card rooms as well as "bum rooms" for informal indoor recreation.
The university continued to enforce its prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Information gathered from student polls in the Oxnam administration seems to indicate the vast majority of undergraduates observed this rule, at least while on campus. Those who were apprehended in any infraction of the drinking code were punished summarily by expulsion from the university. Smoking, also officially banned on campus, proved more difficult to control. While a fair number of men apparently took up the habit after the war, it was still considered rather shocking for a coed to light up a cigarette at DePauw, according to the recollections of alumni from the 1920s and 1930s.

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