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Special Collections
UC Davis Traditions: Frosh Dinks
Our next installment in the UC Davis Traditions series features the frosh dinks.
Members of the freshman class, as a sign of unity, wore caps known as dinks. The dinks, which were blue with a gold button and had “Cal Aggie” lettered in gold across the front, were worn by all freshmen to classes and meetings. If the freshmen won the Frosh-Soph Brawl, which occurred during the first month of classes, they could stop wearing the dinks immediately. However, if the sophomores won the brawl, the freshmen had to wear the dinks until the Pajamarino Rally, which was held during Homecoming Weekend. This campus tradition went out of fashion in the 1960s.
Below is an image from the University Archives Photographs of students wearing the dinks.
Students wearing frosh dinks, circa 1960s