Journal of College Disorders, 1788-1797

This journal contains entries about various student "disorders" which occurred during Eliphalet Pearson’s tenure at Harvard. Daily entries describe a wide range of students’ rebellious conduct, which included: hissing at speakers in chapel, throwing snowballs and stones at College buildings and people (including tutors and then-President Joseph Willard), disrupting lectures by scraping chairs and feet, breaking windows, intoxication, moving and breaking furniture, stealing firewood, firing pistols, building bonfires, stealing supplies (food, cider and candles), throwing food and utensils during meals, stealing Bibles, wearing hats indoors, filling door locks with stones, drawing on lecture room walls with gravel, and silencing the morning chapel bell by filling it with molten pewter plates (stolen from the kitchen). There are also entries pertaining to more malicious offenses, including the drowning of a dog in a well. Several entries describe meetings of the College government to determine the appropriate punishments for each offense. Students were often fined, expelled, or suspended ("rusticated") for their unruly behavior.