1987

Fancy Dress 1987 was held on March 6 in the Warner Center/Doremus Gym and had the theme of “The Dark Continent.” Tickets this year cost $40 per couple. To entertain the students, the SAB brought in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Little Saints, and the Hoodoo Gurus – which a Phi writer called “an appropriately exotic choice” (Watson 2). Other attractions were a baby elephant that performed tricks at the entrance and actors in lion and gorilla costumes that roamed the venue. The decor was meant to resemble an African jungle and exude “exotic mysticism.” To do this, the SAB used bamboo huts, torches, plants (ivy, ferns, bamboo, palm leaves), “African masques and other simian artifacts…, banana leaves imported from Africa,” jungle motifs, and smoke machines (Watson 2).

The influence of women on the SAB continued to grow in 1988 with 19 female members alongside the same male directors. In the 1987 FD issue of the Ring-tum Phi, writer, Marshall Boswell, wrote the history of one of the biggest events in southern higher education. He explains that the event today was inspired by Fancy Dress hops that were held around the region and the unofficial ‘fancy dresses’ held off-campus that influenced Annie Jo White to create Fancy Dress as we know it today (Boswell 4).

In 1987, the social pressure for women getting dates to Fancy Dress intensified with a resurgence of an anti-coed sentiment as identified by Steven Pockrass in the 1987 FD issue of the Ring-tum Phi. Among other events on campus, including National Condom Week and an outbreak of crabs in the dorms, he is shocked by the anti-coed sentiments expressed by various men on campus. He writes, “obviously, they are bracing all of us for the announcement that the phrase ‘extending the bid’ is somehow sexist, and that to say it may be considered a major offense under university rules” (Pockrass 3).

Female students were also commenting on the “season for extended bids,” providing insight on the large social stigma around getting a date. Catherine McCubbin, staff reporter for the Phi,  writes, “Many people seem to think of FD as a do-or-die affair – either you DO go or you DIE of humiliation” (McCubbin 8). This pressure was enhanced by the introduction of women on campus in addition to the nationally renowned reputation held by Fancy Dress, resulting in extensive amounts of pressure to have fun. However, despite the social tensions, Fancy Dress, especially in hindsight, was seen as a fun, positive experience: “At least everyone seems to agree on one thing: FD should be a weekend to remember” (McCubbin 8). 
Potentially shocking to modern readers, there was no evidence of student or faculty disapproval of the 1988 theme in the Phis. However, it is clear that aspects of “The Dark Continent” created tension that contributed to the division between student groups on campus accelerated by the 1988 Fancy Dress.