University of Virginia Library

Sweater Tradition

For a while it seemed that they
had done so. But a hard core of
anti-establishment sweater wearers
kept their own tradition alive. But
they were among the less prestigious
elements in the student body,
whose pecking order was still
established by the traditional standards
of fraternity affiliation and
political clout.

Those standards depended, however,
on the basic conservatism of
the students and upon relative
isolation from the cross-currents
that were affecting student ideas
and customs in other parts of the
country. The rise of the student
movement, and the glamorization
of those who spearheaded it eliminated
some of the conservatism
and much of the isolation.