Student Handbooks, 1894-1996

The Student Handbooks (also known as Rook Guides, Rook Handbooks, or Rook Bibles) were published annually from the early 1900s through the mid-1980s and provided an introduction to incoming first-year students (known as rooks) to Oregon State University.  The handbooks include history and traditions, social regulations and expectations, student activities and services, and academic policies and procedures.

The handbooks include a variety of information that evolved during the 80-plus years that the handbook was published.  In the early years, the handbooks included a calendar; welcome to new students; information on the history of the College and its traditions; songs and yells that were used at athletic events; information about student government, publications, and organizations; and lists of fraternities and sororities.  The handbooks that were published by the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Christian Associations included extensive information about those organizations and their programs and activities.  Through the early 1940s, the handbooks had empty pages for notes as well as blank calendar or academic schedule pages.  Social regulations and tips were common in the handbooks from the beginning.  Student religious organizations and Corvallis churches were listed in the handbooks through the 1960s.

Beginning in the 1960s, the handbooks included more policies and procedures and the actual student regulations for Oregon State University as well as summary information about the full range of services available to students – such as student health, advising, counseling, and the bookstore.  Information about the University administration became more prominent in the handbook in the latter years.

Through the early 1920s, the handbooks were published by the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Christian Associations (YMCA and YWCA).  Publication of the handbook was assumed by the Associated Students of Oregon State University in the early-mid 1920s and continued to the mid-1970s, when responsibility for publication of the handbook shifted to the Office of Student Services.  In the late 1920s and 1930s, the professional journalism fraternity Sigma Delta Chi supervised publication of the handbook.  The 1933-1934 handbook specifically states that it includes activities of interest to both men and women and was published by the Associated Students and the Associated Women Students.

A separate Rook Bible, distinct from the Student Handbook, was published in 1919, 1920, and 1922 by the Vigilance Committee.  This Rook Bible was written by the sophomores of the Vigilance Committee to instill “true Beaver spirit” in the freshmen via this small booklet on the history and traditions of Oregon Agricultural College that also included songs and yells.  Beginning in 1923, the title “Student Handbook and Rook Bible” was used for several years. Rook Bible, Rook Handbook, and Rook Guide were used intermittently as part of the handbook title through the early 1960s.  Several handbooks in the mid-1960s have the title “Beaver Code”.

The earliest handbook in the collection was published in 1894 by the Young Men’s Christian Association.  It provides information about the Association, the College campus and Corvallis, literary societies, athletics, and the military department.  A brief note about the Cauthorn Hall Reading Association is included.

The latest handbook in the collection was published in 1996 for the 1996-1997 academic year by the Student Foundation, Student Alumni Association, and Memorial Union Program Council.  Excerpts from the 1943 Rook Handbook were reproduced in this issue.

Most of the student handbooks are available online in Oregon Digital.