song of the present time be
overlooked:

I want to go back to Michigan,
To dear Ann Arbor town,
Back to Joe's and the Orient,
Back to some of the money I spent.

I want to go back to Michigan
To dear Ann Arbor town,--
I want to go back; I've got to go back,--
To Michigan.

This song has also been popular at Minnesota, it is said, where, during
the long period of Michigan victories in football which was at last
broken in 1919, it was sung with the same words but in a somewhat
different spirit.

The official colors of the University are maize and azure blue. Blue was
used officially by the University from early days; but it was not until
the class of 1867 chose the maize and azure blue as emblematic of the
University that the names of the colors were definitely fixed. As for
the colors themselves, they have varied widely, and it was not until
1912 that the exact shades were determined by a committee appointed by
the University Senate.

There is little doubt but that originally the colors were a deep blue
and the accepted color of Indian corn or maize, as is shown in the
ribbons on old diplomas and dance programmes. But gradually the colors
faded; the blue particularly, from almost a navy blue to a "baby blue,"
while the maize became an expressionless pale yellow. These colors were
entirely ineffective for decorations, and made it necessary for the
Athletic Association to employ shades entirely different from those
generally regarded as the true University colors. It is quite possible
that a misinterpretation of the words of the song "The Yellow and the
Blue" had something to do with the alteration from the original brighter
colors.

An inquiry into what "azure blue" really was, soon revealed the fact
that it was generally defined as the clear blue color of the sky or of
the sea reflecting it, and was further described as that of the
semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. Cobalt and prussian blue were also
given as synonyms. With this clear definition in mind, the committee was
able to fix the colors, and Michigan now has a clear deep blue and the
yellow of Indian corn, with the exact shades officially fixed by samples
preserved among the University's records.

CHAPTER X

FRATERNITIES AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Clubs and societies, organized for almost every conceivable purpose, lay
and academic, have always played an important role in undergraduate
affairs and have formed th