When the freshmen arrive on campus they were quickly introduced to the tradition by members of the junior class. Within days of the arrival a freshmen paint crew would have attempted to paint their class numerals on the Tank. The first major event of the year was the mass meeting of the freshmen class in the chapel in University Hall. The meeting was presided over by president of the junior class. During the meeting the junior class representatives gave a history of the tradition and undoubtedly tactics were discussed. A Scrap Leader and a Yell Leader were elected. Class yells included such inspiring poetics as Rah! Rah! Rip! Rip! Rip! Reven! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Nineteen-Eleven! Even more so were the Tank Scrap yells, such as Rah! Rah! Eat em alive! 1-9-1-5
The Tank painters of the Class of 1904 gather in front of the Tank.
Source: "04's as Tank Painters," 1904 Debris (Lafayette: The Senior Class of Purdue University, 1904): 288.
