"It was one of those spontaneous ebullitions of high spirits that rarely animated the whole college body."   

Of all the articles published by Vermont Life during the 1950s and 1960s, the winter issue of the 1950 mentioned race in perhaps the most "obvious" of ways.  The article describes the Kake Walk, a longtime tradition at the University of Vermont that began in 1894 and lasted well into the 20th century. The original "Cake Walk" began as a dance that plantation slaves participated in the Antebellum South and was later replicated by UVM students. In their version of the Kake Walk, a number of students would paint their faces black and put on a performance for the rest of the student body and faculty. 

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Despite the clearly racial element of the Kake Walk, both historically and in its practice at UVM, the article explicitly avoids any and all mentioning of race, even as its pages are littered with pictures of students in black face. Rather, the article describes the Walk as a community-based activity, and focuses on the positive affects of the Walk on UVM's culture rather than its racial implications. 

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"One of the principle reasons why the Kake Walk was so successful was because there was much need at that period for better feeling. There were many groups or fraternities and rivalries were sharp, and sometimes carried too far. The Kake Walk was a happy diversion which tended to break up the spirit of aloofness and opened the doors to better college spirit." 

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The above passage is typical of the "Walkin' fo' de Kake" article, emphasizing the role of the Walk in building community rather than mentioning the dance's ties to race and racism. While Vermont Life seems to avoid discussing race in this article, the text is inherently racial by nature of the subject being discussed.  

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