Panty raid or riot? The campus newspaper reports Mass Riot Rocks Campus. But others claim spring fever. Either way, the events of that night set off a panty-raid craze at campuses around the nation.
The “mass riot,” as the Daily called it, drew a good deal of news coverage, even making the national newsmagazines. Within weeks, copycat episodes sprang up on other campuses, and a national “panty raid” craze ensued. The spontaneous swiping of women’s underwear that night at Alice Lloyd became a standard, planned practice that went on for ten years—the ritual seeking of trophies by men raiding women’s dormitories and sororities. Although the term “panty raid” apparently had been used earlier, it was the Michigan fracas that inspired the national fad.
For the full article, see James Tobin, “Panty Raid, 1952“, Michigan Today, July 15, 2008.
Michigan History : the Birth of the Panty Raid via Absolute Michigan