Father Miceli and Curfew
by mkovac (2005-11-09 01:07:25)

In reply to: your greatest campus prank?  posted by FightOnForMorrissey


Here is a Father Miceli story from the middle 60’s

Father Miceli, Cavanaugh Hall and Curfew:

Father Miceli was the rector at Cavanaugh and was a real hardass. He would write students up just for fun.

Curfew was something like 10 PM back in those days. With not much to do on campus, most students would make it back to their dorm in time to sign in with the security guard assigned to each hall without too much difficulty. But there were the times when students just could not get back in time.

So the Cavanaugh residents worked out a system where they would tap at the windows of the first floor residents, who would open up and let them in. If no one was home in one room, they would go down the line until someone helped them.

Father Miceli got wind of this and decided to put an end to it.
One night, he dressed up in black street clothes and crouched outside a first floor room after curfew and tapped at the window, tossing a stone to reach to the window. The students opened the window and from below, in the dark, Father Miceli pretended to be a student. He asked if the students would let him in, and the student said sure. When they realized they were looking down at Father Miceli, they blanched and Father Miceli wrote their names down for “later.” He then went to the room next to the one he had just busted and proceeded to engage the students in a similar fashion. After this went on for about 3 rooms, the students who had been busted went and warned the next ones in line.

By the time Father Miceli went to about the 5th room, the following scene played out:

Father Miceli tosses a pebble up to the window. The students look outside. They crack the window open and whisper, “Who’s there?” Father says, “Hey, I need to get inside, let me in!” The student nearest the window says, “No way, I don’t want to get in trouble with Father Miceli!” Miceli says, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.” The student opens the window and says, ‘OK, come here.” As Miceli stands right in front of the window the other student tosses a trashcan full of cold water onto Miceli’s head.

Miceli was royally pissed but couldn’t do anything , as the students’ excuse was they were trying to enforce the curfew rules.