You open your window and check to see if you'll need to wear duck boots and your winter coat or if you can wear your favorite faded T-shirt and ripped jeans. It's the same old routine everyday -- except on Tuesdays for members of the Ancient and Honorable League of Windsor.
Second-year College student Nathan Cook founded the Ancient and Honorable League of Windsor two months ago. Its members can be recognized by their strict observance of a Tuesday "Day of Raiment."
Cook said that, since they have not had a full meeting yet, he estimates that group membership is between 30 and 45.
"We dress up every Tuesday to go to classes. The purpose of our League, the main purpose, be it a small one, is to essentially look nice when we go to class," he said.
The purpose of the organization is to help boost the University's image and show respect for professors, he added.
"If everyone went to class dressed up, in either a blazer or khakis, or a dress, that would be one more tradition that the University would be known for," Cook said.
Cook himself usually wears a button-down shirt and a tie to class.
The mission statement of the Ancient and Honorable League of Windsor addresses the Day of Raiment, stating that, "It is the fervent hope of the League's founders that the activity will both add to the aesthetic beauty of Mr. Jefferson's University and augment its prestige."
Even the name of the League calls attention to its aspirations.
"The title is modeled on the Ancient and Royal St. Andrew's Golf Course in Scotland," Cook said.
Cook said his decision to form the club came quite easily.
"Last semester, being on Student Council, I had a lot to do with CIOs in general. I knew how easy it was to create one. I just thought, 'Why not create one? Really, why not?' I thought it would be fun."
Once Cook made the decision, the League formed shortly thereafter.
"I pounded out a constitution, filled out the necessary paperwork, and there you have it," Cook said. "I would encourage everyone to start a CIO. It's fun ... it's fulfilling."
From those beginnings, the League evolved to its present form. Meetings will be conducted according to parliamentary procedure. The members are known as lords and ladies, and all of the founding members are granted titles of nobility.
But if the origin of the name seems ancient and honorable, the organization of the League also attempts to call to mind nobility.
"Instead of having a president and vice president, we have a prime minister and deputy prime minister. The treasurer is the chancellor of the exchequer," Cook said.
Other positions include the lord privy of the seal and the lord chancellor.
Cook said the use of titles gives the organization a traditional quality.
"We will have an investiture ceremony with a lot of rituals to it ... Ancient rituals, going back a long way."
The titles are taken from the 28 duchies of the United Kingdom. Cook himself is the Duke of Wales. Other titles now held include the Duchess of York, the Duchess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Richmond.
Members who join this semester will be known as founding members and are eligible to receive a title of nobility.
"You can get a title of nobility upon special, meritorious service to the League," Cook said.
Fourth-year Engineering student Jessica Reed was given the title of the Duchess of Richmond when she joined the organization. Reed said her main motivation for joining was because of her friendship with Cook and the fact that she enjoys dressing up every now and then.
"Nathan pushed me into it," she joked. "They have fun and I enjoy dressing up."
Membership is not limited to University students. Faculty members can join, as can students at other schools. One member of the League attends Princeton University. The only requirement for membership is the observance of the Tuesday Day of Raiment.
The League hopes to soon expand from only dressing up on Tuesdays.
"Our plan, for this semester, is to have a formal dinner, possibly black tie," Cook said.
While the details involved with such an event have not yet been decided, Cook said the long-term goals of the League are more ambitious.
"My vision for the League's future is to create a lot of traditions that we observe, a lot of rituals. The one hard and fast mission is to observe our Day of Raiment," he said.
He added that having only one required ritual "allows the organization to evolve. We don't want to become old and stuffy."
The founders' hopes, Cook said, are that, "As Winston Churchill once said, 'Should the League last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
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