Judge — January 19, 1901 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes college hazing practices through exaggerated caricature. Uncle Sam (identifiable by the striped pants and top hat on the left) appears to be subjecting a dark-figured character to rough treatment, while Liberty (the winged female figure on the right, referencing the Statue of Liberty) observes with apparent disapproval, holding her torch aloft. The caption states the depicted hazing "will meet with public approval," likely meant ironically. The cartoon critiques both college hazing rituals and, through the Uncle Sam figure, suggests American institutions or authorities engaged in similar abusive practices—possibly referencing contemporary military or imperial contexts. The satire condemns these violent initiation practices as fundamentally un-American, despite any claimed justification.