Judge — February 10, 1917 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a single-panel cartoon depicting a winter scene on a college campus. Two figures, Maude and Henry, watch a university band perform in the snow, with a domed building (likely a university landmark) visible in the background. The joke plays on the ambiguity of "positions" in two different contexts. Henry's response conflates football terminology ("left halfback") with band instrumentation ("right trombone"), treating musical instrument assignments as equivalent to athletic positions. The humor derives from this absurd comparison—suggesting that joining the band or playing an instrument carries the same prestige or appeal as being a football player, a major status symbol at American universities during this era (likely early 1900s). The satire gently mocks college culture's obsession with both athletics and social status.