Campus life has been richly expressed for over a century in editions of the University yearbook, Old McGill. A photograph of nearly every McGill student has been printed, either in a group Faculty photo or individual graduate portrait, in the publication’s many volumes.

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While candid photographs of student life and activities are a relatively recent addition, having first appeared in yearbooks of the 1930s, lively descriptions of favorite rituals have always featured prominently in the pages of Old McGill.

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One tradition of long standing was the Medical students’ banquet, vividly chronicled in every Old McGill from 1898 to 1918. These accounts invariably feature parades of outrageously costumed students; pompous, satirical speeches; and long-winded tributes to their "illustrious and ignoble potentate," James "King" Cook (whose official position was janitor of the Medical building).

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As Old McGill became an increasingly official publication, its reports on student revelry became more restrained. "Candid" photographs of campus events, extracurricular activities, and daily life in Residence halls replaced blow-by-blow accounts of riotous parties and in-jokes on every page; however, the yearbook continued, and continues, to offer vivid accounts of how students work and play at McGill.