Io
Triumphe! is the
official Albion College yell or cheer. What began in the
late 1890s as a yell written by the Class of 1900, has
become one of Albion's most enduring tradtions. In
reference to the yell, Albion's website states "some
phrases were taken from other college yells, some from a
Greek play that had been presented on campus during that
period, and others were borrowed from the poems of the
Roman writer, Horace." Io
Triumphe was used
by both Roman troops and citizens and meant "Hail,
Triumphal Procession," or less formally, "Hurrah, O
Triumph." It is believed that parts of the yell were
inspired by Euripides' play Iphigenia
in Tauris. The
only change in 110 years has been the substitution in the
last line from "Juniors Rah!" to "Albion Rah!"
Around 1905 a student at Occidental College named Frank P.
Beal introduced the cheer Io
Triumphe! to his
fellow classmates. Mr. Beal who was from Albion must have
heard the cheer around the Albion College campus and
transported it all the way to his alma mater in Los
Angeles. Today students at both Albion in Michigan and
Occidental in California can be heard chanting what has got
to be America's most unique collegiate
cheer:
Io
Triumphe!
Here's how the yell Io Triumphe appears in Albion's 1900
yearbook,
Pegasus:
IO
TRIUMPHE! IO TRIUMPHE!
Haben swaben rebecca le aminor,
Whoop te-whoop te-sheller de-vere de-boom de-ralde-i de-pa,
Hooneka-henaka-whack a-whack a-hob dob-
balde bora-bolda bara-con solmade-
Hob, dob, rah.
Juniors
Rah!
Io
Triumphe! Io Triumphe! Juniors Rah!
From the Albion College yearbook:
Pegasus 1900
The Class of 1900 wrote Io Triumphe! as their class cheer
most likely during their freshman year in
1896-7.
Editor
Note-
Annuals were published each year by the Junior Class, so
the 1900 yearbook named
Pegasus 1900
was actually published during the school year of 1898-99.
Another example is an annual called
The Nebula '97.
The inside page states:
1895-6
The Nebula published for Albion College by the Class of
'97
Folding
Paper Megaphone
Circa 1921-1924
Printed
on two sides:
Side 1. OUR YELLS - IO TRIUMPHE
Side 2. Albion Alma Mater
1927
booklet
Io Triumphe!