Queen For a Day

ALTHOUGH THE LAST Queen of the Snows was crowned during the 1972 Winter Carnival, her silverand-stainless-steel tiara remains a revered object for nostalgic older alumni, who seek it out when they visit campus. Those who do find ' it learn a little-known factyou no longer have to compete to wear the tiara. Call it a triumph of populism, if you will. The tiara, housed in the Rauner Special Collections library, can be tried on by anyone during library hours. (The same is true of Daniel Webster's hat, though archivist Peter Carini doesn't recommend it. "It's kind of skanky," he says.)

Through March 3 Rauner is presenting an exhibit about the 1939 film Winter Carnival in celebration of the acquisition of the papers of screenwriter Budd Schulberg '36. Alas, the tiara won't be part of the show: It wasn't made until a decade after the film.