Virginia Tech University: Corps of Cadets Traditions, Ring Dance, and Sophomore Night

            Virginia Tech is a college rich in culture, largely due to their military heritage dating back to its founding in 1872. Their military heritage is still in existence today, which influences many of the traditions of the university. Some of the traditions include the Corps of Cadets traditions, the ring dance, and sophomore night. 

            Many people consider the Corps of Cadets to be the keeper of traditions at Virginia Tech. One of the traditions of the Corps is the mentor relationship between the freshmen and the juniors. This relationship works both ways. The freshmen will help the junior cadets by supporting them through all the phases of the Ring Dance. The juniors will help the freshmen cadets by acting as a mentor through their first year as a cadet at Virginia Tech. Another tradition of the Corps is turn about day, now called shadow day. Shadow day is when the freshmen and the upperclassmen switch roles for a day. So the freshmen class is in charge, and the upperclassmen revert back to the role of a freshman cadet. The purpose of this tradition is to give the freshmen a glimpse into the responsibilities they will have as they progress up the ranks.

            The ring dance is another tradition at Virginia Tech that dates back to 1934, with the Class of 1935. Once couples enter the dance, they receive two ribbons. The lady will wear her date’s ring on her wrist with the darker ribbon, and the man will wear his date’s ring on his wrist with the lighter ribbon. Later in the night, the couples will exchange rings while the Corps of Cadets stands in the ballroom in the shape of the class number.

            Sophomore night is another tradition at Virginia Tech that goes along with the history of the college. During the first fifty years of Virginia Tech’s history, student discipline was a challenge for the university’s administration and faculty. This actually led to the dismissal of two presidents at Virginia Tech. Sophomore night emerged from this challenging situation. This was one night during the year where the sophomore class of cadets would try to outdo the previous sophomore classes in the amount of mischief and destruction they could cause. This tradition ended in 1925 when sophomores took cows to the top floor of barracks, put a variety of farm vehicles and a horse drawn hearse on the roof of barracks, and brought two steam rollers for a bullfight. They also drove a grocery truck down a stairway to a basement and pulled a fire hose reel up a flagpole on campus. This sophomore night resulted in strong disciplinary action from the current president of the university and ended the sophomore night tradition forever.

            For more information on Virginia Tech traditions please visit http://www.alumni.vt.edu/traditions/index.html (used as a source). 

University of Michigan: The ‘M’ Legend, Engineering Arch Nuptials, and Hash Bash

            The University of Michigan is full of interesting traditions and superstitions that relate to the school’s history and also connects the campus of students with the community around the campus. Two of the more superstitions at the University of Michigan are the ‘M’ legend and the engineering arch nuptials. A popular tradition of the University of Michigan’s campus is hash bash.

            The ‘M’ legend is a superstition known to students at the University of Michigan. The superstition states that stepping on the bronze ‘M’ in the middle of campus before your first blue book exam will cause you to fail that exam and possibly the class. Some students even avoid stepping on the bronze ‘M’ after their first blue book exam. There is a way to reverse the effect of this superstition; however, it is near impossible to do. The way to do this is to run from the Museum of Natural History on campus to the back of the Bell Tower and back. However, you must start this at the stroke of midnight and complete this task before the clock finishes its twelve chimes. The round trip distance between these buildings is about half a mile.

            Another superstition of the University of Michigan’s campus is the engineering arch nuptials. This superstition has a happier ending than the past superstition. This superstition states that if couples kiss underneath the engineering arch at midnight, then the couple will eventually get married. This does not happen as much with couples in college, but many alumni who get married on campus tend to use this arch as a part of their big day.

            A popular tradition at the University of Michigan is hash bash, which is essentially a huge street fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This tradition has been going on for over thirty years, and was created in an attempt to legalize marijuana. Now hash bash is an all day party with bands and hippie vendors.

            To learn more about the University of Michigan’s campus traditions visit http://www.unigo.com/articles/legends_of_the_university_of_michigan_campus/ (used as a source). 

Michigan State University: Beaumont Tower, Dairy Store, and the Scenery

            Michigan State University has many traditions that do not involve the athletic events and are treasured by the student body. One of the more interesting traditions, the Beaumont Tower, was funded by John Beaumont. He is a graduate of Michigan Agricultural College, which is now known as Michigan State University. Some of the interesting traditions of Michigan State University are the Beaumont Tower, the dairy store, and the beautiful scenery of the campus.

            Michigan State has an agricultural history reflected in the campus dairy store. This is a popular spot on campus for students and community members to relax on campus. At Michigan State, they sell their own ice cream and cheese at the dairy store. This is made on campus at the dairy plant.

            Michigan State’s large campus is full of beautiful scenery including elaborate gardens and the Red Cedar River. The Red Cedar River runs right through Michigan State’s campus and is a popular picnic spot among students. Michigan State’s campus is home to many gardens including the Beal Botanical Garden, which is located in the center of campus. Michigan State also houses the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden.

            The Beaumont Tower was built in 1928 where the first building on campus once stood. The tower was later renovated in 1996. The Beaumont Tower contains 49 bells today. In 1928, when the tower was constructed, the first ten bells were installed. Later in 1935, thirteen more bells were added, which made the instrument a carillon. The Beaumont Tower is open to the public on certain days of the week and the day of the Homecoming game. Most students and fans say climbing the Beaumont Tower is a great experience.

            For more information on Michigan State and their traditions visit: http://www.cqql.net/msu-tower.htm and http://undergrad.msu.edu/landmarks-traditions (used as a source).

University of California: Full of Academic and Social Traditions

The University of California has many types of college traditions. They have traditions relating to football such as pep rallies and other traditions relating to the rivalry against Stanford University. However, they also have academic traditions and social traditions relating to the atmosphere of the student body.

Two of the academic traditions of the University of California are the 4.0 ball and the angel of death. The 4.0 ball is a newer tradition, even though it is a stone ball that is more than a century old. A few years ago, the student body began referring to the stone ball as the “4.0 ball.” They thought that if you rubbed it right before an exam it would be good luck. The angel of death is an older tradition, which is no longer haunting the student body. The University of California used to post academic deficiency notices openly on a bulletin board on campus. The person in charge of putting up the notices was referred to as the “angel of death.” Now the notices are distributed privately.

The University of California also has several social traditions to promote unity within the student body. Three of these social traditions are the freshmen – sophomore brawl, the sophomore lawn, and senior week. The freshmen – sophomore brawl started in 1907 and involve the freshmen and sophomore men dressing in their oldest clothes. They meet on an athletic field and take part in many competitions such as jousting, tying competitions, and a tug of war. In the mid 1960’s women students began taking part in this tradition, which is held every year. The sophomore lawn is an older tradition, which does not take place any more. The sophomore men would gather on this lawn to haze the freshmen. The lawn is now used as a convenient napping spot for students. Senior week began in 1874 and involves the graduating class holding several farewell activities. Some of the activities include a farewell banquet, a Baccalaureate Sermon and the Senior Banquet. Seniors would also participate in a pilgrimage on their last morning as students. They would walk around the campus stopping at special landmarks to listen to speeches given by student leaders and beloved faculty members.

To learn more information about the University of California’s traditions visit: http://berkeley.edu/tour/life/traditions.html (used as a source for this post). 

Stanford University: Big Game, Battle of the Classes, and Screw your roommate

            Stanford University is a college with several traditions that bring the students together and great a fun atmosphere for the student body. One of Stanford’s biggest traditions is the Big Game, when the Stanford football team plays the California bears, which took place yesterday. Two other unique traditions of Stanford University are Battle of the Classes and Screw your roommate. Both of these traditions help bring the students together through different fun activities.

            The big game is a huge rivalry game between the California bears and the Stanford Cardinals. During the week of the big game, there are several activities to get the students pumped up about the football game. There are several pep rallies, appearances from the Stanford Band, a blood drive between Stanford and California.

            The battle of the classes is a fairly new tradition, which includes fun carnival games, class spirit, music, free food, and free t-shirts. The battle of the classes is when each undergraduate class competes in different events to determine which class is the best. The day starts out with several events including a dunk tank, corn hole, bocce, basketball tournament, and several carnival games. The day concludes with the balloon toss and the tug of war competitions. Classes accumulate points for each activity they win, and the team with the most points at the end of the day wins.

            Screw your roommate is a tradition that happens once a year per dorm building. Roommates will set each other up on blind dates, and most roommates try not to “screw your roommate” with a bad date. However, there have been some horror stories of bad dates. Dates can include bowling, ice skating, and mini golfing with everybody in your building plus their date.

             To find out more information about Stanford University’s traditions visit http://unofficial.stanford.edu/?page_id=1638 and https://www.stanford.edu/dept/pe/cgi-bin/battle-of-the-classes/ (both used as a source).

University of Wisconsin: “Jump Around” and Fifth Quarter

            Two Unique traditions of the University of Wisconsin are the fifth quarter and “Jump Around”. Both of these traditions take place at the football games and are fairly recent traditions in comparison to other school’s traditions. These traditions seem to get the fans into the game and having a fun time, whether the team is winning or losing the football game.

            The “Jump Around” Tradition happens between the third and fourth quarter of home football games. Starting in 1998, the band will play the song “Jump Around” at the end of the third quarter, and the students and fans will jump up and down (as the song suggests). In 2003, this tradition was suspended for a brief period of time while the football stadium was under construction. At the time, it was thought that the vibrations from the jumping might cause damages to the stadium. However, tests confirmed that they would not cause any damages, and the tradition was immediately restored.

            The fifth quarter tradition is very unique to the University of Wisconsin. After the games end, home or away, fans will stick around for a half an hour to listen to the band play excerpts from the halftime show as well as the University of Wisconsin fight song. This tradition started in 1969 as a postgame concert, as a form of entertainment for the fans on their way home. It then turned into a post game party as thousands of badger fans will stick around after each game to sing and dance to some of their favorite songs. These songs include traditional favorites “On, Wisconsin” and the Bud song.

            To learn more information about the University of Wisconsin’s traditions visit http://www.uwbadgers.com/trads/ , http://www.badgerband.com/traditions/fifthQuarter.php and http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballaz/a/glossary-jumparound.htm  (all used as a source of information)

Rocky Top, Torch Night, and All Sing

          The University of Tennessee is a campus rich of traditions relating to football games, as well as the campus itself. Tennessee football is known for good ole “Rocky Top”, which is their fight song. However; the University of Tennessee also has several traditions that enhance the experience of their students such as Torch Night and All – Sing.  

          The University of Tennessee’s unofficial fight song, “Rocky Top”, is well known to many college football fans. Tennessee’s Marching band, the Pride of the Southland Band, played it for the first time in 1972. This is when it became popular to the fans, so the Pride of the Southland played it more, and it eventually became the school’s fight song and one of more well known traditions of the University of Tennessee. In 1982, “Rocky Top” became one of Tennessee’s state songs.

          Torch night started as a Freshman Pledge Ceremony in 1925 and was not called the Freshman Torch night until 1929. This tradition was started in order to promote and establish more traditions on University of Tennessee’s campus. The tradition starts when the freshman class is called to the hill by a buglar in Ayres Tower. After this occurred, they would go to the campus’ main entrance and “give a yell” for the sophomores, and then proceed up the hill to stop and “give a yell” for the juniors. Then the seniors would meet the freshmen at the top of the hill, where the freshman would take an oath of loyalty to the University of Tennessee. At this point candles are lit, symbolizing the “Torch of Preparation” and the passing of the torch to the freshmen.

          Another tradition of the University of Tennessee is the singing competition called All-Sing. This tradition was started in 1932 in order to familiarize the student body with the University’s songs. All groups that compete in this competition must sing the University of Tennessee alma mater and another song selection of their choice. Other events that take place are a fiddling competition and a performance from the band.

          For more information on the University of Tennessee’s traditions visit their website: http://www.utk.edu/aboutut/traditions.shtml (used as a source).