<p>What are some of the best traditions you guys have heard about or experienced. At what college? I'll start off with some common ones: walking through an arch only twice ,during orientation and graduation & getting dunked in a fountain on a birthday</p>
<p>Texas A&M has a lot of cool traditions IMO</p>
<p>Caltech’s famous “Ditch Day”</p>
<p>Purdue has a few. Running through the Engineering Mall fountain. Walk across the same railroad tracks before Orientation and before Graduation. There are a few more like sledding down Slayer Hill which is a very steep hill.</p>
<p>wake forest rolls their quad after big wins</p>
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<p>yes, that’s one of my favorite Pomona traditions. Ski/Beach day is another</p>
<p>Northwestern has a lot. At 9 o’clock on the Sunday before every finals week, all the students go outside their dorms for “the scream.” It’s just what it sounds like: everyone screams as loud as they can at the exact same time. It’s supposed to relieve the stress of finals week.</p>
<p>There’s also the painting of The Rock. It started off as a drinking fountain, but students kept painting over it, and now it looks like a giant boulder. Anyone can paint it - an official club or team, or just a group of friends, whatever. The thing is, you have to “guard” it for 24 hours before you paint it, so people take turns sleeping in a tent next to it before they paint it.</p>
<p>There’s also the claw, where during a football game, everyone raises their hand in the shape of a claw and screams. It’s cooler than it sounds.</p>
<p>This year they started the “March to the Arch,” where new students walk under the arch during orientation. This one isn’t terribly special, though, because it’s not like you only walk through it twice. People walk under it every day to get to different places on campus.</p>
<p>That’s all I can think of for now…I’ll post more later if I can think of them.</p>
<p>Elon has a nice tradition.</p>
<p>Elon means Oak Tree in Hebrew, so all freshmen are given an acorn when they first arrive. When they graduate they are given a baby oak tree to symbolize their growth from an acorn to a tree. Then they plant it when the move into their first home, parents home, etc… so they can see their progress through life.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill’s big traditions:</p>
<p>-Rushing Franklin Street after a big win
-Streakers in the undergraduate library every semester on the day before final exams start
-Huge flash raves in the libraries during the reading days</p>
<p>streaking the lawn at uva! it’s surprisingly long, and of course you’re running uphill on the way back (when you’re already exhausted from the trip down the lawn). </p>
<p>and steamtunneling, can’t forget that one.</p>
<p>Maryland’s got a tradition of leaving gifts at the feet of the statue of Testudo (our mascot) outside of the big library during exam weeks. And rubbing his nose for good luck!</p>
<p>@lynbrook that’s really cool.</p>
<ul>
<li>everyone jumps in the fountain after graduation</li>
<li>strawberry festival, end of every spring semester, where we attempt to serve NYC’s longest strawberry shortcake…idk how this got started </li>
</ul>
<p>UNC-Chapel Hill has so much school spirit. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t turned them down - if only I was in-state or had gotten a scholarship! :/</p>
<p><strong><em>SUNGOD FESTIVAL!</em></strong></p>
<p>during finals week:
primal screams
undie run</p>
<p>When Hampshire College students complete the final requirements for their degree, they ring a large bell installed outside the library. The story goes that if you ring the bell before then, you will never graduate.</p>
<p>In the spring, students hide a number of beer kegs in the woods surrounding the college, then everyone else grabs a mug and sets off on the Easter Keg Hunt.</p>
<p>Hampshire Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year, with outlandishly creative costumes, music festivals, and the use of controlled substances. The campus is fenced off and only students or invited guests with tickets may attend. Some students scalp their tickets for big bucks.</p>
<p>Dolphy Day.</p>
<p>I have only heard legends (as I’m just a freshman)…but I’m super excited for it! Supposedly it’s gonna be the second week of April.</p>