American education is second to none, and more and more people are choosing to immigrate to the United States for their children's education. After successfully entering American universities, immigrant children can witness many unique and quirky traditions of American universities. From campus smoke clubs to midnight serenades, these crazy nights are among the best parts of university life in America. Below, I will highlight some of the universities in the United States that have the most bizarre traditions.
1. Virginia Tech: Military Cadets vs. Regular Students Snowball Fight
A few years ago, Virginia Tech required all able-bodied male students to participate in the Reserve Officer Training Corps. It is no longer mandatory, but this school is one of the few where military cadets and regular students live and study together. This has led to the school's most bizarre tradition: the annual "Military Cadets vs. Regular Students" snowball fight.
Typically, after the first major snowfall of the year, participants gather on the Drillfield lawn, and with the sound of the fire alarm, the "war" begins, resulting in a flurry of flying snowballs. Well-prepared students even bring water balloon launchers, while military cadets are trained and form ranks. This bloody battle can be somewhat brutal, with students often seen with bloody noses. However, most students consider this major event an excellent way to meet new friends and a sign of the start of enjoying winter.
2. Cornell University: Dragon Day
Cornell's high-pressure atmosphere is well-known. So when Cornell students come up with various bizarre ways to relieve stress, we can only express our understanding. The annual Dragon Day is a spectacle. The festival takes place on the Friday before spring break. Students from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning dress up and parade a giant model dragon around campus for a week, culminating at the Arts Quad. Once there, the model dragon is set ablaze among the reveling students. This already sounds quite strange.
This day also highlights the rivalry between the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and the College of Engineering, as engineering students follow the parade, mocking architecture students and playing a significant role in the final design of the dragon's structure.
3. Reed College: Renn Fayre Day
Reed College students have always taken pride in their uniqueness. Their annual traditions prove this point. The end of the year is particularly active with two major events. The Thursday before "Renn Fayre Day" is the Seventh Annual Nitrogen Day. On this day, the school celebrates nitrogen, the seventh element on the periodic table, which is crucial yet often overlooked, with music, free food, and haiku readings. After this homage to chemistry, the aforementioned "Renn Fayre Day" follows.
The original purpose of this festival was to make the entire campus a faithful replica of the European Renaissance, lasting only one day. Now, "Renn Fayre Day" has extended to a three-day festival, starting with seniors burning their papers. In the following days, "Renn Fayre Day" features many activities, including live-action chess, nude slip-and-slide, and bicycle jousting, but the most spectacular event is the glow-in-the-dark play. Performances are conducted in the dark, with students using glowing lines and glow sticks.
4. Barnard College: Enjoying Midnight Breakfast
Barnard College's tradition targets the most vulnerable aspect of college students—their stomachs. While some students relieve the stress of finals by throwing off their clothes or roaring around campus, Barnard students enjoy a midnight breakfast. Delicious breakfast foods are distributed by faculty and staff to students studying outside. Each breakfast has its own theme, and the entire community comes together to help, with even the president serving.
The most impressive and unexpected aspect is the making and eating of the traditional giant sandwich. Each year, students create a massive sandwich that stretches across the entire campus and eat it when the meal is complete. Each year, the sandwich grows by one foot in length, and it has now exceeded one mile. Freshmen may very well consider giving up the battle against the "Freshman 15" at this point.
5. University of Colorado Boulder: Campus Smoke Club
Fairly speaking, the tradition at the University of Colorado Boulder makes Tufts University's naked run look like an ice cream social. The school administration may not acknowledge it, but the 4/20 celebration is famous for its scale and impact. Every April, nearly 10,000 students and outsiders gather at the school's Norlin Quad to participate in what can be considered one of the largest campus smoke clubs in America.
While some students appear at the event firmly supporting marijuana legalization, others simply want an opportunity to relax before finals. The administration does not set campus policies for revelers but has gradually been reducing the scale of the event. Although it is unlikely that all students will comply, the event was prohibited from being open to outsiders in 2012 to ensure better order.
6. University of Connecticut: Oozeball Mud Volleyball Championship
Students at the University of Connecticut are passionate about sports, especially basketball. Like any school that loves competitive sports, all students sing fight songs during games. Of course, you can find this feature at many schools, but the UConn Huskies excel in their love for basketball, along with other traditions that make them stand out.
For example, Oozeball, the mud volleyball championship created by the University of Connecticut, has been held for nearly 30 years. UConn students gather every spring in teams of six, usually three men and three women. With hundreds of spectators, this group of onlookers generally wants to stay clean while watching their classmates roll around in a specially designed 8-foot mud court. After a day of competition, the winning team receives a cash prize, but they will likely spend several days cleaning off the mud.
7. Vassar College: The Singing of Serenades
Compared to other schools, Vassar College takes a serious attitude towards their crazy traditions. In fact, most of the activities have existed since the school's early years. Today, perhaps the strangest tradition, which has changed the most from its origins, is the singing of serenades. Originally called "The Singing of Serenades," this event invites each class to participate, with competing classes performing their original songs during a campus parade. The singing activity still continues today.
Freshmen typically poke fun at upperclassmen in their lyrics. However, the orderly parade has transformed into a food fight with ketchup and chocolate syrup flying everywhere. In recent years, the collateral damage from the condiment battles has become increasingly severe, leading the school administration to decree that only water can be used, turning the sticky melee into a water balloon fight.
8. Occidental College: Birthday Dousing
Occidental College's strangest tradition may not be as unique as those of other schools on this list, but it certainly leaves a lasting impression on every student. It is called birthday dousing, and as the name suggests, it is straightforward. Every year on students' birthdays, they are taken to the Lucille Gilman Memorial Fountain, designed and built by former sculpture professor George Baker in 1979 with the help of students.
Birthday students are usually taken by surprise or hurriedly called away at any time during the day—some students are even taken to the fountain during class for a commemorative spray. But students with birthdays in December and January need not worry too much; being located in Los Angeles means you are more likely to find a refreshing feeling rather than discomfort from the cold.
9. Tufts University: Naked Quad Run
Since the 1970s, Tufts University students have used the night before winter reading period, just before exams begin, as an opportunity to throw their warnings and pants into the air. This is called the campus Naked Quad Run. This tradition began when Tufts University, then an all-male school, merged with Jackson College, an all-female school, and has continued for over 30 years.
Unfortunately, like many college nude activities, due to safety concerns, the naked run was banned by the administration after 2010. To avoid being stopped, students held an "Overly Dressed Campus Parade" in December 2011 instead. Whether this new form of the tradition will be accepted remains to be seen. However, at least it allows everyone to cope more comfortably with Boston's winter. It is better to wear more than less.
10. Northwestern University: The Original Scream
When a school appropriately adopts the wildcat as its mascot, Northwestern University students exhibit far more than a hint of animalistic behavior when practicing this tradition. During football games, when the opposing team has possession of the ball, Northwestern students mimic their mascot by roaring and waving their arms in the air (the act of throwing marshmallows onto the field is a thing of the past). Three times a year, on the Sunday night before finals week at 9 PM, students participate in the Original Scream to temporarily relieve the tension brought on by exams.
This scream undoubtedly makes those unfamiliar with this tradition think it is a horrific sound. Finally, there is Mayfest, a spring tradition celebrating "the May Queen's renunciation of the earthly world in pursuit of the spiritual." Mayfest culminates on Armadillo Day, which was established in 1972 by a group of Northwestern University students from Texas to celebrate one of their state's representative animals. Today, Armadillo Day is an all-day party with free food and lakeside concerts. However, its distinctly non-Chicago origins always feel a bit strange.
