True Aggie Night through history
Utah State would not be the same without its many traditions. Some are new, like chanting the “I Believe” cheer at basketball games in the Spectrum. Others are old, like seeing the lighted “A” on the tower of Old Main. But one of the best-known traditions at our school is known as True Aggie Night.
“It provides a physical and metaphorical connection between all of us in this glorious student body,” sophomore Logan Hager said. “Someday I will be one.”
The opportunity to become a True Aggie occurs at midnight on Homecoming, A-Day and nights when there is a full moon. Couples stand on the Block A, located just northwest of Old Main, kiss at the appropriate time and receive a card.
The cards read: “It is hereby certified that at the stroke of midnight on the night of (date), (your name) stood atop the “A” and while a full moon shone brightly down was promptly kissed by (name of person who you kissed) and shall be known forever more as a TRUE AGGIE and shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges that accompany this most esteemed title.”
While the process is recognized on campus, the regulations of this tradition haven’t always been so clear or well-known.
The Block A, which is a big part of the tradition, was originally erected on campus as the “headstone” of the Beno Club, according to the Encyclopedic History of Utah State University. The club, originally written “Be-No” in the 1916 Buzzer (USU’s yearbook), had the motto of “Non Sibi; sed omnibus” which is Latin for “not for oneself; but for all.”
The club’s commitment to “adding spirit and variety to life on the campus” transcended through the years as the club transitioned into a chapter of the Intercollegiate Knights in May of 1926, according to the 1926 Buzzer.
The Enclyopedic History of USU said the Block A has had many homes. Its first location was west of the Mechanic Arts Building in 1917. It was moved to the east end of the Quad in front of the old library in the late 1930s, according to the school’s website. When construction for the Merrill Library began in the 1960s, the monument was placed in storage until 1967, when it was placed near Old Main. In 1990 it was moved to its current location and stipulations for becoming an official True Aggie were outlined.
The tradition of kissing on Old Main Hill, however, extends farther back than the tradition of becoming a True Aggie.
Jeri McBride, from Hyrum, Utah, and Clair Woodward, from Franklin, Idaho, attended Utah State in the early 1950s. During their college years they met, fell in love and have now been married 58 years.
They said they had never heard of becoming True Aggies when they went to school here but do remember taking walks late at night and kissing by Old Main.
“I think that’s part of why I fell in love with him,” Jeri said. “Because it was so beautiful and so peaceful – we were isolated. There weren’t a lot of other people up there at 12 o’clock kissing in those days.”
The earliest records of True Aggie Night began appearing in the ‘70s. In 1972 the Utah Statesman said, “No girl is an official USU coed until she has been kissed on (the Block A),” according to the library’s encyclopedic history.
Folklore or collections of stories about the tradition date back to the 1970s as well. In a collection of folklore from Special Collections, Craig Hepworth, quoted in 1974, remembers becoming an “official Aggie” by kissing on the rock west of Old Main at midnight.
Debbie Rodarte in 1979 also became an “official Aggie” by kissing while standing on the Block A. Ana Marie Ivie said, in 1984, people must sit on top of the “A” at midnight to kiss and become a True Aggie.
According to the folklore collections, different people specified different days that were preferable to become a True Aggie. Some said weekends, while others said Wednesdays.
The various sources of folklore also specified different lengths required for the True Aggie kiss. In 1990, Neal Chambers said people must kiss for one minute while Chalyce Petersen said couples should continue their kiss until they “hear the fireflies clicking.”
The majority of stories do have a few things in common. Couples must kiss while standing or sitting on the Block A at midnight when there is a full moon.
However, not all True Aggie nights end up romantic or ideal.
Lisa (Simes) Rouse attended USU in the late 1970s. She and her two roommates became True Aggies in 1978 on the same night.
“What I remember is we had one willing guy, and all three of us became True Aggies on the same night,” Rouse said. “It was not really romantic, just funny.”
Rouse said she thought her experience was the “exception” to typical True Aggie experiences.
“I feel like it’s supposed to be a special experience,” Rouse said. “And it was not that special.”
Nickolee Boyer, a USU graduate, had her first experience with the tradition as a freshman in 1997.
“This boy asked me out to Homecoming, and I didn’t really know him,” she said. “I said yes and at 11:45, he was like, ‘Let’s go outside.’ I realized what was going on, and essentially told him ‘I’m not kissing you tonight.'”
Regardless of the outcome, most students would agree that becoming a True Aggie is an important part of being a student at Utah State.
– m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu