USU sets the pace for college traditions
Utah State University has long been known for its
traditions.
Things like kissing on the “A,” attending Homecoming and participating in the Aggie Stampede have been a part of USU for decades.
Other universities look to the Aggies for their traditions, said Mike Brockbrader, the Associated Students of Utah State University organizations and traditions vice president.
“Most of the traditions that we come up with are copied statewide,” he said. “But they can’t do things to the size we can because of our reputation.
He said USU sets the standard in Utah for traditions. It is how Aggies try to separate themselves from other schools without traditions.
One thing that has been copied by other schools is the tradition of becoming a True Aggie.
“Everybody has a true something now. We started that back in 1916, and I don’t think anyone can beat us on that one,” he said.
The True Aggie ‘A’ near Old Main was built in 1916 by the Be-nos, a club that was started in Salt Lake City by a group of high school students.
Their principal told them there could “be no clubs,” so they called themselves the Be-nos, Brockbrader said.
Be-nos attended USU and took their club with them. To join the club, one had to kiss a girl on the ‘A’ at midnight under a full moon, Brockbrader said.
Students can still become True Aggies by kissing someone who is already a True Aggie on the ‘A’ under a full moon at midnight or by kissing anyone on at ‘A’ at midnight the night of Homecoming or A-day, he said.
According to an ASUSU poll in which 450 people had voted, 48 percent said they are True Aggies.
Utah State students once broke the world record for the most couples kissing at the same place at the same time during the Homecoming dance, although a group in Canada broke USU’s record six months later, Brockbrader said.
Becoming a True Aggie is something many freshman look forward to.
“Kissing on the ‘A’ is part of getting ‘in,'” Brockbrader said.
Those in the ranks of the True Aggies include President Kermit L. Hall and Celestial Starr Bybee, the president of ASUSU.
Another tradition at Utah State is that of Paul Bunyan, the mascot of the College of Natural Resources. He is a 12-foot-tall wooden statue forestry students made out of a giant tree. The statue weighs over a ton, said Dax Mangus, the student senator for the college.
Bunyan shows his face every year during the College of Natural Resources Week, and gets stolen by engineering students every year, Mangus said. His first appearance was in 1939.
The statue’s most recent kidnaping occurred Friday night following NR Week, he said.
In the past, the engineering students have covered him in concrete, put him in a giant diaper and hung him. Natural resources students have retaliated by letting sheep loose in the engineering building and filling an engineering classroom with crickets and straw, Mangus said.
The pranks began when Paul was kidnaped and held for ransom during his first appearance. When the students from the College of Natural Resources refused to give other students tickets to Paul’s Ball, which is now known as Logger’s Ball, Paul was hung, according to the College of Natural Resource Web page.
The natural resources students keep Bunyan’s hiding place a secret to protect him from the engineering students.
“We kind of expect them to take him, but we want it to be at least on our terms,” Mangus said.
Paul also leaves his footprints around campus every year.
“He walks around campus,” Mangus said. “Every year, students spray paint footprints. This year, if you look closely, there’s a tiny engineer that got squished by him in each footprint.”
Another tradition that has died in recent years is the Aggie Stampede before football games.
“It used to be that we’d have a big party up on the Quad. Before a game we’d meet at the ‘A’ and walk down to the game together,” Brockbrader said. “Now it’s so competitive to get a front-row seat we don’t do it anymore. Over the past 10 years, it’s faded completely away, and we’re struggling to keep it going.”
Mardi Gras is a newer version of an old tradition. It took the place of Casino Night three or four years ago.
“It used to be Casino Night, but [people] didn’t like that title, so we switched it to Mardi Gras,” Brockbrader said. “It’s amazing it picked up that fast. It’s free, and we get 3,000 to 4,000 students out.”
Hello Walk is the sidewalk between Old Main to the Animal Science Building. On a specified day, usually during Hello Week, everybody students pass on that sidewalk they say “hello” to. It used to be that students said hello year-round, but that has changed as the school has grown, Brockbrader said.
Homecoming traditions include Mr. USU, the parade, street painting, Homecoming royalty, the dance and the football game.
Mr. USU started about seven years ago and has been going strong ever since, Brockbrader said.
“It’s getting a lot more competitive these days,” he said. “They have to learn dances, but they get the title, a ring and several other prizes.”
Homecoming royalty has been around for decades but has changed recently from a pageant to an award of achievement, Brockbrader said.
“We changed it three years ago. Now it’s more of an individual-achievement award,” he said. “It’s a great way to honor students that have worked hard for this university.”
As far as street painting goes, 65 clubs and organizations participated. The Homecoming game is usually a sell-out, 30,000 people. And 3,000 students usually go to the dance, Brockbrader said.
Other Aggie traditions include the Fight Song, Aggie Ice Cream, “A-Day” and WOW Week.
Utah State is full of tradition, and new traditions will continue to be made, Brockbrader said.
“Tradition at a university brings involvement, and involvement increases retention,” he said. “Ag Colleges have always been founded on traditions, and we’re still establishing new traditions.”
-kcartwright@cc.usu.edu