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At Purdue University, there is a long-standing superstition that if you walk under the Bell Tower, where the university seal is, you will not graduate within four years.

Context

My informant is a 20 year old sophomore at Purdue University studying mechanical engineering. I was interested in learning about folklores surrounding other universities, and asked him if he could recall any fun ones he heard at Purdue. He shared that he learned about this superstition during his official freshman orientation, and that while he isn’t superstitious, he actively goes out of his way to walk around the tower just in case.

Analysis

What I found most interesting about this superstition is that compared to other university superstitions, which are often vernacular and informally transmitted throughout students, this legend was told to the students during their official freshman orientation. It may be possible that this legend started vernacular but became so famous that the university incorporated it as a “fun fact” at official meetings, which mirrors some of our lecture concepts of how folklore can often become commercialized, like Native American cultures often being popular costumes.

Another interesting component of this superstition is its function; at its surface, it functions as a warning with serious consequences, yet also creates a strong sense of school culture implicitly. To start, this superstition is transmitted to the new members of the Purdue students folk group, showing that it is an important element that only insiders can relate to. In addition, since the reason walking under this tower bringing bad luck is because it forces students to step on the university seal, it indirectly sends a message for the students to take pride and respect their university, as stepping on the official logo could symbolically be seen as a sign of disrespect.

Finally, such superstitions of not walking under a certain building or a touching a certain statue exists in various universities. Beyond the multiplicity of this genre of folklore, the fact that such superstitions continue to exist and influence the actions of students like my informant shows the power of long-standing folklore, regardless of the levels of belief. All in all, I find this tradition to have great cultural value in terms of school pride for students, but also a great exemplification of the key elements of folklore like multiplicity and the sense of belonging they create.