Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Fountain Run

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: EMT, Army ROTC, Social Worker
Residence: Connecticut
Performance Date: 24 April 2011
Primary Language: English

White/Jewish

Fordham University/University of Southern California

Army ROTC, EMT, Social Worker

Military Social Work

English

Connecticut

24 April 2011

USC senior tradition – Fountain Run

“So the Senior Fountain Run is a tradition at USC for graduating Seniors. It usually takes place on the night of the last Thursday of class. Basically, all Seniors gather at their friends’ places or on the row and pre game. After getting drunk, and waiting till it’s late enough, everybody taking part starts making their way to campus. People usually are dressed in swimsuits or crazy costumes, and carry some form of alcohol with them. I even saw one girl carrying an intertube and a blow up shark. As you get closer to campus, more and more people start gathering together. By the time we got to campus, we had a group of around 50 drunk people who were just yelling and running in the middle of the street. Basically, you run around and jump in all the fountains around the SC campus and drink at every fountain. There’s something like over 20 fountains, so it takes a little time to get them all. Some of them are even really hard to find.”

HS explained that first and foremost, the Fountain run is a celebration of senior hood and the impending graduation from college. It serves as a time when every Senior can get together and have a good time. As she put it, “there are no athletes, no sorority girls, no engineers, and no geeks. Everybody is celebrating the two things they have in common: being a Senior at USC, and being close to graduation.” HS explains that it is a period of time when it’s okay for people to get a little crazy. As a graduate student, HS said she learned about the Fountain run from Senior’s in the ROTC program with her. She explained that it had been a hot topic for several days between Seniors she met. During the Run she explains that someone identified her as a none graduating individual and questioned her validity of taking part. HS explained that as a Senior at Fordham University, her school didn’t have an event like this and she felt that she missed out.

As a Senior graduating this semester from USC, I did partake in the Fountain Run. I concur with the observations of the Fountain Run that HS made. As an undergraduate at USC, I had learned about the Fountain Run my Freshman year. While writing a paper, I heard a lot of screaming and running outside my window. Looking, I saw a lot of drunken people jumping in the fountains. For a Senior at USC, the fountain run is a pretty big deal. I had heard individuals talking about it more than a week in advance. Of the people I asked, no one knew when the fountain run started. Coordinating the run was conducted primarily through Facebook. This year was unique in that the fountain run happened a week earlier than usual. The reason was that the campus was preparing for the Book Fair, and the administration warned students ahead of time. This combined with the fact that DPS officers and police officers made little effort to stop the run, shows the administration saw the inevitability of this event and made efforts to stop Senior from destroying the tents being set up. For Seniors, as a group, the fountain run is a unique tradition at USC that marks someone as a Trojan and a Senior, who is having their last hurrah. While other students from other years take part, they are largely left alone. Though this could be because most of the people there are too drunk and having too much fun to care. Below is a hyperlink of a Fountain Run from a prior year. In it you can see that people are chanting, and jumping around celebrating.

http://youtu.be/07mav_JHEXk

Rugby Song: I Used to Work Chicago

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Rugby song “I used to work Chicago”

Transcription (because it would not be the same if not sung in context)

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

First person: “A woman came into the store looking for an abortion.”

Everyone: “An abortion from the store?”

First person: “An abortion she wanted, a kick down the stairs she got!”

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

Second person: “A woman came into the store looking for a necklace”

Everyone: “A necklace from the store?”

Second person: “A necklace she wanted, a pearl necklace she got!” (cue masturbation hand motion)

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

Etc.

CG explains that the Rugby song, and songs like it, is a definite part of the rugby experience and rugby traditions at USC. He mentions that he doesn’t think that that it particular to just USC rugby, and he believes that he once heard another rugby player from another school mention it. CG explains that the context to the performance of this song is very important. The songs are generally only sung when there is a large gathering of rugby players and there are copious amounts of alcohol. The purpose of the event, in his words, is to have a good time while getting really drunk. CG mentions that the majority of the rugby songs are raunchy, sexist, and offensive. He explains that it is all in good fun and in no way should be taken seriously.  He explains that the culture of rugby is defined by a duality: one offensive and dirty, the other “gentlemanly.” To explain this, CG stated, “You know how soccer is described as a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans? Well, rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen.”

Looking at the song, and having witnessed the context that it was performed; I find that the significance behind it as reported by CG is logical. The song, without a doubt is offensive, and borders on inappropriate. However, I believe this is the reason that the rugby team sings it. In a way, the team is looking to push/test the boundaries of what is appropriate in society. It is supposed to be shocking, as participants will often comment on just how bad it is. I also agree with the statement that it is not inherently meant to be offensive. I have personally seen it performed with women present, and none of them seem offended. The purpose of the song is to be purposefully offensive, and specifically sexual. The fun comes from the fact that the participants are shouting things that are considered taboo. And in some sense, the women present find this attractive. CG told me, “the girls love it. We’d be singing some of the other songs and girls would request us to sing this one.” The second purpose of the song is to test members on rugby “lore.” After one person completes a line, another person is picked out to recite another line. If the person fails or stumbles, everybody dips there hands into their beer and throws it at the individual yelling, “Redeem thyself” until they can think of a new line. The song is a way for the team to include younger individuals and make them feel apart of a larger group.

The hyperlink below is an example of some of the verses to the song.

http://youtu.be/WPyKJxSJ2TY

Beer Pong Rules

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, Pa
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Beer pong-rugby team rules

-10 cups per side

-2 beers per side

-2 players per team, 2 teams per game

– the elbow of the shooter cannot pass the edge of the table when shooting

-make 2 balls in two different cups=both balls back and the two cups made are pulled

-make 2 balls in same cup= both balls back and three cups pulled from the game

-if a person misses and the ball rolls past the midpoint of the table back towards the shooting side, the shooter can pick up the ball and shoot the ball from “behind the back”

-if the shooter bounces the ball into a cup, two cups are pulled from the game

– if the ball is bounced, the opposing team can swat the ball away

– if the ball is spinning around in the cup, and hasn’t touched the beer, a male can flip the ball out with two fingers. If female the player can blow the ball out.

-if a player makes two consecutive shots over 2 turns, that person states “heating up”

-If a player make 3 consecutive shots over three turns, and said “heating up” after making two in a row, the player can say “on fire.” When “on fire” a player shoots the ball until he misses.

– If a player makes the last cup, the opposing team gets a “rebuttal” and shoots till they miss. (1) If the opposing team falls to make the all the cups from the team that made the last cup, the game ends and the team who failed the rebuttal has to drink all the cups remaining on the table. (2) If the opposing team makes all the cups on from the shooter’s team, it becomes a “tie breaker” and three more cups are added to each team.

-if both players make the last cup, the game ends and the losing team has to drink all the remaining cups.

CG states that there is no particular reason why the rugby team uses these specific rules for beer pong. He mentions that these were the rules already used by older rugby players, when he joined the team as a freshman. Every new freshman class, CG explains that new teammates have to be taught the rules that they use. CG did mention that having come from the East coast, where the rules are slightly different, he too had to be taught.

Looking at the rules for beer pong, there is obviously significant room for variation. Generally though, the game does have a core group of rules that doesn’t change. It is not uncommon for individuals to pre-empt the game by asking the rules they are going to play. As someone who has played the game before, it is fairly common to run into individuals with different rules. Oftentimes these people are from different schools, regions of the country, or identify with different groups. When there is confusion to which rules they should play by, usually the individual supplying the alcohol or who owns the table gets to decide which rules are to be used. In some parts of the country the game is called Beirut and not beer pong.

Rugby Song: Jesus Can’t Play Rugby

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Rugby Song, “Jesus Can’t Play Rugby”

Transcription (because it would not be the same if not sung in context)

One person :”Jesus can’t play Rugby because he’s hung up on the cross.”

Everybody repeats twice, followed by “Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

Next person: “Jesus can’t play rugby ’cause his mother was a whore.”

Everybody repeats twice, followed by “Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

Etc.

Everybody: “God you know were only kidding, God you know were only kidding, God you know were only kidding, Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

CG explains that the Rugby song, and songs like it, is a definite part of the rugby experience and rugby traditions at USC. He mentions that he doesn’t think that that it particular to just USC rugby, and he believes that he once heard another rugby player from another school mention it. CG explains that the context to the performance of this song is very important. The songs are generally only sung when there is a large gathering of rugby players and there are copious amounts of alcohol. The purpose of the event, in his words, is to have a good time while getting really drunk. CG mentions that the majority of the rugby songs are raunchy, sexist, and offensive. He explains that it is all in good fun and in no way should be taken seriously.  He explains that the culture of rugby is defined by a duality: one offensive and dirty, the other “gentlemanly.” To explain this, CG stated, “You know how soccer is described as a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans? Well, rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen.”

Looking at the song, and having witnessed the context that it was performed; I find that the significance behind it as reported by CG is logical. The song, without a doubt is offensive, and borders on inappropriate. However, I believe this is the reason that the rugby team sings it. In a way, the team is looking to push/test the boundaries of what is appropriate in society. It is supposed to be shocking, as participants will often comment on just how bad it is. I also agree with the statement that it is not inherently meant to be offensive. Having known the informant for several years, I can safely say that he is religious and a practicing Catholic. Looking at the song, the structure and wording of it is designed to demonstrate that the participants don’t really mean what their saying. Each different line is finished with the statement “Jesus saves,” and the ending clearly demonstrates this. The second purpose of the song is to test members on rugby “lore.” After one person completes a line, another person is picked out to recite another line. If the person fails or stumbles, everybody dips there hands into their beer and throws it at the individual yelling, “Redeem thyself” until they can think of a new line. The song is a way for the team to include younger individuals and make them feel apart of a group.

The clip below is an example of some of the lyrics to the song.

http://youtu.be/9ucfrVFc70g

Hunting Rite of Passage

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Marine OCS
Residence: Corona, CA
Performance Date: 25 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: German, Spanish

white/Hispanic

University of Southern California

Marine OCS

Marshall School of Business

Spanish, English, German

Corona, California.

25 April 2011

Family hunting tradition

“So this is um… like a family tradition my family has been doing for awhile. For the last 50 years, my family travels to Wisconsin in order to go hunting. My dad’s family is from the Midwest area, and we have a 500 acre piece of land that has been in the family for generations. The land entered my family when it was given to my great-grandfather from his father in law. So, every year around Thanksgiving break from SC, me and my father travel to Wisconsin to go deer hunting. That’s also when the season starts there. On the land, there is an old cabin that was built in 1962. There is no electricity or running water. Just beds and a wood burning stove for heating. Only the males in the family are allowed to stay in the cabin at night. About 8-9 people come. The only person allowed is my great grandmother, who now owns the land. So for like a week, everyday we wake up and go hunting for deer. We break up into 2 or three person groups. After you kill your deer, the person who shot it drinks the blood while it is still warm. When we get back at dark, we spend the few hours we have before going to sleep telling stories and getting drunk.”

In CB’s opinion, the annual deer-hunting trip is an extremely important event that the males of his immediate family conduct. He mentioned that it is considered a defining moment in his family, and it is considered a great stepping-stone in his family when a male is old enough (13 years old) to go. He explained that no one ever misses the event. Members of his family fly in from all over the country in order to be present. In his own words, “You stop going when you stop breathing.” For him and his family, death is the only acceptable reason for not being present. He has mentioned that males in his family have shown up when they have had cancer, and individual even missed the birth of a child to be present. The land is also important to his family because 5 members of his family have been buried on the land.

Looking at the reasons and significance of the tradition in his family, I concur about the centrality of it to the identity of the males in his family. It serves as a space where his family can go to “back to their roots.” At the same time the whole event is centered on the idea of fulfilling the stereotype of being a macho male. Only males are allowed to go, there are no comforts, they are taking part in a hunt, and there is plenty of booze. The entire event is akin to a celebration of a warrior culture, which I believe is verified by the fact that 4 of the males present are/were in the military in some capacity. For the males in his family, the hunting event is also considered a right of passage and of manhood. A boy is allowed into the larger group of men, allowed to partake in alcohol, and becomes a “man” over the event of getting his first kill. The act of drinking the blood of the deer, at least in my opinion, signifies the individual’s mastery over the animal and is a form of taking a trophy.

The notion of the camaraderie of a hunting band is present in the movie Deer Hunter. In the movie, a small group of friends from a small town go out hunting periodically. The dynamics of the group of friends only changes after several of them participate in the Vietnam War. The act of drinking the blood of the deer is an image also utilized in Hollywood films. In the movie Red Dawn, one of the characters tells his friend to drink the blood of the deer he kills in order to imbibe its spirit.