Tag Archives: college

Panquake

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: 4/26/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, French

My friend is currently a freshman at Northwestern University.  She is majoring in journalism, so she lives in the CRC (Communications Residential College) at the university.  The CRC primarily consists of freshman and sophomore communications majors.

Every year, the sophomores in CRC start hyping up an event called Panquake.  They usually do this a few weeks in advance of the event itself and keep the freshmen confused as to what Panquake actually is.  Often the references to the Panquake are nonsensical and mainly work to keep the freshmen curious.  This year, my friend said that the sophomores made a lot of posters with irrelevant film and TV quotes, ending with the  hashtag “#panquake.”  As the event drew near, the sophomores said to just be ready “with $10 and a sense of adventure.”

Panquake takes place late at night.  The sophomores of CRC bring the freshmen to Chicago’s “El” (Elevated rail) and ride it to an IHOP in Chicago.  It turns out that the Panquake itself is quite simple.  The sophomores take the freshmen to the IHOP and they sit down and eat pancakes.

My friend told me that after the meal, the sophomores walk the freshmen back instead of taking the “El.”  This walk goes through multiple parks and a graveyard and is supposed to be a bonding experience.  This year, however, my friend said that one of the students accidentally touched a stranger’s car, and the stranger became infuriated and threatened to harm the students.  For the sake of safety, the group took the “El” back to Northwestern instead.  However, since the walk is a very important part of the tradition, the sophomores promised the freshmen that they would take them through the route some other time, so they know where to take next year’s freshmen.

I think that this tradition acts as a rite of passage for new residents of the CRC dorm.  The trip to the IHOP and the walk back to campus is an expression of passing a liminal point – the freshmen are transitioning from freshmen initiated members of the residential college.  The entirety of the tradition and practice seems to be important – I found it telling that the sophomores insisted that they took the freshmen on the walking route at a later date, because this part of the tradition was essential.  I also find the practice of “over-hyping” it very interesting.  Perhaps it adds to the mystery and excitement of the event.  Perhaps the “sense of adventure”  espouses an attitude the sophomores want to instill in the freshmen – they want them to be unafraid to try new experiences.

The Rock (and other rocks) at Northwestern University

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: 4/26/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, French

My friend at Northwestern University says there’s a tradition of painting particular rocks on campus.  There’s one massive rock at the center of a few campus buildings, and there are rocks scattered along the coast of Lake Michigan (Northwestern is situated along Lake Michigan).

The rock at the center of campus is often used to promote student organizations, and is known as “The Rock”.  My friend is not entirely sure how the tradition of painting The Rock began, but she knows the rules surrounding the rights to painting the rock.  Should a student organization want to paint the rock, they have to have at least one member guarding it for 24 hours straight.  After the 24 hour period has passed, the organization is allowed to paint anything they please on the rock.  Most of these paintings cover the entire rock and promote the organization itself.  Although the exact origins are unknown, my friend knows that The Rock’s been painted on for quite a long time (she hears many people joke “I swear it was way smaller before,” which hints at the number of times The Rock’s been painted over).   She has not guarded The Rock herself, but knows of friends who have stayed the night by The Rock on behalf of their groups.  Sometimes the progression of  The Rock’s multiple exteriors is documented on a bulletin board.  It’s a popular hangout spot (which I think is partially because of the traditions surrounding it) so it’s good advertising space for campus groups.  Part of becoming a Northwestern student is knowing where The Rock is on campus and knowing the ritual you must perform to win the rights to paint on it.

There are other rocks along the Lake Michigan shore that students can choose to paint.  People can personally reserve rocks but there are no guarantees the paintings will not be painted over.  People who paint the rocks are often couples or graduating students.  My friend and her friend have already looked for a rock and are planning to paint it as seniors.

I think that The Rock and the rocks along the lake are popular spots for painting because rocks are often thought of as enduring objects.  I’ve seen the rocks along the lake myself – these rocks still contain writing from people who have graduated several years ago.  The idea of “leaving your mark” on the college you go to is put in a very physical form through this tradition.

To paint The Rock and the other rocks is a sort of ‘initiation’ into being recognized as a Northwestern student.  Once you’ve been able to carry out these practices you’ve made your impact on the campus.

Proverb: Hebrew proverb

Nationality: Israel
Age: 40
Occupation: Sociology Professor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 27, 2013
Primary Language: Hebrew
Language: English

Note: The informant is from Jerusalem

Hebrew Proverb

Proverb:

Note: Hebrew is written from right to left

Transliteration: Hatzava Tzoed Al Keyvato

Translation: The army marches on its stomach

My informant doesn’t remember where exactly he heard the proverb but he does mention that the military is a prominent part of daily life in Israel so military sayings are common. According to my informant the proverb basically means that ideas can’t sustain themselves until they become real. According him ideas need “food”, they need to link themselves to material before they become important. An example he uses to explain this is Leonardo da Vinci and his models of machines; perpetual motion machine, manufacturing machines, etc. According my informant these machines were revolutionary in hindsight but not important at the time because they served no practical purpose at the time. Those concepts became useful later when fossil fuel and independent workers became commonplace. As opposed to the Renaissance which had other energy sources and serfs.  According to him the proverb isn’t very important to him, he just knows it.

I looked up this proverb and apparently its a quote from Napoleon Bonaparte. Makes sense considering how military-centric Israel is. Although the informant stated that this proverb isn’t very important to him he still it connected to his profession. The da Vinci analogy is not directly connected to the proverb it is just something he used to explain it better. He says that the proverb is a military proverb but he applies it to the nature of scientific progress, which he is teaching a class on. It’s the same proverb but the informant took it out of its “original” context and gave it a different meaning.

The University of Chicago “C Bench”

Nationality: American
Age: 83
Occupation: Businessman - retired
Residence: Glencoe, Illinois
Performance Date: 4/10/2013
Primary Language: English

At the University of Chicago, there is a concrete bench in the form of a C in front of the administration building.  According to my informant, who attended the University of Chicago in the 1940’s and early 1950’s, you were not to sit on the C bench “unless you were a letterman or had been kissed by a letterman.”  Essentially only athletes and the girlfriends of athletes could use the bench.  My informant says that if someone violated this rule, however, no one really did anything, it’s was just a funny rule.

After some research, it seems that there are two different traditions surrounding the C Bench from different eras.  In the early 1900’s, the C Bench was off-limits for Freshman, and any freshman who sat on it would most definitely be harassed by older students.  Back then, the C Bench was a big social center of campus and lots of people hung out there.  In later years, that tradition appears to have faded and been replaced by reserving the C Bench for athletes and their girlfriends.   At this point in time, however, the C Bench seems to have dwindled as a hot spot for social activity and the  tradition had lost almost all meaning, especially with the school’s shift from athletic focus to academic focus.

http://college.uchicago.edu/story/story-bench

LMU Birthday Ritual

Nationality: Japanese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Anaheim, CA
Performance Date: April 7, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

At Loyola Marymount University (LMU) inLos Angeles, it is tradition that on the night of a freshman’s birthday, that freshman has to be thrown into the Foley Fountain.

My informant is a currently a student at Loyola Marymount University.  She told me that she heard this piece of folklore when she was first taking a tour of the school; the tour guide had informed them that it was a tradition at this school although he had no idea where it had originated from.  When it was her birthday, her friends took her to the fountain and threw her into the water.  At the same time, my informant told me that this fountain throwing happened almost on a daily basis at night.

I asked my friend what she thought about this tradition.  She told me that as a viewer, it was always fun to watch people getting dunked in the water.  On the other hand, as somebody who was being thrown, it was quite scary since the Foley Fountain is known for being quite dirty.  However, afterwards, she said it was definitely one of the highlights of her freshman year at LMU.  I believe that this tradition is a right of passage at LMU as it is something that is expected of all freshman.  At the same time, I feel it is a quintessential part of the LMU student identity because my informant told me that whenever she meets alumni, they always ask her if she has been thrown into the Foley Fountain yet.