- Scope
- In a continuation of an interview I did with a classmate of mine in my anthropology discussion class he shared with me some of his fraternity terms and here is what he said: “Scoping is another one, its like to look at. If you are wearing something funny… you can say ‘yo! Scope me’ that’s a few of my fraternity terms”
- As he got this term from his fraternity, I find it common knowledge that brother in a fraternity often like to use slang or shorten their words when they talk to each other. This could be to come off as cooler to others or to feel a sense of community knowing you are in a house or organization that has its own language essentially. He did not reveal to me the origins of this saying, but I assume it has been around long enough to become relevant now. I would not personally use this term, but when looking at the definition of the word scope, used in the context my friend did, it seems to make sense. When thinking somewhat historically, people or even animals would “scope out” or look around their surroundings to find someone or something, so this one is not a far reach.
Tag Archives: college
Kid-Friendly Beer-Pong
My informant (18), from Maryland, describes what she calls “Kid-Friendly Beer-Pong”. “So this actually a game that my older cousins and I always like create for ourselves. We play a lot of ping-pong but once we get bored of ping-pong, we take off the net and put ping-pong paddles all over the table and basically like stand from like a far distance from the table and throw the ping-pong ball and try to hit the paddles. And this is like a challenge we would do”
“This is like basically an appropriate beer-pong kinda thing, where you’re aiming for the ping pong paddles. And this is them telling me they’re preparing me for college. So we used to play this like when I was in middle and high school, and they’re like ‘you’re gonna be the best when you play beer pong in college’. And I didn’t know what they meant, but now that I’m in college I see that, like, beer-pong’s a game that a lot of people play and they were like preparing me. And i noticed that just in general my cousins are always preparing me for what life throws at me, for college, they’re always giving me advice for like social aspects and these little games also prepare me for what to expect in like a college environment.”
This game could be interpreted as a coming of age ritual, in a way, as it is information that the informant’s cousins passed on to her to prepare her for her next stage of life. We can expect that in this extended family, college is seen as an important step in development, both for the educational purposes, but also as a new social environment that the informant must prepare for.
Secret Monkey Lab at the University of Washington
Background: My informant, ET, attended the University of Washington from 2009-2013. I asked her about campus folklore, and this was her response:
ET: “The UDub Health Sciences Building is known for having a secret monkey lab. They conduct experiments on monkeys because it’s closest to humans for different kinds of testing. But there’s a lot of environmental and animal activists in Seattle, so animal activists try to sneak in and free the monkeys from being tested on. Basically, whenever students are in the building, they try to look for a room full of cadavers to find the monkeys.”
Analysis: I think this legend is really interesting because it not only speaks to the history of some of the buildings on campus, but also the student culture and mentality around the school and in the greater part of the city as well. The story plays to the instinct that some college buildings must have mysterious things going on inside them, particularly a room with a bunch of cadavers and no other context, but also the larger activism presence around the area as well, which adds to the realism of the story. Those in the know with this story would feel a greater sense of–if not attachment, at least more curiosity over the ongoings of the university, and develop a school pride as the one that seemingly houses monkeys in a secret lab in a discrete science building.
Sorority Hazing Ritual
TG is a 25 year old graduate student and cultural forensic anthropologist. She grew up in Maryland and currently resides in Tennessee. She was an active member at her university. She was in a sorority herself.
Context: This performance was done during the Spring semester at the university between X sorority and the girl trying to rush.
Transcript (discussed over the phone):
TG: Okay, I have to make this kind of vague because I can get into trouble if I give away the name of the university. There was a student trying to rush X sorority and there was an intense hazing process. Every girl got a difference hazing task when rushing but one girl specifically was not allowed to speak for a week. She had people secretly monitoring her to make sure she does not speak. That is not the worst part though; when she was spoken to, she was only allowed to respond by meowing like a cat. So for example, if someone asked “How are you?” she had to meow back to them. It was crazy.
Collector: Why meowing like a cat?
TG: Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it was more because it was an embarrassing thing to do and if you could do it successfully for the full week then it shows your loyalty to the sorority- maybe even your submissiveness too.
Thoughts/Analysis: There are hazing rituals in almost every fraternity and sorority. I find that the common denominator between them all is that they are supposed to have the potential member display some form of loyalty to the organization. These initiation processes are not kind; they push potential members hard to make sure they are worthy of membership.
For variations of embarrassing hazing rituals, see:
Appel, Stefan. “Sorority Hazing (Kappa Cow).” USC Digital Folklore Archives, May 18, 2021. http://uscfolklorearc.wpenginepowered.com/tag/hazing/.
Pink Trojan Check Superstition
GM is a 19 year old college student from Miami. She studies communications and is a freshman.
Context: Trojan Check is a symptom check questionnaire that all guests and students who wish to enter the USC campus and dining halls had to complete and pass during the COVID pandemic between January 2021 and April 2022. It was a part of USC’s efforts to manage COVID at the university and help students gradual return to campus.
Transcript:
Collector: Tell me your thoughts about Trojan Check and its colors.
GM: Trojan Check has different colors every day. For example some days are red, purple, yellow, which no one liked, green, blue, and pink. The pink Trojan Check was pretty and my roommates and I realized that whenever the Trojan Check was pink, it would turn out to be a good day. So from then on we used it as a good luck charm. We went on to ask other students about it and they agreed that pink Trojan Check days were the best.
Collector: Did you do anything special on pink Trojan Check days?
GM: Honestly, no. We just had a little extra pep in our step. Even if a pink Trojan Check doesn’t actually make it a great day, I feel like our attitudes towards that day are better if that makes sense? Like as college students things are hard, especially during COVID. So the pink Trojan Check days make them a little better. I think we and everyone we’ve talked to about it are just looking for a little hope.
Analysis: College students and many other folk groups look for signs of good luck among the stress they have from school and the COVID crisis and while some find coins, angel numbers, and certain animals as good luck, many USC Trojans consider a pink trojan check (something that represents a solution to a crisis) day a good one. I think it’s really special that USC students are turning something that is a result of a crisis situation a symbol of faith. Deep down it reflects resilience on their part as a folk group.