Tag Archives: university

Undie Run at Chapman University (College Traditions)

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Collector: “Do you participate in any specific rituals or festivals?”

Informant: “At Chapman, we have Undie Run the Wednesday night before finals week. Everyone meets up in the Piazza in like, just underwear or a bathing suit, like no clothes. I think it’s at like 12 o’clock, or 10– I don’t know I didn’t do it last semester—and everyone just runs around campus and the outskirts, and in the circle. It’s just Chapman students and there’s some faculty to supervise.”

Collector: “Why does this tradition take place?”

Informant: “To get drunk and let loose before finals. People drink at a pregame, not during the run.” 

Context

The informant is a female undergraduate student at Chapman University. The Piazza is a circular courtyard at the center of campus where many students gather for special events.

Analysis

This college tradition provides insight into American student culture and what they define as “letting go”– Indulging in alcohol, stripping into undergarments, and doing wild activities with comrades. The practice of the tradition signifies that these expressions are not appropriate for everyday life. This activity takes place at Midnight, a liminal time between day and night, almost like a magic hour where students don’t have to present themselves as polished and collegiate. A rebellious version of themselves can run wild at night but not in the day.

Flower Moon Music and Arts Festival (Chapman University)

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Collector: “Do you participate in any specific rituals or festivals?”

Informant: “We have Flower Moon. It’s a Music and Arts Festival that’s been happening every year for the last three years on the last week of April. It’s usually at the same venue the Garden Amphitheater in Garden Grove, California. It has three stages. And we have 15 different artists, five artists per stage. And it’s not just the music it’s also the arts because we get six different vendors who are all champions to us in the arts. Artists, by the way, are all Chapman students and alumni. And we also get vendors to come sell clothes, jewelry, and food. And it’s like basically like our version of Coachella because it’s the weekend after both the Coachella weekends happen so we call it Coachella weekend three.”

Collector: “How much does it cost for a ticket?”

Informant: “$20 for Chapman students and $30 for general admission. And it’s sponsored by our school, we get sponsors from SGA. So Student Government.”

Context

The informant is a female undergraduate student at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is co-president of The Collective, a music club on campus that’s responsible for organizing the Flower Moon Festival each year.

Analysis

The Festival showcases Chapman Student’s artistic and musical abilities. The financial sponsorship from Chapman University shows that the school enables artistic expression. They provide a space where student’s talents can be appreciated and commodified. The showcase restricts artists to a very niche group: Chapman students and alumni. In my opinion, this makes the event more attractive to people in that university folk group. Ticket price differences urge students to attend, as they get in at a discount. 

Chewing Gum for Luck

Text:

My informant, a college student at USC, describes a ritual she performs to improve her performance on tests. “What I do before any exam, especially if it’s one that I have to like sit in, I chew a piece of gum, like I have to have gum when I’m taking a test, otherwise I, like, I can’t really focus kind of? I didn’t realize it was magic until this class, but it does kind of have like a magical vibe to it because I feel like if I chew this gum im going to be able to like focus more, and so it’s kind of a way to like extract my memory this ensures that I do well and perform well on the test. If i don’t have my gum, I feel like the test is gonna go really poorly. But this is typically applicable for like, big tests. Where, like, I intentionally bring gum to like a big test and make sure that I kinda ration it out while I’m taking the test so I’ll like bite half of it, and then the second half of the test I’ll take the other half.”

Context:

“I didn’t really know if a lot of people do this, but, yeah, this is just a good luck charm, and gum tends to be a good luck charm to my anxiety, being in stressful situations.  I guess it’s some sort of magic where it’s ensuring that I perform well.”

Interpretation: 

The informant exists in a competitive academic environment, so performing well on tests is crucial to her success. Whether or not the difference between chewing gum or not should affect cognitive performance, is less important than the anxiety relief that comes from having a routine. Establishing this ritual may allow the informant to feel that she is in control of the situation, and is able to diminish some testing anxiety by doing something that is familiar. 

The Alma Mater Joke

Background: The informant is a 58 year old man living in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, where he attended the local high school and elementary school. He went to college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (currently UIUC – referred to as U of I by the informant). The informant always likes to tell jokes and mentioned one that was prevalent during his time at college. 

Context: The context was while eating, the informant and his son began talking about U of I, as they both attended the school. The informant suddenly appeared to remember a joke he was told as a student. 

Text:

BW: Yeah,  I remember this one joke I was told at U of I. It was really popular around all the students. I remember my friend group would always share it. So, there’s the alma mater statue at U of I that all students take pictures at when they graduate. Remember we took a picture with [son] there.

Me: Yeah, it was a statue of a woman, right?

BW: Yep, a motherly figure, and she’s standing up. Okay so it goes,

Everyone at U of I takes a picture in front of the alma mater statue and, um, if there is a picture of a virgin in front of the statue, then she will be sitting down instead of standing. But, see, there are no virgins at U of I, because everyone has been fucked by the University. [laughing].

Me: Oh, wow. Was there any ill will toward the University?

BW: I think it was like the usual anger of students towards their schools. Maybe it be the cost or the classes or being failed in a class, or something like that.

Analysis:

Informant: The informant, laughing at his own joke, shows that it retains its humor for him throughout the decades. It clearly brings back memories of his time at the university and of good humor between him and his friends.

Mine: The joke, while short, represents a few things. First, it directly mentions a graduation tradition done at the school, of taking a picture with the alma mater statue once someone graduates. However, this tradition is turned on its head for vulgar means – more so because the statue is depicting a motherly figure. However, moms have long had their share of mom jokes, notably “your mom” in response to a statement. The statue sitting down upon a virgin being there is almost like the motherly statue sitting down to protect the virgin, as if a mother’s embrace. But then, the punchline hits, and while it’s meant to be funny, it serves to actually highlight how the students felt about the university. While not sure if the joke is still being told, it clearly is a symbol that this time of history, in the 80s, was a period where the university was clearly mocked.

Beginning a School Wide Chant

Background: The informant  is a 22 year old male currently living in San Luis Obispo, California. He attended CalPoly-SLO and is currently working as a manager for a boy and girls volleyball club. He played volleyball and basketball throughout high school, and played and coached volleyball while in college. His story is from his time in college.

Context: The context was the informant was, after a sporting event, the informant was reminded of his time in college when he and his friends started a cheer. He performed the cheer.

Text:

WC: In college, since I was on the club volleyball team and was a coach for the girl’s team, I would always attend the volleyball matches whenever they were at home. So, my friends and I thought it would be funny to start a cheer, or a chant, at the games, as we knew all the players. 

Me: What was the cheer?

WC: Every time, someone got a block, we would say “booboo” and then clap twice. [does it]

Me: Was there significance behind it?

WC: Uh, not really, it was more to show the girls that we were there and we were supporting them. I mean, cheers in sports are really just to build morale and boost the team’s spirit so that was all that we were trying to do.

Me: What happened to the chant?

WC: Actually, since we did it at every D1 game, the other people around us started to pick it up. And then, the girls on the team started to do it after every block. So, what started as just our little firendgroup chant became a CalPoly-wide thing.

Analysis:

Informant: He was clearly very happy with the chant becoming a sports-wide occurrence at his school, especially that the girl’s themselves started using it. His intention was simply to have a morale boosting chant, but it did much more than that.

Mine: Cheers have long been used in sports in order to reveal a certain community of people. Typically, cheers are created in groups and spread through word of mouth, at least initially. People spend time in order to create someone that will stand out and boost morale. While initially it was simply something between friends, it became a much bigger thing, spreading to other fans and the players themselves. It demonstrates that folklore starts from the people, no matter who they are, and that anyone can contribute to the culture of the group they are in. The main form of communication in sports is cheering from the sidelines, and anyone should be able to contribute to that. There doesn’t need to always be people leading the cheers; instead, the cheers can start on their own.