Traditions : Traditions highlight college experience for UA students, faculty
Posted on Sunday, October 1, 2006
University of Arkansas students might relate to their superiors more than they think.
They may feel like complete opposites, but inside each exists a common bond created by aspects found at every turn on campus, qualities that bind together anyone who has attended or taught classes at the institution — freshmen, graduate students, even the chancellor. They have all walked those concrete paths, striving to earn a section they can call their own.
“ I teach a class this semester in the old engineering hall, and I told the kids I can take them up the stairs to where I took the same class, ” said John A. White, chancellor and alumnus. “ These traditions connect the students to the university. Most of your memories are not about events in the classroom, but out-ofthe-classroom activities. They serve the university well. ”
Some features on campus achieved tradition status by their roles in student lore; others qualified through sheer longevity. United, they symbolize the essence of the university because they carry the spirit of the school’s alumni and students.
Historical markers now identify many of the meaningful sites on campus, telling stories to visitors who didn’t attend the university or graduates who may have forgotten them.
The Arkansas Alumni Association launched the program in 1999 to commemorate significant research and intellectual achievements, notable leaders, outstanding alumni, historic events, sites, and campus tradition.
To date, more than 40 markers tell the story, starting with the university’s creation under the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862. Other plaques denote advancements in superconductivity, nutrition and inspect pest management; honor distinguish students who received the Congressional Medal of Honor or integrated the university; and explain the importance of some of the older buildings.
Etched in stone Alumni who return to Fayetteville often set out on walking tours to see the signs, but it’s the surface below them that stands as most everyone’s favorite. “ To me, Senior Walk is the greatest tradition that this university has that no other place has, ” said Mike Macechko, executive director of the alumni association.
The university celebrated last year the 100 th anniversary of Senior Walk. The series of paths list the names of more than 120, 000 graduates, beginning at the steps of Old Main with the first graduates.
The Class of 1905 established the practice. A few years later, 1904 graduates added their names, and in 1930 the university ordered the inscription of every preceding class. Workers originally stamped each name by hand, but they now use a machine called Senior Sand Hog, invented in 1986 by university Physical Plant employees.
Physical Plant workers and the Senior Sand Hog have etched nearly five miles of graduating classes. Alumni often take photographs of their names or shade the outline onto paper to display with their diplomas.
“ Just seeing your name and your family members’ names in that sidewalk — it’s there forever, etched in stone, ” said Tammy Tucker, director of communications with the alumni association. “ It kind of leaves a legacy for your family. ”
White rattled off a list of traditions he prizes at the university, but just the tone of his voice indicated what Senior Walk meant to him.
His name appears on the sidewalk as J. Austin White Jr. It’s the only time he ever went by that name, which he chose to honor his father, whose name appeared as J. Austin White in a prior class.
The university has Senior Walk charted through the Class of 2020, but that doesn’t stop rumors swirling about its eventual halt.
Macechko doesn’t believe them, not with all the construction taking place on campus.
“ There are always rumors that Senior Walk is stopping, ” Macechko said. “ No way. We are the only university in the country with something like this. When I talk to colleagues from other colleges and they come and visit, they are jealous. ”
Mother of mothers... Every university campus has a starting point, and while founders utilized three hastily built structures at the university’s inception, they simply were a stopgap until the completion of University Hall, better known as Old Main. Some may claim a building cannot be a tradition, but Macechko considers Old Main an exemption because of its historical role and worth to the institution. It appears on the university seal. It’s one of the most photographed and recognizable buildings in Fayetteville. Crowds point to it while singing the last line of the alma mater’s first verse. Workers from the Mayes and Oliver firm constructed the building in 1875 using local materials. It has housed several academic departments and administrative offices, a gymnasium, a chapel, the University Museum, the school library and the campus bookstore. The design was based on plans architect John M. Van Osdel of Chicago had developed for the main building at the Illinois Industrial University. The style incorporates Second Empire with a Mansard roof forming the top story. Workers built the south tower to contain a four-face clock, but the tower remained empty until this year. Fire damaged parts of Old Main in October 1905, August 1919 and October 1940, and by the 1960 s it entered a noticeable dilapidated state. That process stretched through the 1970 s and 1980 s, and in spring 1991, the university rededicated Old Main and presented it to the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. It’s a life similar to what Carnall Hall went through more recently, and it puts campuses in jeopardy of losing their very foundation. “ To tear down a building like Old Main or Carnall Hall, you’d be tearing down a part of this university, ” Macechko said. “ With these buildings, you gain the history of this campus. With Carnall Hall, you have the history of the women who lived there and Ella Carnall and what she meant as the first female professor. ” A few alumni board members entered Old Main last weekend for the first time during a tour. It had been closed for renovations while they attended school here. “ That was a proud moment for them to go into that building and see it, ” Tucker said. “ It’s something that nearly everybody identifies with. ” As Macechko put it, “ It’s the symbol of all the traditions of the University of Arkansas. ” Bezdek’s band
of Razorbacks Challenging Senior Walk on the scale of originality is the UA mascot. From 1894 to 1910, the school was known as the Cardinals. It became the mascot mostly because of the school color, which students selected in 1895 over the color heliotrope. Fans in Northwest Arkansas cheered for the Cardinals until Arkansas football coach Hugo Bezdek gave a speech in 1909 that became a catalyst for change. The team had returned from a 16-0 victory over Louisiana State on Oct. 30, and upon arriving at the Fayetteville train station Bezdek declared to a crowd of students that his team had performed “ like a wild band of Razorback hogs. ” There’s no speculating what he might have called them had the students chosen heliotrope. Students liked the simile enough that they made it the official mascot a year after Bezdek’s comments. Razorback pride now is evident at all athletic competitions on campus. The mascot family of Big Red, Sue E, Pork Chop and Boss Hog interact with the crowd at most events, while Tusk I — a 380-pound Russian boar — can be viewed in a mobile cage. Oftentimes, it’s now the visiting crowd whose interest is piqued with Tusk, as curiosity draws them to the mobile pen. Tusk isn’t always causing a commotion, but fans usually are. The Fight Song, alma mater and cheers such as “ Arkansas Razorbacks ” between opposite stands give fans plenty of occasions for revelry, but the most famous rallying cry is the Hog Call. The call originated in the 1920 s, when it’s believed a group of farmers attending a game began performing hog calls to encourage their favorite team. It has gone through a few renditions through the years to become what fans perform nowadays. Macechko could think of few more unnerving sounds than 70, 000 fanatics performing one in Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Go Hogs, beat... The Razorback Marching Band uses its own traditions to set the tone for each game. The band in September received the Sudler Trophy, which is presented each year to a college marching band that has demonstrated the highest musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, along with contributing over a period of years to the advancement of performance standards. Timothy Gunter, director of athletic bands at the university, was unsure how much the Razorback band’s pregame went into its consideration for the award. “ It couldn’t have hurt, ” he quipped. The corps begins each pregame by marching around the field before taking their positions near the south end zone. The crowd knows the show is about to begin with the field percussion battery starts its march onto the field. A few second later, the phenomenon known as The Train is under way. The band floods the field. Drum majors high step to their positions. Gunter traced much of the present-day show to the early 1970 s. Some directors tried to make modifications in the 1980 s, but to the chagrin of Razorback fans. His personal approach is the adage that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. “ If you look around at the different conference bands, this is by far the most complex and unique pregame in the Southeastern Conference, ” Gunter said. “ I’ve heard freshmen this year say ‘ I always wanted to march in the big A. I always wanted to march in pregame. I always wanted to march in The Train. ’” Gunter had a difficult time determining exactly what in the show best stirs up the throng in the stands. He first mentioned the percussion
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