Many ancient universities in the world are famous not only for their eminent graduates, but also for their traditions: secret societies, dropping the piano and other rituals have been observed by students for more than a decade.
Ivy League and secret societies
The American Ivy League includes eight of the best universities in America: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Dartmouth College.
The name "Ivy League" used to be borne by a football team, and then the above universities began to be called so. It is believed that students used to plant ivy before the start of the school year in the gardens of educational institutions - even now, in order not to break tradition, many buildings are covered with this beautiful plant.
Universities are constantly competing with each other: who has better grades, teachers, graduates, and so on. It is not surprising, because many eminent people graduated from these universities, including the current president of America! Traditionally, the "golden youth" studied at these universities, because studying here is extremely expensive, and you can prepare for entrance exams only with tutors and studying at a private school. Therefore, there are only tales about many traditions, society does not know about the order among elite students.
But it is known for certain that in these universities there were secret societies, which included the best students of the university. One of the most famous was (or maybe is?) at Yale - "Skull and Bones". Its members were future heads of state, businessmen, politicians. Even after graduation, the members of the circle get together every year! According to rumors, many meetings take place in the specially built at the beginning of the XX century building "Tomb" on the territory of Yale University. Not everyone can join the community: you absolutely need to be an Anglo-Saxon Protestant from an influential family or a successful athlete with many awards.
By the way, women began to be admitted to the club only in the 90s of the XX century.
It is not known for certain what the members of Skull and Bones are doing. Many people talk sarcastically about the club, but secretly everyone wants to join it. There are other well-known societies at Yale: Wolf's Head, Scroll and Key, all three of which are in constant competition with each other.
French National School of Administration and Grand O ceremony
This educational institution prepares future civil servants: students, as a rule, receive a second higher education here, and upon graduation they get a job in one of the state bodies. Education is free, but after school, everyone must work in government agencies for ten years. The current President of France , Emmanuel Macron, studied here: he, by the way, worked in the Ministry of Economy for only a few years, so he returned part of the money for studying to the country's budget.
Although there are no secret societies, there are solemn exams - Grand O. At the oral exam in front of a jury consisting of high-ranking officials, teachers and experts in various fields, students reflect on state problems, international politics and other topical issues. The results of the Grand O play an important role in determining the career path of school graduates, affect the distribution to positions in various government agencies and institutions.
Reset the piano
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a prestigious educational institution from which many celebrities graduated: computer scientist Manuel Blum, President of Colombia Virgillio Barco, astronaut David Scott and many others, including 64 Nobel laureates. Students of this university have come up with a strange tradition that dates back to 1972. Charlie's student Bruno, together with his friends, thought about what to do with the old piano that stood in their dormitory. They came up with a "brilliant" idea: "Let's throw him out of the window!"
But the rules of the institute say that nothing can be thrown out of the windows, but the students found a loophole and decided to throw the piano off the roof, because nothing is written about it in the charter. Over time, it has become an annual tradition for all students to gather together on the rooftop for the Drop Date, the last day they can safely abandon their previously chosen course, and drop the piano. Usually, an old and non-working tool is used, which can no longer be restored: they are brought to them as a gift or students buy it at a flea market.
Heartbreaking screams
Sometimes everyone wants to scream from fatigue to release their emotions and stress. On the streets of Sweden, near Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, screams are regularly heard from the windows of dormitories! At ten o'clock in the evening, students begin to scream as much as they can, thus freeing themselves from fatigue. The tradition, which appeared in the 70s of the last century, is called "Flogsta Creek".
Anti-stress Kit-Kat
Before the session, everyone suddenly begins to believe in omens: someone puts a coin in their shoe, someone does not wash their hair, someone enters the classroom on principle with their left foot... Japanese students have a cute tradition to attract good luck - they take a Kit-Kat chocolate bar for the exam. Not to eat it! The whole point is that the name of the chocolate bar is similar to the Japanese phrase kitto katsu, which means "you will succeed". A very cute tradition!
Bandaging monuments
During the awarding of certificates, doctors swear to fulfill their medical duty and provide assistance to everyone who asks for it. Therefore, their first patients are monuments to famous doctors, which they carefully bandage, put on a gown and a cap, thus "paying tribute" to experienced colleagues.
Find the frog
In one of the oldest universities in Europe, Salamanca in Spain, the façade of the main building is decorated with incredibly beautiful carvings. Passing by the university, you can see crowds of people admiring it, but in fact, students are looking for a frog, which, according to rumors, is on the façade! The one who finds it will pass all the exams with A's, and studying will be easy for him. Of course, this time could be spent somehow productively, but superstition is superstition, and it must be observed.
Parents for a while
The first weeks at the institute cause great stress for everyone: where to go, how to communicate with teachers correctly, where the right classrooms are located, and many more questions on various topics. At the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, they came up with an interesting tradition: they appoint "parents" to first-year students who teach all the rules, tell life hacks and much more. Previously, raisins were given as a thank you to "mom and dad", and those who forgot to thank their "parents" were bathed in the fountain. Now the tradition has changed - first-year students usually give wine, and those who forget about the gift are staged a foam battle.
Dragon Day
Like many other students, students at Cornell University wanted to invent a holiday for themselves and at the beginning of the XX century, on St. Patrick's Day, who, according to legends, drove away snakes, they began to celebrate their celebration. In 1950, it was slightly changed and a tradition was introduced: all first-year students must make a huge dragon, which they will present during the festive procession. The date of the holiday has also changed - now Dragon Day is celebrated at the end of March.
If your university had an interesting tradition or superstition, tell us about it in the comments!
