Full Moon on the Quad

{{Short description|Annual tradition at Stanford University}}

Full Moon on the Quad, also referred to as FMOTQ,{{cite web |last1=Pak |first1=Camryn |title=FMOTQ to include hygiene packages for homeless, glow stick necklace system for indicating engagement |url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/01/09/fmotq-to-include-hygiene-packages-for-homeless-glow-stick-necklace-system-for-indicating-engagement/ |website=The Stanford Daily}}{{cite web |last1=Prabala |first1=Nikhil |title=What's new with FMOTQ? |url=https://stanfordreview.org/whats-new-with-fmotq-e2543dd1a11d/ |website=The Stanford Review |access-date=20 November 2020}} is an annual tradition at Stanford University.{{cite web |last1=McNeil |first1=Donald |title=Welcomed With Kisses, Stanford Freshmen Risk the 'Kissing Disease' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/education/welcomed-with-kisses-stanford-freshmen-risk-the-kissing-disease.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=20 July 2020}}{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24906721|title=The Role & contribution of student affairs in involving colleges|date=1991|publisher=National Association of Student Personnel Administrators|others=Kuh, George D., Schuh, John H., National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (U.S.)|isbn=0-931654-17-3|edition=1st|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=67|oclc=24906721}} During the event, students gather at Main Quad and kiss one another starting at midnight. Typically organized by the Junior class cabinet, the festivities include live entertainment, such as music and dance performances.{{cite web |last1=Donaldson |first1=Susan |title=Full Moon on the Quad at Stanford |url=http://folklore.usc.edu/?p=35611 |website=USC Digital Folklore Archives |publisher=University of Southern California |access-date=20 July 2020}}

The tradition has undergone many changes since its inception. It originally featured female Stanford first-years lining up to receive a rose and a kiss on the cheek from male Stanford seniors, but eventually, the tradition lost its formality and came into its present form.{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Phillip |title=Stanford Reinstates Full Moon on the Quad For Winter Quarter |url=https://stanfordreview.org/stanford-reinstates-full-moon-on-the-quad-for-winter-quarter/ |publisher=The Stanford Review |access-date=20 July 2020}} The event originally occurred under the first full moon of the year, but in 2017, it was pushed back to the first full moon of winter quarter to encourage greater participation from first-years.{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Susan |title=Welcome or Orgy? Stanford Freshmen Love 'Full Moon on the Quad' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/orgy-stanford-freshmen-love-full-moon-quad/story?id=20759670 |work=ABC News |access-date=20 July 2020}} As the tradition has progressed and with the wake of the Me Too movement, there has been a greater emphasis on consent.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2018-01-31|title=Stanford's Annual Kissing Tradition Toned Down In Wake Of #MeToo|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/01/31/stanford-kissing-tradition-toned-down-metoo/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-13|website=CBS|language=en-US}} The most recent iteration involved participants wearing different colored glowing necklaces, with green indicating openness to a kiss, yellow indicating openness to just a hug, and red indicating intentions to only observe.{{cite web |last1=Pak |first1=Camryn |title=FMOTQ to include hygiene packages for homeless, glow stick necklace system for indicating engagement |url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/01/09/fmotq-to-include-hygiene-packages-for-homeless-glow-stick-necklace-system-for-indicating-engagement/ |publisher=The Stanford Daily |access-date=20 July 2020}}