Traditions of Pomona College#Defunct traditions

File:Smith Tower and the San Gabriel Mountains.jpg.]]

Numerous traditions have been established at Pomona College, a highly selective{{#section:Pomona College|reputation reference}} liberal arts college in Claremont, California, since its founding in 1887. They have varying levels of popularity, longevity, and institutional recognition. Taken together, they are a significant component of the school's culture and identity, promoting social cohesion among students and other community members.

Early traditions at Pomona, such as Pole Rush and banner springs, often took the form of rivalries between different class years,{{cite news |last=Irvine |first=Jenessa |date=26 September 2012 |title=Blast From the Past: Pre-Internet Pomona |language=en |work=Voices |publisher=Pomona College Office of Admissions |url=https://voices.pomona.edu/2012/09/blast-from-the-past-pre-internet-pomona/ |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928092046/https://voices.pomona.edu/2012/09/blast-from-the-past-pre-internet-pomona/ |archive-date=28 September 2012}}{{cite book |last=Lyon |first=E. Wilson |title=The History of Pomona College, 1887-1969 |date=1977 |publisher=The Castle Press |page=485 |language=en |oclc=4114776 |authorlink1=E. Wilson Lyon}} and frequently involved hazing. After World War II, these were gradually replaced with college-wide traditions, including the college's most intensely carried tradition, a reverence for the number 47, which began in 1964. Overall, the Yale Daily News characterizes Pomona's traditions as "often more quirky and fun than steeped in history and legend."{{cite book |author=Yale Daily News staff |title=The Insider's Guide to the Colleges |date=1 July 2014 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-4668-4835-1 |edition=41st |location=New York |pages=341–351 |language=en}}

Extant traditions

=47 reverence=

The number 47 has historical implications to {{#ifeq:{{PAGENAME}}|47 (number)|Pomona College, a liberal arts college in Claremont, California,|the college}} and has been incorporated into various aspects of campus life.{{cite news |last=Lipka |first=Sara |date=11 February 2005 |title=Pomona's Prime Number |language=en |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/pomonas-prime-number/ |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029133958/https://www.chronicle.com/article/pomonas-prime-number/ |archive-date=October 29, 2020}}{{cite web |title=1964 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1964 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807012720/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1964 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=7 April 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} The tradition began in the summer of 1964, when two students, Laurie Mets and Bruce Elgin, conducted a research project seeking to find out whether the number occurs more often in nature than would be expected by chance. They documented various 47 sightings, and professor Donald Bentley produced a false mathematical proof that 47 was equal to all other integers. The number became a meme among the class, which spread once the academic year began and snowballed over time.{{cite news |last=Dolinar |first=Sarah |date=October 1, 2000 |title=The Mystery of 47 |language=en |volume=37 |work=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |issue=1 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/news/2000/10/01-mystery-47 |url-status=live |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026112712/https://www.pomona.edu/news/2000/10/01-mystery-47 |archive-date=October 26, 2020}}

Notable 47 sightings include the fact that Pomona is located off of exit 47 of Interstate 10, and the fact that the largest residential building on campus, Mudd-Blaisdell (formally Florence Carrier Blaisdell and Della Mullock Mudd Hall, a title with 47 characters), was completed in 1947 and contains a staircase with 47 balusters.

Many Pomona alumni have deliberately inserted 47 references into their work. Joe Menosky (class of 1979), a writer for Star Trek: The Next Generation, inserted 47 mentions into nearly every episode of the show, a practice that has been picked up by other Star Trek writers.{{cite news |last=Shin |first=Daniel |date=September 7, 2016 |title=Let's do the number: 'Star Trek' and the 47 conspiracy |language=en |work=Marketplace |publisher=American Public Media |url=https://www.marketplace.org/2016/09/07/star-trek-and-47-conspiracy/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001214023/https://www.marketplace.org/2016/09/07/star-trek-and-47-conspiracy/ |archive-date=October 1, 2020}}{{cite episode |title=The Last Word |url=https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20121122_030000_The_Last_Word/start/3360/end/3420 |access-date=April 7, 2021 |series=The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell |last=Klein |first=Ezra |author-link=Ezra Klein |network=MSNBC |date=November 21, 2012 |minutes=56 |language=en |publisher=NBCUniversal |via=Archive.org}} Pomona hosts a community service–oriented celebration every April 7 (abbreviated 4/7 in the U.S.).{{cite web |date= |title=4/7 Celebration of Sagehen Impact |url=https://www.pomona.edu/47-sagehen-impact |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731055442/https://www.pomona.edu/47-sagehen-impact |archive-date=July 31, 2019 |access-date=7 April 2019 |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} In the early 2010s, the college's clock tower was set up to chime on the 47th minute of the hour.{{cite news |last=Rowan |first=Brendan |date=November 5, 2010 |title=Clock Tower Bell Set to Chime On the 47th Minute |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/news1684/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731055431/https://tsl.news/news1684/ |archive-date=July 31, 2019}}{{cite news |date=November 7, 2010 |title=Tower's bell ringing again at Pomona College |language=en |work=Los Angeles Daily News |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2010/11/07/towers-bell-ringing-again-at-pomona-college/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731055430/https://www.dailynews.com/2010/11/07/towers-bell-ringing-again-at-pomona-college/ |archive-date=July 31, 2019}}

=Cup dropping=

Pomona's Frary Dining Hall has an open refectory with a vaulted ceiling and tiled floor. The acoustical properties of these attributes create a loud clattering sound when one of Frary's plastic cups is dropped. Whenever someone accidentally drops their cup, it is traditional for everyone else in the dining hall to finish their drink and do likewise.{{cite news |last=Rojas |first=Luca |date=11 February 2011 |title=The New Frary: Is It Worth It? |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/life-style1804/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923165311/https://tsl.news/life-style1804/ |archive-date=September 23, 2020}}{{failed verification|date=July 2021}}

=Mascot=

=Mufti=

File:Mufti Burger.jpg

PomonaPomona College's secret society is called Mufti, meaning "out of uniform".{{cite web |title=Mufti |url=http://www.pomona.edu/about/pomoniana/mufti.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304114202/http://www.pomona.edu/about/pomoniana/mufti.aspx |archive-date=4 March 2010 |website=Pomona College |language=en}} It is known for gluing small sheets of paper around campus with cryptic puns offering social commentary on campus happenings. The society originated in 1958 and was initially the work of class of 1960 graduates Martha Tams Barthold, Jean Wentworth Bush Guerin, Alice Taylor Holmes and Thomasine Wilson.{{cite magazine |last1=Guerin |first1=Jean Wentworth Bush |last2=Barthold |first2=Martha Tams |last3=Holmes |first3=Alice Taylor |date=June 5, 2023 |title=Letter Box: Mufti Origins Revealed |url=https://magazine.pomona.edu/2023/summer/letter-box-19/ |magazine=Pomona College Magazine |language=en |publisher=Pomona College |volume=59 |issue=2 |access-date=28 July 2023 |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615220952/https://magazine.pomona.edu/2023/summer/letter-box-19/ |url-status=live }} The tradition was passed down to young women (and later men) from subsequent classes and has waxed and waned in activeness over the years. Its {{convert|3.5|x|8.5|in|abbr=on}} postings, known as "burgers", typically contain three lines, with the center one being most prominent. They are glued to surfaces around campus using a figure eight shape.{{cite podcast |url=https://soundcloud.com/hidden-pomona/episode-4-catch-us-if-you-can |title=Catch Us If You Can |website=Hidden Pomona |last2=Desai |first2=Saahil |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220173639/https://soundcloud.com/hidden-pomona/episode-4-catch-us-if-you-can |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |url-status=live |language=en |last1=Tidmarsh |first1=Kevin}}

=Orientation Adventure=

As part of Pomona's 10-day orientation, incoming students spend four days off campus completing an "Orientation Adventure" or "OA" trip. Options in recent years have ranged from backpacking in Sequoia National Forest to sea kayaking in Channel Islands National Park. Begun in 1995 and required for all students beginning in 2004,{{cite news |volume=8 |issue=10 |id={{EBSCOhost|42097347|dbcode=ehh}} |title=Head outdoors to turn new students into friends, help retain them |work=Student Affairs Today |publisher=Wiley |date=January 2006 |page=3}} the OA program is one of the oldest outdoor orientation programs in the nation.{{cite web |date=May 22, 2015 |title=Orientation Adventure |url=https://www.pomona.edu/new-students/orientation/orientation-adventure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224024316/https://www.pomona.edu/new-students/orientation/orientation-adventure |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |access-date=23 December 2018 |website=Pomona College |language=en}}

=Pranks=

{{external media|width=230px|image1=[https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/ccp/id/2117 The Bridges Auditorium frieze, altered to include Frank Zappa]}}

Pomona students have committed a number of pranks over the years that have entered into college lore. Notable pranks include:

In 1911, two students snuck into the dean's office and buried the large safe there beneath the floorboards; it was not discovered until several weeks later.{{cite news |last=Dolinar |first=Sarah |date=17 April 2020 |title=The Prankster's Rules |language=en |work=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |issue=Spring 2002 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/news/2002/04/17-pranksters-rules |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001230540/https://www.pomona.edu/news/2002/04/17-pranksters-rules |archive-date=October 1, 2021}}{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1911 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1910s/1911 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720235507/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1910s/1911 |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}
In 1968, students stole the Christmas tree from Frary Dining Hall and moved it to the top of Smith Clock Tower.{{cite news |date=December 18, 1968 |title=Uh, Merry Christmas Up There! |language=en |work=The Student Life}}
Chemistry professor R. Nelson Smith (class of 1938, taught 1945–1982) fostered an active prank culture in his department, which included office modifications such as replacing a desk chair with a toilet, turning all furniture upside down, and replacing all furniture with a gerbil and its food cage.
In 1975, students replaced the frieze honoring Frédéric Chopin on Bridges Auditorium with one honoring Frank Zappa in advance of a concert he performed there.{{cite news |last=Allen |first=David |date=9 February 2013 |title=Who really composed Frank Zappa prank of the '70s? |language=en |work=Inland Valley Daily Bulletin |url=https://www.dailybulletin.com/2013/02/09/who-really-composed-frank-zappa-prank-of-the-70s/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014439/https://www.dailybulletin.com/2013/02/09/who-really-composed-frank-zappa-prank-of-the-70s/ |archive-date=January 24, 2022}}{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1975 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1975 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809055207/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1975 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Kendall |first=Mark |date=Fall 2012 |title=A Carefully Calculated Caper |language=en |pages=16–19 |work=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |url=http://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2012-fall.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714152914/http://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2012-fall.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2019}}
In 1978, students suspended a {{convert|13|ft|m|adj=mid}} sailboat from the ceiling of Frary Dining Hall.
In the 1990s,{{specify|date=October 2020}} students covered up the door to the mathematics faculty offices to make it look seamlessly like a wall.

Pomona students have also observed or participated in many notable pranks at nearby Harvey Mudd College. Harvey Mudd is well known for its active prank culture,{{cite news |last=Peter |first=Tom A. |date=31 October 2007 |title=Campus pranks now come with permission slips |language=en |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1031/p02s03-ussc.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043757/https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1031/p02s03-ussc.html |archive-date=November 9, 2020}}{{cite news |last=West |first=Lauren |date=18 October 2019 |title=No laughing matter: The revival of Harvey Mudd's prank scene |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/no-laughing-matter-the-revival-of-harvey-mudds-prank-scene/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926055845/https://tsl.news/no-laughing-matter-the-revival-of-harvey-mudds-prank-scene/ |archive-date=September 26, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Ronan |first=Alex |date=5 October 2012 |title=Pulling a Swift One |language=en |work=The College Hill Independent |url=https://www.theindy.org/a/129 |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218064706/http://students.brown.edu/College_Hill_Independent/?p=7307 |archive-date=18 December 2014}}{{cite news |last=Beckman |first=Travis |date=8 April 2015 |title=Pranks on You! |language=en |work=Admission and Financial Aid |publisher=Harvey Mudd College |url=https://www.hmc.edu/admission/2015/04/08/pranks-on-you/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112034302/https://www.hmc.edu/admission/2015/04/08/pranks-on-you/ |archive-date=November 12, 2020}} including stunts such as the 1986 heist of Caltech's cannon.{{cite web |title=The Caltech Cannon Heist |url=http://people.bu.edu/fmri/somers/cannon.html |website=people.bu.edu |language=en |access-date=August 31, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020184046/https://people.bu.edu/fmri/somers/cannon.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Harvey Mudd College |date=8 July 2015 |title=Harvey Mudd's Caltech Cannon Heist |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amrKGixXEvg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014446/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amrKGixXEvg |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |access-date=14 August 2020 |website=YouTube |language=en}} Some Pomona pranks have targeted neighboring Claremont McKenna College,{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1963 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1963 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027180354/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1963 |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Kirk |date=1 April 1999 |title=The Rivalry |language=en |work=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |url=https://www.pomona.edu/news/1999/04/01-rivalry |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001220028/https://www.pomona.edu/news/1999/04/01-rivalry |archive-date=October 1, 2020}} the college's main athletic and ideological rival.

=Ski-Beach Day=

File:Pomona College Snow Day, 1923.jpg

Pomona College takes advantage of its location near the San Gabriel Mountains and within driving distance of the Pacific Ocean to host an annual "Ski-Beach Day" each spring. The tradition dates back to November 1891, when the college established an annual picnic in the mountains.{{cite news |title=1891 |language=en |work=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1890s/1891 |url-status=live |access-date=16 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714212851/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1890s/1891 |archive-date=July 14, 2020}} The outings began to focus on winter activities in the 1920s, and switched to a beach trip during a period of low snowfall in the 1940s, before later combining the two.{{cite web |date=5 September 2005 |title=Two for the Price of One: Ski-Beach Day |url=https://www.pomona.edu/magazine/pcmfl04/47thingsskibeach.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905215327/https://www.pomona.edu/magazine/pcmfl04/47thingsskibeach.shtml |archive-date=5 September 2005 |access-date=14 July 2020 |website=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} In its current form, students board a bus in the morning and are driven to a local ski resort where they ski or snowboard. After lunch, they are bused down to an Orange County or Los Angeles County beach for the rest of the day.{{cite web |title=Pomoniana - Ski-Beach Day |url=http://www.pomona.edu/Pomoniana/skibeachday.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705043740/http://www.pomona.edu/Pomoniana/skibeachday.shtml |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |website=Pomona.edu |language=en}}

=Sponsor groups=

All incoming students are placed into a sponsor group, with 10–20 peers and two or three upperclass "sponsors",{{cite news |last=Flores |first=Feather |date=30 March 2014 |title=Anatomy of a Sponsor Group |language=en |work=Voices |publisher=Pomona College |url=http://voices.pomona.edu/2014/03/anatomy-of-a-sponsor-group/ |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120121855/http://voices.pomona.edu/2014/03/anatomy-of-a-sponsor-group/ |archive-date=20 November 2014}}{{cite web |date=7 April 2015 |title=Residence Life at Pomona College |url=https://www.pomona.edu/administration/housing-residence-life/residential-life |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924091325/https://www.pomona.edu/administration/housing-residence-life/residential-life |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=28 August 2020 |website=Pomona College |language=en}} who are tasked with easing the transition to college life but not enforcing rules (a duty given to resident advisors)."[http://www.pomona.edu/life-on-campus/new-students/sponsor-groups.aspx Sponsor Groups] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818052650/http://pomona.edu/life-on-campus/new-students/sponsor-groups.aspx |date=August 18, 2013}}" Retrieved August 15, 2013.{{cite news |last=Davidoff |first=Jasper |date=5 April 2019 |title=Pomona sponsors say they're not equipped to handle sexual assault, mental health issues |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/pomona-sponsors-reporting/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929202701/https://tsl.news/pomona-sponsors-reporting/ |archive-date=September 29, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Friedersdorf |first=Conor |date=25 November 2014 |title=Nudging College Students to Prevent Rape and Sexual Assault |language=en |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/nudging-college-students-to-help-stop-rape-and-sexual-assault/383151/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023124303/https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/nudging-college-students-to-help-stop-rape-and-sexual-assault/383151/ |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |authorlink1=Conor Friedersdorf}} The program dates back to 1927 for women, and was expanded in 1950 to include men.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1927 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1920s/1927 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125051156/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1920s/1927 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=1 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |language=en}}{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1950 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1950s/1950 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925232101/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1950s/1950 |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}

Sponsor groups vary in their level of social cohesion, with some becoming friend groups.{{cite news |last=Nassirinia |first=Elika |date=8 December 2013 |title=Pomona Student Union Discussion Examines Sponsor Group System |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/news3619/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014455/https://tsl.news/news3619/ |archive-date=January 24, 2022}} They often share activities such as fountaining, a tradition in which sponsor groups carry someone to a campus fountain on their birthday and throw them in.{{cite news |last=Gee |first=Bryan |date=20 November 2013 |title=Five Steps to a Fountaining |language=en |work=Voices |publisher=Pomona College Office of Admissions |url=https://voices.pomona.edu/2013/11/five-steps-to-a-fountaining/ |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408093826/https://voices.pomona.edu/2013/11/five-steps-to-a-fountaining/ |archive-date=8 April 2014}} Members of one's sponsor group are referred to as "spiblings".{{cite news |last=Taranto |first=Julius |date=14 September 2010 |title=Explaining Pomona's Sponsor Program |language=en |work=The CMC Forum |url=https://cmcforum.com/2010/news/09142010-explaining-pomonas-sponsor-program |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014441/https://cmcforum.com/2010/news/09142010-explaining-pomonas-sponsor-program |archive-date=January 24, 2022}}

=Through the gates=

=Walker Wall=

File:Walker Wall TSL.jpg]]

In 1956, Pomona constructed a curved {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}}, {{convert|5|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} cinder block wall along a portion of the northern edge of its campus as a flood barrier.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1956 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1950s/1956 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803173809/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1950s/1956 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=28 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |language=en}}{{cite news |date=3 January 1996 |title=College Assesses Limits of Its Free-Speech Wall |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/03/us/college-assesses-limits-of-its-free-speech-wall.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029095131/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/03/us/college-assesses-limits-of-its-free-speech-wall.html |archive-date=October 29, 2020}} In the early 1970s, students began painting messages on the wall, and Pomona recognized it as a free speech wall in 1975 after the message "Free Angela" was painted on it, referring to the imprisonment of Angela Davis. Over the years, provocative postings on the wall have spawned a number of controversies.{{cite news |last=Cardenas |first=Jose |date=26 December 1995 |title=Messages of Hate on Campus Wall Put Freedom of Expression to Test : Education: Pomona College structure is a forum for student views. But vitriolic scrawlings could bring it down. |language=en |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-26-me-17881-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029154440/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-26-me-17881-story.html |archive-date=October 29, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Breslow |first1=Samuel |last2=So |first2=Ariel |date=30 April 2018 |title=Pomona Paints Over Walker Wall Message Calling CMC Profesor A 'Nazi' |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/news7603/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805225517/https://tsl.news/news7603/ |archive-date=August 5, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Ison |first=Lauren |date=16 September 2016 |title=Walker Wall's Displays Prompt Varied Reactions from Claremont Community |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/news5945/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922151501/https://tsl.news/news5945/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020}} In recent years, sponsor groups have painted the wall during orientation,{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1996 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1990s/1996 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014440/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1990s/1996 |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Thach |first=Cody |date=3 September 2012 |title=Walker Wall |language=en |work=Voices |publisher=Pomona College |url=https://voices.pomona.edu/2012/09/walker/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014442/https://voices.pomona.edu/2012/09/walker/ |archive-date=January 24, 2022}} and since 2009 the Queer Resource Center has painted the entire wall annually for Gaypril.{{cite news |last=Goldberg |first=Jamie |date=9 April 2010 |title="Bev Scavvy" Participants Paint Over QRC Rainbow Flag on Walker Wall |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/news1409/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926015104/https://tsl.news/news1409/ |archive-date=September 26, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Denome |first=Donnie |date=7 April 2017 |title=Walker Wall Painting Kicks Off Gaypril |language=en |work=The Student Life |url=https://tsl.news/life-style6680/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024011157/https://tsl.news/life-style6680/ |archive-date=October 24, 2020}}

Defunct traditions

=College songs=

A number of songs written by Pomona students and faculty have been associated with the college.{{cite web |title=College Songs |url=http://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803114610/https://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=25 August 2020 |website=The Choral Program |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}

The college's alma mater, "Hail, Pomona, Hail", was written by student Richard Loucks in 1910 or 1911.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1910 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1910s/1910 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720210515/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1910s/1910 |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |access-date=25 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} In 2008, it was discovered that it may have been originally written to be sung as the ensemble finale to a student-produced blackface minstrel show performed on campus.{{cite magazine |last=Woods |first=Mark |date=Winter 2009 |title=A Time to Sing |language=en |pages=6–7 |magazine=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |url=https://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2009-winter.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514184205/https://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2009-winter.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2021}} A commission recommended that it be replaced, but many alumni argued against its retirement, noting that the lyrics themselves are not objectionable. Additionally, research from Rosemary Choate (class of 1963) concluded from primary materials that Loucks likely did not actually write the song for the show and was misremembering when he recalled having done so half a century later.{{cite web |date=15 October 2008 |title=Recording History {{!}} The Origins of a Song |url=http://choatelaw.net/Pomona%20Report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319231402/http://choatelaw.net/Pomona%20Report.pdf |archive-date=March 19, 2012 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Choate & Choate |language=en}} Ultimately, president David Oxtoby decided to retain the song but to stop singing it at convocation and commencement.{{cite web |date=December 15, 2008 |title=Alma Mater - Letter From President Oxtoby |url=http://www.pomona.edu/administration/communications/special-features/alma-mater/alma-mater.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128042936/http://pomona.edu/administration/communications/special-features/alma-mater/alma-mater.aspx |archive-date=November 28, 2010 |access-date=February 6, 2011 |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Gordon |first=Larry |date=17 December 2008 |title=College restores its alma mater |language=en |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-17-me-briefs17.s4-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125121710/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-17-me-briefs17.s4-story.html |archive-date=January 25, 2021}}{{cite journal |date=2008 |title=Pomona College to Keep Its College Song despite Its Connection to a Blackface Minstrel Show |journal=The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education |language=en |issue=62 |pages=37–38 |jstor=40407362}}{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Matthew |last2=Di Grazia |first2=Donna M. |author-link2=Donna M. Di Grazia |title=Hail Pomona, Hail! |url=http://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/hail-pomona |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803112406/https://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/hail-pomona/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=The Choral Program |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} Since then, it has largely disappeared from living memory among current students.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Another college song, "Torchbearers", was written in 1896 by Francis Fulkerson (class of 1896) and professor Arthur Bissell, inspired by a Cahuilla festival that professor Frank Brackett and David Barrows (class of 1894) had attended.{{cite web |title=Torchbearers |url=http://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/torchbearers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803112627/https://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/torchbearers/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=The Choral Program |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1896 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1890s/1896 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715020543/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1890s/1896 |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} Originally titled "Ghost Dance", its name was changed and lyrics re-written by professor Ramsay Harris in 1930. In 1932, the Pomona men's glee club won the first and only National Glee Club Championship with their performance of the song. In 2009, its lyrics were modified to remove culturally appropriative aspects, but lingering concerns led to its retirement from active repertoire in 2015, and it is likewise unrecognized by most current students.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Several other less well-known Pomona songs continue to be sung by the college's choral program.{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Matthew |last2=Di Grazia |first2=Donna M. |author-link2=Donna Di Grazia |title=Other College Songs |url=http://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/other-college-songs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803120946/https://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/other-college-songs/ |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=The Choral Program |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}

=Banner springs=

Every class at Pomona creates its own class banner. In this longstanding tradition, the first-year class would present, or "spring", its banner in a public forum in which it could be seen by the majority of the student body, and then try to whisk it away to the Ghosts, a mentor group organization, before the second-years could capture it. The Ghosts would then judge whether or not the banner spring was legitimate according to a complicated set of rules.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1932 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1930s/1932 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027181554/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1930s/1932 |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} Notable banner springs occurred at the Fox Theater in Pomona (1932) and in front of a train carrying fans returning from a football game (1949).{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1949 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1940s/1949 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019003245/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1940s/1949 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} The 1949 spring was preceded by an attempt made from a helicopter, which was declared illegitimate because the banner could not be presented from a moving vehicle.{{cite web |date=1949 |title=Metate |url=http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Pomona_College_Metate_Yearbook/1949/Page_13.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014441/http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Pomona_College_Metate_Yearbook/1949/Page_13.html |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |access-date=31 August 2020 |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}

=Oxy bonfire=

{{external media

| float = right

| width = 230px

| image1 = [https://www.flickr.com/photos/pomona-college/8078391135 The 1939 Oxy bonfire], featuring "Beat Oxy!" signs

}}

During the era when Pomona's primary athletic rival was the Occidental Tigers, a bonfire and rally was held prior to the homecoming football game with the college,{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Alison |date=19 September 2010 |title=Theirs is a 'big game' of a different stripe |language=en |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-19-la-me-0919-then-20100919-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108090152/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-19-la-me-0919-then-20100919-story.html |archive-date=November 8, 2020}} traditionally assembled by first-year men.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1948 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1940s/1948 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021223220/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1940s/1948 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |access-date=24 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}{{cite book |title=1946 Metate |date=1946 |location=Claremont, California |publisher=none |language=en |quote=Our traditions remained [after WWII], juniors presented the flag, frosh built the Oxy bonfire, in winter the Christmas Supper, in spring the May Day.}} A corresponding "Pomona bonfire" at Occidental remains extant.{{cite journal |title=Oxy History and Traditions |url=https://www.oxyathletics.com/aboutathletics/historytraditions |url-status=live |language=en |publisher=Occidental College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414201159/https://www.oxyathletics.com/aboutathletics/historytraditions |archive-date=April 14, 2020 |access-date=24 August 2020 |website=Occidental Athletics}}

=Pole Rush=

File:1914 Pomona College pole rush.jpg

The annual Pole Rush, a competition between first-years and second-years, began shortly after Pomona was founded and was last held in 1926.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1926 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1920s/1926 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803173313/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1920s/1926 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}} It was a brawl in which men from both classes attempted to be the first to get their class's colors to the top of a pole.

=Sophomore Arch=

The Clark III dormitory, completed in 1930, includes a short tunnel connecting Sixth St. to Bixby Plaza. For a number of years after its completion, the second-years forbade first-years to pass through it, and it has been known ever since as the Sophomore Arch.{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1930 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1930s/1930 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720212028/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1930s/1930 |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |access-date=31 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |language=en}}

=Weigh-in=

File:Pomona College weigh-in.jpg

Sometime after World War II, Pomona's football team began an annual practice of forcibly weighing and measuring the proportions of the incoming first-year women during orientation, and then compiling and distributing booklets with the information. Sponsors objected to the tradition in 1972 and forced the team to end it. The team attempted to revive it a year later but were foiled by the sponsors and dean of students Jean Walton.{{cite news |last=Hutchinson |first=Helen |date=Winter 2005 |title=End of the Weigh-In |language=en |work=Pomona College Magazine |publisher=Pomona College |url=http://www.pomona.edu:80/Magazine/pcmwin05/ALvoices.shtml |url-status=dead |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503053741/http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/pcmwin05/ALvoices.shtml |archive-date=May 3, 2015}}{{cite web |last=McGrew |first=Rebecca |date=19 December 2014 |title=Judy Fiskin – Interview by Rebecca McGrew |url=https://www.pomona.edu/museum/exhibitions/2012/part-3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622020402/https://www.pomona.edu/museum/exhibitions/2012/part-3 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |access-date=28 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Museum of Art |language=en}}{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=1972 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1972 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215050426/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1972 |archive-date=February 15, 2021 |access-date=28 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |language=en}}

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web |date=7 November 2014 |title=2008 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125052624/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2008 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=14 August 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |language=en}}

}}

External links

[http://choral.pomona.edu/college-songs/ College Songs], from the Pomona College Choral Program
[https://cs.pomona.edu/~kim/CollegeSongs/ Pomona College Songs Committee website]

Traditions

Pomona College

Category:University folklore