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CU Traditions
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| CU mascot Ralphie with her handlers. |
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School Mascot
Six decades of CU Buffalo logos
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Have you ever heard of the CU goat named
Lady Nicotine? How about the CU mule, or the bulldog?
All served brief stints as CU mascots before students
selected the buffalo as the result of a contest in 1934.
The first CU buffalo, Mr. Chips, was a regular at CU
home football games through the 1950's.
The first Ralphie debuted as a six month-old
calf in 1966, and was initially called "Ralph" by the
student body. The buffalo's name was later changed to
"Ralphie" in concession to her gender. The original
Ralphie died in 1978.
Today's Ralphie makes appearances at all
home football games, electrifying the crowd as she runs
the perimeter of the field dragging her handlers behind.
A tamer human "buffalo" known as "Chip" fills in at
indoor athletic events.
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CU Athletics page:
http://cubuffs.fansonly.com/
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First Old Main Bell
The Carillon
The carillon (a set of bells played by a keyboard) located in Macky
Auditorium, signals the top of the hour. If you are fortunate, there
will be a musician in residence to add a melody once or twice during
the day.
Old Main Bell
Cast in 1877 by Van Deuzen & Tift of Cincinnati, Ohio the first
University Bell was hung in the belfry of Old Main in 1878. It signaled
class changes until 1926, when a large crack appeared during the
celebratory ringing that followed a football victory over the Colorado
School of Mines.
Students played numerous pranks on the original University bell,
including a theft resulting in its disappearance for two years.
The bell has been replaced twice. Join alumni at the CU Heritage
Center in Old Main after home football victories to help ring the
bell - once for each point the Buffaloes score.
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School Songs
Alma Mater
Hail, all Hail our Alma Mater!
Ever will our hearts be true:
You will live with us forever,
Loyal we will be to you.
We sing forever your praises,
Ever more our love renew,
Pledge our whole devotion to you,
Dear old CU!
Fight Song
Fight! CU down the field...
CU must win!
Fight! Fight for victory,
CU knows no defeat.
We'll roll up a mighty score,
Never give in!
Shoulder to shoulder we will
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
University of Colorado Marching Band:
http://bands.colorado.edu/marching/
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Colorado Shakespeare Festival
1906 production of "Midsummer Night's Dream"
Outdoor performances of Shakespeare's plays had become a tradition
on the University campus long before the official inauguration of
the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. As early as 1897 the senior class
produced "al fresco" Shakespearean performances on Commencement
Day. These early performances took place on the lawn between Old
Main and Woodbury Hall in a natural amphitheatre created by a protective
grove of trees. The complexity and popularity of these productions
steadily increased.
In 1958 the Colorado Shakespeare Festival opened under the stars
(and the rain) at the University's Mary Rippon Theatre. In 1975
the University of Colorado became the 7th institution in the world,
and one of two in the U.S. to complete production of the entire
Shakespeare
canon. Directors and designers for the festival are veteran
theatre artists from major Shakespearean festivals and professional
companies; actors and technicians are recruited from national auditions.
Each season special public events and exhibits accompany the theater
productions.
Visit the Colorado Shakespeare
Festival web site.
Mary Rippon Theater
Colorado Shakespeare
Web site
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Conference On World Affairs
 Flags
of UN member nations line the walk from Hellems to Macky during
the Conference on World Affairs.
In
1948, University of Colorado sociology Professor Howard Higman organized
an international affairs discussion forum, United Nations Week,
which later evolved into the Conference on World Affairs. Since
1950, the flags of the United Nations member countries have lined
the walks from Hellems to Macky Auditorium. Every April the Conference
brings together a diverse community of thinkers: scholars, artists,
analysts, and more to participate in a cross-disciplinary event
the New York Times has called "a week-long extravaganza of discussion
and debate." Past conference participants have included Eleanor
Roosevelt, Henry Kissinger, Marianne Williamson, Paolo Soleri, Roger
Ebert, and Russell Means.
Visit the Conference on World
Affairs web site.
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Colors
Since 1888 CU Boulder students have proudly worn the official school
colors: silver and gold, symbolizing the mineral riches of Colorado.
Today black is often used as a background color to provide greater
contrast for the gold.
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Freshman beanies
 Freshman
Beanies, 1950's
Prior to 1963 tradition demanded that freshmen at the University
of Colorado wear distinctive green beanies, or "dinks". Today freshman
students blend into the student body (somewhat) more easily.
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Mace
The Mace of the University of Colorado
The tradition of the academic mace began in the late fourteenth
century when two ancient instruments, the royal scepter and the
battle mace, were combined to form a symbol of the authority of
the rector of a university. Noblemen carried the battle mace as
both a weapon and staff of command, and the sovereign used the regal
scepter as a sign of rulership, justice, and authority.
Together with the chain of office, the academic mace indicates that
the rector of a university is the temporary embodiment of the power,
authority, autonomy, and sovereignty vested in the institution represented.
Today the university marshal carries the academic mace at public
events such as commencement exercises, inaugurations, and convocations.
The University of Colorado Mace, created for the May 1984 Commencement,
was given to the University by Mr. and Mrs. David G. Hawthorn.
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Chain
The University of Colorado Presidential Chain of Office
Mr. and Mrs. David G. Hawthorn, Class of '24, donated the Presidential
Chain of Office to the University in 1980. It was created by Mary
Sartor (BFA '67, MFA '71) and first presented for the inauguration
of President Arnold Weber.
Colorado gold and silver are used throughout the chain to symbolize
the importance of those minerals in the history of the state, and
because they are the official colors of the University. The chain's
gemstones, which include diamond, citrine, topaz and amethyst, are
all from Colorado as well.
The chain holds three pendants. The back pendant is the seal of
the State of Colorado, which is surrounded by a golden ribbon representing
the circle of knowledge. The top pendant is the seal of the University,
which is surmounted by an arch set with diamond and topaz to signify
the necessary link between the search for knowledge and its practical
applications. The seal is supported by a laurel wreath, symbolic
of honor and success. The lower pendant is centered with a golden
topaz indicating humankind's search for knowledge.
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CU Trivia Bowl
"Trivia is an exercise in nostalgia. Concern for 'important'
information is an expression of responsibility to the culture.
Concern for trivia is an expression of affection for that culture."
from The Official Trivia Bowl Handbook
The CU Trivia Bowl began as the brainchild of CU marketing professor
David Bowen. Professor Bowen, having served as coach to CU's national
championship G.E. College Bowl team, developed the idea of holding
a similar event locally, which would test contestants' knowledge
of pop culture. With help from the CU Program Council and teaching
assistants, the first Trivia Bowl was held in the UMC Alferd Packer
Grill in 1968 and featured 32 teams.
Originally only three days long, the competition eventually expanded
to five, and included as many as 64 teams. Each year a new theme,
such as "Majoring in Murder," or "Woodstock Revisited" gave focus
to the programs, the stage set, publicity, and T-shirts. Team matches
were held during the day and special entertainment enlivened the
nights. Friday night the festivities came to an end with the quarterfinals,
semifinals and the championship round. The program finale was the
announcement of the Hall of Fame inductees.
In 1993, due to diminished student interest and participation, the
Trivia Bowl was retired. After an absence of eight years, the Trivia
Bowl was resurrected in 2001.
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 The
Norlin Charge
This address, composed by CU President George Norlin and first
delivered by him on June 9, 1935, is read by the current CU President
as part of every CU commencement ceremony:
"You are now certified to the world at large as Alumni of the
University of Colorado. She is your kindly mother and you her cherished
sons and daughters. This exercise denotes, not your severance from
her, but your union with her. Commencement does not mean, as many
wrongly think, the breaking of ties and the beginning of life apart.
Rather it marks your initiation in the fullest sense into the fellowship
of the University, as bearers of her torch, as centers of her influence,
as promoters of her spirit. The University is not the campus, not
the buildings on the campus, not the faculties, not the students
of any one time - not one of these or all of them. The University
consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are
touched by her influence and who carry her spirit. Wherever you
go, the University goes with you. Wherever you are at work there
is the University at work. What the University purposes to be, what
it must always strive to be, is represented on its seal, which is
stamped on your diplomas - a lamp in the hands of youth. If its
light shines not in you and from you, how great is its darkness!
But if it shines in you, who can measure its power? With hope and
faith, I welcome you into the fellowship. I bid you farewell only
in the sense that I pray you may fare well. You go forth, but not
from us. We remain but not severed from you. God go with you and
be with you and us."
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Additional Links:
Ask Ralphie
http://colorado.edu/sacs/AskRalphie
CU Buffoons
http://colorado.edu/UCB/StudentGroups/Buffoons
Take our "C.U.I.Q."
Trivia Quiz!
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