Sunday, November 24: a date that will live in Ohio State infamy. On this date, unsuspecting OSU students awoke to discover that restrictions were being placed on their favorite Ohio State “non”-tradition, the Mirror Lake Jump–and they were not happy about it.
Mirror Lake Jump is celebrated every year during the heat of Beat *ichigan week and is one of the most widely celebrated events on OSU campus. All students unite in ignoring every ounce of common sense in their body and throwing themselves into the freezing cold waters of Mirror Lake. Traditionally, the University has refused to acknowledge this event and even has discouraged us against it, but the tradition carries on.
This year things changed. The university-issued statements laid down the law when they mandated all jumpers to have wristbands that could only be obtained via BuckID, police checkpoints at the lake, and only one point of entrance to the lake with a large Rent-a-Fence. Needless to say, the future was looking pretty grim for Mirror Lake night.
On this night, students, alumni, and just general Michigan-haters were welcomed into our cold, freezing arms, and now a wristband and a BuckID were necessary? Only one entrance would be open? We aren’t allowed to be even slightly inebriated?! Of course, students were not going to take this lying down.
Well actually, students did make the fence around Mirror Lake lie down on both Monday and Tuesday night in an act of defiance a la Germany, 1989. Wristbands were discarded and Mirror Lake still assumed its usual levels of insanity despite the university’s attempts. That night, the students sent a message: we’re not gonna take it. Let’s see if the university listens next year.