On the night of the highly anticipated football game between The Ohio State University’s Buckeyes and University of Michigan’s Wolverines, OSU student have a long standing tradition: drink, and hop into Mirror Lake. Hundreds of students jump while thousands watch, and it’s one of those campus traditions that has become a rite-of-passage at OSU. But, not everyone is a fan: Barstool reports that the Vice President of Student Life sent a university wide email Monday morning urging students not to jump, citing the risk of hypothermia and injury to try to steer students away.
This isn’t the first time that the administration has tried to stop the tradition. Sports Grid reports that the university’s email is an annual warning. The tradition causes injury, but Sports Grid insinuates that the event is also somewhat of a public relations nightmare for the university.
The OSU Student Wellness Center issued a similar advisory, reiterating the fact that the event is not university sanctioned and offering safety tips for those who choose to jump anyway. But most students have brushed off the warnings, are still planning on taking the jump. “The biggest concerns I have are that it’s going to be really cold and duck poop for sure, but I’m not too worried,” OSU student Holden Simon told The Lantern, an student paper. “I do plan on jumping. The school is big about tradition so it’s just one of the things we do here.”
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