You may have heard whispers about the infamous LMU birthday tradition. The secret rite of passage woven into the fabric of the Lion experience. This tradition has become a cornerstone of the first-year experience. On the night of your birthday, you get thrown into the Foley Fountain at midnight. More than campus folklore, this ritual keeps the LMU spirit alive: the laughter, the chaos, and the shared stories echo long after the water dries. The heart of Loyola Marymount beats a little louder with every birthday splash that rings out alongside the church bells. It happened to me the moment the clock struck midnight.
The night of my 19th birthday, my first year at LMU, my friend met up with me outside of my apartment building. We talked about all the fun things I had done during the day until she had led me near the fountain where two guys came out and walked me near the water. One of them grabbed my legs while the other hooked his hands under my armpits. They were swinging me back and forward a few times like a pendulum while my gaze was focused at the water, smiling in anticipation.
Three. Two. One.
Their hands let go and I fell into the water, which was warmer than I expected! Standing up, dripping wet, my smile wouldn’t leave my face as my friends brought out a cake and were singing me happy birthday. I was overtaken by the pure joy of a newfound LMU tradition.
So if you’re hesitant about tossing your friends in–or being tossed yourself—let those doubts evaporate. Let any quiet disapproval dissolve into the fountain water, right alongside the fun, the friendship, and the harmless college mischief bubbling beneath the surface of the Foley Fountain.