UMass Amherst was founded in 1863, and it’s no secret that a ton of time has passed since those founding days – over 150 years, to be exact. In that time, many students have passed through this university, and with them, so have new ideas, events, and traditions. The UMass we experience today is definitely not the same UMass that your parents may have experienced if they attended here a full generation before you did. Here are some of the things they might have seen and done as UMass students, just like you and me.
Traditions:
Before our time on campus, UMass students formed traditions of their own as well. Freshman on campus would wear beanies around campus until our football team scored their first touchdown of the season. There used to be a rope pull by our campus pond at the beginning of each year, played just like tug-of war. Freshman competed against sophomores and juniors competed against seniors, and losers would fall into the pond. Oozefest gathered students from different colleges for games of mud volleyball. Winter Carnival was a campus-wide celebration, complete with a snow sculpture competition, performances, and the crowning of a Winter Carnival Queen.
As a part of Greek Week, fraternities and sororities created these sculptures during the Winter Carnival.
The Rope Pull tradition started a year after the Campus Pond was built. Men pulled a 600 foot rope across the pond!
Today, we have Homecoming Weekend at the beginning of each academic year, where we crown Homecoming King and Queen, watch football and the Homecoming Parade, and catch up with friends and alumni. The first week back at UMass is always filled with tons of activities that help students acclimate back to campus after a long summer. Some of these involve community service (and breaking records!) such as Fall 2014’s Largest Clam Bake in New England, or Fall 2013’s World’s Largest Fruit Salad. (You can see all the food records we’ve attempted to break in past years here!) The seniors enjoy Commencement Ball each year. It used to be held in the Student Union, but in recent years it has been held in the Mullins Center.
Buildings:
The Student Union was the first building on campus constructed to encourage student-lead activities. It used to have a bowling alley in its basement. Southwest was constructed from 1964 to 1966 to compensate for the large influx of students during that time. Hampden was a dining common, along with Hampshire and Berkshire. In the early 70’s, the W.E.B Du Bois Library was newly constructed. (Goodell used to take its place before its construction.) Franklin DC was nicknamed the “Copper Kettle” because of its shiny, copper roof (which has since changed green, like the Statue of Liberty). It was constructed specifically to accommodate the growth of people in the Central Residential area.
The Student Union’s bowling alley, in the place of where The Hatch used to be. We should have kept this!
One of the ways it’s possible to house 5,500 students in it – the Southwest Towers! Built with 22 stories each, they were designed to give Southwest a “mini-city” feel!
Here’s a picture of students eating at Hamp in Southwest. Can you see what’s missing?
All of these wonderful buildings marked a progressive time of growth on campus, and today we welcome new buildings like the Integrated Sciences Building, the Life Sciences Building, the Studio Arts Building, and the Integrated Learning Center that give students updated places to learn, study, relax or grab a coffee or snack. Because of the ever-growing number of intelligent students that attend UMass, a new residential area was created – the Commonwealth Honors College, open to students who are a part of the college. The North Apartments were also built recently for students looking for an apartment-type living space along with the comfort of being close to campus. Lastly, the Recreational Center gives students the opportunity to exercise, play sports, or take a group fitness class with friends.
People, places and traditions have changed here on campus, and will continue to change long after our graduation. But, we know one thing for sure: our love for UMass will stay the same.