Oxy Traditions
Here, captured on film, are a baker's dozen of Oxy traditions—some old, some newer, all Oxy.
Oxy's Men's Glee Club (shown here in 1917) has always dressed to impress. Since 1906, the Glee Club has provided a campus soundtrack familiar to every Oxy alumnus.
Festive birthday celebrations at Oxy often include the ritual of tossing the birthday boy or girl into the Lucille Gilman Memorial Fountain – otherwise know as The Fountain.
Bill Hogoboom '39 and classmate Bob Sheahan, seen here at a 1936 football game, use their megaphones to give an extra boost to Io Triumphe, the beloved string-of-nonsense-syllables spirit yell used to strike fear in the hearts of opponents. It's also used as a kind of secret handshake among Oxy alums.
An annual campus event for more than 60 years, the modern version of Dance Production features student dancers performing student choreography – the only program guaranteed to sell out Thorne Hall for two nights running.
Oxy’s birthday party, celebrated on April 20 – the day in 1887 when the California Secretary of State signed Occidental’s incorporation papers.
In addition to teaching the Classics, Latin, and Greek, Dr. William Dennis Ward wrote the words to "Occidental Fair" in 1908.
Quadsitting is one of Oxy's oldest and most frequently observed traditions: the combination of Southern California weather and Beatrix Farrand’s landscaping of the central Quadrangle has made it a natural hangout, particularly at lunch.
Senior members of the 1941 football team preside over the ceremonial burial of the Sagehen following Oxy's 26-14 victory over Pomona. The Oxy-Pomona game is Southern California's oldest intercollegiate rivalry, dating back to 1895. That USC-UCLA thing didn't begin until 1929.
Oxy athletic teams have been the Tigers since at least 1913; the name Oswald, origin uncertain, appears to have been first bestowed on the Tiger mascot in 1948. (Who better than a Tiger named Oswald to take on a Sagehen named Cecil?)
Oxy's Facilities Department accesses the tunnels several times a month for regular maintenance; students go "tunneling" for adventure.
It’s usually sunny and hot at commencement rehearsal, so President Veitch thoughtfully provides water balloons for an all-out splatfest: the President’s Office versus the seniors.
Every Tuesday, resident advisers in each residence hall put on hall spread at 10 p.m. A brief meeting or activity – everything from a cappella concerts to trivia contests – in the lounge is followed by a “spread” of snacks.
For more than 80 years, seniors have been required to pass a senior comprehensive requirement in their major – everything from a thesis to an in-class test to an art project, depending on the subject.