KU landmarks and traditions

Posted 2 hours ago

The University of Kansas recently asked on LinkedIn, “Which KU landmarks and traditions make you feel the most connected to the Jayhawk community?” Rather than just add another comment to that post, I thought I would write my own post.

Marching down the hill and run-in

I was part of the Marching Jayhawks my first two years on The Hill. I loved being part of the tradition of the band marching down the hill and into the stadium on game day. There were always a lot of people along the route cheering us on.

We also had a tradition of running in from the lower bowl of the stands into our positions onto the field for our pre-game show. I was always a bit nervous about taking a tumble down those stairs. I can’t recall anyone falling in my two years of being in the band. The pre-game show consisted of songs that had deep links to KU tradition.

Rock Chalk Chant

One of my favorite traditions was the Rock Chalk Chant. It is unique just to KU. It is always a great way to show pride in our school and our Jayhawks. It was a cheer that President Theodore Roosevelt once dubbed “the greatest college cheer ever devised.” Limestone or “chalk rock” is prevalent in the area and a geology professor came up with the cheer.

Waving the wheat

Another favorite tradition of mine was “waving the wheat” after a Jayhawk victory. I did not get to do much of that during football season and marching band, but got to do a lot of it during basketball season. The Jayhawks won the national championship my freshman year and got to the Final Four two other years. I still enjoy this tradition today when I watch the Hawks on TV.

The big tooter

One of the most memorable sounds on campus is the steam whistle or “Big Tooter” that sounds at the end of hourly class periods throughout the day. The present day whistle replaced the one that I heard when I was on campus.

Memorial Campanile & Carillon

I like this photo because it reminds me of all the times I saw the sun rise on my way to campus with the Campanile primary in my view across campus.

This is both a landmark and the source of memorable sounds for me. The bells would mark every 15 minutes and then ring out the number of hours that the time was. From time to time, someone would play the carillon. I remember hearing it play on Sundays. Everything from the alma mater to other classical pieces.

The Campanile is also one of the strongest landmarks on campus. Perched at the top of the hill, I would see it everyday as I walked from my fraternity house on the edge of campus to my classes. It rises up at the top of the hill from the football stadium down at the bottom.

One of the traditions at KU was that graduates walk through the Campanile as they walk down into the football stadium for graduation ceremonies. There is also a tradition that if any underclassman walks through it that they won’t graduate on time. Maybe that explains why it took me an extra year to graduate.

Frasier Hall

Fraser Hall is another strong landmark on campus. I am choosing it as one of my favorites because it would greet me when I drove back to campus from visiting my home in Independence. Fraser would be up on the hill with its two flags on top and the first landmark would welcome me back to campus on that drive. I had a couple of classes in Fraser throughout my time on The Hill. I feel like Frasier would make a good monopoly piece.

Marvin Hall

I need to give one final landmark shoutout to Marvin Hall. Marvin is the home of the architecture school and I spent more hours in this building than on any other on campus. Some of my last memories as a student was hanging out in front of Marvin before we walked over to line up to walk down the hill for graduation.

I’m a Jayhawk

Finally, no discussion about KU traditions would be complete for me without the main fight song, I’m a Jayhawk. I played it many times on my trumpet as part of the marching band and it the music that most identifies me with my alma mater. The opening of the song is my ringtone for my wife, who I first met at KU. I still love hearing the song whenever I am lucky enough to catch a game from Lawrence on broadcast TV or while watching the NCAA basketball tournament. I am proud to be a Jayhawk and this music is one of my favorite medleys to hear.

Rock Chalk!

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