Every school has its traditions. Those moments that all students and faculty members wait for. The chance to see another generation branded with the same seal of honor that makes them part of the unwritten brotherhood. Whether it’s the fresh golden shine illuminating off the fighting Irish football helmets every Saturday or the bloody Texas A&M war hymn screamed from the lungs of thousands on game day, traditions are more than just rituals. They serve as symbols and pay tribute to something bigger than one student, or one member of the staff. They allow the chance for people from all walks of life to forget about their differences, and bond under one united force.
The first-year walk at Elizabethtown College serves this purpose. It is one of the traditions that every first-year student goes through and is the final step in transforming a high school student into a Blue Jay.
The walk was created with the intention to allow students to familiarize themselves with each other and get a feel for the surrounding community. What makes the walk unusual is the intermittent trivia questions thrown in by upper classmen, which usually end in hilarious stunts. These questions are designed to help students remember other peers’ basic information and to either advance or move back in line.
Although the first-year walk is always a highlight for incoming first-years, the rules were changed a bit this year. The tradition itself still upholds, but to keep traditions alive it is important to adapt them to changing generations. This year, instead of just making the standard loop around town and back to the College, the students were taken into town and given free reign.
“This year was very different,” explained senior peer mentor Nathan Blunk. “In previous years, local businesses would have specific areas to stand along the first-years’ route, but now they are able to advertise directly in front of their store which allows students to get a sense of alignment and familiarity with the community”. This eliminates the problem of location and not knowing where all the different attractions are.
The newly-allotted freedom gave students a glimpse into the hands on, adventurous world of college. Allowing the students to walk individually with new friends in an unfamiliar territory is what college is all about. “Leaving all the comforts of a group and exploring new areas is the perfect jump start into college life,” said Blunk.
However, with these added benefits also came some losses. One of the most spirited aspects of the walk was slightly changed with the different course. “Because the students stayed in town and came back whenever they wanted, the walk was essentially cut in half,” said sophomore Kathleen Wilkinson. This meant that the time sophomore and junior peer mentors had to drive around in brightly painted cars, screaming and honking to draw in as much attention as possible, was also cut in half. “We still drove around and encouraged everyone, we just had to be more creative with the limited time we had,” Wilkinson said.
Etown’s first-year walk is similar to that of Gettysburg College. There, students walk around the town of Gettysburg and listen to the reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address once they reach the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. But location of the walk is irrelevant. Whether the walk is done through the streets of Etown, Notre Dame, Gettysburg or any other college town, they all serve the same purpose: to uphold the sense of tradition and create a memorable journey as students embark on a new chapter in their lives. The freedom involved in this year’s walk allowed Etown students to follow Ralph Waldo Emerson’s advice when he said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” The class of 2017 has created a new path through uncharted territory for students of future generations to walk down.
