Recently, when we were on the campus of UNCG, we saw all of the apples with bites out of them. The tradition goes that if the apples, with a bite out, are left at the base of this Minerva statue, they will do well on exams. We imagine the apples have been there since the mid-term period as the apples have some age on them. As you can see in the photo, the sculptor is James Barnhill who earned an MFA from UNCG in 1982. The Minerva statue was a gift of the class of 1953 in 2003 for the 50th anniversary of their graduation. Here is a photo of Minerva from this time last year, so you can see the full statue. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy; and the patron of strategic war. (It sounds like she might have been an overachiever). Do you see the little bird on the left? He was joyfully pecking the flesh of one of the apples.
These college traditions and lore of things around campus, make good memories and are part of building community in higher education. Students graduate from an institution knowing these special traditions. In addition to placing apples at the base of Minerva, there is a rock that gets painted (known as the Rawk), a superstition to not walk under the clock tower, and the tradition of wearing blue and gold (school colors) on Friday. What traditions did your schools have?
An odd superstition.
Posted by: William Kendall | Monday, March 25, 2024 at 07:00 PM