Colleges across the nation have their own traditions that cultivate a unique experience — from the “Roll Tide” chant at the University of Alabama to Boston College’s “Ginger Run” — and our own Southern Utah University is no exception. In fact, they take it one step further with an entire program dedicated to the special activities and rituals that T-Bird Nation has been doing for years.
In total, there are 50 official traditions at SUU. These traditions can be done at any time, but in order to count it towards the tradition keeper reward bracket, participants must take a picture of themselves carrying out the tradition and post it on social media along with #SUUTradition.
For example, to complete the “Wear Red on Friday” tradition, one must take a picture of their red outfit and upload it to social media. If the participant does not want to post online, they can save all of their photos in a digital folder.
Once a student has completed five traditions, they can head over to the R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center Suite 103 and show an available staff member the evidence of their marked off traditions. When approved, they will receive a sticker of the Carter Carillon Bell Tower, to commemorate every student’s first tradition of walking under the bell tower at freshman orientation.
At 25 tradition, they are given a Tradition Keeper t-shirt. When all 50 traditions have been completed, students have access to an exclusive graduation stole they can wear on top of their gown as they walk for commencement. Recently, the program has introduced a tradition keeper challenge coin to reward T-Birds who have kept all of SUU’s traditions.
“This gives students a way to get outside of their comfort zone, meet new people, meet new friends and just go out and try different things such as those traditions,” said Mia Vazquez, the Marketing and Involvement Chair Captain of the Student Alumni Association.
Vazquez is entering her Junior year at SUU and has been participating in the tradition keeper program since she was a Freshman. Some of her favorite memories of SAA surround her best friend, Molly Costello, last year’s SAA President who introduced her to the organization.
“Molly did exactly what these roles are supposed to do,” Vazquez stated. “She brought me in, made me feel like I had a second home, especially with the advisors and meeting the other committee members.
Vazquez’s goal with her position is to make sure people are taking advantage of the tradition keeper program, and getting involved at SUU through their activities.
“[The SAA] wants everyone to be involved as best as they can within the school,” she said. “Not only within SAA or within their own clubs, but within the community.”
She emphasized that traditions are not exclusively for students to complete, but also alumni, future T-Birds and the larger community. While many of the traditions take place on campus, a sizable number of them are available in and around Cedar City. SUU is very proud of its host city and wants students to feel a part of Cedar, just as much as residents should feel a part of SUU.
One example of a tradition that connects Cedar and SUU is “Holidays in Cedar City”, which highlights walking downtown, the festive lights strung around the city during the holiday season. There are also traditions that take place in the surrounding outdoors, like the “C-Trail” and “Thunderbird Gardens”.
“We are called the Student Alumni Association, which means that we are also involved with the alumni,” Vazquez pointed out.
The SAA president, Jeremy Walker, frequently meets with the National Alumni Council to discuss how they can strengthen the T-Bird experience before and after graduation — Or as Vazquez said, “What makes T-Bird’s proud to say ‘We are an alumni from SUU!’”
While these traditions create fun memories during college, the program’s purpose expands beyond that.
“It literally just allows them to expand themselves, expand their group of friends,” Vazquez explained. “We want to make sure they feel like they are at home.”
The SAA hopes that by encouraging students to participate in activities that create an exciting and unique experience at SUU, it will instill a sense of school pride within them and strengthen T-Bird Nation as a whole.
Author: Heather Turner
Editor: Ava Miner
Photos Courtesy of the Student Alumni Association
eic@suunews.net
This article was originally published in the August 2024 edition of the University Journal
