| Traditions | |
- Ben-in-the-Box: A less savory tradition is one revolving around the statue of Ben-in-the-box next to Keiper Hall. Late at night, young men (and certain among the more adventurous young women) urinate at his base as an initiation rite of sorts. Whatever you do, don’t touch the statue!
- Create Your Own: F&M’s traditions tend to be more spur-of-the-moment, generally. We have very little compunction about making them up as we go, and few of us feel guilty about that. We have so much history, you see, that everything balances out. If you want to start one, go for it!
- Flapjack Fest: Every Reading Weekend, the day before finals begin, the Flapjack Fest takes place. FSA serves breakfast to fidgety scholars from 9 p.m. to midnight, teasing them about their upcoming exams. This is a wonderful time to relax, spend time with your friends, and frantically exchange chemistry notes with your lab partner—just kidding!
- Fum Follies: In a similar vein, every few years, the faculty, staff, and administration get together under the guidance of talented musicians and librettists, and perform Fum Follies, a revue parodying some aspect of student life, college history, and current events.
- Pajama Parade: All first-year students, as a part of First-Year Orientation, participate in the pajama parade. As halls, they decorate banners, perform skits, and choreograph dance routines. These skits have typically demonstrated great hall spirit (Mighty Mighty Second Dubbs), as well as some aspect of college history. The merging of the colleges, the decision to go coed, or the schools’ original founding are all fair game.
- Traying: The trays from the dining hall make great sleds, and there are more than a few quality hills in Buchanan Park. Steal one the first time it snows and sled your heart out! But remember to return the tray, or Dining Services gets cranky.
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| Urban Legends | |
- Old Main, the building that houses administrative offices and the president’s office, was built on the highest hill in the area. It was also built at the site of the gibbet—the hanging tree. It's been said that many restless spirits have been witnessed late at night, and sometimes, the bells of Old Main ring in the middle of the night.
- Shadek-Fackenthal Library hosts a number of scholars—one of whom is deceased. The northeast study room on the third floor hosts Dr. Harvey Bassler, who died tragically in 1950. Students closing up the library say they frequently find books on the Pennsylvania Dutch strewn about his old workspace, and strange noises are reported from the floor below at 10 p.m. on the nose, Dr. Bassler’s time of death.
- Stager Hall’s most famous story is of the senseless murder of Marion Baker in 1950. Ms. Baker, an employee of the college in then Stahr Hall, was only 21 when she ran into Edward Gibbs, a 25-year-old F&M senior and WWII veteran. He offered her a ride to campus after an errand, but he drove her to a remote area and bludgeoned her to death instead. He turned himself into President Distler a few days later, with no explanation for his actions other than “impulse.” He was sentenced to death and was executed in the electric chair in 1951.
- The squirrels are ready to take over the school. They have trained an elite force to leap out at unsuspecting students from the trash bins along the Quad and Green, attack them, and steal their take-away french fries from the CG. In all seriousness, the squirrels are huge and scary and prone to leaping at the unwary from trees. Watch your food—and your head.
- The two buildings that abut Old Main, Diagnothian and Goethian Halls, were used as Union hospitals during the Civil War. Allegedly, if music is played that mentions war in either building, clanking and moaning can be clearly heard throughout the building.
- Wohlsen House was also a fraternity house for Lambda Chi Alpha until the school reclaimed it in 1982. It is rumored that upon its repossession, several fraternity brothers drove a car through its front window in retaliation. This story can neither be confirmed nor denied, as Lambda Chi no longer exists at F&M, which in itself is telling.
- Wohlsen House, the admission building, boasts a number of strange occurrences—doors slamming, flickering lights, and odd noises. The oddest of these occurrences is the most entertaining. With some regularity, if people are there late at night, all of the lights go out at once, but if someone remembers to shout, “Cut it out, Bob!” or “Knock it off, Bob,” the lights are immediately restored.
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