Traditions are the heart of Meredith’s rich student life! Campus-wide traditions are open to the whole campus community each year while class traditions are celebratory milestones that a student participates in once while at Meredith. More information about the traditions at Meredith is shared below.
Class Events and Activities
Each class participates in a variety of annual events. Senior events include a celebration night of the days remaining until graduation based on the class’ graduation year, a senior parent night and baccalaureate. Seniors also have the privilege of painting the tunnel below Wade Avenue each year. In the fall, the junior class sponsors a Ring Dinner. At the dinner, juniors celebrate the wearing of their class rings. The sophomores sponsor a Guardian Angel Dance in the fall and Tea for Two and a Charming Evening in the spring. Freshmen participate in the Fire and Water Dinner in April.
Campus-Wide Traditions
The Campus-wide traditions below are listed in sequential order.
Cornhuskin’
In the fall, each class presents for competition a skit, word parade, a tall tale, songs and a hog-calling skit, all of which are related thematically. The four classes are judged on these performances as well as on can art, class attendance and sweatshirt design. The Meredith Pride Spirit stick is given by MRA to the most spirited class. All of these activities comprise the official Cornhuskin’ festivities. Additional activities scheduled throughout the week include theme reveal, the President’s Raid, and Cornhuskin’ parade. Cornhuskin’ is sponsored by the Meredith Recreation Association and usually occurs during the first week in November. Cornhuskin’ rules are available in the Office of Student Leadership and Service.
White Iris Ball
Alice in Wonderland
Once every four years since 1924, the faculty and staff perform Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland for the students. Students are hard-pressed to identify their elaborately costumed instructors who act out this literary fantasy. The next performances are scheduled for 2028 and are open to students only. In 2024 the Meredith community celebrated the 100th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland at Meredith College.
Founder's Week
Each year, a week is set aside for Meredith to honor its founding on February 27, 1891. Founders’ Week often is marked by activities that celebrate the history of the College. The College’s name was changed in 1910 from Baptist University for Women (Baptist Female University, 1891–1905) to honor Thomas Meredith’s work in the founding of the College.
Crook Hunt
Each spring the seniors hide a wooden crook from the juniors. The juniors, aided by enigmatic clues, spend a week searching the campus for this stick and very rarely find it. If the crook is found, it is brought into Class Day with a black ribbon. If it is not found, the crook is brought into Class Day with a ribbon of the Senior Class colors. Crook Hunt rules are available in the Office of Student Leadership and Service. The event began in 1906 when the crook was presented by an instructor to the seniors. This elaborate hide-and-seek has been staged annually since it was revived in 1929.
Sizzlin’ September Street Fest
The Meredith Activities Board sponsors an on campus festival featuring a band, food trucks and fun activities.
Stunt
The Meredith Recreation Association (MRA) has sponsored this event of class rivalry since 1915, its form changing from original plays to a variety of recreational competitions. Stunt promotes class unity through class competition, creativity and fun. Points are awarded for each event and are used in determining the overall winner of Stunt. Recent events in Stunt have included bat spin, tug of war, lip sync, limbo, and a three-legged race. The event usually occurs in mid-April. Rules for Stunt are available in the Office of Student Leadership and Service.
Spring Formal Dance
The freshman, sophomore and junior classes sponsor a formal dance in the spring in honor of the senior class. Seniors attend the dance free of charge. All students are welcome.
Celebrating Student Achievement
Typically held in early to mid-April, this day recognizes undergraduate research, leadership and academic awards, music and art performances, and a variety of other forms of achievement. Families are invited to join in the celebration. Students do not have regular classes on this day as it is designated to celebrate all types of student achievement across the college.
Awards Presentations
Each year as the spring semester comes to a close, Meredith celebrates the achievements of its outstanding students at an annual Academic and Leadership Awards program. College-wide academic and leadership awards are presented.
In addition, many departments and schools host awards ceremonies scheduled during the second semester. A number of those events, as well as the Undergraduate Research Conference, are held on a day of Celebrating Student Achievement, a tradition begun in 2003 through the collaboration of the Divisions of Academic and College Programs.
Class Day Activities
Sophomores honor the members of the senior class (the Big class) and the seniors highlight their college years on the day before graduation. Members of the sophomore class spend the morning constructing two 100-foot daisy chains to be used for the afternoon’s Class Day exercises. The white-clad sophomores hold two daisy chains and singers sing the Daisy Chain Song as the seniors walk past the chains. Class historians recall and depict key events of the graduating class’ four years at Meredith. The sophomore and alumnae sibling classes sing traditional songs to the seniors. During even years, sticks and stones are presented to the sophomores; during odd years, they receive wishbones. At the conclusion of Class Day, the chains form the class numerals of the graduating class, and the seniors form a circle and celebrate with their classmates.
Class Events & Activities
Each class participates in a variety of annual events.
Senior events include a senior appreciation breakfast celebration night of the days remaining until graduation based on the class’ graduation year, a senior family night, a Baccalaureate service, and Class Day, the day before the commencement ceremonies. Seniors also have the privilege of painting the tunnel below Wade Avenue each year.
The junior class sponsors a Ring Week and a Ring Dinner. At the dinner, juniors celebrate the wearing of their class rings and the accomplishment of being halfway through their degrees.
The sophomores sponsor a Guardian Angel Dance in the fall and Tea for Two in the spring, both an opportunity to honor their mentors/role models. The sophomore class also hosts Charming Evening, often referred colloquially to as the bling before the ring– the piece of jewelry the class shares before receiving their class ring as a junior. Sophomores also participate in Class Day.
Freshmen participate in the Fire and Water Dinner in April, an evening for first-year students to celebrate and reflect on a successful transition to college.
Meredith Mascot
During the fall semester of 2007, the College launched the Avenging Angels as the official Meredith mascot.
College Flower
The Meredith College official flower is the iris. Loleta Kenan Powell, ’41, developed the “Meredith Hues” iris planted around the fountain, near the Cate Center, near the Alumnae House and at other locations around campus.
College Colors
The Meredith College official colors are maroon and white.
Class Color
The colors of all odd classes are blue and white until their junior year when they adopt rainbow colors. Even class colors are green and white. Leap year classes’ colors are purple and gold.
Class Ring
The Meredith Class Ring was designed in 1953 by a committee including Jean Dula Fletcher, ’53, and Ann Lovell, ’54. The ring is an oval onyx surrounded by silver or gold with the Meredith seal engraved on the onyx and oak leaves impressed on the band. As an undergraduate, a student wears the ring on her finger with the seal pointing toward her. At graduation she turns the ring around so that the seal “faces the world”. Degree-seeking undergraduate students who have completed 60 hours of coursework (typically the first semester of the junior year) are eligible to purchase the ring. Sales are coordinated by the Meredith College Alumnae Office.
Big-Little Program
The Big-Little Program forms mentoring relationships that help students adjust to college life. New students may opt to participate in the program and be assigned a Big until the Big student graduates. Program enrollment is rolling, though enrollment primarily occurs at the beginning of each semester. Students who enroll at the beginning of the fall semester receive their matched pair announcement on Big/Little Share Day during the second week of classes. Throughout the year, paired classes participate in events such as ice cream socials, pizza parties, and class serenades.
Odd and Even Classes
The four classes are divided into odd-numbered and even-numbered years. “Them Bones” is the song of the odd-numbered year and “Hail to the Even Spirit” is the song of the even-numbered year. On Class Day, members of odd classes wear black gloves on their left hands and give their little sisters wish bone charms to wish them luck. The even classes give their little sisters bags of sticks and stones “to protect them from the Odd Spirit’s bone.”
Bathtub Ring
Three members of the Class of 1970, Betty King, Ayn Sullivan, and Peggy Timmerman, founded The Bathtub Ring singing group in the spring of 1968 and first performed for Phi Luau during Rush Week. Their blend of rebellion against and honoring of Meredith traditions has made The Bathtub Ring a perennial favorite at numerous campus events. Membership is by audition, and selections are made by the graduating Bathtub Ring members of their little even-year class.
The Oddballs
The Oddballs is a spirit group of four very enthusiastic students in an odd class. To be an Oddball, a student must be a member of an odd class and audition at the end of their sophomore year. Upon being selected as an Oddball member, a student will be inducted into Oddball status at the following Class Day, held the day before graduation. The Oddballs entertain by doing cheers and amusing activities at special events.
Contact Information
Cheryl Jenkins
Director, Student Leadership and Service
202 Cate Center
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 760-8338
leadershipandservice@meredith.edu
