Golden, Colorado
At 7:00 am this morning the incoming freshman are required to meet at the base of the hill with a 10lb rock. This is tradition at the Colorado School of Mines. They will then hike up 1800 feet to deposit their rock on top of thousands of other rocks that form the letter “M” which overlooks the campus. After some ceremonial behavior, they will engage in “whitewashing” the rocks. (Think food fight with white paint.)
When it is over, the razor wire covered fence is locked back up, the video surveillance cameras are turned back on, and the “M” returns to its glorious prominence in the hills. This will be the last time any of these kids will stand on the “M”… this tradition belongs to incoming freshman only.
We chose to leave a bit later, leave the 10lb rock at the base, and hike what we thought was the trail to the “M”. When it became apparent that our trail was heading towards the “M” in Mexico, we did what was logical. We made our own path in the direction of all the noise.
We arrived as the kids were boarding the buses for the trip back down the hill. They were each wearing a yellow mining hat. They were covered from head to toe in white paint. Most were having a great time. Some were aware of the history. A few were still wondering how they made it up here at all, much less carrying a rock.
It is a unique tradition. And while I’m sure the logo needed to be spruced up, I’m guessing this was more about beginning the journey together… several hundred incoming freshmen… still in that “get acquainted phase” … have already united to complete a common task.
The Colorado School of Mines lists the first official day of class as tomorrow morning. Traditions like this are further proof that most learning takes place outside of that classroom.
Geoff Glibbery
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 3:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
