Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Commentary: Traditions go unnoticed

UTSA is still a rather young university and a repercussion of this is that we have underdeveloped traditions. With the fountain currently under construction, football season winding down and the bi-annual class ring ceremony coming up, I can’t help but wonder why the few traditions we do have receive little to no recognition.

Up until a week or so ago, the waterless fountain was just that. For about three years now this has been the norm and, until recently, we haven’t even questioned it. The legend is that placing both hands on the focal point of the Sombrilla while the water is running will conjure up good luck before an exam. The fountain has been dry for so long that any inkling of this tradition has been lost. We are the only ones capable of bringing these practices back to life.

Another important tradition that was definitely flying under my radar was the significance of our class ring ceremony. Did you know that the night before each ceremony all of the pre-ordered rings spend the night in the Alamo? How cool is that? This is something unique to San Antonio and is an interesting way to commemorate the time spent earning our degrees. The troublesome thing is not many students know about this until after their checks have cleared and their invitation to RSVP for the ceremony pops up in their email inbox. These are the kind of things that promote a sense of school pride and community. When the student body is strengthened in this way then the university’s reputation is elevated.

School pride is seriously lacking when it comes to football attendance. We have record-breaking crowds at the first game and it slowly tapers to a few rows of student representation by November. This is such an easy way to feel connected to the school that we put so much time and effort into. If going to class is the only student involvement that most partake in then our student culture is going to be boring.

This may seem like a played out complaint, but as the time to graduate becomes a reality the need to feel connected to one’s alma mater grows stronger. Hopefully once the construction on the fountain is finished, we will be able to share in the unique story behind it. Advertising the significance of the ring ceremony would motivate students to purchase this memento as a symbol of the traditions and memories they recall from their days at UTSA. We will never get these years back, so why not participate in school activities and traditions?

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