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 When I think about what first attracted me to Bryn Mawr, one thing that immediately comes to mind is the traditions.  I decided to research the role traditions play at other colleges and universities and how important they are to students.  I compared Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, and Pomona College because they all vary in size and location. 

At each school traditions seem to be a major part of student life.  When I searched “traditions” on the U of M website, I was lead to a separate site about traditions and history.  University of Michigan has its own committee dedicated to traditions on campus and keeping them alive, as well as promoting their history.  Dartmouth is famous for their ancient traditions involving sports and homecoming night.  When I searched “traditions” on their website, I saw numerous articles by students about the special traditions on campus and one page even mentioned special student tours that focus on the school’s traditions.  While the traditions at Pomona do have the historical significance that bonds the traditions at Michigan and Dartmouth, traditions still seem to be a very vital part of students’ lives.  Finding information about the traditions at Pomona was slightly more difficult than Dartmouth and Michigan and I had to turn to other student sites such as Unigo to find details.  I think that Pomona traditions seem to be relatively new and student lead, so the website has not yet developed such devotion to traditions that Dartmouth and Michigan have. 

I think that my findings prove that no matter size, history, or location, traditions are about the students and in general, students enjoy their traditions and enjoy working to keep them alive.  Traditions are definitely something that attract students to schools and I think that overall, traditions seem to be growing at more and more universities. 

"Hill Winds, Granite Brains, and Other Dartmouth Traditions ." Dartmouth Parents and Grandparents. 01/08/2008. Dartmouth College, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://parents.dartmouth.edu/news_and_events/news_articles/traditions.html>.

"University of Michigan History and Traditions." University of Michigan. 09/27/2004. University of Michigan, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.umich.edu/pres/history/about.html>.

"Pomona College." Unigo. 11/29/2008. Unigo, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.unigo.com/pomona_college/photos/>.