Who’s Afraid Of A Big Bad Myth
Many South Eastern Conference schools have their local legends and myths surrounding the campus. The University of Georgia, for example, has the arches on campus. The long-standing myth is that if students walk through the arches, they will not graduate from UGA. Ole Miss has a similar myth. Students are superstitious of their university’s seal that is located in the Martin-Dale admissions building.
Auburn University is no exception. The university’s seal, located outside Langdon Hall is filled with myth, legend and superstition for the students and alumni of Auburn University.
The Board of Trustees of Auburn University adopted the university seal that current students and alumni are familiar with on Dec. 11, 1959, just two months after the university’s name was changed from The Alabama Polytechnic Institute to Auburn University.
Forty years later, the myth was born. Donated to Auburn University in 1999, by a secret society, the seal represents different aspects of Auburn University’s mission statement; instruction, research and extension.
An excerpt from Auburn’s mission statement that was developed by the Task Force on Mission established in 1995 and was approved by the Board of Trustees on March 20, 1997, states, “Auburn University’s mission is defined by its land-grant traditions of service and access. The University will serve the citizens of the State through its instructional, research, and outreach programs and prepare Alabamians to respond successfully to the challenges of a global economy.â€?
There are competing explanations of the myths surrounding Auburn’s seal. Everyone seems to have his or her own interpretations. According to Ashley Boon, a junior in the school of nursing at Auburn University and a Camp War Eagle councilor, claims that, “I’ve heard a couple of stories about the seal. The two I know of are if you are a student and you walk on the seal, you won’t graduate from Auburn and the other is you won’t find your mate while at Auburn.�
Chris Cochran, a senior in psychology at Auburn University, begged to differ. “I’ve always heard that if you walk on the seal your kids won’t come to Auburn.�
Either way, students are taught from the first time they see the seal at Camp War Eagle not to step on it, instead to walk around it so they aren’t cursed.
The myth and superstition of the university’s seal will surely remain for generations to come, adding to Auburn University’s rich love of tradition.
Photo credit: Virginia Tharpe
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