Traditions are a staple of any school, early or higher education. Whether it's something simple like Homecoming, or more complicated like school rivalries, traditions are an unspoken but fundamental part of institutions. In many ways, the traditions remain to be the most consistent elements of many universities and institutions. Most of the buildings here at Shippensburg have been greatly altered from their original state and in some instances are new additions entirely. However, weekends like Homecoming bring alumni back from decades before, and it’s traditions like Homecoming that give that connective tissue between the old and new generations of Shippensburg. School traditions provide a link between each generation that passes through the institution. Parents and relatives who graduated from the same high school or college are able to sing along with the alma mater since it is the same alma mater that united them all those years ago. Traditions need to be protected greatly to not only keep older generations connected to their schools, but to also remind younger students that they are continuing a legacy.

Obviously, most schools celebrate Homecoming, but how they celebrate Homecoming and other yearly traditions is what makes them unique. Take Texas State University for example. Since 1967, their institution has celebrated Homecoming with the time-honored tradition of a Soap Box Derby. It’s as simple as it sounds: students design homemade cars and race them for fun every year. If soap boxes don’t work for you, try attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The races are still there, but this time around students are traversing the race track in a vehicle made out of mattresses.

Returning to local traditions, high schools have some traditions of their own. Shippensburg Area High School and Big Spring High School have a legendary rivalry, and it’s all over a little brown jug. As the local story goes, the rivalry between the schools has been around since 1956. However, Howard Strawmyre, a former Shippensburg sports trainer and his wife realized that with the schools being so similar, why not create an annual tradition that both can partake in. Thus, the Little Brown Jug was born.

As mentioned, school traditions are a wonderful thing, however sometimes there comes a point where traditions need to be broken. There are a few traditions from high school that were broken because they didn’t align with the society we are in today, and a lot of people had a problem with it, both parents and students. Even though it’s tradition and it’s been going on for years, sometimes you need to break away from that to become more accepting of others. A perfect example of old traditions on the way out is also a traditional part of Homecoming celebrations. For decades, Homecoming celebrations usually culminated in the crowning of a king and queen. Naturally, in the modern day and age, the crowning of a “king” and “queen” signals that the winners should always be two of the opposite sex. Colleges are more diverse, and those gender norms simply don’t fit the campus populations of the present day. So many schools, like Shippensburg University, have changed the tradition to Homecoming Royalty. A needed and greatly appreciated update.

When it comes to school traditions it's clear that the best ones are those that can evolve over time to meet with the standards of the current day, but are also able to keep the core elements that make them special and unique in the first place.

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