4 | THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM | BACK TO SCHOOL | MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007
TRADITIONS
Be true crimson and blue
Every tradition Jayhawks should know
BY JOE CAPONIO jcaponio@kansan.com
The Jayhawk:
had come to be known as a symbol synonymous with the people who made Kansas a free state where slavery would be illegal. When the KU football players first took the field in 1890, they were called "Jayhawkers," and the University has been affiliated with the bird ever since.
For years, the Kansas Jayhawk has been one of the most recognizable mascots in the nation. The term "Jayhawk" dates back to the 1840s, when settlers in Kansas created the mythical bird by combining the blue jay with the sparrow hawk. By the end of the Civil War, the Jayhawk
During the past century, the Jayhawk has undergone several changes. The logo has been changed six times since 1912, including last year when the font of the letters "KU"
Students throw newspaper confetti as the Kansas starters are introduced before a game last season.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
was changed. Today, the Jayhawk is everywhere you look on campus and throughout Lawrence.
The Rock Chalk Chant:
Theodore Roosevelt, former president of the United States, once said that this instantly recognizable chant was "the greatest chant I've ever heard." The chant dates back to 1866, when KU chemistry professor E.H.S. Bailey and his associates were on a train from Wichita to Lawrence. Along the way, they passed the time by trying to create a stirring cheer, and eventually came up with the chant. At the time, the cheer was "Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU"
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Less than a decade later, "Rah.
Rah" was replaced by "Rock Chalk" because it rhymed with Jayhawk and was symbolic of the limestone surrounding the Lawrence campus.
To this day, the chant is used at all University sporting events. However, most people know the chant from when it is used at the end of KU basketball games when the Jayhawks have locked up a victory in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Alma Mater:
The University's official alma mater was written in 1891 and
Jared Gab/CONTRIBUTED FILE PHOTO
Big Jay meets with students before graduation at the Chancellor's house, behind Fraser Hall. Chancellor Robert Hemenway hosts graduates at his home before the ceremony.