The grass: To walk on or not to walk on
Ashley Fuquay
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Features
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Looking through "Golden Days of the Purple and White" by Dr. C. Richard King and "John Tarleton and His Legacy: The History of Tarleton State University" by Dr. Christopher Guthrie does not illuminate the matter. Neither does any of the other manuscripts in the special collections of the Dick Smith Library. The grass is not discussed in either book except to mention that it was originally covered in grass burrs.
"I never found anything about that
tradition as to when it started or why it started. It just happened. I am not even sure that when I first came here, which was the early 1980s, if that was even a tradition at that point in time," Dr. Christopher Guthrie, a history professor and The Tarleton historian, said. "You know there has been that tradition that you can't walk on the seals that you can't walk on those is really old. It began back in the '40s or '50s. Maybe the grass thing started the same time. Maybe it was something to do with too many people were cutting across the grassy area and causing paths and killing the grass and stuff like that. I don't know."
There are so many versions of the rules of who can walk on the grass and who will be yelled at from across campus, it can be very confusing. Versions of these rules say that people such as the Purple Poo, P.A.N.K.U.S., veterans, graduates, seniors and Plowboys may walk on the grass. The search for the actual rules goes on.
Shane Henry, Mr. TSU and SGA President, had his own opinion on the matter.
"There is no official rule about walking on the grass, but it is a tradition and we ask the students to participate in our traditions, but it is not a requirement," he said.
Miss TSU Sarah Barron agreed. She said that it was the tradition that makes students stay clear of the grass and not because of maintenance reasons.
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Steve Trogdon
posted 12/17/08 @ 11:34 AM CST
If first arrived at the Tarleton Campus in 1966 and was a student at Tarleton State University from 1972-79. There was no tradition of not walking on the grass anywhere on campus except maybe in front of the old student center (and it had a metal pipe railing around it). (Continued…)
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