Appendix 3: Traditions

Formal Traditions

The College sponsors several events annually that build camaraderie, recognize excellence and service, and celebrate achievement. Learn more.

Capping

The evening before Commencement, sophomore graduates clad in white gowns, and senior graduates clad in royal blue gowns, are “capped.” This tradition dates to the early days of the College when each graduate selected one younger student to place the traditional mortarboard upon the head. Today, each graduate selects two or three other students or other individuals of any gender who are special to the student. This ceremony is held on the front steps of Main Hall, weather permitting, with cappers traditionally dressed in white dresses or slacks or white shirts and khaki pants.

Commencement

On Saturday morning following spring final exams, Cottey celebrates Commencement, a festive ceremony that recognizes and honors Cottey graduates and Cottey as a learning community. Graduating sophomores in white caps and gowns and graduating seniors in royal blue caps and gowns assemble in the Rogers Fine Arts Building and carry daisies 
(associate degree graduates carry a single daisy; baccalaureate degree graduates carry a cluster of daisies). First- and third-year students, wearing white attire, form two lines beginning at the Sculpture Garden. Graduates march from the Rogers Fine Arts Building to the Sculpture Garden, where they pass through the column formed by the first- and third-year students. They then proceed toward the Center for the Arts where they process through a tunnel of faculty members. The graduates then enter the Auditorium and place their daisy/daisies into a basket at the entrance. Following the Commencement ceremony recessional, first-year students pick up a single daisy placed in the basket by second-year graduates and form the traditional Daisy Chain through which the new graduates pass. Third-year students present second-year students pursuing a baccalaureate degree at Cottey a cluster of daisies symbolizing their entrance into the B.A. program. 

Family Weekend

Early in the fall, family members are invited to campus for a weekend of special activities. The first Family Weekend was held in 1984. 

Formal Drawing

Held at the beginning of the fall semester, each freshman is chosen at random or by legacy to become a member of the Alphan, Delphian, Emerson, or Magnoperian Societies. 

Founder's Day Weekend

Founder’s Day is celebrated each year in late March or early April. The observance began while the College’s founder, Virginia Alice Cottey, was alive. It was originally a celebration of her birthday, which was March 27, 1848. Today, alumnae return to visit their alma mater, attend special events, and renew friendships.

Signing of the Cottey Book

During Opening Convocation each fall, all new students participate in this ceremony of honor. Signing of the Cottey Book signifies personal and academic honesty, commitment to the values of the College, and dedication to cooperation for the good of all. New students have signed the Cottey Book since 1935. 

Cottey Daisies

The daisy holds a special place in Cottey’s history. It was the flower the first young women who attended Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard’s college voted to represent them both in the college’s colors yellow and white and as its official flower. That flower and those colors are still part of Cottey’s tradition today. Students will encounter the daisy as a recurring theme throughout the Cottey experience. Coincidentally, the marguerite, which is similar to a daisy, is the flower chosen by the founders of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Learn more about Cottey Daisies on our website.

The most notable of these appearances is the Daisy Chain. As part of the Commencement procession. See Commencement notes above.

Ducks and Owls

Legend has it that years ago when the College was first founded, some senior girls came upon a duck stuck in a frozen pond near the campus. The seniors rescued the duck, and the duck became the official mascot of the Cottey senior (second year) class. Fast forward a few decades to now and you’ll see ducks – mostly the yellow kind you find in a bathtub - have proliferated on Cottey’s campus. You’ll see them in faculty and staff offices and around all the student living areas. 

Olive the Owl is the mascot of the Baccalaureate classes. The owl represents Older Wiser Learners. The owl was named during Founder’s Weekend 2015 by a vote of the alumnae in honor of Olive Gatewood, the first alumna of Cottey. 

The Duck Game

The Duck Game is an informal tradition carried out by students, which is based on a rivalry between classes. Participation in this activity is optional, and the rules and details are clearly presented. The rivalry has its origins in the early years of the College when some “seniors” rescued a duck from the icy pond. The Duck Game, as with most Cottey traditions, has evolved through the years.

Duck Jackets (DJs)

Jackets with a duck painted on the back are worn by members of the second-year or sophomore class. Again, we’re not going to give too much away about how these jackets are created or what happens with them as that’s part of their mystique and a special ritual for students. What we can say is that these jackets get to be pretty elaborate (see the photo gallery), and they’re worn by sophomores during certain traditions.

Professional Jackets (PJs)

PJs are blazers with an owl painted on the back and worn by members of the baccalaureate classes during certain traditions. 

Class Traditions

Each class at Cottey has several special traditions. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, you’ll have the chance to get involved and represent your class proudly. 

Baby Blue

The baby blue sweatshirt is worn by members of the first-year or freshman class. 

Campus Work Day

A day set aside in the spring to revitalize the campus. 

CSC

CSC is the logo for the second-year or sophomore class at Cottey College. It is imprinted on sweatshirts and other Passdown items. Prior to Cottey becoming a four-year institution, the second-year students were called “seniors” because, in the early years, the College had grade-school and high-school programs. The students in the junior college were called juniors and seniors. In 1967, many years after the grade school and high school were closed, the juniors came to be called freshmen. With the addition of baccalaureate programs, students and their respective classes are now referred to as both first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students/classes and/or freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior students/classes. 

Fcc

This logo represents the first-year or freshman class at Cottey College, and it is imprinted on sweatshirts and other items. 

Meet the Suites

The residence hall officers organize a “Meet the Suites” event in their respective residence halls so new students can meet the students who reside in the various suites in their residence hall. 

Passdowns

A passdown is any object that is passed down from year to year to be worn, displayed, or used in any fashion. Passdowns are not only pieces of living history but serve to give encouragement and faith in living the Cottey experience. 

Societies

While societies are currently inactive on Cottey’s campus they remain an important part of the institution’s history. 

SPUH

SPUH is a term for a secret pal. Within the residence halls, each current student draws a new student’s name at random. The current student begins leaving friendly and encouraging notes for the new student. Each set of secret pals selects names that they will use to identify themselves, e.g. Peanut Butter and Jelly or Gumby and Pokey. The current students decide at which point in the year to reveal their identity. Some new students select a current student as a “reverse spuh,” and the process is reversed. This tradition grew out of the Big Sister/Little Sister tradition of the 1940s-1950s and was originally between seniors and freshmen when Cottey was a two-year college. 

Quad-C Week

Quad-C is an acronym for “Cottey College Community Chest.” During Quad-C Week, entertaining activities are organized to raise money for selected charities. Rotaract sponsors this week. This event began at Cottey in the late 1940s as W.S.S.F. Week (World Student Service Fund). From 1954 until the 1970s, it was known as W.U.S. Week (World University Service). 

Song and Dance

Maybe it’s the place, maybe it’s the experience, maybe it’s the fact that we love to have fun. Whatever it is, we like to burst into song and dance and occasional other theatrics. 

Dottey Cottey

One of Cottey’s most humorous traditions is when the sophomores dress up in their version of the old-fashioned Cottey ideal. Dottey Cottey goes back to 1940 when Doris Kingsbury Gayzagian, Class of 1942, created the character to illustrate a typical Cottey student in the student newspaper. From that time onward, Dottey took on a life of her own, appearing in publications, calendars, and notecards. She was incarnated into a doll, and her likeness even appeared on lapel pins. Today, seniors dress up as Dottey to emulate their version of the old-fashioned Cottey ideal. 

Serenades

Serenades occasionally occur in the evening when one class sings to the other class. The songs are both humorous and serious. Serenades can be a touching and sentimental experience and strengthen the bonds among students. During the evening, don’t be surprised to hear a group of sophomores break out into song in front of a group of freshmen, or to see freshmen singing to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Serenades are a loved tradition at Cottey and can either bring you to tears or make you burst out laughing; either way, you’ll love the experience. 

Step Sing

Step Sing is the introduction of second-year/sophomore class songs and the duck as the second-year/sophomore class mascot to the first-year/freshman class. This is where freshmen are let into some of the sophomore and senior classes’ secrets. They get to hear the songs for the first time, learn more about the class mascots (the aforementioned duck and owl), and get a look at those duck jackets and professional jackets.

Food Traditions

We’ve said it before—food is an important part of Cottey's life and part of the way we celebrate, too. There are several traditions tied to food. Learn more at this link Food Traditions.

Blue and Yellow Dinner

While once celebrated separately as the Yellow and White Dinner for associate graduates, and Blue and White Luncheon for baccalaureate graduates, the two meals were combined into one celebratory event in 2022. On Friday night before Commencement, graduates are honored by their returning student counterparts. Parents and guests of the graduates are invited to attend this special dinner. 

Centennial Room Dinner

Most suites on campus have the opportunity once every other year to dine in the Centennial Room. A special menu is planned, and students dress is semi-formal attire. Centennial Room is the name given to the room in 1984 when it was redecorated in honor of Cottey’s centennial. Prior to 1984, the room had red carpet and dishes and was called Red Room. It is the goal of the College that every residential Cottey student shares in this dining experience. 

Funeral Dinner

This dinner marks the official end of the Duck Game. The sophomores keep the details of this tradition close to their vests. Let’s just say it marks the official close to the Duck Game for the academic year. 

Saturday Night Suppers

Held usually during Founder’s Weekend or by special arrangement, Saturday Night Suppers are Cottey’s version of The Sing-Off where students sit with their classmates in the dining room and sing class songs back and forth. 

Suite Feed

Suite feeds are sometimes held on Sunday evenings in the suites. The students plan and prepare their meals, spend time together, and just hang out. Suite feeds are held with varying degrees of regularity, depending on the wishes of the students in each suite.

Holiday Traditions

As you might expect, the holiday seasons are a special time at Cottey; in particular, Halloween and Christmas are memorable on campus. 

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated in the residence halls. Hall officers work together to plan this fun event. Whether a scavenger hunt or a haunted house—you are sure to have frightful fun! Halloween might also be your best chance to see Vera, Cottey’s official ghost. In 1920, when Cottey had a high school for women, high school senior Vera Alice Neitzert died tragically on May 17 of severe burns received when her nightgown caught fire while she and friends were making candy in a chafing dish in a suite sitting room in Main Hall. Fifty years later, the legend of Vera the ghost took hold when students practicing piano in Rosemary Hall heard strange noises. Even though Rosemary Hall has since been torn down, the fire occurred in Main Hall and Vera died in the hospital in Nevada, the legend of her ghost remains.

Tearing of the Squares

During the days leading up to finals and winter break, students will gather in the parlor of their respective residence halls each evening to count down the days until winter break begins. 

Susprise

Susprise is a Christmas tradition that is planned by sophomores, juniors, and seniors for freshmen. 

Hanging of the Greens

In early December, students mark the coming holidays with a weekend of activities. On Friday evening, everyone heads to the President’s House for snacks and warm drinks. On Saturday of the Hanging of the Greens weekend, the party gets into full swing with an awesome buffet dinner. 

Community Resources

For more information about Nevada, Missouri, visit the following link: Welcome to Nevada, Missouri!