Like all colleges, the University of Mary Washington has traditions each semester that are put on by some group of the student body. UMW has some pretty unique traditions that you should definitely check out over the next semester. Listed in chronological order of when they’ll happen, here are the top five UMW Spring semester traditions.
The Variety Show is a fundraiser put on by the Community Outreach And Resources (COAR), the campus volunteering organization that has several sub-organizations ranging from therapeutic horseback riding to working with at-risk middle school girls to more. One of the things COAR oversees is the Alternative Spring Breaks (ASB), where several groups of students go to other states during spring break and work with Habitat for Humanity for the week. The Variety Show fund raises for ASB so that students don’t have to pay as much to go on the trip. The show includes all kinds of acts – dancing, singing and other forms of entertainment. This year’s Variety Show is on February 17 at 7pm in Dodd Auditorium.
Alternative Spring Breaks is another really fun Spring tradition at UMW. Three groups of students go to different Habitat for Humanity locations throughout the Eastern seaboard and the south. Because space is limited, not all students have the opportunity to go. I have been lucky to go to Florida twice (three times if you include this spring break) and if you want to read about what a trip is like feel free to read this article I wrote almost a year ago about ASB 2016. It’s a lot of fun and very tiring but you meet a lot of great people and get to make a difference in people’s lives. I would definitely recommend going if you get a chance!
One of the biggest Spring traditions is Mr. UMW. It’s a parody of a beauty pageant because UMW was originally an all-girls school. Hosted by the Association of Residence Halls, one male student represents each residence hall on campus, plus a commuter student, and they all participate in categories such as talent, costume, etc. There’s an opening music number that all of the “Misters” perform at the beginning of the show. Students can vote before the event with hashtags on social media in addition to casting ballots in person as they walk in. T-shirts are sold for the event to help raise money for whatever cause ARH decides to donate to. This year we will be donating to the Wounded Warrior Project to help veterans. This year, Mr. UMW is on March 24th at 7pm, although you’ll want to get there much earlier if you want a seat in Dodd!
Our first big outdoor event is our Multicultural Fair which is organized by the James Farmer Multicultural Center (if you don’t know who James Farmer is, learn here). This year April 1st is the 27th annual fair with different local vendors, cultural group performing, and lots and lots of food! It’s super fun and thousands of people come out to campus to see everything. It’s a great event for all ages so there are tons of families on campus that day. The vendors sell just about anything you could think of, from clothes to jewelry to toys and so much more. I got a really cute beaded giraffe key chain my first year. We love to celebrate our vast cultural diversity at UMW and this event really embodies it that pride.
Our last big annual spring event is Devil Goat Day (go Devils!) which is held the last Thursday of every spring semester. This event is so big that students will often skip class to stand in the long line stretching down Campus Walk for their free Devil or Goat shirt. The odd number classes are Devils (right now classes of 2017 and 2019) and the even number classes are Goats (2018 and 2020). Students compete in fun games and competitions to win points for their team during the afternoon events and then the points are tallied up for a winner. Before I got to UMW, the Devils had a really awesome streak going… and then we kind of lost it, but it’s fine. We’re going to win this year! Devil-Goat Day 2017 is April 27 and the Devils are ready to win.
