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Mirror Lake Jump (official thread)

Mirror Lake Swimmers--we salute you

Bud Light Presents: Real Men of Genius.
Today we salute you, Mr. Mirror Lake Jumper-Inner Ignoring the obvious dangers of hypothermia, you trudge onward and plunge into a 27 degree body of water in the middle of November. Armed only with an abundance of buckeyes around your neck, you are living proof that nothing is unbearable as long as you have a big set of nuts. Splashing around tirelessly, you disregard frigid temperatures and try to warm yourself by incessantly chanting "O-H" and "I-O." Why do you do it they ask? Because no matter how cold it is you're not afraid to show a little school spirit and a pure hatred for those bastards from Michigan. So crack open an ice cold Bud Light oh Legend of the Lake, because when it comes to the Buckeyes, you're simply NUTS.

Wish I could be there to join you. Have fun
If this has already been posted please delete
 
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Info on Mirror Lake posted by CleveBucks in The Game thread:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">How the Mirror Lake jump came to be
By: Josh Thompson and John Snodgrass
Issue date: 11/17/05

Young men carry a canoe to the lake's edge, dump the boat in, and start paddling it around - but there is no race. A group of students undo their trench coats and jump into the lake - naked. Yet another group launches themselves, and a shopping cart into the shallow waters. A solitary student dressed as Winnie the Pooh stands wading in the waters, watching the students that have turned the back of Browning Amphitheatre into a mud slide.

The date is Nov. 18, 2004, the location Mirror Lake, and it is the Thursday night before the Ohio State-Michigan football game.

"I'm here with 10 of my buddies and I don't know where any are. With the mud pit and the rain, I've never seen anything like it before. It's insanity," said Matt Pappas, a senior in human ecology at the time. "This is why people come to Ohio State - for traditions like this. It's great."

Students have congregated at Mirror Lake for several years before the Michigan game, and many jump in. Few know why they do it, and there are as many stories and myths that surround the Mirror Lake jump as there are people who do it. Some myths stem from ghost stories surrounding legendary OSU football coach Woody Hayes while others claim that students must jump into the lake naked in order for the jump to be official.

The true origins of the Mirror Lake jump are much less mythical and radically more dressed.

In his 1984 report "The OSU Mirror Lake Hollow," John H. Herrick, then executive director emeritus of campus planning, recorded that students had been entering the waters of Mirror Lake as far back as 1902 or 1903. These students were predominantly freshmen who were being thrown in by upperclassmen.

Herrick also documents that the first recorded item to be dumped into Mirror Lake was a horticultural wagon in 1895. The stunt was a Halloween prank.

Although these events have no direct relation to today's modern Michigan week celebration, they do set the tone for the way in which the OSU student body and university's faculty felt toward lake jumps.

Throughout the early part of the last century the student body and the university administration were often at odds.

During this period, "May Festival," later called "May Week," acted as the university's biggest showcase of school pride - much like "Beat Michigan Week" does now - and students saw it as a time to prove class dominance, with upperclassmen often dunking or "ducking" freshmen in the lake, often a part of a group initiation. This did not go over well with the school's administration or with the university's freshmen classes.

According to a May 5, 1926 Lantern article, freshmen became fed up with their unfair treatment and lashed out against upperclassmen. Both the Lantern article and Herrick's report state that the annual freshman "Cap Burning" ceremony, which took place in the Mirror Lake Hollow, turned into a riotous atmosphere when members of the upperclassmen group Bucket & Dipper attempted to postpone the event.

During the altercation, 103 freshmen were thrown into Mirror Lake. One sophomore received a concussion from a police officer, and water was poured into the gas tank of a police officer's motorcycle. The following spring George Rightmire, OSU's president at the time, banned all further hazing by Bucket & Dipper. The ban did not last long as Bucket & Dipper, as well as several other university and greek groups, resumed "ducking" students in Mirror Lake.

The tradition of dunking students in Mirror Lake lasted until the tail end of the 1960s but had dwindled considerably compared to what it was 40 years prior, according to Herrick's report.

In the 1950s both May Week and the week of the Michigan game began to take on similar traditions - traditions that would eventually lead to the Mirror Lake jump.

A 1950 Lantern article states that then football coach Wesley Fesler was upset by the lack of spirit among OSU students and asked students to attend a final pep rally before the Michigan game. There was a torchlight parade led by the marching band throughout the campus area in order to bring the students to the rally.

A 1953 Lantern article states that the May Week "kick-off" rally took place in Mirror Lake Hollow and was preceded by a march through the University District, led by none other than the band.

As May Week took on less meaning and "Beat Michigan Week" took on more, the tradition of the band leading students to a rally became a niché in "Beat Michigan" culture.

In an interview last year, Jon Woods, director of the OSU marching band, said he remembers that the tradition was still going strong when he arrived in the mid-1970s.

"The night before the Michigan game, there was always a university bonfire. It was almost like a pep rally," Woods said. "The bonfire was generally in different places, sometimes on the Oval or other times near the French Field House. Sometimes before the fire, the band would split up and some would go to the south side of campus and others would go to the north and play the pied piper role and lead students to the fire. There was a tremendous turnout for these things."

Despite the large turnouts, the parade and pep rally ceased to continue in the early '80s. Some band members wanted to continue the tradition, and this is when the unauthorized "phantom band" started, Woods said.

The phantom band resumed playing in 1984, and that year the tradition ended with dancing and singing in the middle of High Street, according to files in Ohio State's Center for Folklore Studies

A 1989 Lantern editorial states that before the 1989 Michigan game, the vice provost of student affairs, Russell J. Spillman announced that all organized events related to Michigan week that year, except for the blood drive, had been canceled because the football game was scheduled during Thanksgiving weekend and most students would be away from campus. The phantom band decided to go through with their march, but the parade turned ugly and resulted in at least one overturned car.

In 1990, members of the marching band agreed not to participate in the phantom band because most of the blame for the problems of the year before fell on them, Woods said.

According to a Nov. 21, 1990 Lantern article, some band members resisted the agreement and decided to lead the phantom band again. The parade ended with a rally outside of Pomerene Hall near Mirror Lake. Reports within the folklore archives describe students jumping in Mirror Lake in 1991 and refer to 1990 as the earliest year it occurred.

In the Lantern article, Brooke Roesle, a freshman at the time, said that Woods showed up at the rally and began yelling at the band members. Everyone ran away from the scene and some students decided to jump into Mirror Lake, she said.

Mike Boone, a 1994 OSU graduate, who currently lives in South Carolina, was a freshman in 1990 and participated in the infamous phantom band parade and remembers the event a little bit differently.

"I wasn't real aware of the tradition. My roommates informed me about it," Boone said.

Back then the day was not set in stone - it either happened on a Wednesday or a Thursday, he said.

Roughly 10 members of the OSU marching band, dressed in OSU spirit wear, showed up outside Taylor Tower and began playing music, he said. The band gathered students from north campus and proceeded to lead them toward the Oval. The band would play fight songs and students would sing along if they knew the words. Between songs students would vocalize their distaste for "the team up north" by singing and chanting, Boone said.

As the students walked they would throw toilet paper in trees and on other overhangs marking their path.

"(The toilet paper) would last a couple of weeks," Boone said.

When Boone and his group got to the east end of the Oval they met up with the south campus band. Boone said he cannot remember whether there was a band coming from west campus. From there the parade went to Mirror Lake and the band stood around the lake while about 20-30 students jumped in fully clothed, Boone said.

Boone himself did not jump into the lake that year.

"I had one nice pair of shoes and I was wearing them," he said. "I wasn't going to trash them."

Boone does not recall Woods showing up at the event.

The phantom band returned in 1991 and once again led the students of OSU to Mirror Lake and a dip in its waters. This caused the university to take action. In Boone's junior year the university backed a parade that was lead by the OSU Marching Band and ended in front of Ohio Stadium, Boone said.

This did not deter him and his friends from jumping into the lake, however.

"(The lake is) a nice place to cap it off," he said.

"I can't remember if the band played my senior year," Boone said.

It did not matter. He and his friends jumped anyway.

As the decade continued, the band took a back seat to the Mirror Lake jump.

Today students jump in larger numbers than ever before. Dan Bozich, a senior during last year's jump, said it best.

"This is what happens when classes drive you crazy." </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Anyone up for some fecal materials?


Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Mirror Lake poses a real threat for trespassers
By: Josh Thompson and John Snodgrass
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Campus
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1

For some students the ritual of jumping into Mirror Lake the Thursday night before the Michigan football game is an innocent display of school pride.

This ritualistic leap, however, can have negative consequences, such as injury, damage to the lake, disease and legal troubles.

On Nov. 2, 1985, Kristyn Ann Elliot, a sophomore on Ohio State's swimming team, was returning home from the Buckeyes' shocking 22-13 football victory over the then-No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes, when she saw a friend standing by Mirror Lake.

Elliot ran toward her friend as if she was going to push him into the lake, said John Alton, Elliot's lawyer, in an interview last year. The friend moved and Elliot was forced to attempt a shallow dive into the lake, hitting her head on a limestone planter.

Elliot broke her cervical vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down, Alton said.

Elliot sued OSU for negligence and lost her first court case. The case went to trial again in 1993 and was eventually settled out of court, with Elliot receiving $1.375 million.

The group of limestone planters were placed in the lake sometime during the 1930s or '40s. They were removed shortly after Elliot's first case ended.

The removal of the planters was not the only change made to Mirror Lake over the years.

In 2002, Mirror Lake underwent a five-month renovation that cost nearly $575,000. The changes included the lake's old limestone walls being replaced with concrete, according to the Physical Facilities Web site. New sidewalks and furniture were also added near the lake.

"The floor of the lake is smooth now. It's mostly brick and concrete, and the bricks are mortared in," said Colin McBride, construction manager for the University Engineers Office, in an interview last year. "But there is a stone structure in the central eastern section of the lake that used to be a fountain base."

Even with these changes, three injuries occurred during last year's jump.

"One was an injury that resulted out of a fight. I also think we had a broken ankle," said Rick Amweg, assistant chief of University Police, in an interview last year.

Students are not the only ones paying a price for the Mirror Lake jumps. Last year's Mirror Lake jump cost the university more than $11,600.

"The cost to repair the turf, stone walls and ground cover was $9,505," said Stephen W. Volkmann, university landscape architect, in an e-mail to The Lantern.

The total cost of staff time needed to clean up debris and mud caused by the Mirror Lake jump prior to last year's Michigan game cost $2,100. According to the e-mail, the cost to repair the Mirror Lake fountain was not available - but preliminary estimates from last year placed the total damage between $20 - 30,000, said Dave Sweet, administrative assistant for marketing and communications for Physical Facilities in an interview last year.

Other than physical injuries to themselves and the possibility of destroying university property, students must also consider other dangers before jumping into the lake. The water itself could be hiding diseases such as Salmonella.

"The big thing about it is that like any big natural body of water, it's not sterile. If you take a big mouthful of it, you're going to get what's in the lake in your mouth," said Dale Harmon, a public health sanitarian for the Columbus Health Department, in an interview conducted last year. "Birds fly over it. Animals run near it. There's going to be fecal matter in the water. There's always the risk of pathogens."

According to a June 1, 1970 Lantern article, an unidentified junior who went swimming in Mirror Lake several times that spring was diagnosed with tetanus twice in two years. At the time, "the average total coliform bacteria count for the lake was 18 times the acceptable level for swimming," according to the article.

There are also legal ramifications for jumping into the lake.

"The policy is that there is no trespassing in Mirror Lake," Amweg said in an interview last year. "But we're dealing with 5-6,000 people. You have a crowd control issue with that many people. We obviously don't condone it, but we don't have enough officers to stop it."

Officers did confront students that were jumping head-first into the lake, Amweg said in last year's interview.

The normal punishment for jumping into the lake is a citation for disorderly conduct, he said. If a student is asked to get out and they refuse, they could be charged with criminal trespassing.

As far as this year is concerned Amweg recommends students to not go in the lake at all.

"Mirror Lake is not designed for swimming and wading," he said. Amweg also said signs are placed around the lake, very clearly stating that individuals should not enter the waters.

A police presence will be at the lake and other areas around campus to ensure the safety of individuals, Amweg said. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
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Ah yes, but the cops also do a good job in helping the "OH-IO" and "Fuck Michigan" chants.

Also, last years festivities cost the campus something like $30,000 in repairs. There seemed to be no grass left in all of the South Oval.
 
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There seemed to be no grass left in all of the South Oval.

That was from the Universitiy's attempt at breaking the world record for biggest pillowfight and it had just rained that day and it got tore up.

They decided to hold it in Jesse Owens south yesterday.

I saw they showed a clip of it on the Today show this morning.
 
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There was no way I was going in, and I froze my ass off walking around for two hours.

Ryan Williams almost got in a huge fight with some random guy, it took Hartline (his roomie), Frost, and Brandon Smith to cool him down. Smith pushed a guy into the lake, who took offense, and found himself facing about 12 players.

The 5 guys in my signature photo + Dionte Johnson are best buds. Most of the players I saw were from the freshmen and sophomore classes, but Everett and Sims showed as well.
 
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My camera died so I don't have pics but how nuts was that...

When I got to the lake I was pretty hammered...I stuck one leg in and just continued to slide in as if nothing happened. It was either so cold that my legs got instantly numb, or the water was actually warmer than it was outside, but it seriously felt more comfortable in there. Getting OUT was a different issue all together. My god was that cold. The water clinging to my leg hairs all froze solid and it seriously felt like my balls were going to fall off. Thank god my roommate pulled the corner around Neil Ave. and I was able to hitch a ride back to the apartment. The steaming hot shower I just took had to have been the greatest shower in the history of man.

I will tell you what though, times like this is why it's so great to go to THE Ohio State University. Alumni on this board can attest...other might call this crazy, stupid shit, but these are memories I will have for the rest of my life.

Oh yeah,

GO BUCKS!

and

BEAT MICHIGAN!
 
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