Traditions
The dorm's mascot is the Otter. He is cute and lovable, yet brave and loyal.
Upon graduation, seniors carve their initials into the brick on the front porch.
The largest dorm room on campus, The Quint, is actually three adjoining rooms occupied by five men, traditionally held by sophomores.
A statue of Fr. Sorin resides in the front hallway. Otters rub his feet for good luck when they pass by it.
It is the only dorm to boast its own boxing practice room. Many Otters participate in Bengal Bouts, the University boxing program that raises money for Notre Dame charities in Bangladesh.
Sorin does not have any natural rivals among the men's residence halls on campus, due to its location and tradition of independence. In contrast to other men's dorms, with their chants of " loves " Otters chant "Sorin loves Sorin." It does currently have a friendly rivalry with neighboring Walsh Hall, the women's dormitory south of Sorin, which has been expressed through chants of "Walsh Chicks Suck." The rivalry came to a head at the Battle of Walsh's Gate in 2009, where, as part of Sorin's secession week, an army of Otters assembled on the front porch of Walsh and chomped on quarterdogs defiantly. One of the Otters, Luke "Beans" Herrin, briefly gained access to Walsh before being repulsed, as it was after parietals. However the two have, in recent years, shared in inter-hall activities.
Sorin College, led by president Aidan McKiernan and vice president Tristan Hunt, began boycotting Notre Dame pep rallies in the fall of 2008. The Otters stated that this was in protest of changes to the rally format brought on by commercialization and a desire to include alumni in what was once mainly a student activity. Instead of attending the rally, the Otters would wait outside and cheer the team as it went in.
Sorin is the only dormitory on campus to have its own walking tour, highlighting many of the historically interesting rooms and areas that throughout the course of its history have either been the home to important Notre Dame individuals, as with room 011, the "Captain's Corner", or institutions, as with the first floor wing that at one time housed Notre Dame Law School.
The only porch swings at the University are located on the front porch of Sorin and are popular among students and visitors as a place to observe and enjoy Notre Dame's campus.
Read more about this topic: Sorin Hall (University Of Notre Dame)
Famous quotes containing the word traditions:
“But generally speaking philistinism presupposes a certain advanced state of civilization where throughout the ages certain traditions have accumulated in a heap and have started to stink.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“I think a Person who is thus terrifyed [sic] with the Imagination of Ghosts and Spectres much more reasonable, than one who contrary to the Reports of all Historians sacred and profane, ancient and modern, and to the Traditions of all Nations, thinks the Appearance of Spirits fabulous and groundless.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“And all the great traditions of the Past
They saw reflected in the coming time.
And thus forever with reverted look
The mystic volume of the world they read,
Spelling it backward, like a Hebrew book,
Till life became a Legend of the Dead.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)