Traditions

Baccalaureate

For the past 35 years, the senior class has planned their own Baccalaureate (the speakers and events to precede commencement), and instead of hiring an outside celebrity, they select a favorite faculty member as the speaker.

Bundy 500

Now that spring semester no longer runs through Memorial Day weekend and Bundy has gotten a facelift, this famed tradition has finally retired. Yet the excitement of cockroach races down the halls of Bundy (in the spirit of the nearby Indy 500) lives on as a fond Earlham memory.

Convocation

While today's students know Convocation as the bi-weekly speaker series that draws the Earlham community into Goddard Auditorium every other Wednesday at 1 p.m., the tradition goes back to the College's founding, when students were required to attend worship.

Farm Day

Every Saturday, the people at Miller Farm (one of the theme houses on campus) hold Farm Day. Those who wish to participate are picked up at the Clear Creek Co-Op and head down to the farm to do a few hours of good old-fashioned farm work, including construction, gardening, apple-picking at the orchard, and general upkeep. Payment comes in the form of a delicious free lunch (not to mention the satisfaction of putting in a real day's work).

The International Festival

Since the 1980s, Earlham's large international student body has collaborated on a week-long celebration, complete with eclectic cultural events, presentations, and foods.

Little Two

Every Tuesday night between 11 p.m. and midnight, students got pumped up about the Little Two bicycle races, in which two-person teams share one bicycle in a relay race around the Heart. The tradition was complete with its own song that students belt into the night air.

Winter Candle Lighting

Every winter, as the fall semester draws to a close, students and faculty meet at Stout Meetinghouse and light luminaria candles. The tiny lights encircle the Heart and line both sides of the main drive out National Road.

Did You Know?

In a classic prank which took place before the interstate was built, travelers heading east along Route 40 after the Indy 500 were directed off the main road and around Earlham's campus with “borrowed” road construction signs.