Gonzaga University

Around the World is a progressive party for the entire senior class, held in the Logan neighborhood a few weeks before graduation. ATW T-shirt wearing seniors go to six houses in six hours, each with a different alcohol theme, like Margaritaville or Ireland. The festivities begin at the first house at noon, and don't quiet down at house number six until the beer is gone, the partiers pass out, or the police shut it down.

Gonzaga rents a cruise boat on nearby Lake Coeur d'Alene on two nights during the year: once for the freshman class after the conclusion of Freshman Orientation, once during Senior Week for the departing senior class. For the freshmen, it is an opportunity to mingle with new friends; for the seniors, it is an opportunity to say goodbye to friends they might have met in exactly the same place.

Generally the second Saturday in November, the Charity Ball is the preeminent formal dance of the year for GU students. It's a time to break out the old prom-wear and take that special someone to that really expensive restaurant. The proceeds from the Ball go to a local charitable organization.

Every December, the Gonzaga University choir performs at St. Aloysius church for the annual Christmas Candlelight Concert. In spite of the name, the music is generally far more varied than just Christmas pieces (it is the culminating performance of the year for the GU choir). There are candles in abundance, and students and locals pack the church both Friday and Saturday night.

Frisbee Golf, or “Disc Golf” as purists will call it, is a popular pastime on the less windy days at Gonzaga. The traditional course utilizes the friendly Bing Crosby statue in front of the Crosby Student Center as both the 1st and the 18th hole.

The Grind is an annual dance hosted by the Knights, and the name more or less says it all. The Spokane Room of the COG is pimped out for the occasion, and it gives Gonzaga students (mainly freshmen) the chance to “throw their arms in the air and wave them like they just don't care.” That, and get up close and personal with 500 sweaty classmates. Occasionally, the fire department shuts it down when the bodies-to-available-space proportion gets out of hand.

Madonnastock is a day-long student music festival held at the end of April every year. Any student can send in a demo tape to organizers, and the best bands get an hour of stage time (starting at noon and running until midnight). Originally christened “Madonnastock” because of its proximity to Madonna Hall, in recent years it has been moved to Foley Lawn and then the Quad. However, the Madonna RAs still organize it. The stage and lighting gets bigger and better every year.

Gonzaga ushers in the academic year with the Mass of the Holy Spirit, usually celebrated on the third Wednesday in September. Seniors and professors sport full academic attire (gowns and all), and the University community gathers to pray for the upcoming year. This is the oldest tradition at Gonzaga, as Gonzaga College began its inaugural academic year with a Mass of the Holy Spirit in 1887.

There are very few hills on campus, so when the first snowfall of the year sticks, students have only one place to turn: the slopes heading into Lake Arthur. Using sledding devices of all kinds (mattresses are a popular choice) enterprising Gonzaga students must decide whether to attempt a roll-off at the bottom of the hill, hope that the ice on Lake Arthur holds, or resignedly join the duck excrement in the shallow frigid water.