Hampshire College

Publications at Hampshire, particularly student newspapers, come and go every few years. The oldest publication is the Dakin TP which provides Dakin residents with toilet–side reading, but the longest continuously–running publication is the Omen (omen.hampshire.edu), the free speech publication publishing since 1993. The current incarnation of the school newspaper is the Climax, a revival of the newspaper's original name. Past names include: the Climax (1971–1981), Apostrophe (1981–1984), Communique (1984/1985), In Black and White (1985–1987), Permanent Press (1987–1992), Hampshire Examiner (1992–1993), Phoenix (1993–1996), Forward (1997–2003), and, again, the Climax (2003–Present). The Fred, Merrill's counterpart to the Dakin TP, has been revived in recent years as well.

Central Records give students buttons when they pass a division. When students pass Division I, they get a “Division II” button, when they pass Division II, they get a “Division III” button, and when they pass their final Division III, they get “Division Free” buttons. Locals in the area recognize the buttons and will often congratulate students they see wearing them (like at Collective Copies, a worker–owned business where students go to make copies of their portfolios).

Every spring, students and organizations like the Queer Community Alliance, Trans Student Alliance, and the Women's Center organize Drag Ball. The main event is the campus–wide dance party featuring student performers and bands, and students often dress and act a different gender identity than the one they typically represent.

The Halloween bash at Hampshire was once a notorious affair of debauchery and hallucinogenic drugs called “Trip or Treat” that Rolling Stone once listed as a must–see party. Some of the highlights include art installations, dances, hayrides, fireworks, and the creativity of attendees' costumes, though in recent years the event has tamed down (and cut back on certain activities). It is now an invite–only party in which every student has limited invites to give out to their non–Hampshire friends.

Every Easter, groups of students go out and hide kegs of alcohol in the woods on campus, then others go out in search—cups in hand—of the hidden kegs. People get drunk and lay in the grass, play Frisbee, and sometimes run around naked. Needless to say, this is not a school–sponsored event.

Hampshire students used to ring the bell after they passed any division, but over the years it morphed into a rite of passage for Div Frees (those who have finished their Div III projects). Students do a range of things, from casual bell–ringing during the day to full–out parties with food, friends, and champagne.

The tradition of the Velvis (a velvet painting of Elvis) was that students would steal the Velvis from one another and perch him in the common spaces of their homes. The unofficial rules were that he had to be in a public area, visible (not hidden away), and your mod had to be left unlocked. The Velvis was given to outgoing president Gregory Prince as a farewell gift, and many students regard this as the end of the tradition, but others have floated the idea of stealing it back from Prince in the spirit of the Velvis tradition.