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8:15 AM
This means, NO SCHOOL! Enjoy the day!
Fox Day is a long-standing and much-loved tradition at Altamont University. One day each spring, the President cancels all classes, providing students, faculty, and staff with a surprise day off. A statue of the AU fox appears on the Main lawn early in the morning, and the Chapel bell rings to alert students, many of whom immediately head for the beach. The three-foot-high, 300-pound statue, with its knowing air, the hint of a smirk playing at its lips, contemplates the campus all day, watching students, faculty, and staff enjoy their brief respite.
The tradition of Fox Day, like so much AU lore, is rich and fascinating. In January 1934, Hamilton Holt, who served as AU’s president from 1925 to 1949, acquired statues of a fox and a cat from Senator Murray Sams. These statues were permanently placed on the walkway of Rec Hall—a structure the pool has since replaced.
Inspired by the two statues, Holt founded a "Cat Society" for women and a "Fox Society" for men. According to the AU Archives, these societies were exclusive groups made up of four women and four men each. Members were elected by an annual vote of the student body. The women elected the foxes and the men elected the cats.
The privileged members of the two societies were the only people permitted to touch the statues. But occasionally, the fox and cat were taken and hidden as practical jokes. Unfortunately, in 1949, the cat statue was smashed beyond repair. To this day, the crime remains unsolved.
On May 17, 1956, President Hugh McKean (1951-1969) started Fox Day. The grief-stricken, lonely fox was placed on the horseshoe, and the day’s classes were canceled. After a brief assembly, activities began at 5:30 a.m. with a treasure hunt and ended with a square dance and an evening picnic.
The students enjoyed the tradition so well that in 1958 when President McKean discarded it, they resurrected Fox Day themselves. This initiated an agreement between the students and Dr. McKean, who granted them freedom for the day on the condition that they return in the evening for a picnic and a choir performance in the Knowles Chapel. When President Jack Critchfield (1969-1978) came to Rollins, he discontinued the tradition due to the turbulence of the period.
The savvy fox found his way back to campus in 1979, during Thaddeus Seymour's administration (1978-1990). Seymour said, "When I was president of Wabash College in Indiana, we had a similar day called 'Elmore Day.' It was very natural to me, and I believe any sensible college should have a day like this." So the popular Fox Day was reinstated and continues today.
Fox Day is a long-standing and much-loved tradition at Altamont University. One day each spring, the President cancels all classes, providing students, faculty, and staff with a surprise day off. A statue of the AU fox appears on the Main lawn early in the morning, and the Chapel bell rings to alert students, many of whom immediately head for the beach. The three-foot-high, 300-pound statue, with its knowing air, the hint of a smirk playing at its lips, contemplates the campus all day, watching students, faculty, and staff enjoy their brief respite.
The tradition of Fox Day, like so much AU lore, is rich and fascinating. In January 1934, Hamilton Holt, who served as AU’s president from 1925 to 1949, acquired statues of a fox and a cat from Senator Murray Sams. These statues were permanently placed on the walkway of Rec Hall—a structure the pool has since replaced.
Inspired by the two statues, Holt founded a "Cat Society" for women and a "Fox Society" for men. According to the AU Archives, these societies were exclusive groups made up of four women and four men each. Members were elected by an annual vote of the student body. The women elected the foxes and the men elected the cats.
The privileged members of the two societies were the only people permitted to touch the statues. But occasionally, the fox and cat were taken and hidden as practical jokes. Unfortunately, in 1949, the cat statue was smashed beyond repair. To this day, the crime remains unsolved.
On May 17, 1956, President Hugh McKean (1951-1969) started Fox Day. The grief-stricken, lonely fox was placed on the horseshoe, and the day’s classes were canceled. After a brief assembly, activities began at 5:30 a.m. with a treasure hunt and ended with a square dance and an evening picnic.
The students enjoyed the tradition so well that in 1958 when President McKean discarded it, they resurrected Fox Day themselves. This initiated an agreement between the students and Dr. McKean, who granted them freedom for the day on the condition that they return in the evening for a picnic and a choir performance in the Knowles Chapel. When President Jack Critchfield (1969-1978) came to Rollins, he discontinued the tradition due to the turbulence of the period.
The savvy fox found his way back to campus in 1979, during Thaddeus Seymour's administration (1978-1990). Seymour said, "When I was president of Wabash College in Indiana, we had a similar day called 'Elmore Day.' It was very natural to me, and I believe any sensible college should have a day like this." So the popular Fox Day was reinstated and continues today.