Carnegie Mellon University traditions

The Fence

The first great tradition at Carnegie Mellon is the fence, which is the most painted object on campus, and lies in the middle of the Cut. The fence frequently displays witty or poignant messages, but is just as often used to advertise upcoming events or recent accomplishments. Because of its highly visible location on campus, it is an ideal place to proclaim one's message to as much of the student body as possible. The original wooden fence was replaced in 1993 when it collapsed under its own weight. Today, a concrete and steel reinforced fence stands where the original one stood, imitating the size it would be today. Students still paint the fence in a hope to break the record held by the original as the world's most painted upon object.

The Fence's origins date back to the early days of Carnegie Institute of Technology when The Cut was still a valley that separated the Carnegie Tech buildings from the Margaret Morrison women's school. Over the valley spanned a bridge which the men of Carnegie Tech realized was a strategic spot for meeting the women of Maggie Mo as they crossed the cut. However, when The Cut was filled in to form the current-day grassy field, the bottleneck disappeared. In its stead, the students erected a fence to stand in as a meeting spot. However, the university administration took a negative view of the structure, and scheduled its destruction. Some short time before the fence's demise, a student organization painted the fence in the middle of the night to publicize an upcoming party of theirs. The party turned out to be a huge success, as has the tradition of painting the fence. The administration relented on their plans for removing the fence.

Tradition dictates that the Fence only be painted after midnight and before sunrise, and only in its entirety. It must be painted by hand using brushes. If it is painted with spray paint, the painters would be cited for vandalism. A group wishing to paint the Fence must station two representatives on the small gravel region surrounding it; so long as two guards remain within the boundary, no other group may "take" the Fence. This sometimes leads to fraternities or other groups setting up a tent or campsite just inside the boundary so that they may keep control of the Fence for extended periods of time.

Spring Carnival

Usually held in April, Spring Carnival is the biggest event of the Carnegie Mellon school year. Many students work hard all year to make it a success, and the Pittsburgh community is invited to attend. Alumni often return for the festivities, and Reunion coincides with the weekend. Spring Carnival features "Midway", with all the standard carnival attractions, and a Buggy race which is run over the course of the weekend. Many organizations across campus construct both a booth for Midway and a buggy for Sweepstakes. Judges decide on winners in several different categories.

Buggy races

Buggy, officially called Sweepstakes, is a race around Schenley Park. It can be thought of as a relay race with five runners, using the buggy vehicle as the baton. Entrants submit a small, usually torpedo-shaped, vehicle that is pushed uphill and then allowed to free-roll downhill. The driver (who–like all participants–must be a Carnegie Mellon student, and is almost always short, light, and female) lies down inside the vehicle with the steering and brake controls. The vehicles are completely unpowered, including the prohibition of energy storing devices such as flywheels. Brakes are required but generally rarely used. Often, brakes are applied only as a last resort to prevent a crash, or to slow the buggy at the finish for the pusher to catch up because the rules specify that the pusher must be in contact with buggy at the finish line or be disqualified. Drivers who have been forced to apply the brakes due to another driver cutting them off may appeal for a re-roll in another heat without penalty. The second-to-last corner of the race, a sharp 110-degree right turn, is affectionately called "The Chute" and is lined with straw bales to prevent potential driver and spectator injury. Speeds can be quite high in the chute, often in the vicinity of 40mph. PiKA holds the current Men's record of 2:04.35. From 1988-2008 the men's record of 2 minutes 6.2 seconds was held by Spirit. SDC holds the current Women's record of 2:28.84. Live media coverage of the Sweepstakes races has historically been provided by WRCT-FM, the school's student-run radio station. In recent years, campus television station cmuTV has broadcast live video coverage of the races with commentary from WRCT-FM. The race videos are available on DVD from cmuTV after the races end. PiKA and SPIRIT took every Sweepstakes championship from 1986 until 2000 with PiKA having continued its success in the 2000s, setting the consecutive wins record by winning the last seven years in a row. See also: Official Buggy Site

Mobot

"Mobot," a general term resulting from shortening "mobile robot", is an annual competition at Carnegie Mellon that made its debut in 1994. In this event, robots try (autonomously) to pass through gates, in order, and reach the finish line. There is a white line on the pavement connecting the gates, and the line is normally used to find the gates, though it is not mandated by the rules that the robots follow the line. Towards the end of the course, the lines split and merge randomly, and knowledge of which line leads to the next gate is needed to consistently finish the course. This information is provided by the judges shortly before the actual competition begins. The current undergraduate mobot course record is held by winners in the year 2001, Alok Ladsariya and Anthony Rowe, whose mobot used the CMUcam for capturing images of the racetrack. Their second robot, "Barney," is the only finishing mobot on record to call into question whether each gate must be passed in the forward direction in order to count. The overall mobot course record is held by a winner in the year 2004, Joshua Pieper, a masters student in electrical and computer engineering.

Midway

For Carnival Weekend, the Morewood parking lot is turned into "Midway." Booths are constructed by campus organizations, featuring (usually) free games and cheap giveaway prizes. Some of the booths are intricate, multi-level affairs, showing off the creativity and energy of the students who construct them. Portable carnival rides are brought in and set up, along with standard carnival concession food (including funnel cake) sold every year by the CMU chapter of Alpha Phi Omega. Various musical acts, improv comedy troupes, and other performances are staged in a nearby tent running throughout the weekend and providing a backdrop to the entire spectacle.

Fiesta de Primavera

End of the year event is the Fiesta de Primavera, held on the last day of classes. The Special Events Committee of Activities Board gets a bunch of inflatable bounce equipment and other soft fun toys and sets it up outside (weather permitting). Equipment varies from year to year, but typically includes: bouncy volleyball, jousting, sumo outfits, slides, flypaper, and big punching gloves.

There is sometimes also a smaller Fiesta event at the conclusion of the fall semester.