100 marches through the arch

Thursday marked the 100th anniversary of the University of Findlay arch ceremony, and students new to campus walked under it for the first time. Students have been walking under the arch since it was erected in 1923 to signify a new chapter of their lives. It is part of the ritual not to walk back under the arch under a student has graduated. "It's our most beloved tradition, welcoming students into our community," said UF President Dr. Katherine Fell. "The lore on campus is that they don't dare walk under the arch (again) until they graduate." Fell said she doesn't know where the myth came from, but students take it very seriously. "There are bad things that might happen — of course, we don't really believe that, but I'm just telling you, in 1990, the students had stopped walking under the arch," she said. "I think the grass around the arch was being worn bare. So we placed sidewalks around the arch. So no temptations, no scary missed movements." The arch ceremony is not only meaningful to the students, Fell said, but to faculty who watch their graduated students march underneath. "The beauty of that tradition is that it adds to the joy when we all line up in our regalia inside the arch and send the graduating class out into the world," she said. "It's very meaningful to all of us who work here and meaningful to their parents or alumni, and certainly to them." The arch, which was commissioned in 1923 by the parents of former student Caddie Griffith, faces Main Street on UF's campus near downtown Findlay. The arch has received two makeovers since its construction. The first one occurred in 1989 when it was moved farther from the street, and it was altered a second time in 1990, when "The University of Findlay" was inscribed onto the stone after the school changed its name from the original "Findlay College.'" The Findlay College lettering now faces Old Main, the oldest building on campus.