As an upperclassman at Fordham University, I am blessed with the endless traditions our university offers. There is something about walking through the Keating Hall arches as the bells echo across Edwards Parade. At a campus where ivy creeps up the stone and stories linger in every dorm and building, Fordham’s traditions are what make the campus beat with light and spirit. They’re not just events or photos, but threads that tie together generations; alums of Rams who have studied hard, played hard and sprinted to class before us on the same ground, shaping our very history. 

Before I even set foot on campus at Fordham, I had seen and heard about the Ram statue. Proudly situated next to Hughes Hall it’s more than a piece of art. It’s a landmark of Fordham identity. The “riding the ram” tradition is one of the first initiatives many students experience, whether it’s move-in week or just a random late night walk back from Eddies. 

There’s something profoundly comforting and sacred about it. Climbing onto the Ram — usually with a friend snapping a photo — is saying, “I’m really a Fordham Ram.” I remember doing it in my first week on campus, nervous but excited for the unknown journey I was about to experience with my closest friends during move-in week. And I can proudly add that we are still friends to this day. It’s that kind of moment that doesn’t show up on the books, resumés or tour guide but defines the Fordham experience. 

If you haven’t stood in line at the Marketplace at 11:45 p.m. during finals week yet, surrounded by bleary-eyed students balancing cups of coffee and flashcards, well, enjoy your first Midnight Breakfast. It’s the one night out of the school year when the cafeteria goes out of its way to provide you comfort for the stressful, sleepless nights. Why panic without some pancakes on the side? 

There’s something deeply comforting about watching professors serve scrambled eggs while “All I Want for Christmas Is You” blasts through the speakers. It’s chaotic and precisely what you need at that moment. I’ve always loved seeing everyone — students, staff and professors — sharing the same space and energy. It reminds you that Fordham, for all its deadlines and stress, is ultimately a community that cares about you.

Then there’s the infamous Group Scream — the moment when Fordham students collectively let go of all their finals-week frustrations in one cathartic yell across Edwards Parade. The first time I participated, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We all gathered at midnight, bundled up with our hats and down jackets, our breath fogging in the cold air. Someone started a countdown, and suddenly hundreds of us were shouting into the night sky. It lasted 10 seconds, but it felt oddly freeing. There’s something powerful about knowing you’re not the only one stressed, that your voice — along with everyone else’s — is echoing through the Bronx. It’s noisy, chaotic and over almost instantly, but that scream captures what it means to be part of a campus that never sleeps, where the stress of finals is met with solidarity and laughter.

 Fordham’s long-standing customs hold firm, but I sometimes wish there were a few newer ones — rituals that speak to the modern campus culture we’re shaping. Imagine a yearly “Fordham Film on the Lawn” night, where the entire student body gathers on Eddies for an outdoor screening under the stars, similar to Orientation. I also really miss the light ceremony where we all set the candles together in our first weeks together. That was such a highlight of entering Fordham and a core memory for me. Maybe we can incorporate doing that each year, at the end, regardless of the grade to represent the passage to a new year. Or a “Ram Run” 5K that winds through the Bronx, celebrating our connection to the neighborhood beyond the gates. 

These wouldn’t replace our existing traditions but expand them — ways to bring together students across majors, years and clubs in moments that feel both communal and fresh. Fordham thrives on connection, and adding new rituals could help strengthen that sense of belonging for future Rams.

At their core, Fordham traditions remind us that college is about more than classes and credits. They’re pauses in our busy schedules — moments to laugh, to yell, to eat pancakes at midnight — that make us feel like part of something larger.

In a city as vast and restless as New York, it’s easy to feel small or anonymous. But when you’re standing on Eddies, surrounded by friends and strangers alike, shouting your stress into the night or catching a pancake tossed from the kitchen, you realize you belong to a living, breathing community. These rituals ground us. They link us to alumni who came decades before and to students who will take our places years from now. They’re how we measure time at Fordham — not by semesters or syllabi, but by the memories we build together.

So whether it’s riding the Ram for the 100th photo, piling into the Marketplace for breakfast at midnight or screaming into the Bronx sky before an exam, these traditions remind us what it means to be a Ram: to live with spirit, to celebrate resilience and to find joy even in the busiest moments. You can never be too busy to have fun and appreciate life. And long after graduation, when we hear a bell ring or pass a statue that looks a little like home, we’ll remember these nights — and the campus that made us who we are.