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LOST
TRADITIONS
T
hey are the unforgettable moments that make
your UF experience unique: singing “We
Are the Boys,” eating a Hare Krishna lunch on
the Plaza of the Americas, taking a date to the bat
houses, and painting the 34th Street Wall.
Traditions are shared experiences that unite
members of the Gator Nation. Some of these
traditions stay with us. Others have slowly faded
into history. Read on to learn more about nine lost
— but certainly not forgotten — UF traditions.
Rat Caps
Originally green and then orange and blue, the
wool caps were the mark of all Florida freshmen.
Generations of first-year students,
or “rats” as they were known,
were required to wear these
small beanie caps every day
except Sunday. It was not
uncommon for Florida
freshmen to hitchhike
across the state using only
their rat caps as passes.
The tradition slowly
faded over the years,
and by the 1960s,
rat caps were no
longer in use.
The “Seminole”
The original yearbook of the university was named
the “Seminole,” and the first edition was published
in 1910 — just four years after the founding of UF
in Gainesville, and 37 years prior to Florida State
University’s adoption of the Seminole mascot.
The first editions were printed and edited by the
senior class, but soon a full club formed for the
purpose of publishing the yearbook. The first
edition included a history of each department as
well as a short biography of each student. As the
student body grew in number, the publication
grew and evolved both as a platform for political
opinions as well as a humorous commentary on
daily student life. Unfortunately,
neither the
name nor
the yearbook
survives today.
Old copies of
the “Seminole”
can be found
in the Smathers
Collection in
Library East.