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Pajama Parades
Pajama parades began as both a school spirit event and a freshman
hazing ritual. During the football season in UF’s early years, the
cheerleading squad would rouse the freshmen from their beds for an
impromptu parade. Over time the parades grew more formalized,
becoming an official freshman orientation event. The parades
heralded the first game of football season and marked the end of the
official “Freshman Week.” Although the pajama parades have ended,
the spirit has been revived in a new tradition, the Semi-Annual Undie
500 Run.
Honor Apples
Hungry UF students during
the 1950s found sustenance
in the form of Honor Apples.
Located in unwatched wooden
bins throughout the Plaza of
the Americas, each apple cost
five cents. The apples were part
of the University of Florida’s
honor system, a code of conduct
introduced in Professor James
Farr’s English class in 1905 and
adopted campus-wide in 1916.
Students were trusted not to lie, cheat or steal — and to report those
who did. Any infractions were taken before the Honor Court, which
was made up of the students’ peers and had the authority to dole out
penalties as necessary. The apples have long since disappeared from
the Plaza, but UF’s honor system remains in place today.