Students build community through UT superstitions

In civil engineering sophomore Nathalie Go Hiong’s first year at UT, she learned of an iconic University legend from an upperclassman in her badminton club. Less than a week later, she spotted that same legend: A white-colored squirrel chewing an acorn. 

“This was a period of time where obviously there’s so much stress going on, so much pressure, and at this point I think I probably forgot about the squirrel already,” Go Hiong said. “But I was walking around Welch where the big trees hover around the walkway; there it was on the ground.”

Although these squirrels, according to UT’s undergraduate website, are simply a color variant of the fox squirrel species, University legend says any student who sees an “albino” squirrel is set to ace their next test.

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“Seeing the albino squirrel and it being so rare … now you actually have to make the lore come true,” Go Hiong said. “I found myself studying more.” 

UT boasts more than just the albino squirrel, including the Littlefield Fountain myth. Many students believe jumping into Littlefield Fountain before confirming graduation dates leads to graduating late. However, students take their first step into the fountain for their graduation photos. Aaryana Sharma (psychology ‘26) joined the fountain-hopping trend during her final semester.

“It was an iconic UT-Austin experience and I’d seen a lot of people do it, so I thought it would be super fun to join in, especially as one of my last UT memories,” Sharma said. 

Though Sharma carefully planned her fountain venture, Jasalyn Franco, health promotion and behavioral science senior, was not so lucky, breaking the superstition in her sophomore year after a friend pushed her into the water.

“We were dilly-dallying a little too much … and I got dunked in there,” Franco said. “I was so scared for my grades.”

Franco said she feared for her college career.

“I was like, ‘There’s no way they just did that. They just ruined my life,’” Franco said. “I did the thing that you’re not supposed to do, so the fear was heightened. But at the end of the day, I knew it was just a superstition.”

Sharma said UT’s unique superstitions bring students together.

“That’s something that only someone who went to UT, or graduated or was familiar with UT would know, so that builds a sense of community,” Sharma said.

Go Hiong also said UT superstitions foster community through anticipation and events throughout college.

“It brings a little bit of connection with other people, knowing that we get to look forward to something, no matter how small it is, and know that this is our own thing. This is a UT thing,” Go Hiong said. “It’s nice to have that small moment.”