What was once an Ohio State event strong in tradition has now become one shrouded in mystery. While one OSU official seems to have no knowledge of the tradition, many students know of the event well. In years past, on the day before the battle between the Buckeyes and Wolverines, OSU students submerged themselves into Mirror Lake to evoke the spirit of legendary coach Woody Hayes. The students believed his spirit would keep them safe and ensure a victory over that school up North. Liz Lucas, a junior French and biology major is “tremendously excited” about participating this year. “I think it is important to rally the troops and get the spirits up. We have to get everyone pumped up. It’s a tradition,” she said. However, this tradition has slowly died in the past 15 years following a tragic accident that left one OSU student paralyzed. Kristyn Elliott, an OSU graduate, fell into Mirror Lake in November of 1985 sustaining head and spinal cord injuries leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. As a result, the Elliott family filed a suit against the university for negligence. OSU settled out of court for $1.375 million. One OSU graduate and former member of the OSU marching band remembers his jump in the lake fondly. “I remember back in 1990 right before the Michigan game, the marching band was doing the ‘phantom band’ thing and we started gathering a pretty large and pretty rowdy crowd. Dr. Woods (the band’s director) tried to stop us, but instead we decided to jump in the lake and start playing the fight song,” said Rich Pina, a 1992 graduate. The marching band has the tradition of participating in the “phantom band” which consists of band members starting from various points throughout campus, gathering students and leading them down to Mirror Lake all while playing the OSU fight song. However, members are not encouraged to participate. “When they told us not to do it, it just encouraged us to do it more. It was fun, and it was definitely worth it,” Pina said. Vernon Baisden, OSU vice president for public safety, was not aware of such a tradition taking place at the university. “We (OSU) have heard of students jumping into the lake but are not sure it had anything to do with a tradition,” he said. Baisden said the university police will be on patrol as usual Thursday night but did not anticipate adding more patrolmen to watch over Mirror Lake. Baisden also said he is not aware of what penalties students would incur if they were caught participating in the event. “Jumping into the lake is not allowed by anyone and those who are caught will be dealt with on an individual basis. Don’t do it,” Baisden said. Lucas is not too worried about a police presence. “Every year I see cops there, but it is not an out-of-control event,” she said. Students taking part in this year’s tradition should be extra cautious to both environmental and health factors. “Testing the depth of the water with your head could result in leaving you a quadriplegic,” said Dale Harmon, public health sanitarion 3 of the Columbus City Health Department. Harmon also said that Mirror Lake is a closed body of water that is not filtrated and students are exposing themselves to environmental pathogens. “They (students) are taking a risk of contracting salmonella from fecal material as well as crypto-sporidia. Regardless of how safe you are, you will inevitably ingest these materials,” Harmon said. Students should also take into consideration the weather and temperature of the water Thursday night. Forecasts are calling for rain on Thursday and a low of 37 degrees. Harmon recommends students bring warm blankets and a change of clothes. He also said there is not a great risk to students who are currently healthy. Pina remembers that night in 1990 as being far from warm. “It was really cold, and we all got sick the next week. But it is something that we all still talk about,” he said. “We will be sitting around and someone will inevitably ask, ‘Hey, do you guys remember that night we all jumped in the lake?’”
Mirror Lake: Should you jump?
Published: Thursday, November 16, 2000
Updated: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Be the first to comment on this article!