Every spring semester, Smurthwaite’s new members get officially initiated into the house. The weekend is packed with fun traditions and bonding activities. The first tradition of the weekend is having an alumna read a bedtime story to the new members. Then, the new members get to have a sleepover in the living room.
Of course, all of these events are a surprise for the new members. What we also didn’t know was that they were going to wake us up at 7 in the morning to take us to Top of the World. On the Saturday morning of initiation, it is tradition to bring the new members there to read wills and prophecies. Each new member gets to hear what the old members have predicted for her future and just get a little bit of encouragement.
The new members may not have been too excited to get up at 7 in the morning, but we ended up enjoying the sunrise ceremony.
After this, we came home and played a real-life version of Among Us and had a lip sync battle. Saturday was a great day of bonding events for the whole house.
For the last event of the weekend on Sunday night, we had our formal dinner and initiation ceremony. Each new member received a Smurthwaite necklace and a white carnation and officially became a member of the house.
Because last year was cut short, last year’s new member class never got to have an initiation ceremony. To make up for last year, the third- and fourth-year members presented last year’s new members with their necklaces and carnations after the new members had all been initiated.
This year’s initiation was really fun and a great way to celebrate the new members of the house. Big thank you to Hally for planning the weekend’s activities!