By: Autumn Klein
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – From having one of the most recognizable chants in all of sports, to a live Russian boar mascot and a rock known for marriage proposals, the University of Arkansas holds many unique traditions; however, one tradition seems to stand out a little more than the others. It is the university’s longest tradition and, arguably, the most unique: the Senior Walk. The University of Arkansas’s Senior Walk consists of the names of approximately 220,000 graduates engraved over miles of sidewalks on campus.
The History:
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was the Senior Walk. The University of Arkansas is the only college in the world with a “Senior Walk,” but achieving that status did not happen overnight. The origin of the Senior Walk, as told by Executive Editor for University Relations Charlie Alison, was one that evolved over a long period of time.
It all started with pennants. Prior to the Senior Walk, each class at the university (freshman, sophomores, juniors, etc.) would make a pennant to represent their class. According to Alison, the students would compete to make their class pennant hang the highest and would try to tear each other’s down. Alison said that they would even physically brawl over these pennants. It started with the students simply hanging them on a pole, but eventually one day a few of them decided to climb to the top of Old Main to put their pennants as high as possible. It was around this time that the faculty decided it was enough, and they needed to do something else. This was when the class of 1905 suggested the idea of the Senior Walk.
The class of 1905 drew their names in with a stylus in wet cement and thus, the Senior Walk was born. The class of 1904 asked to add their names shortly following the class of 1905; however, it wasn’t until 1930 that a member of the board of trustees, who was a graduate prior to 1904, suggested adding all of the earlier classes and the university did so. For about 30 years, the classes continued to hand write their names in wet cement with a stylus. As the classes began to grow larger, the University decided to take over. In order to get the names down faster, the University finally started using brass raised letters to imprint the names in.
The use of the brass raised letters went on until about the 1980s. By this time, the classes were getting so big that facilities management could no longer get them done in under a year. In 1986, the Sand Hog was invented by University Physical Plant employees – according to the Office of the Registrar.
The Installation Process:
Charlie Alison explains the Sand Hog as a “big machine that sandblasts names in the sidewalk – in the concrete that is already cured – using a rubber stencil.”
He said the invention of the Sand Hog made it a “much faster process.” Along with the Sand Hog, they also have a tube that follows it sucking up the sand for reuse. They still to this day use the Sand Hog to install the names.
It takes approximately a year before they install the names after the graduating class. For example, if you graduate in May of 2028, then your class names would be installed in the spring of 2029.
Alison says that when a mistake is made, if the University is at fault, then they will cut out the name, refill it with cement and then come back and sandblast it correctly. The same goes for if the University makes an error and leaves a name off; facilities management will come back and add that name to either the top or bottom of the class.
The Impact:
The logistics of the installation and the history behind it are not the only aspects of the Senior Walk that make it so significant. Many students, staff and alumni said this representation impacts them in different ways.
Haley Mathis graduated from the university in 2017 with a degree in Finance and Information Systems. Mathis said the Senior Walk provided motivation for her to finish her studies while she was still enrolled.
“I wanted something to come back to that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t finish,” she said.
Now that she has graduated, Mathis said that the Senior Walk still holds great significance to her – but in a slightly different way. She said that she enjoyed her time at the University of Arkansas so much that she now takes great pride in having a “forever mark” on it.
Amanda Pollmann graduated from the university in 2018 with a B.S.E in Communication Disorders with high distinction. She also received a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. Throughout her time at the university, she maintained involvement in her sorority Phi Mu, the Order of Omega academic society, her service as a student ambassador and her part in the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, but one of her favorite extracurriculars was providing tours to the incoming freshmen and their families. During her tours, she said the Senior Walk was often a popular topic.
“The families always got so excited because [the Senior Walk] was something so unique to our campus and so personal. It’s not like anything any other college does,” Pollmann said.
Pollmann said she understood the excitement towards the Senior Walk because it impacted her personally, as well.
“It is something that shows your hard work can pay off in the end… it is something that connects us all to the campus,” she said.
Amanda Pollmann does not seem to be the only one who sees these ideas as the significance of the Senior Walk.
Charlie Alison also said the Senior Walk “gives a sense of connection between the classes. For each graduate, it gives them a marker as they’re going through their college career; it is something that they can tangibly know is going to be there when they finish and I think it helps people.”
Wendy Echeverria, a current graduate student at the university, shares what the Senior Walk means to her, from a slightly different perspective. Echeverria completed her undergraduate at the University of Arkansas as a first-generation college student. To her, the Senior Walk is a representation of all the hard work she has accomplished and a representation of achieving not only her own dreams, but the dreams of her mother and father as well.
“For me, it means so much more than just getting a degree. It means living a dream for both of my parents and just making them proud,” she said.
Echeverria said she is honored to have her name on the Senior Walk. She said it is a privilege. She also said that she sees her name on there as a personal reminder of all the challenges she had to overcome and the sacrifices she and her family had to make during her undergraduate career to get to where she is now. She shared how she looks forward to the future generations of her family and how they will continue to be honored through her name imprinted on the university.
It seems as though the walk has a way of impacting many who are a part of the university in one way or another.
Fun Facts:
The Senior Walk does more than just connect university affiliates. Such a significant, impactful and historic tradition comes with stories of its own. From replacing stones, to notable figures and spooky tales, the Senior Walk is full of interesting details.
In 2013, the University of Arkansas Facilities Management “started tracking the deterioration of the first 50 years of Senior Walk and noticed an accelerated level of weakening” according to an article from the university. To help preserve the history of the Senior Walk, the deteriorating sections were replaced and some of the original names were kept, and are now on display in an exhibit in Old Main.
Among these displayed stones are some notable names for the university including James William Fulbright, former president of the university and founder of the Fulbright program, and Lucy Byrd Mock, Arkansas’ first golfer and golf instructor, and the world’s first woman to design and build a golf course.
There are many other notable Arkansas graduates whose names appear on the walk, such as Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and William T. Dillard, head of Dillard’s department stores. Wikipedia lists prominent U of A attendees.
Some may argue that no attendees, however, seem to be as prominent as those of the class of 1900. Arguably one of the most interesting stories surrounding the Senior Walk is the legend of “the curse of the class of 1900.”
Charlie Alison said how the students believed if you stepped on the names of the class of 1900, something bad would happen to you. This myth began because it was believed that everyone in the class of 1900 died early in life and in tragic ways; however, Alison quickly debunked that myth.
“When I went and looked it up, they had all lived full, good lives… most of it was just seniors hazing the freshmen,” he said.
True or not, it still makes for a fun story.
What’s next?
Senior Walk has quite the past, but what does the future of the Senior Walk look like? According to Charlie Alison, there are many plans for the future. He said that running out of room does not yet need to be an issue of concern.
“We have tons and tons of sidewalk left,” said Alison.
Alison listed some of the sidewalks the university has yet to touch including: Maple Ave., most of Dickson St., and the whole “athletic valley” from Razorback Rd. to Martin Luther King Blvd. Alison said that finding room is not the issue, but that a lot goes into the planning of the placement.
“We have to think about long term, is the sidewalk going to be here long term? Or are we going to need it for something else? Is there going to be a building that needs to go here that will completely screw up what we are doing? We have to think like that,” he said.
From the five names in 1878, to the approximate 6,000 being added every year currently, the Senior Walk is an incredible representation of the University of Arkansas’s growth and success, Alison said. According to Alison, the Senior Walk has significantly impacted the University’s students for over 100 years and, with the plans for the future, it appears that the Senior Walk will continue to make history for years to come.