Outfly

Outfly is a student-initiated, one-day holiday that traces back to the 1890s at Wartburg Collegeand is sometimes called by its German name "Ausflug". It now occurs once a year during the fall term. Outfly is called upon a date known only to the college president and the student body president.

At colleges in the Northeastern United States, a similar observance is known as Mountain Day.

6:00 - 6:45 A.M. Students are notified that it is Outfly when orientation staff members run through the residence halls, pounding on doors and yelling "Outfly!" Commuter students can choose to be part of a call or text message list.

6:30 - 7:00 A.M. Students gather at the Victory Bell in front of The W athletic complex. Most come still in pajamas, but many will dress in costume to compete in the "Best Dressed Costume Contest". Once the student body president has been found, the college president has arrived, and once at least 50% of the student body has gathered, the college president will declare Outfly, canceling classes for the day. Evening classes are still held.

7:30 - 9:00 A.M. Outfly breakfast, served by the faculty, staff, and administration of the college.

The rest of the day is often filled with a variety of activities, including a golf outing, a photo scavenger hunt, dunk tank, velcro wall, carnival games, and sports tournaments. The day ends with students searching for the student body president and a themed movie on campus.

Every year, there is a different theme to Outfly. T-shirts, activities and decorations are all focused around the theme of the year. Outfly can happen on any weekday, though in recent years the college has steered away from calling it on Friday.

Only the current Student Body President and President of the college know when Outfly will be called. Despite this, every year there are rumors of Outfly being called a certain days for a range of reasons. Students have convinced their friends Outfly will be "tomorrow" because they heard the Student Body President has a big exam that they want to postpone or because "it's always on October 5th" or because "it's always the Tuesday before Homecoming Week." The rumors of Outfly can cause for some tension on campus as students start expecting Outfly every day. Some years, the student body have voiced their displeasure of the lack of Outfly at the Student Body President. When Outfly isn't called as early as students expect, freshmen usually starts to think Outfly is a joke upperclassmen like to play just to get the freshmen to skip doing homework or studying in hopes of Outfly being the next day.

On March 25, 2009, the Wartburg Student Senate, along with the Student Body President and all other Senate Executives, called a Spring Outfly for the first time. This Outfly was demanded on behalf on the students as a protest due to concerns ranging from the quality of services offered at the 'W' recreation center to the rising price tag of education at the private institution. Student Senators notified their constituents of the plan by word of mouth and with petitions on behalf of this "Project Orange". On the morning of March 25, Senators went around their respective communities to wake the students. After a majority of students gathered at the Victory Bell, the students marched to the Wartburg President's house.

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Wikipedia