Traditions of Louisiana Tech University

The traditions of Louisiana Tech University are key aspects to the culture and student life at Louisiana Tech University. The earliest traditions started shortly after the university's founding in the 1890s while other traditions have been introduced more recently. The most notable visible tradition among current students and university alumni is the Lady of the Mist statue and fountain that was constructed in the middle of the Quadrangle in 1938.

Tech XXI, the university's official mascot, is present at all football games and most sporting events and special ceremonies.

The Lady of the Mist is one of the most recognizable landmarks on the Louisiana Tech Main Campus. The granite sculpture sits in the midst of a fountain in the middle of the quadrangle (The Quad), one of the focal points of the university and part of the older section of the Main Campus. The Lady of the Mist symbolizes "Alma Mater" who welcomes new students and bids farewell to Tech graduates. The statue also symbolizes the hope that Louisiana Tech graduates will fulfill their ambitions and highest callings in life.

The statue and fountain was funded in 1938 by the Women's Panhellenic Association of Ruston, the governing body of the university's sorority groups. The Lady of the Mist was the idea of Art & Architecture faculty member Mary Moffett and Art Department Chair Elizabeth Bethea. The Lady of the Mist was created by Duncan Ferguson and Jules Struppeck and specifically located in the middle of the Quad facing north toward the old North entrance columns of the Tech campus. This was done to welcome everyone to the campus as people looked through the North entrance columns to see the statue's open arms waiting to greet them.

The Lady fell into disrepair in the years after its construction. In 1985, the statue was restored through the efforts of the Student Government Association, Panhellenic, the Residence Hall Association, and the Association of Women Students. Today, the statue remains a focal point of students and alumni who return to the Tech campus.

The Tenets of Tech are the twelve tenets that exemplify the qualities that Tech students should possess upon graduation.

The Lady of the Mist has played an integral part in Louisiana Tech's First-Year Experience Academic Convocation since the first ceremony was held in 2007. Every September during Welcome Week, the ceremony marks the first time the members of the incoming freshmen class come together and the last time they will officially gather together until their graduation. During the Academic Convocation, the freshmen students are introduced to President Leslie K. Guice, university administrators, and distinguished alumni.

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