Baking cookies for your TAs as a “department thing.”
BAKING COOKIES FOR YOUR TAS AS A “DEPARTMENT THING.” Follow us for more reflections on Ivy League life, past and present.
Remember those unwritten rules, the ones that just… existed? Beyond the Primal Scream and the grand secret societies, there were the smaller, weirder rituals woven into the fabric of our daily academic grind. Think about it: that specific department where suddenly, everyone in your intro seminar was showing up with homemade chocolate chip cookies for the TA during office hours. Was it a genuine act of appreciation for their late-night grading sessions? A strategic, unspoken attempt to subtly influence that borderline grade? Or perhaps, was it simply another quirky tradition, passed down through the years, as much a part of the course as the syllabus itself?
These weren't official university policies, but rather the unique quirks of a dorm floor, a student club, or even an entire academic department. The late-night study group turning into an impromptu, mandatory, no-exceptions pizza run. The bizarre pre-exam good luck charm exchange. The specific way a certain club always celebrated a victory, or mourned a defeat. They were the little things that defined our daily existence within those hallowed halls, often sparking an equal measure of fondness and frustration. We loved them for the sense of belonging they fostered, and sometimes, we secretly hated them for the extra, inexplicable effort they demanded.
What were your department’s unspoken rituals? Did you bake? Did you participate in something even stranger? Share your stories below of the micro-traditions you loved, or secretly loathed, during your time in the Ivy League.
#IvyLeagueLife #CollegeTraditions #AlumniStories #StudentLife #CampusCulture #IvyAlumni #HigherEd