History & Traditions

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To the Heights!

Since its founding in 1888, the University of Puget Sound has fostered the transformational power of a liberal arts education for generations of students. Years before statehood, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church embarked on an ambitious plan to build an institution of higher education in Washington which would rival the best universities anywhere in the United States. From its first graduating class of four students, more than 40,000 Loggers have benefitted from a well-rounded Puget Sound education.

Student studying near the Color Post — **The Color Post:** In Karlen Quad stands an 12’ granite obelisk bearing a record of each graduating class. The original post was hewn from a large fir tree in 1917 and moved to our current campus in 1924. Every spring, seniors line up at the Color Post for Commencement before proceeding down Commencement Walk to Baker Stadium.

The hatchet — **The Hatchet:** Legend has it that the hatchet was discovered in a barn on campus in 1908, and it soon became synonymous with school pride. Intended to be handed down each year, the goal quickly became to steal the hatchet at the earliest opportunity. Today, a replica is on display in Wheelock Student Center, while the original is kept in an undisclosed location.

**LogJam!** Every year, Puget Sound welcomes students to campus and kicks off the fall semester with LogJam!, an annual festival featuring a campus activities fair, food, musical performances, and fireworks.

Student holding up a maroon t-shirt that says Once a Logger, Always a Logger! — **Maroon Fridays:** Every Friday, we show our Logger pride by wearing the traditional maroon and white.

Spring lu'au — **Spring Lu'au:** For more than 45 years, members of the the Ka Ohana me ke Aloha club have organized an annual lu`au to celebrate Pacific Islander culture. The lu`au is typically held in April during Spring Family Weekend and includes traditional island cuisine and student performances.

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Interactive Timeline

Did you know the university was founded on March 17? Did you know that the university was originally supposed to be located in nearby University Place? Learn more about our long history and see a variety of old photos and ephemera in our interactive timeline.

Explore our Interactive timeline

Historical photo of a milk truck at College of Puget Sound

A Sound Past

A Sound Past chronicles through historic photographs the people, buildings, events, athletics, and campus environment that make Puget Sound such a unique place. The collection represents an ongoing effort to make photos from the archives available to a wider audience.

United Methodist Church Affiliation

Did you know that University of Puget Sound was originally founded through the United Methodist Church? And that we retain a relationship with the organization to this day, though it has changed over the years.

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