This Virginia University's Throwback Tradition Encourages Students To Put Away Their Phones Betsy Cribb WatsonSeptember 1, 2025 at 6:05 AM 14 Washington and Lee University Attend a university that was founded in 1749, and you can pretty much count on a collegiate experience marked by timehonored tra...
- - This Virginia University's Throwback Tradition Encourages Students To Put Away Their Phones
Betsy Cribb WatsonSeptember 1, 2025 at 6:05 AM
14
Washington and Lee University
Attend a university that was founded in 1749, and you can pretty much count on a collegiate experience marked by time-honored traditions and long-held superstitions. Such was the case for me, at least, at Washington & Lee University (W&L), a small liberal arts school nestled in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
Some of the centuries-old institution's traditions are particularly meaningful, like the honor system, which serves as a foundational understanding of trust among the campus community; others are a bit sillier, like the widely-held belief that you'll fail an exam if you walk between the center columns of a certain first-year residence hall. (Goofy, perhaps, but look at the well-worn steps on either side of the portico and it's clear nobody's willing to risk their GPA to chance.) There's one old-school custom, though, that I especially love, particularly in our heads-down, screen-addicted era: The Speaking Tradition.
What is The Speaking Tradition?
It's pretty much what it sounds like. If you pass someone on campus, you're meant to greet them. Just a casual "What's up?" for a fellow student or a polite "Hello!" for a professor fits the bill. It's not intended to be exhaustive; nobody expects you to say "hi" to every one of the dozens of people you're walking past during the changing of classes, for example. And I won't say it's fail-proof either. There were plenty of passing encounters in which I did not greet my fellow students or my last-minute, half-hearted attempt came out as a breathy, awkward, barely audible "Hey."
Regardless, at its heart, W&L's Speaking Tradition is about cultivating an atmosphere of hospitality and friendliness on campus, where students are encouraged to look up from their phones and engage with the people and the world around them—and that's a custom I hope sticks around for another 200-plus years.
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