You got your acceptance letter. As you opened it, you smiled and knew that deep down you bleed orange and blue. You came here to Auburn to learn, to grow and to create. You came here for many reasons, but there's one that stands out like no other: You came here because you "believe in Auburn, and love it."
Auburn students love their school for the things that make it special. At Auburn, tradition is rooted in each member of the Auburn Family as deeply as the Toomer's Oaks will forever be rooted in our hearts.
When discussing Auburn University traditions, one that is guaranteed to come up started with those beloved oaks: Rolling Toomer's Corner.
"Rolling Toomer's Corner is so great because it's something that literally brings everyone at Auburn together," Evie Smith, sophomore in agronomy and soils, said. "Everyone goes to roll those trees, or now, that corner. It doesn't matter who you are or what you're apart of. That's just the greatest symbol of us as a team, and our unity."
Smith grew up rolling Toomer's Corner Oaks, but remembers the first time she rolled them as an Auburn student.
"It was bittersweet," Smith said. "I rolled the Toomer's Oaks at the A-Day game last year in 2013 - just before they were taken down. It was the first time I rolled them as a student, and it was my last."
While the Auburn tradition has changed since the removal of the trees, Smith said she believes it hasn't affected the tradition as a whole.
"If you do anything Auburn, go roll Toomer's Corner," Smith said. "Even though it will never be exactly the same, the tradition and the spirit will never change."
While rolling Toomer's after a big win, another favorite Auburn pastime is to walk across the street to Toomer's Drugs and purchase a refreshing cup of the store's famous lemonade.
"It's absolutely delicious," incoming transfer student in computer science Clayton Atcherson said. "I've had it before, and I'll have it again. That lemonade is as much as an Auburn tradition as them trees. Toomer's Corner wouldn't be the same without it."
Atcherson said he loves the Auburn tradition all-year round, but the way it's prepared is his favorite.
"It's made right in front of you with fresh lemons, sugar and other ingredients," Atcherson said with a smile. "Kinda like how a little kid would when they have their own lemonade stand. It's just the best - just like a child and his lemonade."
While Toomer's Corner has been an Auburn landmark for more than 150 years, Auburn students agree there's no tradition like the eagle in Jordan Hare on game day.
"When you're standing there with thousands of Auburn fans, and we swing our arms and shout 'Waaaaaaar' as that beautiful bird circles around the stadium, you can't help but be in awe," Kerri Burtnett, a graduate student in apparel and textiles, said. "You can't help but be in awe of him because it really exemplifies us as warriors and our 'War Eagle' battle cry."
Burtnett says the best thing about Auburn's eagle, Nova, is the way it's unique to the university.
"Think about it," Burtnett began, "no other school does anything like this. Granted, other universities use live animals on the field, but they all have a human handler - Georgia's bulldog is monitored by a person as is Florida State's horse. Our eagle knows exactly where to go and when on his own. He distinguishes us from the rest. It's breathtaking."
Burtnett encourages all incoming students to see Nova fly around the stadium before kickoff this fall, even if football isn't their thing.
"You have to see it at least once," Burtnett said. "It doesn't matter if you like football or not - if you're an Auburn student, you're a member of the Auburn Family, and there's nothing like standing in Jordan Hare together and feeling the magic of 'War Eagle.'"
From Toomer's Corner to Jordan Hare, Auburn's traditions stand as strong as the Auburn spirit.
Now that you're apart of the Auburn Family, you, too, get to fall in love with the university's many traditions, and experience the greatest spirit in the nation.
War Eagle. Welcome to the Family. Welcome to a spirit and traditions you'll cherish for a lifetime.
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