A metallic, quasi-melodic clanking reverberates through the Graduate Center at Walker Hall. A smile spreads across 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis doctoral student Jackson Badger鈥檚 face as his friends, family and lab mates applaud him. Badger鈥檚 shoulders drop as relief washes over him. With the ringing of this bell, his doctoral degree at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis is complete.
The ringing of a bell is a uniquely Aggie tradition started in the early 2000s by Graduate Admissions and Advising staff in the Office of Graduate Studies to help students celebrate the completion of their master鈥檚 or doctoral degrees. It is an especially revered tradition for those who, for a variety of reasons, cannot attend the commencement celebration in the spring.
A significant milestone
Students are eligible to ring the bell after their , which is when a reviews a graduate student鈥檚 paperwork and formatting, then files them to graduate, according to Brad Wolf, a former senior academic advisor at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Graduate Studies.
Every time the bell is rung (no, an angel doesn鈥檛 get their wings) staff from Graduate Admissions and Advising emerge from their cubicles to applaud the student, often shouting 鈥淐ongratulations, doctor!鈥 to the newly appointed Ph.D.
鈥淭he bell ringing is a physical act to cap off all the hard work people have completed,鈥 Wolf said. 鈥淚t helps create a sense of celebration and excitement when students submit their dissertations after years of hard work.鈥
Badger, Ph.D. 鈥21, said his own bell ringing was a meaningful moment for him because it signified the culmination of six-plus years of graduate school and research.
鈥淚t felt great. There were several times that I didn鈥檛 think I would get through it all,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut, when I rang that bell, I thought, 鈥楬ere I am. I鈥檓 all done. No more obligations, no more paperwork.鈥 It was a nice capstone.鈥
The bell鈥檚 evolution
The original bell for the ceremony was a cowbell adorned with bikes, because 鈥淚t鈥檚 more 鈥楢ggie,鈥欌 Wolf said, adding: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 more Davis than cows and bikes?鈥
Graduate Studies now has numerous bells on hand for students. In spring 2022, Brian K. Sanders, Ed.D. 鈥14, donated a 5-inch-high, solid metal bell to Graduate Studies. The bell will be placed on a wooden podium in the upstairs reception area in the Graduate Center at Walker Hall.
Ring that bell
While the bell鈥檚 clanking sound may be clear, its origin story is not. Former Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Jeff Gibeling recalled mentioning at a staff meeting that some kind of ceremony was needed to commemorate the submission of a dissertation or thesis.
鈥淚 was concerned that students would come in to meet with a staff member to formally file their dissertation or thesis and walk out quietly 鈥 it seemed rather anticlimactic,鈥 he said.
But as to who first rang the bell years ago, no one knows.
Still, since that first bovine-inspired melody rang out years ago, hundreds of doctoral and master鈥檚 students have raised this idiophone hand-percussion instrument high above their heads, shaking it vigorously for all to hear. Sometimes even members of the student鈥檚 friends and family, especially the children, pick up the bell to ring it on behalf of the new graduate.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen the gamut, when it comes to bell ringers,鈥 said Wolf who has witnessed dozens of bell-ringing ceremonies in his years working as a graduate advisor. 鈥淚 tell people to ring it as hard as they want. There鈥檚 a wide range of enthusiasm in bell ringing.鈥
The bell persisted
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the university pivoted to virtual learning and remote work for staff, the bell sat silent for many months. Some in the Graduate Studies community worried it would not ring again.
Fortunately, the power of the bell persisted. In fall 2021, Badger became the first person to revive the ceremony since spring 2020 鈥 and did so in the newly renovated Graduate Center at Walker Hall.
鈥淚t meant a lot for me to ring the bell before I started my new job,鈥 said Badger, who joined a Bay Area startup just days after graduating. 鈥淚t鈥檚 become a sort of rite of passage.鈥
If you are a graduate alum who missed out on this time-honored tradition and would like to live out your dreams of being like or your inner , head over to the Graduate Center at Walker Hall.