utsa uncovered: folklore
The University of Texas at Boerne
The Ghost of the University Center
the fountain of luck
Under the Sombrilla you will find a fountain some call the fountain of luck. It isn't an ordinary fountain, though. This fountain can make the difference between a 4.0 grade point average and failure.
About 10 years ago freshman Brian O’Malley was not doing well in his studies. In fact he was close to failing miserably.
Brian was not failing for lack of trying, though. He studied with friends for exams, but to no avail. He outlined chapters. He took copious notes. He asked his professors for recommendation on how to prepare for exams. Nothing worked.
Finals drew near. Brian knew he needed a miracle to pass. About a week before finals, he began to study nonstop day and night. Everywhere he went, he took his books with him. At the barber shop, he studied for geometry. In line at the bursar’s office, he read sociology. While waiting in his car for a parking space, he prepared for history. He left nothing to chance.
Often, Brian could be found studying near the fountain. He liked to sit outdoors and soak up the sun. A cool breeze would duck under the Sombrilla, making the South Texas summer heat bearable.
One day, Brian was studying with friends on a particularly hot and calm afternoon. Jeremy was helping him study for the geometry final they would take Tuesday.
"Now remember," Jeremy said, "the sum of the interior angles of any triangle is 180 degrees. So if I had a triangle with interior angles of 26 and 54 degrees, what would the measure of the third angle be?"
Brian thought about the question for a minute. "Ten degrees, I think," he said. He became more frustrated as he answered each question.
"No, the correct answer is 100 degrees," Jeremy said. "You’re going to need a miracle to pass this test. Or maybe just a bit of good luck."
"Thanks, Jeremy, but that really doesn't help." Brian couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He noticed a small kid running for the fountain. Without taking off his shoes or socks, the small child jumped into the fountain and started wading.
Jeremy turned his head in time to see the four-year-old splashing with a big smile on his face. "That’s a good idea," he said. He motioned toward the fountain. "But maybe we should take our shoes off first."
"I agree." Brian started to untie his shoes.
In the fountain, Jeremy turned to Brian. "This fountain reminds me of that big stone they have on the stage of the Apollo Theater in Harlem," he said. "You know, the one all the performers touch for good luck."
"Yeah, I've heard of it before. Does it really work?"
"I don’t know," Jeremy said, "but maybe you should touch this fountain just in case. It might bring you good luck."
Brian laid both his hands on the fountain. What did he have to lose? The fountain was as ugly as sin, but maybe, just maybe, it had some luck in it somewhere.
Brian let his tingling hands rest upon the fountain for a minute or two. He felt a strange attraction. He could feel the flow of energy entering his body.
As it turns out, the fountain did have some luck in it. The geometry final Brian took came back with an A on it. In fact, Brain got A’s on all his finals that semester. Four years later, Brian received his diploma.
Since then, there have been rumors of students touching the fountain. It is often said by those who have tried and failed that the fountain’s luck only runs during the week before finals. Touching it at any other time brings bad luck. But then, what have you got to lose?
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the university of texas at boerne
In 1969, the legislation creating UTSA was signed into law. A new university was born and a public institution of higher learning would now be available to the historically under-served people of South Texas. There was only one problem: where to locate the University?
Many people thought it should be located in the heart of San Antonio. A downtown location would benefit the most people, they argued. After all, the city had been located by the San Antonio River since it was founded there in the early 1700s. Why not build the University near the river?
As it is in so many cases, money was the deciding factor in the location of UTSA. A downtown location would cost a good deal of money. The land alone would be extremely expensive. The Board of Regents decided to consider other locations.
The chairman of the Board of Regents was John Peace. Mr. Peace wanted to find an appropriate location for the University and he wanted it cheap. A few of his business associates owned some land in the extreme northwest section of Bexar County. He convinced them to donate the land on which to build the university. Thanks to their donation, UTSA now occupies 600 acres in northwestern Bexar County. Uncoincidentally, the library building is named after Mr. Peace.
The location of the land did not sit well with many San Antonians, though. They thought the new university was too far from the city. They called it the University of Texas at Boerne after the town just north of campus on Interstate 10. In time though, the new university and it location was accepted.
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the first arrest on campus
The first campus arrest occurred during the initial construction period of the buildings on campus. Fencing surrounded the campus, and parking was unavailable. Students were transported from off-campus parking lots on buses borrowed from the Northside Independent School District.
To get to class on time, students had to plan ahead, allowing time to find a parking space, catch a ride on the bus and then walk to class. If you missed the bus, you were late to class.
One day, a student was running late. She missed the bus and decided to drive to campus and park illegally on the perimeter of the University. She knew it was illegal, but she decided to climb the fence anyway. After all, she was running late.
She started to climb the fence, which was easy because of the ready-made footholds. It was only a matter of minutes before the students reached the top. Just as she was putting her leg over the fence, a University police officer drove up.
He had seen the student’s car parked on the side of the road. He didn't know if she was just trespassing or planning on stealing or worse. He walked over to the fence and said, "Ma’am, can I help you?"
The student tried to explain the situation. The police officer wasn't very receptive, though. Taking no chances, he immediately arrested her for trespassing on state property. The situation was remedied when, at the makeshift police station, he discovered that the woman was, in fact, a registered student. She was let go with a stern warning.
Later that day, she shared the story with her grandchildren. She has since graduated from UTSA with a degree in criminal justice.
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the bridge of love
More than 20 years ago, two UTSA students fell in love on the bridge that connects the Arts Building to the Science Building. This is the story of how Jason and Julie met, fell in love, separated and then fell in love all over again.
Julie was sitting behind an easel during one of the many drawing classes she would take for her B.F.A. One summer day, Jason walked in and stood on the platform in the center of the room. The robe he was wearing quietly dropped to the floor. Julie and Jason went out on their first date two weeks later.
From the first moment they met, they knew they were right for each other. Her drawings of him hung all over her apartment. They spent all of their free time together. She was his yin. He was her yang.
Four months later, Jason received an envelope from the U.S. government. During the past couple of weeks many of his friends had received draft notices for service in Vietnam, but he never thought he would get one.
In two weeks, Jason would be gone. He was scared to tell Julie. He didn't want anyone to make a fuss about his leaving. And he didn't want Julie to get mad or do anything drastic.
He realized he had to tell her somehow, though. Julie was smart enough to know something was happening. He figured he would tell her when the time was right, but it never was.
Julie found a note from Jason on her doorstep one July morning. He had left the night before. The note said it all.
Julie was confused and sad. Tears rolled down her cheek, and she was filled with grief. She could still feel Jason’s presence.
A year later, Julie was walking to class in the Arts Building one day. She stepped onto the bridge connecting the two buildings and began her journey. A thin man with a slight limp walked toward her.
Julie didn't realize it was Jason until he winked. It was the same wink he had given her when they met. In no time they were in each other’s arms. The first word they shared was a kiss.
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stonehenge
On the left side of the road leading to the front of the Arts Building is a structure called Stonehenge. It has been on campus longer than any building, or anything else for that matter. Unlike its ancestor in England, the story of Stonehenge is more than legend.
When the University was being built, it was the largest university under construction in the United States. The master plan called for the simultaneous construction of seven buildings. The project was no small undertaking.
O’Neill Ford, the architect who designed UTSA as well as the Tower of Americas and many other San Antonio buildings, wanted to make sure he had chosen the right kind of building materials. He chose the type of concrete you see today. Back then the modern look was in style.
In the planning stage, Mr. Ford wanted to know what the concrete would look like against the backdrop of the Hill Country. To do this, he had Stonehenge built. After the other buildings on campus were completed and the construction crews finished, Stonehenge was left standing as a tribute to the builders of the university.
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service tunnels
Under some buildings on campus are service tunnels used for maintenance purposes. At least that’s what they are used for now. They originally had other functions.
The plans for UTSA were drawn up in early 1971. During that time, unrest was the norm at campuses across the country.
UTSA administrators wanted to avoid such unrest but also wanted to have a backup plan in case it occurred. The tunnels were built as an escape route for administrators in the event that a riot broke out on campus. The tunnels were an attempt at security.
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the original subway
A deli style sandwich shop used to be located in what used to be called the HuB - short for Humanities and Business Building. The Hub was not always called the Hub, though. A near lawsuit saw to that.
The restaurant used to be called the "Subway". Since it was located in the basement and reminded students of a subway stop, the name stuck. Going down to the "Subway" became a daily ritual for nearly everyone at UTSA.
About 10 years ago, ©Subway Sandwich Inc. heard about the "Subway" at UTSA. They were not too thrilled with the idea of having their trademark abused. They even threatened to sue the university on grounds of trademark violation.
However, no lawsuits were filed. A deal was struck and the "Subway" was renamed "the Hub". The irony is that ©Subway Sandwich Inc. opened in the Hub not too long after the name was changed. They figured if they couldn't beat us, they would join us.
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the ghost of the university center
The University Center was built in 1986. During the construction dynamite was used to break the underlying rock in order to pour a proper foundation. Little did the construction crew know they would uncover something besides limestone.
On the third day of blasting, the crew stumbled upon a frightening discovery. A skeleton was uncovered from the rubble and fragmented ground. Apparently, the skeleton was that of a cowboy who had lost his life on the cattle trail to the railheads in Kansas City. The blasting disturbed his relative peace.
Construction dragged on for many more months. The crews went about their business as if nothing had happened. The discovery was soon forgotten.
The spirit, however, was released. Since the opening of the University Center, the spirit of the cowboy has inhabited the building. Occasionally, lights flicker, doors open and close by themselves, books and papers fall to the floor and other strange events occur.
But the ghost of the University Center is friendly and, some would say, playful. There are stories of the ghost approaching women and gently blowing on their necks. The women turn around and blame the nearest man. There’s no telling how many men have been wrongly accused over the years, but every man who has claims to have heard a soft chuckling sound. The ghost laughs at them!
The ghost in the University Center is harmless, but he likes to play pranks. If you feel someone blowing on your neck or if your soda disappears for no reason, chalk one up to the cowboy and give him a wink, and he'll be on his way.
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the history of rowdy
Back in 1977, during the early years of UTSA, there was a vote to decide the mascot for the new university. An original ballot containing the name "Roadrunners" was thrown out. A second ballot contained the names "Armadillos" and "Stars" as the top contenders. The "Roadrunner" beat out the other contenders in what has become a legend of a tale.
Since the original ballot was thrown out, a second ballot was developed without the name "Roadrunners" on it. A group of students felt strongly about the name and wanted "Roadrunners" to win. Having learned of the second ballot only days before the vote, they set about coordinating a write-in campaign for the name.
A main element in the students’ campaign was a t-shirt developed specifically for the vote. With permission from Warner Brothers, the shirt depicted the cartoon roadrunner. They negotiated a licensing agreement with Warner Brothers, got artwork donated, pitched in to fund the t-shirts and used their connections to obtain support on and off campus for the project. The students even called upon sports columnist Dan Cook to lend support to the effort.
On election day, the "Roadrunners" overcame all odds and won in a landslide by 2-1. We've been known as Roadrunners ever since.
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a secret society called velox
Once upon a time there was a secret society of sports fans who did what they could to support UTSA athletics. Everything they did was done under the cover of darkness and in a shroud of secrecy. This is only the second time this story has ever been told.
Velox is the scientific name for the type of Roadrunner native to the Texas Hill country and the UTSA campus. The group was formed late one night in the spring of 1994. There were six original members of the group all sworn to secrecy.
The group sought to encourage support of UTSA athletics. Poster hangings, decorations and banners were usual tactics. There was one event, however, that brought attention to the group.
During Homecoming Week, Velox wanted to boost attendance at the homecoming basketball game. To do this they went about using their regular tactics but with one twist.
Before the University Center was expanded, there was a field between the UC and the HSS. In the middle of the night, the members of Velox spray- painted the word Velox in the grass to bring attention to their activities. The blue and orange word remained in the grass for the next month leaving more questions than answers.
No one knew who was responsible for the deed until now. Some say the group remains on campus in secret. The original members would say, however, that there’s a little bit of Velox in all of us.
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room numbers
The room numbers at UTSA are unlike any other I've ever seen. There’s a story behind them and how they became the long, three-sectioned hieroglyphics we know and love.
When the university was under construction back in the early 70’s, one of the first math professors came up with a unique numbering system that no one else had ever devised. Unfortunately, the professor died before he had the chance to explain the system to the university community.
The numbering system he invented was put into use in honor of the professor. The current room numbers on all the rooms at UTSA are a tribute to his incredible genius.
Honestly, the truth of the matter is that the numbering system we use at UTSA is a standard architectural convention used in new buildings. We just never changed the numbers to conform to a more standard pattern.
Example:
BB 2.01.02
BB - Business Building
2. - Floor Number (2nd floor)
.01 - Corridor Number (Corridor #1)
.02 - Room Number (Room #2)