Changing Traditions at Pomona College

Not surprisingly, many traditions have changed over the years at Pomona. One of the earliest is believed to be a change in the team name from the “Huns” to the “Sagehens”. Freshmen no longer wear “dinks”, are harassed by sophomores, or compete in games with the sophomores for class honor. Members of the football team no longer subject freshmen women to the degrading “weigh-in”. The words to the Torchbearers song (originally titled “Ghost Dance”) were changed in the 1930’s by Ramsay L. Harris, a member of Pomona’s English Department.

The most recent change at the college was the effective retirement of the use of the college seal, now retitled the “Founder’s Seal”, about a decade ago. The motto, “Our tribute to Christian Civilization”, inscribed on the seal was apparently the cause of its demise, as presumably the college wished to make it clearer that it welcomed students from a variety of religious traditions. Its use has been replaced by the current “College mark”, which contains the name “Pomona College” and a multicolor graphic design.