Los Angeles
CTY Los Angeles is an educational summer paradise, with intense academics in class, "fun" activities outside of class, and many memorable moments in between. This site features a beautiful campus, a devoted set of teachers, and students of all kinds. While LOS is not the most tradition-laden site, new and interesting trends are always emerging. Every year, about 380 individuals come from all over the world to see what LMU will do next. A true CTY site, LMU leaves each student wanting to return, always wanting "more".
Overview
The weather at LMU is sunny, for the most part, though the coastal climate leads to a few overcast days. Mornings and evenings can be a little cooler than the daytime. The campus is extremely beautiful, though CTY activities are confined to a very small part of it. LMU has many fountains, and a large library. Students live very close together, and eat in the campus cafeteria. There is a Jamba Juice on-campus, and many classes and/or halls go there for occasional drinks.
LMU has always been a kind of black sheep with traditions, not keeping many (to the dismay of easterners). Though "It's the End of the World as We Know It" was a staple at the LA venues (LMU and, before that, the University of Redlands) in the early 1990s, it died out sometime in the mid-1990s.
A kid named Michael Sherwood brought an incredible passion and zeal to tradition in the summer of 2001. In that summer, and through no easy means, he revived interest in REM's 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)', and brought 'Stairway', Gay Dad, and Radiohead to the site. Suddenly, there was light and energy. The abysmal food tasted better, the sky was bluer, and the girls were wearing less clothing. Furthermore, a former Lancaster student-turned Young Students Instructor named Chris also worked with students and staff to institute traditions from other sites. He DJ'd the dances, helping to bring REM's 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)' and the associated dance tradition to LMU. He also worked to bring Passionfruit to Los Angeles. 'Forever Young' was not only on said instructor's computer, it was played at the proper time during each of the unfortunately small number of dances that summer.
Though 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)', and 'Stairway' stuck, LMU tradition was once again stuck in a rut. With the advent of 08.1, Silent Football, Blammo, and Wanna buy a duck were all added to the traditional game repertoire of several first-sessioners. While RA awareness of Canon lagged, a reform had begun. On the other hand, for several years, session 2 tradition thrived under the caretaking of Jared, Zoe and their companions. The majority of this traditionalist group nevermored out in 2007, leaving tradition to a few younger students for 2008, such as David, Jordan, Margot and Bri.
Second session tends to be a lot more traditional than first session, although it still has less tradition than other sites.
There are three dances per session. The first two are held on Fridays, and the last one is held on Thursday. There is always a Movie Night, a Casino Night, some form of Water Day, and a Talent Show. Drag Day is held on the second Wednesday, though the staff doesn't acknowledge it as an official event. Nevermores and Nomores observe Passionfruit early on the last morning of the session. On the last day of every second session, someone manages to dump something into Doheny Fountain, such as Jell-O powder, Tang, or liquid soap. This tradition was launched in 2007 by Allyssa's hall.
The site is considered moderately strict. Students must be escorted everywhere by a CTY staff member, unless RAs are posted. Halls are required to eat breakfast together, and have been since the summer of 2003. RAs function on a rotation schedule during dinner so that students may move freely between the dining hall and their dorms. Many of the RAs are obsessed with making students use the crosswalk. Up until 2003, there was no formal programming on Sunday afternoons. Now, students attend Non-Mandatory Fun (a name coined by RA Tom Ryan in summer 2003,) or other themed weekend activities. Student halls may order pizza, Chinese, or Thai for dinner on Fridays and/or Saturdays. Weekend off-campus trips, with RA supervision, can include Ralph's or Bristol Farms (supermarkets), Viva Fresh (a Mexican Restaurant), Bowling, Subway, or Taco Bell. In 2015 and 2016, many halls went to KC's Crepe Cafe. Jamba Juice is only open for a select number of hours each day, and only during class time, so usually Jamba Juice is a class treat given during the week. In 2008 and 2009, several classes also ordered In-N-Out.
Given the university's proximity to the ocean (just 3 miles), the weather is warm and sunny during the day and cool at night, and the air is very fresh. Sometimes there is a beautiful white mist in the morning. Students and staff alike are advised to bring at least one pair of long pants, and sweaters or a sweatshirt. Usually the weather will only be chilly in the evening, when students may want to change into warmer clothes. Students will usually not need a rain coat, as it rarely rains in Los Angeles between May and November (but did one day in both 14.2 and 15.2). Humidity is seldom an issue and RAs and students need not worry about rain plans, unlike CTY participants on the East Coast.
Historically, the food has been mediocre, with multiple instances of diarrhea and food poisoning throughout the years. Students are advised to bring alternative food stuffs to the site. Cup-O'-Noodles and Ramen can both be filled with hot water in the cafeteria, and are a sodium-rich alternative to the bizarre cafeteria food. (However, you should keep these foods out of plain sight -- technically, you're not supposed to bring outside food into the cafeteria. However, the food changed starting in 2011 and continued into 2012, which featured a better selection and better quality of food. In 2015, the food was actually quite good. However in 2016, the dining hall was under construction for a new pizza and sandwich bar where the old sandwich/ dessert area was. Much to returners' dismay, pizza was entirely off the menu. In addition, a kosher meal plan is offered, which basically consists of airplane meals. Some of the meal options (such as the salmon and beef) are really good, while the majority of the meals are closer to inedible than edible. The option of some form of pasta is a constant along with burgers and fries, though attempts to make pasta healthy sometimes ended less than desirable. However, the cafeteria also has a host of non-problematic foods, such as a salad bar and kosher-brand cereals. The cafeteria is also willing to keep food in the fridge for you, or to put your food in the oven (and if you tell them, they'll double wrap it properly). Beware vegetarians, however, as the cafeteria occasionally mislabels meals as to whether or not they contain meat. Ask a worker, just to be safe.
Campus
The LMU site is located, as one may guess, at Loyola Marymount University in western Los Angeles. It is about three miles from LAX International Airport; the Conning Tower is barely visible from some parts of the campus. As LMU is a Jesuit school, there is a bell tower and an iconic white chapel. There are also crucifixes in every single classroom. Student life tends to be centered around the Doheny, Sullivan, and Huesman Courtyards. Most classes are located within the area of Ignatian Circle. For more campus information, visit the LMU website.
Buildings
CTY Office Building
The staff and medical office for CTY are housed in Sullivan Hall, which neighbors Doheny Hall and Huesman Hall. Students stay in Sullivan Hall when they are sick, or during intersession. The Commuter Lounge is also located in Sullivan. Students that are picked up and dropped off must sign in and out in Sullivan. Sullivan Courtyard was the location of the dances, and is well-lit at night by several street-lights that automatically turn on. As of 14.1, dances are held on Regent's Terrace. The last dances of 14.1 and 15.1 were held in the same gym where the talent show was held. Luckily, the last dance of 16.1 was not held there.
Class Buildings
Recently, the majority of CTY LMU classes were in Saint Robert's Hall and the Foley Annex, both of which are in Ignatian Circle. Classes are also known to be held in Pereira Hall of Engineering. Classrooms are high-tech, and most have Media Center options such as an in-ceiling projector connected to the instructor's computer, and a surround-sound system.
- Saint Robert's Hall: A big, old, and beautiful three-floor building located next to Sunken Gardens and Regent's Terrace. The windows are large and have nice views, such as a view across Sunken Gardens which is especially nice for the sunsets. Breaks are taken in Regent's Terrace. There's a really weird women's restroom stall in the building that has huge window (3 by 2 ft?) overlooking sunken gardens. Good luck taking a poop there.
- The Foley Annex: A one-floor temporary building. Both the building and classrooms have an industrial feel to them, with white walls. Classrooms have few windows. Class breaks for Foley Annex are in Regent's Terrace. The building tends to be on the cold side.
- Pereira Hall: A little more out-of-the way, and has two stories. The second floor is not wheelchair accessible. Breaks are taken in an adjacent courtyard.
- Hilton Center for Business: As of 15.1, a few classes have been held here. There are at least two floors, and the basement can get a little cold. During Sunday night classes, however, said basement has no AC, making it uncomfortably warm. Often breaks happen in the nearby courtyard or in the grassy area by the dining hall.
Dorms
The dorms at LMU are not air-conditioned, and usually don't have lounges. However, given that the climate at LMU is usually pretty comfortable throughout the summer, this doesn't pose too much of a problem. Rooms have two beds, two small dressers, two desks and chairs and two wardrobes. Beds are extra-long twin sized, and loft-style. There are desks in each room, each with a built-in desk lamp and electrical outlet. The dorms are highly concentrated in a small area of campus, and it is a short walk from any dorm to any place where CTY students are allowed to be. There is an RA for each hallway of the dorms in use. Usually, RAs will theme the hallway and add decorations. Each dorm has some kind of courtyard, though Desmond and Rosecrans share a courtyard.
- Huesman Hall: Located next to Doheny and Sullivan, Huesman is a one-story dorm. Though historically used as a girl's dorm, CTY used it as a boy's dorm in 2009 and 2014. It is designed for use by males. There is room for 4 halls total in Huesman. It is a Men's dorm in the school year, and has urinals. There are no mirrors or sinks in the rooms. There are two bathrooms, and each has only two toilet stalls. The showers have solid doors and curtains, with a changing area in between. Huesman can get a little hot, so it is wise to bring a fan. In 16.1, it was used to house IS girls.
- Doheny Hall: Doheny Hall is a three-story boys' dorm, located in between Huesman Hall and Sullivan Hall, in the center of the action at CTY. There are no urinals in the bathrooms. Each room has a mirror and sink. The closets smell weird. In 2012 and 2014, Doheny was used to house girls. During 14.2 it housed 2 upper floors of Baby CTY and a lone floor of 3 IS halls.
- Desmond Hall: A large, three-story girls' dorm, Desmond is a short walk away from Doheny Courtyard. It has no urinals, and each room has a mirror and sink. There are very nice large windows. The showers have doors, but no changing area. The temperature in Desmond is pretty good. Desmond fits roughly 9 halls, with three on each floor. In 2012 and 2015.2, Desmond was used to house guys, changing the unofficial name to "breh"smond.
- Rosecrans Hall: A three-story dorm, Rosecrans is the mirror image of Desmond. Desmond and Rosecrans share a courtyard, and both feature large windows. Rosecrans fits roughly 9 halls, with three on each floor. Though it usually houses boys, in 09.1 it housed Kobe camp (ugh) and three halls of CTY girls. Also known as Brosecrans. In 2012, the top floor of Rosecrans was used to house 3 girls halls. For part of 14.2, Rosecrans was known as The Republic of New Whelan by the members of Whelan.
- Whelan Hall: Used as a girls' dorm in the summer of 2006, 2015.2, and 2016. Whelan is behind Desmond and Rosecrans. It has three stories and three wings, and a potential to hold 9 halls, though it often houses more. There are mirrors in the rooms, but no sinks. The showers have no walls or doors, but only curtains (which struggle to close). In more recent years, Whelan was occupied by other camps, such as the Guitar Camp. Most recently used in 16.2 as a girls' dorm. For part of 14.2, Whelan was known as Little Rosecrans by the members of Rosecrans. Whelan has a Gamecube (with Smash Melee) and ping-pong table on the fourth floor, but student access there is limited.
- Sullivan Hall: A hall mostly used now for administrative and computer lab purposes, there are few students living there, but it is a dorm. In 09, it was used as a dorm for the students in quarantine. In 11.1 and 11.2, Sullivan was used for administrative and computer lab purposes, but there were 3 girls' halls sharing it. It faces a slope towards the Doheny Fountain. Because of the increased amount of activity during Meat Market at the Fountain, Sullivan is a very convenient location. However, the beds are quite high, and a few girls have admitted to falling off the bed in the middle of the night.
- Del Rey South Hall: In 14:1 and 14:2, Del Rey South Hall was used as a dorm for CTY, housing four boys halls on two floors. The building was shared with Spanish exchange students, who seem to really love banging on their floors. There is no air-conditioning, but there is a public and CTY-usable microwave on each floor, along with a sink and TV. Also, certain room numbers compose a three-room suite on both floors.
Other Buildings
- Malone Center: The Malone Center is the building where the cafeteria is. It is located between Regent's Terrace and Doheny. *Sacred Heart Chapel: Is visible from Sunken Gardens and Regent's Terrace. It has a bell tower which chimes the Westminster Chimes every 15 minutes.
- William. H. Hannon Library"': Classes often go here to use computers and conference rooms, usually during evening study.
- Fritz B. Burns Fine Art Center: Music practice is usually held in the courtyard of this building, as it has practice rooms with pianos. Also, every session since 07.2, Casino Night was held in the courtyard.
- Charles Von der Ahe Building: The bookstore is located in this building in the bottom floor, along with many offices.
- Fritz B. Burns Recreational Center: This recreational center has a pool, and is where all swimming activities take place. The Basketball activity is also held in the gym here, as are occasional dances. No swimming activities take place in Doheny Fountain.
- Gersten Pavilion: Talent Show and Closing Ceremonies are held in the Gersten Pavilion on a temporary stage. The audience watches from the bleachers.
General Areas
- Huesman Courtyard: Located by Huesman Hall, Huesman Courtyard is grassy, and lined by trees and flowers. These trees might be the "Grove of Orange Trees" referred to by the plaque on Huesman Hall. Huesman Courtyard is a good place to play Frisbee®, and flows seamlessly into Doheny Courtyard.
- Doheny Courtyard: This courtyard is minimal, and entirely concrete. It is flanked by symmetrical Huesman and Sullivan Courtyards, and has a fountain. Social Time takes place every night Sunday through Friday in Doheny Courtyard. Social hour location changed to Whelan courtyard in 13.2.
- Sullivan Courtyard: Sullivan Courtyard is similar to Huesman Courtyard, though it is more sloped, and has no trees or flowers around it. Dances have been held in this courtyard since 2006 (with previous years' dances held in mostly the Desmond Courtyard and upon rare occasion, in the Doheny Courtyard), as is Movie Night on the evening of the first Saturday.
- Desmond Courtyard/Rosecrans Courtyard: Desmond Hall and Rosecrans Hall share a courtyard, which is a large diamond shape. The courtyard is mostly grassy, with sidewalks leading to both dorms and the off-limits diner on the other side. There are flowers and trees along the sides. Due to construction on Sullivan Courtyard, dances were held here in 2010. Dances were held here in 2011, and continued in 2012 to be held there. Under construction in 13.2. Also the main location of "Social Time".
- Desmond Courtyard/Whelan Courtyard: Located between Desmond and Whelan hall. Used to host dance in 2013 due to construction in Rosecrans/Desmond courtyard. Diamond shape and has trees around. Surrounded by Whelan and Desmond hall. Was under construction in 2014.
- Sunken Gardens: Sunken Gardens is an extremely large grassy area located in front of the Sacred Heart Chapel, and near Desmond and Rosecrans. This is the area where weekend activities typically take place. Sunken Gardens was under construction in 2008, though what one constructs on a large grassy area, no one knows. Though it became progressively green over both sessions in 2008, it was still off-limits. It has been revealed by CTYers who returned to the campus during the schoolyear that there have been lights added beneath the palm trees, and the area is otherwise the same. It is no longer under any construction, and students anticipate it will be open for 2009 activities. Open for 2013 activities. Used to host dances in 2014, 2015, and the second two dances of 16.2. Used for the Closing Ceremony in 2014.
- Regent's Terrace: Next to the cafeteria, there is a grassy area surrounded by benches. This area includes the famous "Poking Tree." Some classes take their breaks here. Handoffs to TA's and from TA's for class take place here. This is the optimal location for foursquare at the site.
- Gym: Used for; going to the pool, playing basketball, talent shows, dances, and salsa dancing (15.1). The first dance of 16.2 took place here.
- The Alumni Mall: A series of grassy areas separated by sidewalks, the Alumni Mall is the area where more active weekday activities take place. In 2008, weekend activities were held on the Alumni Mall. Be aware that things done on the Alumni Mall are not done privately.
- Hannon Field: Located next to the Hannon Apartments, Hannon field was the location of Wet-N-Wild Day for 08.2.
- Leavey Field/Drollinger Parking Plaza: Though this is far out of normal bounds for normal CTYers, this grass-covered parking garage was used for Hydrophilia Day in 08.1.
Off-Campus Places (Weekend Trips)
- Viva Fresh: Viva Fresh is a small Mexican restaurant located a few blocks from LMU. The food there is far better than cafeteria food, and Viva Fresh is a popular place for halls to go on weekend offsite trips.
- Ralph's: California's favorite grocery store is nearby, waiting in anticipation to sell CTYers soda, chips, candy, Ramen, or any other thing their heart desires. Ralph's even carries flip flops, for those people who didn't bring enough shoes to CTY. An excellent stop for extra duct tape. Look for sales on Gatorade.
- Bristol Farms: A local health food grocery store carries wholesome and gourmet food for those with finer tastes.
- Subway: Yay for sandwiches! Eat fresh. [no longer visited]
- Taco Bell: Tacos, burritos, etc. Think outside the bun. [no longer visited]
- Yogolicious: Frozen yogurt! Their hours are weird, though, so be sure to get there after 11:30, but they will occasionally open earlier specially for CTYers (Hailey's 14.1 hall, Nicole's and Kat's 14.2 halls).[Closed]
- SanSai: SanSai is a decent Japanese grill.
- KC's Crepes Cafe: Japanese Style Crepes! Fresh and Yummy Ingredients! Not to mention boba (yes it is possible to have too much Starbucks)
RAs
- LMU was home to the legendary Boring Brothers and, of course, Tom Ryan. Jason Boring was the Dean of Residential Life 2010-2012.
- Tommy Smith was an RA at LMU through the late 90s and early 2000s. He instituted "More Active Than Sleep (But You Probably Won't Break a Sweat)". Jesse Boring picked up the activity, then passing the torch to a former resident-turned-RA named David Abravanel. In 2008 and 2010-2012, Jason Boring ran the activity.
- 06.1 to present, an awesome RA, and now SRA Christian (alias C-Bad) was worshipped.
- In 08.1, the RA for the CODE B boys, named Dane Alexander Holding, was an active part of several new traditions, including Bananaphone and "HI DANE." "HI DANE" was then brought to 08.2 by Emma M., a doublesessioner. Her group of friends adopted "HI DANE" as their own, with one person, Allegra C., even saying "Hi, Dane!" into a microphone at the 08.2 Talent Show, and again the following year. Dane Holding has since become an LMU legend. "HI DANE" is a popular phrase, and Bananarchy is a traditional activity. In 2013, Dane became an SRA.
- Chris Lock, during second session, became a popular RA after the Protest activity, in which three girls in the Desmond 330's hall declared that "Chris Lock belonged to them." He is best known for his interesting turn as Dane's Butler, or the epic Bananarchy vs. Chris Lock Fan Club clash that happened on the last wednesday.
- Ariella C. (alias Oreo) has, as of 2011, begun a website interviewing the RAs of LMU Session 2 2011, including the Great Dane.
http://radiscussions.blogspot.com/
- This site is home to a few emerging stars, among them, Von Tha Don, Amy Coleman, and many more who've all contributed to the site's amazing atmosphere.
- Taylor Mitchell became an RA at LMU in 2011. Taylor, a former CTYer himself (at Hawaii and Carlisle) was instrumental in taking care of tradition. He hosted activities such as "CTY Canon" and tried to get more canon songs played at the dances. Taylor can be recognized by his long white (and sometimes gold) robes.
- In 2014, a treebender named Luis Antonio became an RA. The discovery of Luis' abilities made by Gabriel Apoj, Andrew Pang, Anson Tsang, Mustafa Khan, and Young Zheng led many students to respect and worship the trees on campus, and many times, students could be heard yelling "LUIIIIISSSS!" In 2016, Luis returned to the LOS site after a two-year absence. He led the team of RAs to a 3-1 victory against Chile at the World Cup 16.1 weekend activity. He is most known during summer 16 for his Starbucks Odyssey activity in which he destroyed the hopes and dreams of 88 students. In 16.1 & 16.2, both his halls won casino night. Thus where he got the nickname “el chapo”. He was hated by many, but loved by many more. By end the of summer, he was referred to as “The G.O.A.T.” for his enthusiasm and role as the hype man.
- I do not know how JON KRAUS has not been mentioned yet but JON KRAUS has been RA'ing since 2012 and is a LEGEND. Creator of KBBQ, Tiny Fez Club, Secret Activity, Amerifan, and everything else really.
- Chucho has also been integral in keeping tradition alive at LOS. Known for his bright forearm tattoo, man bun, curly mustache, and colorful shoes, He's freaking amazing and a huge part of LOS culture. He always rapped Lucenzo's part in LMU canon 'Danza Kuduro" In 15.1, he was the sole wielder of glow sticks for the first two dances. He always shuffled in the middle of student circles whenever "Everyday I'm Shuffling" came on. The leader of the two salsa dancing weekly activities in 15.1, Chucho was a good Spanish dancing man and a legendary RA.
- Chris Adames was an RA who started and kept many traditions alive at the Los Angeles Site. He was the RA who brought over the "Wobble" from Santa Cruz, where he first began working for CTY as an RA. (The song is now considered Canon) He was also the creator of the student-favorite activity "Supa Hot Fire Rap Battles", where students rap against each other with satirically written verses in a fashion that imitates the viral videos. At the RA Superhero Fashion Show (16.1), he donned no costume. He was simply introduced as "Mr.Steal Your Girl" Though never properly acknowledged, it was Chris who kept traditions alive in 16.1 after a new flood of RAs arrived at the site. He organized the KBBQ rally that year and pushed for "Supa Hot Fire Rap Battles" to be held again- even after 'the incident' at the last dance of 15.1. After not many canon songs were played during the first two dances, Chris helped organize the third dance so that former RAs (Parke, Rory, Chucho, and Jordan) could come back in order to teach CTYers the canon songs and their dances. Sadly, 16.1 was his last session working as an RA. At 16.2, he attended the second dance.
Official Activities
Afternoon activities take the form of weeklies and dailies. At the beginning of the week, one weekly and four dailies are chosen by each student. After the activities are chosen, as student isn't allowed to change their mind. Weekly activities happen as soon as class is over, every weekday. The same weekly is taken all week. Daily activities happen after weekly activities, Monday through Thursday. A different daily activity is taken each day. Both kinds of weekday activities last an hour.
Weekend activities usually begin in the afternoon, around one o' clock. They can have a theme, such as Carnival or Time Travel Day. Students spend their afternoons at weekend activities, and then return to their halls. On Saturday evening, there is an evening activity as well. This activity tends to be Movie Night on the first weekend, and Casino Night on the second weekend.
History
Years
2002
At the suggestion of a couple students, RA Michael Tseng developed the "Protest Theory" concept. He and Mary Rieg led students in disrupting other activities with noisy protests. In the first session, students protested against Newtonian physics: "Down with Gravity!," "2 + 2 = 5," etc. In the second session, they protested against the concept of protest itself by chanting "Shut Up and Go Home!," "No More Protests!" etc.
2003
Mary Rieg led a cadre of students with bullhorns and yelling one-liners such as "BUSH CAN'T READ; WHY SHOULD WE?"
2004
'Enmity Bracelets', made of chains and spiky metal objects, decorated the ankles and wrists of many LMUers. 'How to be a Central American Dictator' led raids on other afternoon groups such as 'Guerilla Warfare', wearing stylish red headbands and wielding water balloons. 'Down With the Man' started protests against every other activity held that day. CTY Protesting is another quirky favorite. Protesters wrote and yelled made-up slogans such as "Make friends, not bracelets!", and of course, the highly original "LAME!" The original Robot Wars activities also happened in 2004.
2006
During session 1, the instructor and TA of the International Politics class (both former RAs themselves) ran CTY protesting, leading two dozen students in rounds of protesting several activities that day, such as Quidditch, Paper Flower Making, and Silent Reading. Depicted on youtube is the Protest of Quiddich. One student, dubbed Bill Clinton, shouted "up with fascism!" into a bullhorn.
Session 2- First time that nevermores went on stage at the Talent Show during piano rendition of American Pie-- this tradition has since continued at the following sessions. There was also an outbreak of lice and pink eye during the first week or two of the session.
2007
The tradition of Protest continued in 07.1, with not only "Protest Rally" as the last daily, but also "Paparazzi," a photo-taking activity of similar origins. In 07.1, there was also an activity called "Give Jason [Boring] a Mohawk." Even though his Mohawk was made by hyper CTYers, it ended up looking rather good.
2008
In first and second sessions, Jason Boring ran "More Active than Sleep but You Probably Won't Break a Sweat." Dane Holding ran a new activity called "Bananaphone," which involved sweetly serenading unsuspecting activities with the jaunty Raffi song. First session also premiered the first Silent Football weekly activity.
2009
In 2009, many camps including LMU suffered a swine flu epidemic. Almost everyone got it, and because of it, all CTYers had their temperature tested each morning. Many CTYers were sent home without ever saying good-bye.
Second session, Dane Holding ran Bananaphone once again, under the alias, "Bananarchy." Second session also featured a Silent Football daily which was actually the ridiculous and pathetic game the RA who will from now on be referred to as Rule-All thought was Silent Football. Also, Trench was canceled.
2010
2011
During 11.1, the only traditional activities that were held were "Worst Activity Ever" (this came in both a weekly and a daily, "Silent Reading" and "More Active that Sleep (and you probably won't break a sweat). The latter was helf by the DRL, Jason Boring, as per tradition. However, Dane Holding did create two new activities that were compensation for the lack of "The Gulag" and "Bananarchy": "Super Mural Bagel Death Squad" and "Rider, Princess, Knight..." The first comprised of kids throwing stale bagels soaked in paint at a wall of paper, to create the most impressionistic and amazing mural ever. The latter may become a tradition. The full name of that activity is "Rider, Princess, Knight, Octopus, Flying Tentacle Monster and the Fire-Bombing of Dresden". Just to spice things up, while the students performed those actions, Dane would shout instructions in German.
During one of the first social times of 11.2, Dane Holding stated that he would never again be running "The Gulag" or "Bananarchy", signifying, more or less, the end of traditional activities at the site, especially since such activities as "Extreme Cubing" and "Art of War," which involved the intentional throwing of objRects toward students, were no longer permitted. 11.2 did have "More Active than Sleep" (without the subtitle), hosted by Jason Boring as per the usual tradition, but previous traditional activities as "Protest," "Worst Activity Ever," and "Silent Raving" did not appear. "Silent Reading" was only a daily once or twice, and though "Creative Writing" was featured as a last weekly, because Chris Lee was promoted to admin and Eric Anderson was not present, it was very different, and there were at least three dozen students as opposed to the usual four or five.
"2012"
In 2012, construction took place on the main roads forcing detours to main areas and annoyance at the loud noises. This was the year many people grew too old for the site, bringing in a wave of squirrels and newer people. During 2nd Session, the Talent Show featured many amazing talents, which forced it to run an extra hour. During the Talent Show, many acts dedicated their acts to the so called "spirit of CTY", meaning the atmosphere and how people reacted to everything, and everyone, saying it was something amazing that they will miss. A skit that went by the name of "Swag Crew" poked fun at Amy Coleman and Dane Holding, and made everyone laugh. Because of newer RA's, the site had some errors as expected, but by far and large, the whole 6 weeks went by without anything major going wrong.
2013
Jon's secret activity. Nuff' said.
2014
"National Nigzana (pronounced Ni-jan-ah) Day" This was an event created by several students to celebrate a fake country that was a mixture of Nigeria and Ghana. This country was quoted by student Sean to be a CULTure. This originated in the Game Theory Class. Soon, nearly half the camp was "Nigzanyan". Nigzana has a fictional dictator that leads the country whose name is Nene Chu, and he only speaks to two students by the names of Ryan and David (the founders of Nigzana). The national religion of Nigzana is "Yolo", and our spiritual leader is J.P. The first woman to be part of Nigzana and also our symbolic "mother" is Amy. Not only were students a part of this country but also a couple of RAs. Below is the Nigzanyan family tree.
+ is male, - is female, ----- is married
Amy (-) ----- Isabelle (+),
David (+)
Ryan (+) ----- Justin (-) Jake (+) Joe (+) June (+) Cindy (-) Jessica (-) Gabriel (+)
J.P. (+)
Jordan (-) ----- Anna (+) ------ Jenny (-)
This fictional country was banned by administrators half-way through camp, but students continued to talk about Nigzana despite the ban. To work around the ban, Nigzanayans changed the name of the country to Ghaneria (pronounced gonorrhea).
On the Last Thursday of both sessions, there was a Braveheart activity, a Medieval Times activity, and a Korean BBQ Riot activity. Those in the Braveheart activity (whose description was "RAUUUUGH!") painted their faces blue and practiced battling by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Those in the Medieval Times activity were separated into knight and squire (and in one 14.1 case, a steed), dressed in cardboard armor, and equipped with pool-noodle swords. Those in the Korean BBQ Riot activity wore red ribbons around their wrist and marched around as RA Jon yelled various KBBQ slogans into a megaphone and played music. These three activities went perfectly smoothly until the RAs of Braveheart and Medieval Times declared there would be a battle between the two activities. The two activities marched to Sunken Gardens and charged each other, but were soon interrupted by a certain Korean BBQ Riot.
In 14.2, another activity named 'Newtonian Soccer Theory', caught in the crossfire of the three teams' clashes, started linking arms and singing 'Kumbaya' as a peaceful protest against all the fighting.
The sheer volume of students involved in the activities (notably KBBQR) meant that over half the campus was battling on Sunken Gardens.
2015
The much-beloved KBBQ rally was held twice during session 15.1, once in the first week as "KBBQ" and once in the last week as "KBBQ.2," led by RA's Zach and Luis. KBBQ was also held on the last Wednesday is session 2, when over a third of the camp joined. The second time around especially chaotic, since there was also Braveheart and Andrew/Ashley appreciation day happening simultaneously. The traumatic Pet Banana activity was also held during session 2. In session 1, RA Chucho (along with Forevermore Jessica, who's practically an RA herself), led two weekly salsa dancing activities, which led to the playing of various salsa songs played at the dances.
2016
KBBQ was held yet again 2016! The activity was led by RA Chris and nevermore Jalen. There was no cap on participants, so a large percentage of the site's CTYers attended. Barbecue was misspelt on the biggest banner in the event. The activity "Supa Hot Fire Rap Battles" was held once more! As always, the activity was full of memorable disses, burns, and fire- All achieved with no profanity! This time however, there were no final rap battle at the last dance. A good call, given what happened during the last dance of Session 1 in 2015. Braveheart was not held in 15.1. Pet Rock was held as a daily (16.1) and for three weeks as a weekly (16.2). Pet Banana was held as a daily in session 2. The camp went crazy when Pokemon Go was released on June 7, 2016. Many people who had never gone to Social Hour came down from their rooms in order to seek Pokemon. Pokemon Go thus became a daily and even a weekly. (16.1 and 16.2)
Traditional Activities
Robot Wars and Robot Wars II were two duels originally staged between RAs Tom Ryan and Geoff Graham. Encased in cardboard armor, they clashed together in apocalyptic combat to the heavy beat of Rammstein. Tom Ryan explained that the activity originated back in summer 2004 due to two factors: one, the intrigue surrounding the concept of hippies walking around Oberlin College campus playing bad German techno music; and, then-office manager Jen Lockett complaining about having to dispose of cardboard boxes.
"Robot Wars: 2009" Was a daily activity that took place between RA's Dane Holding, John Stutte, and special guest Robot, Brandon Chang, a nevermore. Some considerations learned from this were that Duct tape is ridiculously strong, and after using enough of said substance, cardboard can be reinforced to withstand blows from two large (6 ft+ 180 Lbs+) people for more than half an hour. In 2011 and 2013, LeVon battled Dane.
Gluing Stuff to RAs is also a common activity, with various RAs given the wonderful task of being the glue. Tom Ryan also created this activity in summer 2005 when RAs were instructed to limit activities to existing supplies in RA Heaven.
More Active Than Sleep, But You Probably Won't Break a Sweat is a traditional activity created in the late 90s by RA Tommy Smith, now the Dean of Residential Life at the CTY Thousand Oaks site. After Tommy left around 2000, Jesse Boring ran this activity. For a while, it was led by David Abravanel. In 2008, 2010, and 2011, Jason Boring ran the activity. This activity features the telling of the story of why the activity was created, a story by Jason Boring, and a fun activity at the end.
Worst Activity Ever is a roll of the dice. If you choose this activity, beware. Often, it involves counting blades of grass, writing essays, copying down the preamble left handed, or exhausting calisthenics. But on occasion, Worst Activity Ever is really wonderful, and the best activity of the whole session. And when it is, everyone is upset that they missed it. Would you risk it?
"Best Activity Ever" is the "Worst Activity Ever's sister. It is held every year as well. Even though it is supposed to be the best activity of the session, the degree to which this is true also varies. It might truly be the best activity ever held, or a complete flop. Would you risk missing out on this either?
Art of War is another traditional activity, led every year by Jason Boring. It is similar to dodgeball, and involves a "Thought Commander" who must be protected at all costs. The activity description declared the activity to be "very active", though it wasn't. Now the Art of War has been banned by CTY because it involves intentionally throwing balls at students.
"The Gulag" Was an activity run in 2008-2009 by Dane Holding, in which participants are shipped to siberia (In the far far corners of sunken gardens) for punishment in "The Gulag" . Such punishment involved such activities as mandatory executions of disobedient prisoners (With Water Weaponry), forced digging of holes with inadequate shovels (Q-tips), demoralizing rations (Bread with spit on it), and the final exciting suicidal assault upon the capitalist pigs and their boot camp.
"Trench" WAS an activity run by RAs for at least four years at this site. This activity was very much like dodgeball- the whole point of the game was to hit people with rubber balls and get them out. However, if they got out, they went behind the other team's playing area, where people from their team would trench [throw] a ball over to them. If the person in trench-zone caught it, they then had two options- to throw the ball at a person from the opposite team, or to carry the ball back to their own team. If, however, a person from the other team caught the trenched ball, the trencher would be out. This activity was canceled by the CTY administration in Baltimore's rules against throwing things of any kind.
Current
Recurring Activities
Silent Reading: True to its name, it just gives students time to kick back and read. A more exciting form of Silent Reading is known as "Extreme Silent Reading", and involves more reading and silence than the original activity. The actual rules of Extreme Reading vary from RA to RA, some having you switch books every 10 minutes while others make you avoid dodgeballs, etc. thrown at you while you're trying to read (a further variant on this was Extreme Cubing, which involved students solving Rubik's Cubes while running an obstacle course.)
Music Practice: Available as a weekly all three weeks of every session. Though there is no limit on the number of students allowed, the music practice rooms contain few pianos. There are four pianos, and two are in the same room. All of the pianos are out of tune. Though there was a piano in the cafeteria through 2003, students no longer have this luxury. Usually enough pianists join the activity that each can only play once each week. It is suggested that pianists don't plan on practicing. During 09.1, the Fritz B. Burns Fine Art Center was being remodeled and was considered off-limits to CTYers. A single room in Sullivan Hall was stocked with a single Clavinova, and this was the only way for an individual to play the piano. Most CTYers planning on practicing played ERS and Tap Tap instead. The only people who practiced wanted to be in the Talent Show.
Dirty Dancing Appreciation: Not as exciting as it sounds, this activity is simply watching the movie "Dirty Dancing", rather than actual doing any dirty dancing. Sorry, folks.
Disney Appreciation: A weekly activity, this involves watching several Disney movies (decided upon by the CTYers involved in the activity).
Swing Dancing: A swing dancing lesson, traditionally taught by Jason Boring.
Jon and Dae-Hee's Secret Activity: Normally a daily activity that can greatly vary from "Death to Happiness" to "Korean BBQ Riot." One time a third of CTY joined and it was decided that for the next 45 minutes they would become their own separate camp called CTY JKDHL York. They managed to do all three weeks worth of activities, dances, casino night, orientation, and pictures in just 45 minutes. In 14.1 he conducted, among others: "Weekly Activity A" (there was no B), 2 Minute Power Nap (students ran around and napped on other activities for 2 minutes, much to the chagrin of the Soccer activity), the Dolphin/Sea Lion Agenda, the Tiny Fez Club, and of course, Korean BBQ Riot.
"Pokemon Go": Popular in 16.1 after the game was released. Weekly activity led by RA's Rob and Morgan.
"Pet Rock": A weekly activity started at 13.1 by RAs Rory Cullen and Parke Haskell. In 2014 and 2015, the first day was dedicated to playing Two Truths and a Lie and choosing rock (or having them choose you); the second and third days were spent decorating the rocks; the fourth day was spent writing stories about the rocks; and the fifth day was devoted to having a rock concert on the office manager's (Shane's) desk. In 16.2, this was the initial plan, but some drama between rocks pushed off the schedule and led to the Pet Rock weekly taking place all three weeks, with no real schedule at all.
"Bagel Mural Death Squad": Dip bagels into paint and throw it at RAs! The RAs are wrapped in paper, so at the end of the activity you have a mural of paint splatter! This is always a fun and hilarious activity as you get to throw paint at your RAs.
Weekend Activities
Wet and Wild Day is a name of a weekend activity that may be called other things that would fall under the umbrella term "Hydrophilia Day." It usually takes place on the first Saturday. There is a "Dry Area" for students who go read magazines, play cards, sit down for games of Silent Football or Never Have I Ever, or attempt to do cartwheels on the lawn. RAs can be seen roaming about the "Wet Side" with heavy-duty water guns and hoses. Students usually have to make do with flimsy plastic cups that they fill up with water, or sponges. Kiddy pools and hoses are also sometimes utilized. In 09.1 Wet and Wild Day did not occur, because of the drought. In 09.2, a "Pool Party" was substituted for the usual Wet and Wild Day. In 11.2, a "Pool Day" did occur on first Sunday, but outside of the pool and Regent's Terrace, where a water slide was situated, no water was used, as LMU was disgruntled at our annual murdering of the grass.
Movie Night happens on the evening of the first Saturday. Up to 2009, students flocked to Sullivan Courtyard to sit on towels and blankets and watch a PG-rated movie, but since 2010, movies have been held in the Sunken Gardens. Before the movie is played, all students must participate in a 20- to 30-minute long activity generally involving cardboard, duct tape, and RA's competing with one another.
Talent Show originally occured on the second Saturday, although it has been changed to the second Sunday. Students play instruments, juggle, recite poetry, act, sing, and show off many other great talents. Famous acts include "Chucho Labeouf", "AmeriFAN", "Eating Cereal off of Jesse Boring", Shabes' rendition of "Genie in a Bottle" (07.2), and the boy who juggled Rubik's Cubes while solving them. (06.1) Each Talent Show has one song (currently "Seasons of Love" for first session and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" for second session) dedicated to the Nevermores, (Nomores during second session) during which they come up in front of the stage and sway.
Casino Night takes place that evening. Some people play card games for Casino Night Money, while others run around doing weird and crazy deeds the RAs at the Temps booth tell them to do for 'money'. A couple of people get 'married', and several of them get 'divorced'. At the end of Casino Night, halls are ranked by the amount of 'money' they have, and choose in order of amount of 'money' from a list of prizes such as duct taping an RA of their choice to a tree.
Non-Mandatory Fun is the general name for weekend activities. Although it is mandatory for students to attend, it isn't mandatory that they have fun. They are allowed to read or sit around. In 2007 it was rechristened "Mandatory Fun" by Jason Boring because the staff wishes to encourage as much fun as possible. Since at least 2010, "Mandatory Fun" has referred to the activities which require the rotation of halls through various RA-run stations, while "Non-Mandatory Fun" refers to those afternoons where students must attend an area in which RA-run stations are present, but where they may sit out and do whatever they please.
There is no activity Sunday evening. Instead, students attend regular evening class session.
Order of Activities
- 04.2
- First Friday: Dance
- First Saturday:
- Water Day
- Movie Night: Pirates of the Carribean. RAs dressed up as pirates, and throughout the movie when the RAs yelled out 'Plunder', chocolate coins were thrown at the CTYers.
- First Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun
- Second Friday: Dance
- Second Saturday: Talent Show & Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun
- Third Thursday: Dance
- 05.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: 80s)
- First Saturday:
- Water Day
- Movie Night: Finding Nemo. RAs were dressed up as Finding Nemo characters.
- First Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun
- Second Friday: Dance
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun. Most facilities had been taken by other camp sites, so people primarily watched Harry Potter 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban.
- Third Thursday: Dance
- 06.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Halloween)
- First Saturday:
- Quiz Bowl: This was the first time Quiz Bowl was held at LMU Session 2. It was changed based on positive feedback of activity at other CTY sites.
- Movie Night: The Incredibles. RAs were dressed up as a new superhero with new super powers; during the movie, every time each of the Incredibles used a certain power, a goodie correlating with that power thrown at the CTYers.
- First Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun (Theme: Carnival)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Ocean Cruise)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Wet & Wild Water Day
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: A Ball Under the Stars)
- 07.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Beach)
- First Saturday:
- Quiz Bowl
- Movie Night: Spirited Away. RAs were dressed as mythical creatures.
- First Sunday: Wet & Wild Water Day
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: 80s)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun (Theme: Carnival)
- Third Thursday: Dance (?)
- 07.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: A Black Tie Affair)
- First Saturday:
- CTY Olympics
- Movie Night: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
- First Sunday: Wet 'n Wild Water Day
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Island Getaway)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Mandatory Fun
- Third Thursday: Dance
- 08.1
- First Friday: Dance
- First Saturday:
- Time Travel Day
- Movie Night: Monsters Inc. RAs were dressed as monsters.
- First Sunday: Hydrophilia Day (Wet 'n Wild Day)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Match Your Music)
- Second Saturday:
- International Day
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance
- 08.2
- First Friday: Dance
- First Saturday:
- Wet n' Wild Day
- Movie Night: Ratatoille.
- First Sunday: Time Travel Day
- Second Friday: Dance
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: International Day
- Third Thursday: Dance
- 09.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: America's Birthday)
- First Saturday:
- Time Travel Day
- Movie Night: Bolt. Students contributed in a craft where they painted a star with their RA's name on it.
- First Sunday: Save Charlie Day
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: 70s)
- Second Saturday:
- Survival of the Fittest Field Day
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Backwards Dance)
- 09.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Pajama Bash)
- First Saturday:
- Boogie Wonderland/Hip Hop Day
- Movie Night: The Princess Bride. Students put on short skits (in groups of one girls' hall and one boys' hall) based on props they were provided.
- First Sunday: The Great Dane Show: Students solved puzzles in order to solve the mysterious disappearance of Dane Holding.
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Island Getaway)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Pool Day
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: A Star-Studded Evening)
- 10.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Party in the USA/Fourth of July)
- First Saturday:
- Pool Party
- Movie Night: The Incredibles. Students dressed up their RA as a superhero and gave a small speech about them, then were rated by the SRAs and Jason.
- First Sunday: CTY Olympics.
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: ROY G BIV)
- Second Saturday:
- Japanese Game Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Prom... IN SPACE)
- 10.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Rumble in the Jungle, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- First Saturday:
- CTY Olympics
- Movie Night: Kung Fu Panda
- First Sunday: Summer Day/Non-mandatory Fun
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Pirate Party, Location: Sullivan courtyard)
- Second Saturday:
- Japanese Game Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Beach Prom, Location: Burns Rec Center, second floor gym)
- 11.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Pajama Party, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- First Saturday:
- Pool Party
- Movie Night: Cars
- First Sunday: CTY Olympics (Note: Teams were by class instead of by hall, how it is normally done)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- Second Saturday:
- CTY Entertainment System
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Beauty and the Geek, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- 11.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Pirates, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- First Saturday:
- Gold Rush
- Movie Night: Mulan
- First Sunday: Pool Day
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Traffic Light, in which squirrels wore green, those who had been to CTY one year previously wore yellow, and those beyond that wore red, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show (notable because CTY could not book the upper gymnasium for Sunday)
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Road Trip Across the USA
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: A Black Tie Affair, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- 12.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Traffic Light, in which squirrels wore green, those who had been to CTY one year previously wore yellow, and those beyond that wore red, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- First Saturday:
- Murder Mystery: Who Killed William Paris?
- Movie Night: Space Jam (Notable because it was in the Doheny/Sullivan grass area as opposed to Sunken Gardens)
- First Sunday: Chillympics
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Blacklight, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- Second Saturday:
- 1st Annual CTY Hunger Games
- Casino Night (Notable because it was not in the Fritz B. Burns Fine Art Center)
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Memories, Location: Desmond/Rosecrans courtyard)
- 13.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Summer, which proved to be extraordinarily creative. Majority of students were permanently scarred for life by the horrible music played and the epileptic seizures they experienced. Location: Wheland Courtyard)
- First Saturday:
- Color Wars (See Non-mandatory Fun above.)
- Movie Night: Up (Notably not Down. Quotations: "You all lost the game."-Kainoa. Location: Sunken Gardens)
- First Sunday:
- 2nd Annual CTY Hunger Games (A Hunger Games Themed Game. 92 People from District 1-24 [4 PEOPLE PER DISTRICT] played. Some ideas used, Forced to play a game of chance every 10 minutes, This murdered the majority of the students as well as 100% of districts 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 17 and 21. Congrats to District 23. Quotes: "You lost the game" RA Taylor, "May the odds be ever in our favor" - Ironically District 10, "NUCLEAR BOMBS" - District 13, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN" - President Snow)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Black Light Party, which involved two rather small blacklights being placed at the front where barely anyone could see)
- Second Saturday:
- The Apocalypse
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday: Talent Show
(In 2008, CTY didn't have access to Sunken Gardens, the large grassy area where many CTY events are traditionally held. Instead, weekend activities were held on the Mall in 08.1. In 08.2, weekend activities were held on Hannon Field and in Sullivan/Huesman/Doheny courtyards.) In 2009, activities were held across both Sunken Gardens and Regent's Terrace.
- 13.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Pajama party)
- First Saturday:
- Party at Gatsby's (involved a bunch of games at Sunken Gardens where groups were given clues to figure out who killed Gatsby (a.k.a. Chucho))
- Movie Night (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief + RA Greek God ninja battle showdown)
- First Sunday:
- Water Day
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: International. Sadly there was a disappointing lack of international music such as vocaloid and kpop)
- Second Saturday:
- Talent Show
- Casino Night
- Second Sunday:
- Japanese Game Show (Held at the Sunken Gardens. People got messy. VERY messy.) Run by Paul Nasri, held in Sunken Gardens.
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Prom)
- 14.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: IndepenDANCE, as the dance conveniently happened on July 4th)
- First Saturday:
- Epic Quest (An activity where students participated in relatively boring activities while sitting for most of the time in the blazing hot summer sun, which resulted in many extreme sunburns)
- Movie Night (Spirited Away + Spirited RA where students dressed their RAs up as superheroes in scraps like cotton balls and construction paper. Location: Sunken Gardens)
- First Sunday:
- World Cup (Classes were grouped together to form 4 different teams- Asgard, Mordor, Narnia, and Panem. Teams played each other, and the winner faced the RA team)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Let it Glow. A combination of a small amount of Frozen, and a lot of glow sticks)
- Second Saturday:
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Between two groups of students: District 13, and the Capitol. The Capitol won)
- Casino Night: (as Dane Holding sadly left this year, the last fight was between RAs Chris Adames and Derek Passenant. C-$pittah was the victor. This casino night was special, having a doubley-exclusive VIP room, called VIP Squared, hosted by Jon Kraus. To enter, a hall had to pay with ALL of its funds. Chris Adames' hall did just that. The secrets of the VIP Squared room are known only to a few.) Derek Passenant's hall won it all when they bet everything they had against Derek.
- Second Sunday:
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Hollywood, although nobody dressed accordingly, and the dance was held in the gym)
- 14.2
- First Friday:
- Dance (Theme: The Final Frontier. The dance was space themed, and standard attire consisted of shiny yellow robes and Starfleet uniforms.)
- First Saturday:
- World Cup (Pretty much the exact same activity as last session; Stations + tournament, with a final match against the RAs. Unfortunately, Instructor Javi did not participate this session, so students could not witness the glorious Javiguel combo. But the students still lost, regardless.)
- Movie Night (Despicable Me; Before the movie, RA's were dressed up to look like minions. RA Jon totally cheated by bringing his own overalls, but it doesn't matter because RA Rory Cullen totally won.)
- First Sunday:
- (Cancelled) Rock da Block (A block party was planned for this day, but due to a freak thunderstorm, the activity was cancelled. Students stayed in their dorms, Whelan kids watched a movie and played Yu-Gi-Oh, and RAs Chucho Perez and Chris Adames dodged a bolt of lightning. IS girls from Doheny had to stay in Desmond rooms with friends. After the rain got lighter Rosecrans boys and Desmond girls were shouting and waving across the courtyard at each other and posting their phone numbers, as well as certain messages, on large sheets of paper taped to their windows.)
- Second Friday:
- Dance (Theme: Harry Potter Yule Ball. The dance was Harry Potter themed, and a decent number of students had Harry Potter articles of clothing. The session's Jack Flash, Jose Martinez, had a full Hogwarts Gryffindor outfit, consisting of a uniform and robes.)
- Second Saturday:
- Minute to Win It (Students were challenged to a wide variety of... challenges. The activity's name comes from the short amount of time each group had at a station. After the stations, students could choose between a few other activities, and later, the names of lucky winners of these activities were drawn, and these winners were given the honor of pieing RAs in the face. One student, however, pied RA Jon without having really participated all day. How rude.)
- Casino Night (Standard Casino night, consisted of fake VIP passes, jail, and deputies. The final match was between RA Rory Cullen and the Dark Lord of the Sith, Spandex, and Staplers, Office Shane. Rory, in a major upset, came out on top. Ironically, his hall bet most of their funds on his defeat, so his hall came fairly close to last place.
- Second Sunday:
- Third Thursday:
- Dance (Theme: French Revolution. The theme wasn't that apparent, with only a small poster with the word "France" and a single Les Mis song. Regardless, DJ Jalapeño still made the last dance amazing.)
- First Friday:
- 15.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: July 4th "Independance", even though the dance was the day before)
- First Saturday:
- Carnival (An activity day that used an arbitrary ticket system to cash in for rewards(Justin Jang from PBIO got 10 tickets for barking at people) like tying your RA to a tree, painting their nails, painting the limbs, face, and hair of an RA, or pie-ing them in the face with shaving cream which later had to be syringed out of Ashley's ear)
- Movie Night (Back to the Future + Back to the present where students constructed a cardboard Delorean as featured in the movies to be raced by RAs in wagons. Chris Adames the RA bent and broke one of these wagons on his first run. The movie night was historically frustrating, as the font for captions was microscopic and the movie volume was quieter than the conversation that was happening right next to you. Location: Sunken Gardens)
- First Sunday:
- CTY Olympiad (styled after a sporting event, classes competed against each other in the battle for the best class. Chem B undeniably defeated the other halls, with a win:lose ratio of 10:1. The winning chant that rung throughout the campus that day was the victorious one of Chem Chem Chem Chem or Chem B, Chem B, Chem B
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Jungle; 3 people made an effort to draw jungle related themes(two were cats and one brave girl painted her face as a cheetah) on their faces)
- Second Saturday:
- Halloween In July (As most were very excited for the trick-or-treating that was set up to happen, the RAs were devastated to discover that RA Rory was in bloody rags, thus disappointing and saddening all would-be trick-or-treaters. The Saturday was devoted to trying to find who had killed Rory(it was Chucho) through class-by-class competitions, where the winner would get more hints as to uncover the crime. The Physics class won.)
- Casino Night (Similar to the Casino Nights of years past, counterfeit VIP passes (though not really counterfeit if you were on good terms with the RAs standing guard,) were bought and ripped up by bouncers. The Prize Fight was a duel between Ashley Y and Ashley K, and the battle was intense until Andrew Ebanks and Andrew H. stepped in, and Ashley Young took out all three of her foes with brute force)
- Second Sunday:
- This year's Talent Show showcased A LOT of singing, some dancing, and grape catching. As a small side note, it was hosted by David, Tae, and Baker from Ebanks's hall and should have won an Academy Award.
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Luau, where leis were passed around, and the occasional beach ball would hit you in the face. Instead of being held in the Sunken Gardens as usual, the dance was indoors.)
- 15.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme:PJ Party)
- First Saturday:
- Gold Cup (Basically literally the same as World Cup from 14.2. Westeros won everything. RA Chris cheated (or he doesn't know what a handball is).)
- Movie Night (Jurassic Park + Dino Battles, which was basically robot wars but with a dinosaur theme. RA Jimmy purportedly won, though the group armoring RA Mairead had the genius idea of simply putting a box over her and pretending there was nothing under the box, and guess what? None of the RAs went for the box for about 30 seconds. Location: Sunken Gardens)
- First Sunday:
- Wii Games (What even was this? Classes competed against each other by earning points at stations, and at the end the class with the most points got to choose a final smash battle between RAs.)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Star Wars; RAs wore robes and had lightsabers, basically.)
- Second Saturday:
- Mission Impossible (This activity was a surprise, supposedly a surprise that three RAs stole the Casino Night money, and students had to go through stations to find out who did it. (P.S. It was RAs Jon, Ben, and Yolanda))
- Casino Night (RA Jimmy threw kids in jail for fake VIP marks on their hands when really, there was no precedent and he just felt like messin. Also kids were thrown in jail for stealing Casino Night money. RA David S. was supposedly the easiest to steal from. The final fight was Rory versus Jamaal, with Rory as the victor.)
- Second Sunday:
- Talent Show! Some a cappella, magic, juggling, math raps, dancing, and AMERIFANS. But most importantly, RA Jamaal with "How now, brown cow? Brown cow, how now?" It's safe to say it brought the house DOWN. The girls from Physics recruited CTYers to preform in a Chucho Labeouf skit, including paper masks of RA Chucho's face and the actual Chucho, in formal wear, standing up and clapping while the audience was instructed to hold their applause.
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: #Hollywood SWAG. Was anything even done to match this theme? Nooooope. Also, there was a noted lack of Caramelldansen.)
- 16.1
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Neon Glow)
- First Saturday:
- Color Carnival (Team Orange won the Spirit Stick, Team Purple won overall. Same old system of doing activities to win tickets for your team. The winning teams received ice cream.) Green, however, put up quite a fight with their "Green is lit" chant, but still got last in everything. The RA's were not amused.
- Movie Night (Big Hero Six + RA Superhero Fashion Show- Halls dressed up their RA's as superheroes (with the exception of RA Rachel, who was a supervillain) and watched them strut down the Sunken Gardens runway. Some notable costumes include RA Hema (George Clooney Man), RA Kadell (Litboy, whose dabs set off earthquakes) and RA Chris (had no costume, described as "Mr. Steal Your Girl.") Jovan's hall had no idea that there was an RA superhero Fashion show at all. Thankfully, they were very talented at the art of Improv. As nevermore Scott Kim announced, Jovan became "your Average College Student" (His superpower was that he was so boringly ordinary, the IRS couldn't locate him to pay student loans.)They were accompanied by descriptions that were probably highly entertaining but unfortunately not hearable to the human ear. Afterwards, the students piled on the Sunken Gardens to watch Big Hero Six.)
- First Sunday: World Cup (The RA's won, as usual, but Chile came in a close second.)
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Luau)
- Second Saturday:
- Hunger Games (Each hall contributed some Tributes, who then battled tributes from their floor. Each floor's winners went to the final Hunger Games. Meanwhile, everyone else was supposed to participate in activities to win tickets to buy weapons for their tributes. The winners were two guys from the same floor and hall (Jovan's). Their floor (and Whelan Floor 2, for having the last girl in) received very small amounts of ice cream.
- Casino Night (As usual, filled with betting- and stealing- "money" with pictures of the staff on it. Justin, Dale, and Si Ming allegedly made off with over 10,000 dollars' worth of fake money. Marriages were conducted by a student and accompanied with rings that broke instantly. VIP passes were expensive as usual but worth it. The prize fight was between John and Luis, and John won.)
- Second Sunday: Talent Show (Lots of piano playing, some singing and dancing, a contortionist, and a water bottle flipper (Alex Kim), among other things.) It was hosted by nevermores Darling and Jalen, one-more Oona, and new-comer Shay, who all performed at the end- Jalen and Shay sang/rapped "Love the Way You Lie". Darling and Oona read sad poems about CTY (crews to Heidi Wong!) The emcees were overall of great quality. There was however, an uproar when Emcee Darling mispronounced Chopin as "chop-in". A notable performance was by the Writing in Pop Culture class (or rather, mostly their TA). Glee Club also performed 'Dancing Queen". With all the hip action he delivered, Jeffrey was the true dancing queen of the performance. Seasons of Love again brought tears to the eyes of many. Soloist Justin Woo wowed the entire audience with his stunning vocals.
- Third Thursday: Dance (Theme: Toga Party. Only about two RA's dressed up for this theme. The lack of glowstickers was made up for by a glover and some cool light up shoes. Chucho, Rory, Park, and Jordan all returned to help revive the canon songs to thunderous applause. Some RA's also sprayed silly string onto the crowd to the annoyance of everyone.)
- 16.2
- First Friday: Dance (Theme: Olympic Games): Because of mosquito problems in Sunken Gardens, took place in the gym, which resulted in a very sweaty experience. Glowsticks were passed out by RAs, then thrown across the gym during American Pie, resulting in the banning of glowsticks at the next two dances.
- First Saturday:
- Picture Scavenger Hunt - Each team was assigned a country, and they had to take as many of the listed pictures as possible. Team Sweden came in first place!
- Movie Night (Sky High): Notably, there was no pre-movie activity. Took place on the steps outside the library due to the mosquito problem in Sunken Gardens.
- Second Friday: Dance (Theme: Masquerade Ball): RAs passed out plastic masks at the dance. Some RAs made you perform a task in order to receive a mask, such as starting a conga line or fetching them a drink. A few students had the extraordinary foresight to bring their own masks. Took place in Sunken Gardens after pressure from students. "It's the End of the World As We Know It" was played after it got dark out, resulting in several student injuries.
- Second Saturday:
- Block Party
- Casino Night: The RAs set up a marriage booth in the VIP lounge, so that you needed a VIP pass to get married. However, there was no additional charge for getting married because of the high charge in order to access the VIP lounge. The Trinity volunteered to run this booth, but were not told that they wouldn't make any money until the activity had already started. A tip jar was set up to remedy this problem. RA involvement in marriages did result in some nice additions, including formal marriage certificates, rings not made out of duct tape, and the ability to have your marriage announced to the entire camp. There were divorce certificates as well, but only one divorce was held. Two fight matches were held, one for entertainment and one for the final betting. Louis's hall won first place; Marianna's hall (the Bell Hall) was the top girl hall, in fourth place.
- Second Sunday: Talent Show: the talent show included a lot of music, poetry, and the traditional tears of Leaving on a Jetplane. The DRL's spoken word performance was particularly notable, widely considered the most provocative act. More can be found at the Talent Show page.
- Third Dance: Held on last Thursday. Theme was the Best Dance Ever. There were beach balls being thrown around, bubble guns, and a piñata. Everytime We Touch was played as a poi circle song for Nevermore and Nomore ravers only. Anyone could rave during Sandstorm though, as usual. Generally, the order of songs was pathetic with the most energetic being played while halls were arriving and emotional songs being played along side the "Cupid Shuffle" and "Low". Slideshow was played after American Pie. There were also several students making ice cream behind the DJ booth, a popular pastime for halls during the session.
Student Activities
Dances
Dances take place on Fridays and the last Thursday of each session. Though they were in Rosecrans Courtyard in 2005, they were moved to Sullivan Courtyard. However, dances are now (as of at least 2014) held on Regents Terrace and a small portion of Sunken Gardens, providing students with a beautiful view of LMU's Sacred Heart Chapel lit up at night.
In 10.2, due to noise complaints, the dance was moved to the upstairs gym in the Burns Rec Center. CTYers typically take an hour to begin dancing, but eventually most people do dance once the sun sets (since it's super awkward when it's still bright, one of the few benefits of the indoor dance of 16.2). A stage is usually built on the inside edge of Sullivan Courtyard. This stage has the speakers mounted on it, and a DJ sits behind it, putting together music lists. Students are rarely allowed behind the stage, as there are wires from the speakers over which they could possibly trip.
Despite the social atmosphere, several students can be seen at each dance sitting near Doheny Fountain, or in more recent years around Sunken Gardens. These people are usually playing cards and solving Rubik's cubes. During 2006, they were sitting on or even behind the walls around Sullivan Academic Center and RAs like JZ and Jason and Mike had to run around making them dance. During 2007, some were seen programming calculators during the dances. In 2008, a few of these people chose to blast an alternative selection of music from their iPod speakers, while sitting next to Doheny Fountain. This was in protest to the pop and rap music being played at the dance.
LMU dances do have "American Pie" (with nomores and nevermores forming their own circle in the middle of the larger circle at the last dance), "It's the End of the World As We Know It", and "Stairway to Heaven" at every dance, along with other Canon. Every dance ends with an RA or SRA standing on the stage and yelling, "Go home! Nobody loves you!" The students then respond, "But WE love you!"
Student Activities By Year
- 05.2
- First attempt to add Cross-Dress Day to LMU Session 2.
- 06.1
- Dances: Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was semi-canon during 06.2, where people formed a conga line that went in a spiral. Chants of "HARDER HARDER HARDER HARDER!" and sometimes "FASTER FASTER FASTER FASTER!" could be heard after the usual "die die die die live live live live sex sex sex sex more more more more!" People pointed fingers at the Biomedical people.
- 06.2
- First Thursday/Friday: Clash Day
- Second Wednesday: Cross-Dress Day: This became more of an accepted and widely-followed tradition after the first attempt in 2005.
- Dances: In session 2, the chants of "HARDER HARDER HARDER HARDER" and "FASTER FASTER FASTER FASTER" were lead by the Chemistry students.
- Second Thursday- Pop Yo' Collar Day: The first time this day was held at LMU Session 2.
- 07.1
- Emo Day, a national event, occured at some point during the session. This was mistaken for tradition.
- Dances: 07.1 brought new songs into the session 1 Canon, including "Dragostea Din Tei." The only afterdance was held by a group of eight girls (all from Lour's hall), who chanted "CTY you have a nice butt." Surrounding people stared, and did not join in. A chant of "ORGY" was added after the "more more more more" part of the chant to American Pie. Jorge's hall takes partial credit for introducing "Don't Stop Believin'" to canon this year.
- 08.1
- Emo Day once again returned on the same day of 08.1 as it had occurred in 07.1, though National Emo Day was on a different day entirely.
- Silent Football was brought to CTY LMU by members of the website Post-CTY Depression.
- Dances: The tradition of shouting "ORGY" at the end of the normal American Pie Chant was continued into 2008.1, mostly by Petr (no, that's not a spelling mistake) Sharetskiy, and his Latin class. "Don't Stop Believing," by Journey, was played at every dance, and began working its way into Upper Canon. Jason Boring was in the center of the mob during American Pie, singing the words loudly, but covering his ears and closing his eyes during the chant. During the first dance, "It's the End of the World as We Know It" was played in the first half an hour of the dance (in a pathetic attempt to get kids on the dance floor) and as a result, the nevermores staged an enormous protest. The song was played again, although cut short. Also, during session one, there was an increased interest in Glowstringing, led by Lizzy H., Sarah Sch., and Josh Q. These students practiced Glowstringing during social time until a daily activity entitled "Raving" was created. All three of these students performed with their glowsticks at the first dance, and began teaching other students. In 08.2, A large group of people was seen running into the dancing area during canon songs, and running out afterwards, when rap started to play again.
- 08.2
- Dances: Generally, more canon was played due to the protests of students and RA's alike during the first dance. Songs that weren't played before [or as much] were played, like "Blister in the Sun," "Nightswimming," and "Time Warp."
- Silent Football was demonstrated to the second sessioners, but they didn't take to it in the same way as first sessioners.
- 09.1
- Dances: More canon was played than years past, including "Rock Lobster" and "Blister in the Sun." The raving scene grew in first session, with Lizzy H., Sarah Sch., Maggie G., Declan M-H, Matt G., and Molly S., all taking turns dazzling the crowds during "Sandstorm." Many people were disgusted at the choice of dance on the last dance, a "backwards" theme. Traditionalists were still in dressy outfits, though.
- 09.2
- Dances: Less canon was played in second session of 2009 than in first. The main glowstringers were Lizzy H., and Alfred W, and also, during the second dance, Jackie/Allegra C.. However, many second sessioners were upset [or at least confused] when the RAs did not play the very important nevermore/nomore song, Leaving on a Jet Plane, during the final dance.
- 10.1
- Dances: In he first two dances, fewer slow songs and more canon were played. The main glowstringers were Molly S., Maggie G., and Declan M-H with special appearances by Jason Boring. During the last dance, however, only 2 slow songs were played, and the slideshow took the place of the canon songs End of the World, Istanbul(Not Constantinople), and Sandstorm, preventing the glowstringers from making a final appearance.
- 10.2
- Dances: The first two dances, few canon songs were played, most notably Nightswimming. When Chris R. was asked why, in fact, the song wasn't played, the answer was "because no one's going to dance to it." A 50 signature petition went through, and Nightswimming was played at the next two dances, although it was cut 20 seconds short for the slide show at the last dance. For the first two dances, glowstringing activity was minimal, led by Sage V., Kevin C., and, for the last dance, Diana D., but it increased substantially at the last dance due to Jason Boring's tutorial (and glowstick distribution) as part of a weekly activity. Also at the third dance, all canon except Forever Young and Don't Stop Believing were played, and there were attempts by site-hopping RAs to introduce new Canon, such as "Blame it on the Boogie."
- 11.1
- Dances: The main glowstringers at the dances were Matt G., Erika C., Alex O., Micaela G., and Louisa C.. Some canon were played, most notably Nightswimming, Don't Stop Believing, Istanbul, Dragostea Din Tei, Forever Young and Everytime We Touch. Repeated playing of Blame it on the Boogie could make it a new sub-canon. Party Rock Anthem and Teach Me How to Dougie were consistently played. The dreaded Friday was also played every dance.
- 11.2
- Dances: The main glowstringers were Sage V., Jonathan R., Mexican Jesus, and for the last dance, Kira D. At the end of the second dances, several squirrels who had gone home early the first week screwed up the end of American Pie. "American Pie 101" was held as a daily activity the day before the final dance, possibly to remedy this, and possibly to combat the dark forces of the "Learn to Party Rock Shuffle" weekly.
- 12.1
- Dances: Canon was played moderately, but Bohemian Rhapsody, Nightswimming and Dragostea Din Tei were omitted. Main glowstringers were Micaela G., Kate and Alex O. However, the Time Warp was played quite a bit this year. Jason Boring did not return. Call Me Maybe was played a tad bit excessively. Drag Day, as usual was a great success and Clara's hall attempted to revive Goth Day. 12.1 hailed the first Passing of the Book - the passing down of the Book of Love, a working manual on LOS session one traditions. Micaela G. was the keeper of the Book. A clan of traditionalists began to form - the Gardner-Ovstrovsky clan, the bulk of the family being from Philosophy of the Mind. Patriarch - Alex O. Matriarch - Micaela G. Family members include - The Concubine, The Lesbian Aunt, The Grandfather-son, and The Mother-Daughter, a mango named William, and papayas Ralph I, II, and III.
- Dances: Canon was played moderately, but Bohemian Rhapsody, Nightswimming and Dragostea Din Tei were omitted. Main glowstringers were Micaela G., Kate and Alex O. However, the Time Warp was played quite a bit this year. Jason Boring did not return. Call Me Maybe was played a tad bit excessively. Drag Day, as usual was a great success and Clara's hall attempted to revive Goth Day. 12.1 hailed the first Passing of the Book - the passing down of the Book of Love, a working manual on LOS session one traditions. Micaela G. was the keeper of the Book. A clan of traditionalists began to form - the Gardner-Ovstrovsky clan, the bulk of the family being from Philosophy of the Mind. Patriarch - Alex O. Matriarch - Micaela G. Family members include - The Concubine, The Lesbian Aunt, The Grandfather-son, and The Mother-Daughter, a mango named William, and papayas Ralph I, II, and III.
- 12.2
- Dances: At the first two dances, a dreary lack of canon songs was played but due to a superb amount of complaining, this was more or less remedied by the 2nd dance. "Forever Young" was not played at either of the first two dances, to the dismay of campers. However, "Caramelldansen" by Caramell was played and properly danced to at dances 2 and 3 much to the delight of an ever-growing group of CTYers. 12.2 was a unique session because when week 3 came along, Mexican Jesus convinced two RAs to allow him to unofficially host a Poi Weekly activity consisting of him making numerous pairs of poi out of duct tape, markers, glowsticks, shoelaces, and more or less anything he could get his hands on. As a result, there was an unprecedented surge of glowsticks swinging around at all times of day. At dances, there was a nearly uncountable amount of glowstringers, mainly due to the Poi Power weekly activity but the main were Mexican Jesus, Sam C., Nick P., Soojung C., and Fury while Victor L., Alex C., and Kira D.were the main people raving staff. Like 11.2, at the end of the second dance, a mass of squirrels screwed up the end of American Pie. Thankfully, "Learn the CTY Canon" was held as a daily activity at one point.
- 13.1
In addition to Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex shouted at the end of American Pie, ORGY was shouted between Girls and boys alike.
- 13.2
- Much like the Gardner-Otrovsky clan, Mimi's hall in Desmond created a stereotypical Asian family called Sasha Family. A student named Estelle is Sasha, an adopted Russian child who continuously obeys her strict Asian parents who want her to become a doctor. Her twin, Serena, is Yao Ming's mother, both the mother of Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming, who wants to have Sasha become a doctor or a lawyer and always yells at Sasha to be a better student. Then, there's Yao Ming's father, portrayed by Joyce, who is very buff and continuously argues with Yao Ming's mother. Uncle Sam (portrayed by Eunice) always seems to have a lot of bad luck and Auntie Sum Ting Wong (Carolyn) loves art. There's also Ruffles the adorable little dog (Ellie), Grandma Tara (Tara) on Yao Ming Mother's side, and Great Grandma Carson who's Russian (Carson). Then, there's Jackie Wackie (Jackie) who is the family friend, Grandpa Carine on Yao Ming Father's side (Carine), Grandma MaMa Mia (Sarah) on Yao Ming Father's side, and Sasha's only friend at school who's a hippie (Gina). Finally, there are the other pets. There is the mommy giraffe (Amy) and the baby giraffe (Lauren). Also, poi (glowstringing) activity was very much heightened, with over 15 people glowstringing at the last dance to Sandstorm in the middle of a giant circle.
- The International Politics class, led by the legendary Dr D, created the Cult of Zorgon, which culminated in the entire class ordering bright blue XL Forever Lazies during camp and wearing them around LMU (to class, to the library, to the dining hall, to dances).
- 14.1
- RA Parke Haskell, in about a combined hour and 15 minutes of time, learned how to ride a bike in her weekly, "Teach Parke how to ride a bike."
- A grudge match of 8-Square (4-Square, but with 8 squares), took place between Chemistry A and Chemistry B over which class was superior. Chemistry B proceeded to mercilessly destroy Chemistry A.
- No Blammo was held.
- Fewer than five people had towels on Towel Thursdays, despite many knowing that the event existed.
- One male student living on the first floor of Rosecrans slept outside his window one night because it got too hot inside the room.
- Dances: Sandstorm was only played during the second and third dances and Ryuichi Yanagi and Jalen Sur were the only ravers. Jalen Sur, this year, brought Orbitals as well as Gloves, and Ryuichi adhered to the standard glowstick poi.
- The nevermore/nomore circle was formed just before the last verse in American Pie.
- There was apparently no Trinity this session. No one responded when SRA Jordan Twaddle asked for the Trinity to raise their hands when informing nevermores and nomores on Passionfruit details.
- There was also no or very little response to the traditional cry of "Go home! Nobody loves you!"
- "Bailando" was regarded as canon.
- The International Politics class and a few other students disregarded the rule of never befriending people from other camps. They became acquaintances with an extremely attractive Brazilian boy named Diego from the American Language Exchange Camp. The class ended up taking multiple pictures with him and his friends before the session ended.
- Bria's hall used the code "water bottle" often. It is known that it was a code, but few people outside of the hall were ever able to decode it.
- The camp was subjected to multiple strange smells during the session. Manure was being spread out behind Desmond for planting and the side of the cafeteria often stank of mysterious and disgusting odors.
- On casino night, Chris Adames' hall was the only one willing to forfeit their winnings to join RA Jon Kraus' ultra exclusive VIP Squared Room (therefore becoming the first members of the Tiny Fez Club). The lost money was later donated to Bria's hall.
- 14.2
- Thankfully, the food had improved from the last year. Food-related health issues were kept to a minimum. The pizza was MUCH better as it did not contain evil hidden spicy red peppers and cause indigestion.
- RA Ben Margetic had a strange theme this session: Maps. His hall was greeted on the first day with buttons reading "MAPS!!" and taught how to yell "MAPS!!" correctly (the voice must break). The hall devised several chants, ranging from a simple screamed "MAPS!!" to "What do we want? MAPS!! When do we want them? MAPS!!" Soon, an opposing faction (Chris Robinson's hall) sprung up in favor of GPS. A battle of flyers commenced, with slogans like "CARTOGRAPHERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!" and "GPS: not a map. Demand autonomy for the global positioning system!" However, from when Chris R took Ben's hall to Ralph's on Ben's day off, the factions were united as "GAPS" and fought against Little Rosecrans. A few girls rebelled by shouting "COMPASS!" However, in MAPS-GAPS shouting matches, they allied with the MAPS side. Also, it is said that occasionally, Chris Robinson's hall had a stretching circle before or after meals, and that at the end Chris Robinson would be put in the centre of the circle while the surrounding students chanted "Consuma Roma" and bowed down to him repeatedly.
- One night, when all three RAs of Whelan's third floor were scheduled to have their off days on the same day, RA Jon Kraus, who was tasked with watching the kids for the night, aided by RA Derek Passenant, plastered pictures of Derek all over the hall, along with a giant poster containing the words, "Welcome to Little Rosecrans, Colony of Rosecrans! ALL HAIL KING JON!" This sparked a rebellion, led by RA Alex Reyes, during which several Whelan boys attempted to bust into Rosecrans in hopes of taking it over and renaming it "The Republic of New Whelan." The rebels were unable to even enter the dorm; Ryan Yoo, a spy of the King, warned Rosecrans of the impending invasion. Unfortunately, the higher powers forbade any further battles between the two factions.
- Jon and Dae-Hee's Secret Activity returned, sans Dae-Hee, this time called "Jon, Scott, and Dae-Hee's Secret Activity." The activity was a second coming of one of RA Jon Kraus' old activities, "Death to Happiness." The activity was run by RAs Jon Kraus and Scott Chavez, along with SRA Sabrina Pérez.
- At the last daily of the session, three activities, Braveheart, Medieval Times, and Rally for Korean BBQ fought in a giant battle of paint, pool noodles, and posters. RA Rory Cullen of Braveheart and RA Alex Reyes of Medieval Times teamed up to take down RA Jon Kraus and his Red Ribbon Army of Korean BBQ and Love. The battle ended in a fiery ball of love and friendship.
- A mysterious figure that may or may not have been Ryan Yoo, Banana Man, Wizard Extraordinaire, and Spy for the King of Rosecrans was spotted by the ledge on the third floor of Whelan.
- Gummy bears were mysteriously placed on every door in Desmond. At first this was assumed to be a sign that was to be used for the upcoming activity, but nobody has claimed responsibility for the gummy bears up until now...
- A person named Juan, or Juanita, came into existence.
- 15.1
- One student, a boy named Justin Jang from Paleobiology, repeatedly barked at students and staff around the campus. His realistic bark scared and shocked many during community events. His RA QZ made him do 3 push-ups for every bark. He planned to invade either Lancaster or LMU the next year (16.1) with his barking. He went to neither.
- Omelets were worshipped as usual, meaning the lines for said dish were incredibly long. ALL HAIL OMELETS.
- Gummy bears and DOTS gumdrops were again mysteriously placed on doors in Desmond during the last week of the session. This only happened to the third floor though.
- Large sheet of papers were found one morning over each RAs door in Desmond third floor. Some RAs were annoyed by this, triggering the birth of a semi-serious manhunt led by the affected RA's.
- In floor one of Del Rey South, someone burned their ramen in the microwave, leading to the entire lounge smelling like burnt ramen for the rest of the session.
- The rave circle was almost dead at the dances. During the first and second dances, people resorted to dancing with glowsticks in the circle and doing random kicking/kung-fu. During the last dance, one brave and smart raver, who had saved her glowsticks, took control of the circle.
- Drag Day and Emo Day both had participation (though Drag Day noticeably more so.)
- Certain CTYers from Noemi's hall were known to run around campus serenading random people.
- 15.2
- Drag Day, Emo Day, Love Tape Day, Polo Shirt Day, and Towel Day all had participation.
- Jon's hall had the best (or depending on who you ask, most annoying) chants. TORTOISE HEY!
- Again with Jon, Amerifan. Let me explain. Jon has a fan that he uses every year but leaves in the storage pod in LA. He did not come for 15.1, and when he arrived at the beginning of 15.2, he discovered that his fan was missing. Parke from the office had told him that his fan was waiting for him, but IT W A S N T. He made a daily activity in the first week called Jon's #1 Fan, and it was really a way to start a GRASSROOTS movement to FIND JON'S FAN. The other RA for the activity was Ben, and towards the end he started playing "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood, and they changed the lyrics a little to fit fan. Then, from that moment, Jon had the brilliant idea for his whole hall to perform the song for Talent Show. Let's just say we killed it. Unfortunately, the fan was not found until the last Thursday, even though there were ransom notes sent to Jon about his fan, but at the last dance when Jon announced he had found the fan, almost the entire camp joined in singing "Proud to be an Amerifan", as the song was redubbed.
- In Whelan, gummy bears were taped to every door on the night after the first dance; sticky notes with kind messages and one gummy bear each were taped to every bathroom stall door the next night; the letters "C", "T", and "Y" were formed out of gummy bears taped to the front windows of the third, second, and first floors (respectively) on the second weekend; on the final night the bulletin board in the entryway was covered in sticky notes with CTY-themed and session-specific quotes, lyrics from various Canon songs, and gummy bears. No one knows who this gummy bear committee is, and, if they're not RAs, when they manage to do this.
- There was an actual winner in Blammo, Trisha S., and two runners-up, Annshine W. and Alan L.
- After a series of small skirmishes, Chris's hall, after being supplied with 100 or so cups by Alex L, had an elaborate water fight against Chucho, Jimmy and C-$pittah himself. Neither side emerged victorious. Everyone was a loser. And the hall smelled terrible.
- 16.1
- Drag Day and Emo Day both had participation. Staff tried to introduce "Spirit Days" in the last week but almost nobody participated, due to the fact that there was almost no notice and the themes weren't that cool.
- Sadly, the mysterious gummy bear association did not seem to be present this session.
- There was a lot of canon present in the third dance, thanks to Jalen and Blue (Oona) who rewrote the list of canon for the site.
- Blammo had no winners after RA Rob somehow scrambled the system to create 8 separate games (what?). Jalen himself, the Blammo God, got out when he dropped his spoon to glove at the dance. Thomas Brooks was also a blammo god.The RAs played their own game of Blammo involving socks.
- KBBQ was revived (and Braveheart was replaced with an activity called Animal World).
- To the dismay of many a staff member, Pokemon Go was released and the session was never the same.
- As RA Rachel stated at many a hall meeting, we never "put down your phones, stop drawing on yourselves, doing Rubik's Cubes, playing Pokemon Go, making Ramen, and take out your headphones!"
- 16.2
- Drag Day, Goth Day (also known as Emo Day), and Love Tape day all had participation. After students made many an attempt to show their love for the lion, RAs reminded students once again that love tape is not allowed on the lion since it can peel paint, but every person was covered in tape.
- Towel Thursday also had quite a bit of participation!
- For the first time in Pet Rock history, the weekly activity Pet Rock ran for all three weeks!
- Pet Banana Daily was also run.
- Gummy bears were put on every door in Whelan.
- Jessica Li and Hannah Wang tied for first place in Blammo, with seven kills apiece.
- There was quite a bit of poi/raving/glowsticking/flow happening, something several returners feared wouldn't happen. Every dance had a good sized poi circle.
Enemies
Students are forbidden from speaking to participants in other programs; the precedent set for this policy is due to rash interactions with other camps including (the notorious) guitar camp, various LMU sports camps, foreign camps, and the annual church retreat.
Our enemies on campus include, but are not limited to the following camps.
- Kobe Basketball Academy- "Kobe Camp"
A basketball camp for kids between the ages of 8 and eighteen, Kobe Camp is known for containing an impressive amount of brickheads who basically do not know 2+2. These idiots cut in line, and eat everything in sight, even the inedible potatoes. In 09.1, Kobe Bryant filmed a Nike commercial on Regents Terrace with skateboarder Paul Rodriguez. This caused a mob of fans from several camps including CTY. The commercial aired in August, and can be seen on YouTube (St. Roberts Hall is in plain view!) To the dismay of girls living in the 3rd floor Rosecrans Hall in 09.1, Kobe Campers moved underneath them, causing general annoyance and a perpetual stench of AXE and sweat in the halls. Kobe kids got pizza every night,in addition to cafeteria food, and raided the vending machines until there was only water and diet Pepsi left. The entrance and third floor of Rosecrans were locked, along with Desmond halls, to prevent Kobe Campers from getting into a girls' hall. It became a huge nuisance for the girls. CTYers are happy to know they will not be returning in 2010
- National Guitar Workshop- "Guitar Camp"
The National Guitar Workshop draws on the people in the nation who would like nothing more than to be a rock legend, complete with stupid-looking long fuzzy hairdo and rotting teeth. Kids in Guitar Camp do not just idolize their guitar heroes; they try to look like them. Over the years, their hilarious hairdos and aggressive behavior has led to several fights and the advent of rules such as, "CTY students must not make fun of Guitar Camp kids' hair to their faces." It is not uncommon for Guitar Camp students to attempt to sneak into CTY dances. According to CTY legend/rumor, Guitar Campers rolled down a hill in LMU in beer kegs. During 09.1, several CTYers begged Guitar Camp teachers and students for their lanyards on the last day of the workshop. To their surprise, many gave them up if just asked politely. Lucy M., Jane S., and Mina N. all received lanyards by just asking. In 09, the negative view of Guitar Campers turned slightly more positive due to the surprising kindness of the previously dubbed, "Guitards." (From '08) According to Jason Boring, The National Guitar Workshop did not return for 2010.
- LMU Summer Sports Camp- "Little Kids Sports Camp"
LMU runs several sports camps for kids over the summer. While the majority of the attending kids are aged 4-10, the camps accept kids up to age 14. This leads to there being thousands of little kids who eat nothing but gelatin and cookies for lunch. These guys outnumber the potatoes, and that's saying something. Also, never give these ragamuffins your Tabasco® sauce. If they've run out, it's a good thing. It means they can't terrorize anyone else.
- ESL Students- "Foreign Camp"
Students seeking to speak English in America travel from Spain, Brazil, Portugal, and France to LA, and once they are there, they wade in the fountains at LMU. Many foreign students are not used to etiquette or rules. This leads them to do things such as sneak into the cafeteria through windows so they don't have to pay. Also, foreign students will sometimes not understand the concept of a line and push in front of anyone who looks weaker than them. They also smoke a lot, and once had a costume day, in which several of the men were in drag. Many CTYers wonder if the traditional Drag Day spirit rubbed off on the foreigners. Most CTYers just see them surveying people, partying, or ambling around campus.
- Korean Christian Church Convention
For three days during 11.1, a flood of members of the Korean Christian Church took over the LMU campus. Nobody knows why they were there, but they had a tendency to cut in line and take giant helpings of food, leaving no food left over for CTY students and members of other camps at LMU. They made another appearance during 14.1 when they wore very distinctive blue shirts.
- Supercamp
Claiming to be an intellectual growth camp that teaches leadership skills like "quantum reading," any CTYer cringes when the word Supercamp is uttered. The hoards of children equipped with thick grey (or any other ugly color in general, for example, mucus green.)lanyards obnoxiously chant (whenever, whereever, whatever) at the dining hall and take up as many seats as possible without actually using them. At night, supercampers can sometimes be found smoking around the laundry building. They also often take over ten cookies at a time and save seats for over half an hour, which is a heinous crime in general.
- Cheer Camp
The sparkles. The chants. The inordinately large bows. The miniskirts. The general lack of respect for any other form of being. Cheer Camp invaded the LMU campus 12.2 and while they stayed more or less out of the way of activities, they swarmed the dining hall in the mornings and backed up the line for what seemed like miles to CTYers. A flustered observation was made of this phenomenon in 12.2 by Caitlyn H, "Do they ONLY eat breakfast?!" The cheerleaders lived in Sullivan briefly and by report of resident CTYers, they had a habit of running around without any vestments and taking up massive amounts of shower time. During early 16.2, Whelan residents heard cheerleaders screaming as they walked by the dorm late at night.
- Catholic Camp
A cult of Jaysus (often mistaken with SPACE JAYSUS and Mexican Jesus) worshipers that have settled in LMU's campus. The infection began in 13.1 an it is still unknown how long the epidemic will last. Notorious for cutting lines and attempting to put down (And failing miserably) the all knowing and intellectually superior CTY members. We have been informed by reliable sources that they are in direct correlation with the POTATOES corporation and are planning the destruction of our camp.
- However, our #1 enemy, is not a camp, not a person, not a rule, not a large Jell-O ® driven explosive that we hid somewhere in Rosecrans, no, it is the POTATO!
The potato, the ubiquitous food of the LMU cafeteria, used to be delivered in large trucks. But as of 08.1, these trucks no longer came. Yet, the potatoes just kept coming. Between 07 and 08, a large machine was installed in the rear of the cafeteria, its purpose unknown. Some theorize that this fiendish machine was actually a Potato Generator. Others assume that 2008 students were still eating the 2007 potatoes. During 09, the Potato Generator was seen by Rosecrans girls being hauled out of LMU during a surprising lack-of-potatoes-spell, some speculate for "repair," and later hauled back in. The potato cycle then continued normally. However, 09.1 also unravelled part of the potato mystery when it was discovered that the executive chef, Jeff Mercer, is Irish.
We have since expanded the food-related enemies list to include the entire cafeteria staff. After making something called a "Frito Pie" which resembled lasagna made with Frito chips instead of noodles, a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the staff on accusations that they are committing crimes against Humanity.
In 2010, however, the routine of having different bad foods every day was replaced with the equally horrible option of being able to choose from a repetitive selection of bad food. (Considered decent by many, however ~ pizza, pasta, burgers, tacos, salads, sandwich bar) The upside was the new option to not eat the infamous inedible potatoes at every meal. The pasta was widely reported to cause diarrhea.
In 2011, the food has improved, but the staff has become increasingly disorganized (or spiteful?). They will take the orders of CTY personnel (Student and RA alike), and give them something completely different, before rushing to serve the next person. The staff will only give the unlucky CTYer what they asked if pestered for about a minute, and many people have ended up sitting down with a plate full of everything they don't want. Potatoes are know only seen in two places: The mashed potatoes that show up occasionally, and the "Baked Potato Wedges" served in place of fries at the burger counter and hot dog counter.
In 2012, the food was great. However, the amount of selections for food dropped.
In 2013, the only edible selections of food were exclusively limited to burgers, pizza, pasta, and Korean food. Cinnamon Toast Crunch and coffee cakes/muffins were also available at all times of the day. Other options were provided for the extraordinary brave, including but not limited to: sweet'n'sour chicken, Egg McMuffins®, and the legendary 'salad', said only to be seen once, by the oldest and wisest of our many members. Potatoes were absent from the menu in their obvious forms, yet trace samples were found in the grill area (and lemonade dispenser), suggesting that they were the fundamental components of rumored 'french fries'. Mashed potatoes were also another menu item.
In 2014, the food was drastically improved, although some students still made snarky comments of the cafeteria's claim of quality ("LMU Cafeteria is the ONLY 4-star certified on the West Coast!" "Oh really, is that because the rest are 5-star?"). The pizza was MUCH better and the daily selection of meals was in general more diverse and delicious (and aesthetically pleasing as well) than the previous year's. However, the pizza, pastries, burgers, salads, pasta, and of course desserts were still the best in general. Occasionally there were suspicious food items such as "turkey with bread crumb stuffing" in which the "bread crumbs" were actually a partially cooked lump of dough. The mashed potatoes were still questionable lumps of ham-plastic mud with lumps of something inedible mixed in, and rumored to cause digestion problems. However, the negative connotation of the potato was rescinded by the fact that many CTYers called their close friends "potatoes."
In 2015.2, due to a "nationwide egg shortage", midsession omelettes changed to "2 egg scrambles". What does that even mean?
During 16.2, a dinner dish billed as Bulgogi with Rice turned out to be sweet (teriyaki, maybe?) ground beef over spaghetti. This was due to the fact that the kitchen ran out of rice, but it still confused many late-eating CTYers. Also notably, pizza was not served once during the session.
The Holy Trinity
Originally conceived by the diabolical mastermind that is Sage V. in 11.2, the Holy Trinity is a group of three approachable people, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, designated to assist in the continuation of LMU traditions without overpowering squirrels, forcing tradition down anyone's throat, or generally freaking people out. It is also responsible for teaching glowstringing and selling/distributing glowsticks. Trinity members are typically chosen as Onemores, but exceptions are not uncommon. The Book of Love, still in production, is being made to guide future generations through the duties of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity only exists during the second session at LMU.
Father
The Father is supposedly the guiding hand of the Trinity who assists other campers as much as possible. The Father is always available to help out or be an ear to talk to.
Son
The Son is known for being the enthusiastic God of Blammo and raver but this is not a strict law. The Son is never without a supply of duct tape for fixing spoons or sandals or shirts or anything.
- 2012 Mexican Jesus, Original Son
- 2013 Caitlin H.
- 2014 Colin S.
- 2015 Cameron T.
- 2016 Cameron T.
- 2017 Pearson M.
Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is known for spreading the word about traditions, for example which day is Drag Day, knowing the history of the campus, and being compassionate.
- 2012 Zoe H., (Wozie), First Holy Ghost
- 2013 Ilan D.
- 2014 Natalie L.
- 2015 Emily E.
- 2016 Iris P.
- 2017 Anika S.
