Baltimore
| Baltimore | |
 The main "bell tower" of Gilman Hall. | |
| Site Information | |
|---|---|
| College | Johns Hopkins University |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dates | Session 1: June 25 - July 14 | Session 2: July 16 - Aug 4 |
| Years of Operation | Early 1990s?-1995 | 2001-present |
| Avg. Number of Students | 260 |
| Courses Offered | |
| Humanities | Beyond the Binary: A Cultural History of Gender | Global Politics: Human Rights and Justice | Human Nature and Technology | Laws and Orders: Legal Systems Around the World | Persuasion and Propaganda | Playing God: The Ethics of Human Subjects Research | |
| Writing | You Will Be Offended: Satire, Comedy, and Public Discourse | |
| Math and Computer Science | Fundamentals of Microeconomics | The Mathematics of Competitive Behavior | Topology | |
| Science | Astrophysics | Advanced Topics in Physics: Special Relativity | Cryptology | Epidemiology | Investigations in Engineering | The Global Environment | |
| Canon | |
| High Holy Canon | American Pie | Stairway to Heaven | Mr. Brightside | Iris |
| High Canon | Don't Stop Believing | Sandstorm | Cha Cha Slide | Come On Eileen | Forever Young | Tunak Tunak Tun |
| Middle Canon | Wobble | Bohemian Rhapsody | For baltimore | Cotton Eye Joe | Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | I'll Make a Man out of You | Time Warp | Stacey's Mom | Bad Romance | Can't Hold Us | Sweet Caroline | Blister In the Sun | |
| Lower Canon | Nightswimming | How far we've come | Every Time We Touch | Fireflies | Anna Sun | Closing time | Somewhere only we know | Numa Numa | Satisfaction | Heartless or the hills | Long live | Pokémon Theme Song |
| Site Specifics | |
| Position-holders | Empress and Emperor | Prince and Princess of the Blood | Games God and/or Goddess | Rave Monarch |
| See The Essential CTY for cross-site articles. | |
The Baltimore site is located at the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University. Although it houses the main administration for CTY, it was not made into a site until relatively recently. It is stricter than other campuses as JHU is an open campus in the middle of Baltimore and CTY is terrified that students will be kidnapped or murdered. It has few persistent traditions as the administration tends to resist tradition and the site is notorious for passing down controversial new rules. In 2022, this site became for high school students only.
See Memories, Hall of fame, Halls and Hall of shame for more history.
Contents
- 1 Site and Campus Overview
- 2 Off-Campus Locations
- 3 Student Life
- 4 Traditions
- 4.1 Nature of JHU Traditions
- 4.2 Help Center
- 4.3 The Traditions Committee/ Elders
- 4.4 The Book of Love
- 4.5 The De Amore Libri
- 4.6 The Tarot Cards
- 4.7 The Afterdance
- 4.8 Spirit Days
- 4.9 Take-out
- 4.10 Passionfruit
- 4.11 Emperors and Empresses
- 4.12 The Librarian
- 4.13 Prince/Princess of the Blood
- 4.14 Games God Deity
- 4.15 Demi-Deity of Games
- 4.16 Rave Monarch
- 4.17 BLAMMO
- 4.18 19.2 Reformation
- 5 Other Programs
- 6 CTYers
- 7 External Links
Site and Campus Overview
See the places page for more information
The Homewood campus, where CTY is hosted, is 20 minutes from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) and 10 minutes south of Penn Station.
The campus is small, and CTY only uses the northern half of it. This consists of the two AMR dorm buildings, several grassy areas, nearby classroom buildings (within a 10-minute walk), and other buildings and quads in the southern third that are used rarely (i.e. Talent Show, dances, opening and closing ceremonies, and Casino Night, though in recent years, those locations have been in closer locations). During Meet Market/other free time, students are to be in either the quad, the dorms, or the dining hall, though in recent years, this has become limited to the dorms and the Gentle Slope.
There are many trees, benches, scenic walkways, and squirrels that crave muffins.
Classes are held in several different buildings, as opposed to all sharing one or two buildings. However, most science classes are held in the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy (this was changed in 2018 because the building is so far from the dorms), and most Humanities classes are held in Gilman Hall, which is across the Gentle Slope from AMR I. Many classes are located near the Glass Pavilion. As of 2019, a whole-site meeting is held every Sunday before night class.
A map of the campus can be found at http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/information_about_hopkins/visitor_information/how_to_get_here/homewood_campus/pdf/campus_map_0907.pdf
AMR I and AMR II
The girls' and boys' dorms are known as AMR I and AMR II, respectively. The two dorms are perpendicular and adjacent to each other on the northeastern corner of the campus (and of the Gentle Slope). They are both C-shaped and both contain a courtyard. Three sides are part of the building, while the fourth is a gate and turnstile. Both quads have tight security and are guarded at all times. To enter either dorm building, one must first pass through a guarded turnstile, which is activated by an RFID card. However, it is possible to enter either building (after going through the turnstile) without using a keycard by going through a roundabout pathway, although the keycard is still required to enter halls from the courtyard. A labyrinth of tunnels and hallways (containing laundry rooms and a social lounge) lies beneath the two buildings (and the rest of the campus), including a secret passageway between the two. This is behind basement doors. Doors that may well be locked. More information about the buildings can be found at Baltimore/places.
All dorm rooms have an air conditioner, two desks (which used to have built-in lamps that were taken out for some reason), one or two windows, two chairs, two wastebaskets, a recycling bin, and no phone or sink. There are two beds. It is advisable to bring a power strip as power outlets tend to be inconveniently placed. All dorms have either rugs or tiles (though it's mostly just rugs).
Dorms are usually doubles, but sometimes people are lucky/unlucky enough to get a single or a triple. The singles may come with fireplaces, although one shouldn't try to light a fire. RAs in corner dorms may have huge rooms.
The doors of the halls are decorated by RAs. These may range from printed images to drawings to xkcd comics. Halls are physically separated by either stairwell passages or doorway frames.
Bathrooms vary in quality and size depending on location. They range in the number of stalls, sinks, and showers. A hall may share a bathroom with another hall, but this depends on the location of the two.
- A storm in 18.2 caused parts of multiple ceilings in rooms within AMR I to collapse. Excessive amounts of empty alcohol bottles were found stashed in the ceiling of a room in AMR I during the same session.
AMR III Buildings A and B
In 2011, the girls were not in AMR I due to construction. Instead, they were housed in AMR III Buildings A and B right above the Fresh Foods Cafe (now Hopkins Café) and were living in suites. There was one bathroom per suite. Unfortunately, the bathrooms were filthy. There were many centipedes, especially in the bathroom at 310. They crawled out of nowhere and hid in the showers. They were disgusting and probably poisonous.
McCoy Hall
In 2013, McCoy Hall, which is across Charles Street, housed both boys and girls. Boys were on the 1st, 5th, and 6th floors while girls were on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The floor is divided up into east and west, and each side gets 3 halls.
Each suite consists of 3 rooms (with a few exceptions) (1 double, 2 single). Inside the suite, separate from the rooms is the "kitchen," where there are cupboards, a sink, a fridge, and a stove. You are allowed to use everything except for the stove. It is advised that when your hall goes to University Market or any other store that you buy a crap-load of junk food, soda, and cups, and store them in your kitchen as nighttime snacks are hard to find (vending machines empty in a day or two). Every suite's layout is different, but the insides are more or less the same.
You needed to walk a mile a day (no joke) from McCoy to the Fresh Foods Cafe, then to the Upper Quad (the Gentle Slope was barely used during 13.1), then to class, then to the FFC for lunch, back, from class to upper quad, to daily activities and back, then to weekly activities then back, then to the FFC and back, and then to class and back, and finally to McCoy.
Hopkins Café
All CTYers share the Hopkins Café, which was formerly known in the past as the Fresh Foods Cafe (FFC). The food is either excellent, bad, or occasionally edible, depending on one's point of view. It can get repetitive, especially for CTYers staying for six weeks.
During lunch, there is a cooked potato product (usually fries), grilled cheese, pasta, a few types of pizza, hamburgers, desserts, fruit, and a vegan dish. The macaroni and cheese is occasionally good. The fries and grilled cheese are always good, though they are greasy. Breakfast usually has fresh fruit, meat products, potato products, sausages, pancakes, cereal, bread and bagels, and pastries. The "scrambled eggs" are not real scrambled eggs, but rather egg powder mixed with milk. There's water ice (or Italian ice if that's what you want to call it) during all meals.
An assortment of drinks is available - various sodas, milk, soy milk, coffee, tea, hot water, and juice. There will occasionally be a chocolate sauce dispenser for making chocolate milk (which was removed and replaced with a chocolate milk flavor at the milk dispensers). The water from the soda machines can be sketchy (or no soda comes out, just water) and the juice machines may be out of order for extended periods of time.
Stuff for lactose-intolerant people is stored in a special fridge and a separate section for gluten-free people. Vegetarian and kosher meals are available. Although the dining hall is friendly to many dietary needs, be prepared to bring your own food and eat in the dorms, for the options are not the tastiest, nor are they diverse.
When you're done eating, you put your plate on a small conveyor belt beside the drink machines. It can get crowded quickly, so get in and out as fast as you can to avoid making a huge line (but a guy now takes your food-stained plate and places it on a tray to bring to the dishwasher machine because the conveyor belt doesn't really move smoothly as it used to).
Service is friendly: on one occasion, after hearing a CTYer say she was going to cry due to a lack of Lucky Charms, a staff member asked if she needed the dispenser to be refilled. There used to be one especially kind lunch lady named Montoya Jackson. She collects Trollies.
One issue with the cafeteria is that lines are often long, even though the lunch schedule is staggered and everyone has an hour for lunch. The long-line problem is compounded by the fact that the cafeteria is weirdly shaped and that it is shared with other programs on campus. CTYers often avoid long lines by first taking food that is in short lines (usually counters that are not part of the "Sizzle" section, the latter which is notorious for its long lines during all meals of the day), then coming back for more, or having dessert first. Some may also try to plan their lunch breaks to precede rush hour
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 13.1 | food services were redesigned by a company called Bon Appetit. The food is still great, but fresher/healthier. The onion rings are addicting. Montoya is the best. It is recommended that you stay away from the omelets whenever possible. |
| 14.1 | The sweet potato fries were a hit. There was also a more-than-average variety of vegan food, although most of it was spicy and it all tasted the same. The fruit assortment was switched out every three days or so, leaving students with sweet but mushy (and every once in a while, moldy) fruit. |
| 17.1/18.2 | The FFC offered popcorn and fresh pretzels and even had a cotton candy machine during Tuesday lunches. The mac 'n cheese was nauseating, especially the vegan kind (which tasted like grass and was a scary shade of orange) but the grilled cheese sandwiches were good, though greasy. The vegan hamburger patties verge on inedible, but the normal ones are fine. Since the hamburger buns aren't good, most people just take a patty. The brownies are amazing. Note that you can't taste the Oreo in the Oreo brownies, but they tend to be bigger and taste better than the regular ones. If you don't like your brownie to be able to glue your mouth shut, however, it is recommended that you steer clear of any FFC brownies. |
| 19.1 | It was discovered that braiding hair is not allowed in the cafeteria." |
| 23.1 | The vending machines had some SERIOUS problems. All of them needed restocking all throughout week two and when the milk dispenser ran dry it produced a strange off-white carbonated liquid… so effectively pilk. Chocolate milk tasted surprisingly average, but regular milk was terrible, especially if converted into pill by the addition of pepper |
Meet Market (Now obsolete)
Meet Market was a former form of social time. It took place after 9:00 and lasts for 30-0 minutes (usually 45). It's social time on the Gentle Slope and supervised by RAs who are there to prevent and discourage "risque activities." People talk outside, throw Frisbees or footballs, or teach others to rave. Impromptu dances are occasionally held due to the presence of a giant speaker on wheels and an RA who can connect to their phone to it via Bluetooth. In the last two years, however, it's gotten stricter and everyone has to stay in the same part of the Gentle Slope (near AMR I).
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 11.1 | While the girls were staying in buildings A & B, the grass above the Fresh Food Cafe was open during Meet Market. There was one RA on duty and both boys and girls were allowed in the area. This grass is much softer than on the Gentle Slope and there are darker spots in the area... |
| 13.1/2 | Meet Market was relocated to the Upper Quad. RA security became much more lax, to the joy of many couples. |
| 18.1 | The sprinklers were known to turn on during Meet Market, which would ruin the mood. |
| 22.1 | No such social time occurred and hall-time would occur instead |
Note to Couples: RAs and SRAs set up a perimeter without loopholes. They will always be within eyesight of couples and have walkie talkies to prevent risque activities. Take this from experience: Make a lot of RA friends, they will be invaluable should you explore your romantic side during your session! - Kevin Lee
This is no longer 100% accurate but the staff are still strict about PDA rules. Be careful.
Off-Campus Locations
Each weekend and on some activity days, CTYers can go off-campus on a short walk with their hall or Activity group into the local town. These trips qualify as hall bonding. Halls of the day tend to go off-campus as their reward. In 22.1, however, these trips were permitted on most days and were popular on weekends.
All of these locations can be found on Google Maps.
| Current off campus locations | |
| Place | Description |
|---|---|
| Barnes and Noble | This is the university bookstore. There are regular activities to visit the bookstore, which is connected to a Starbucks. The bookstore is where all the JHU sweatshirts, CTY merchandise, and other attire are sold. The Starbucks inside is decent, but lines on weekends may be long during popular visiting times. |
| Starbucks | There's also one in Barnes and Noble. |
| Insomnia Cookies | 24/7 cookies and next to the Barnes and Noble, but soon was unable to receive deliveries due to allergy concerns. RAs sometimes bring cookies back to their halls to eat. It's a popular stop for groups who want to share a box. |
| CVS Pharmacy | classic convenience store/pharmacy, never has ramen in stock (but you could get actual ramen around the corner though). A place for CTYers to buy things they may have forgotten to bring. It has a lot of junk food. |
| Kung Fu Tea | A JHU ***CLASSIC*** A popular Boba store for CTYers. The boba itself isn't anything spectacular, but waiting in the infinity line with your friends to get $4-5 boba is part of the JHU experience. |
| Chipotle | The Mexican food chain. Relatively expensive but a fairly common lunch spot for halls looking to eat out not he weekends. |
| HomeSlyce | A well-hidden pizza parlor near the Charles. |
| Kajiken | A ramen place. The soup there is tasty. |
| Döner Brös | A fast casual Mediterranean restaurant. Based on what the name says, the restaurant is known for their döner kebabs. |
| Potbelly Sandwich Shop | Branch of a popular Chicago-based chain of submarine sandwich shops. Their subs taste way better than Subway. GO THERE IF YOU WANT A SANDWITCH. |
| Busboys and Poets | A full-service restaurant, bar, bookstore, coffee shop, and events venue. It specializes in a mix of American and continental cuisine. |
| Honeygrow | A fast-casual restaurant that serves salads, stir-fried Asian dishes, and fruit-honey desserts. |
| THB Bagelry & Deli | Branch of a Baltimore-based chain that serves gourmet bagel sandwiches and regular sandwiches made with local produce. |
| University Market & Deli | The cheaper, local alternative to CVS. THERE WILL BE RAMEN. |
| &pizza | A pizza shop that not many students visit because of HomeSlyce's proximity to the campus. |
| Subway | This is located across the street from the Barnes and Nobles. Infrequently visited because potbelly is better. |
There are several grocery stores. RAs know where they are. On the first day, CTYers should go to Eddie's Market or University Market to buy junk food. Directions: Keep walking down past B&N, turn right at the first traffic light and look for the stores.
| Former Off-Campus Locations (closed or no longer in bounds) | Place | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tamber's | An Indian food and diner food restaurant. This is far away but was an auction prize. Note: auctions did not take place 11.2. Nobody went there in 2018. However, there is an Indian restaurant in Charles Village named Sakoon Indian Fusion. Tamber's is *right* on the border of bounds | |
| Dominion Ice Cream | This has both regular ice cream and specialty ice cream (e.g. vegetable ice cream). Delicious. Students were not allowed to go after 9.2. Not open on Sundays. | |
| Paper Moon | An eclectic restaurant with lots of knickknacks decorating every wall. The best chocolate cakes (order The Dark Side of the Moon) and friendly service. Bring a camera; take lots of photos, and make sure you go to the bathroom to see the dolls on the toilet. Not accessible to students in 10-present. | |
| Cloud 9 | A clothing shop; bans CTY students from going due to past "bad experiences" and out of bounds. | |
| Inner Harbor: There are a number of stores and sites of interest here, including Barnes and Noble, Forever 21, Wet Seal, etc. and a number of malls and restaurants and other food vendors, and museums (including the National Aquarium in Baltimore). From 10.1 on, students were not allowed to go to the Inner Harbor because it was too dangerous. | ||
| Niwana | Was right across the street from the campus, near the Beach. It has expensive Japanese and Korean food. It was an auction prize in the years of the auction and is now closed. | |
| Subway | This is located across the street from the Barnes and Nobles. Infrequently visited. | |
| The Rotunda | A tiny movie theater that plays two movies. Most of the stores are closed. The concessions are expensive. Some cool RAs of smaller halls may take people to other movie theaters, however. | |
| Coldstone | Icecream. Closed :( |
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 11.2 | As a result of the Andrea Administration, off-campus trips were limited to going to the Movie Theatre, Barnes and Nobles, Coldstone, and the University Market. Previously, shopping trips to Hampden were permitted, but this year, early notice was required for that to happen. According to an RA, you had to give "at least 2 weeks of prior notice so that the office can approve the activity." |
| 12.1 | The only known off-campus trips were limited to Barnes & Noble, the museum, and the University Store, with the exception of one hall that went to Coldstone because they were "married" on Casino night. No shopping trips were allowed despite pestering from several CTYers. |
| 13.1 | Trips to Chipotle, Barnes&Noble, and Coldstone were made, as well as a long walk to see Monsters University or Man of Steel. |
| 14.1 | Trips to Chipotle, Barnes&Noble, Coldstone and the University Market were made. The second Saturday also had the option to go to the Rotunda to see How to Train Your Dragon or Transformers. |
| 15.1 | Trips to Cold Stone, Barnes&Noble, Chipotle, and University Market were made. The second Saturday also had the option to walk to the Rotunda to see Inside Out or Jurassic World. |
| 16.1 | Trips to Chipotle, Barnes&Noble, Subway, University Market, Starbucks, Pizza Studio, Cold Stone, and the Homewood House were made, though these trips were rare. The reason provided was that legal ratios prohibited large groups from going out. |
| 18 | Off-campus trips were banned by DRL Nick except for those to the bookstore. However, some halls still went to CVS and Insomnia Cookies. |
| 22.1 | Off-campus trips were allowed DAILY and on weekends (if your RA took you out). The only film watched at the movie theatre was Minions rise of Gru |
| 22.2 | Because of the gosh darn rain, off-campus trips weren't too common. The typical "unstructured time and weekends" rules applied. It was a typical session of gawking at B&N prices, getting called out for jaywalking (do NOT do that in Baltimore) and trying to beat the line for Kung Fu Tea. |
| 23.2 | Off-campus trips were allowed during unstructured time and on weekends (same rules as last year). No one ever went to Insomnia Cookies :( |
Student Life
While JHU follows the same basic feel of campus life at any CTY site, its environment varies among different years. In general, it is far stricter than other campuses. Part of this is due to it being an open campus in the city, but the majority is due to the vast numbers of administrators present at/around the site. The administration is known not only for its strictness but for suppressing traditions and its inability to handle situations fairly. Notably, in 18.2 the administration failed to appropriately deal with sexual harassment. Students were feeling so unsafe in their classroom that they left, and despite multiple students coming forward, the accused was not removed from camp activities.
Disregarding the administration and strictness, however, Baltimore has the same welcoming and quirky community as any other CTY site. In fact, the community overcompensates for the situation with the administration in a manner that results in a unique and heartwarming CTY experience. In many instances, RAs and students are brought closer together than at any other site, and students support each other throughout the entire CTY experience, forming a beautiful community.
It should be noted that as of 22.1, the administration started to open up slightly more. Possibly due to the admin reset during covid, hiring of an alumnus as SRA and changes of age eligibility to 9+. Let's just say there is more hope for the future of the site's culture.
Activities
Each weekday has two activity periods. Depending on the session, activities are organized differently. In the past, many activities were available for one day, while other activities wereavailable for one-week-blocks (this was abolished in 2016 then reinstated in 2018). As of 22.1, there would be one structured activity that may be repeated again and one unstructured activity where many students would go off-campus or go explore campus more. Students are sometimes allowed to switch into or out of activities. Although in the past, activity suggestions were open to all, they are not any more. However, most of the staff are open to suggestions and even student-run activities… within reason. These in the past have always included traditions activities that are run by the monarchy.
In the past, weekend activities have included Casino Night (which ALWAYS occurs), Music Night, Movie/Red-Carpet Affair, the "CTY Olympics," a Medieval Fair, and the Talent Show.
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 12.1 | 12.1 saw a Color War, which was confusing because around half of the CTY population did not have the necessary color of clothing. Color War reappeared in 13.1, along with Humans vs. Zombies (which sucked beyond all compare). Color War returned in 18.1, but due to rain, it did not occur in 18.2 and was replaced with a dance. |
| 16.1 | The weekend activities included the (loosely interpreted) Olympics, Casino Night, World's Fair, Block Party, and Movie Night, which sucked. There was also Hall of the Day, which went to the bookstore for one activity period. SRA Cody started an activity called Hiding In Obvious Places, which you should sign up for. |
| 18.1 | 18.1's weekend activities were Movie Day, The First Inaugural CTY Arts Festival, Casino Night, the Talent Show, and Color Wars. 18.2 got, in no particular order, a block party, Movie Day, Casino Night, the Talent Show, and likely a few others. |
| 19.1 | Weekend activities included the usual Casino Night, Movie Night, and Talent Show as well as Color Wars, the Amazing Race, and the brand new Self-Care Saturday. |
| 22.1 | Activities were the CTY Olympics, HOLY CASINO NIGHT, and the talent show. Aside from the talent show, all these activities took place on Saturday. The talent show itself was held on Sunday. On other Sundays, all-site fares were held with various games and activities open. There was also a movie day…Showing Doctor strange in the multiverse of madness :( |
| 23.2 | Activities were the CTY Olympics, the Riddle Race, Movie Day, Casino Night once again, and the talent show. Like 22.1, all these activities were held on Saturday except the talent show, which was once again held on Sunday. On Movie Day, Guardians of the Galaxy was being played on a really small screen with the lights on in a theater underneath Remsen Hall. |
Strictness
While it's false that the RAs are strict, SRAs may be strict. However, depending on the year, they either don't come out much or are seen hanging around in random places. As you may gather from reading into the history tabs on this page, strictness varies from kind of lenient to prison from year to year. Luckily, JHU is heading much closer to lenient than strict at present.
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 07.2 | Flashlights and sleepovers were banned, although with a bit of sneaking around and hiding you could manage to get into each others' rooms. |
| 08.1 | The ban against sleepovers was removed |
| 11. | The only strict person on site was the site director, who was never seen. |
| 11.2 | The Site Director and Counselor kicked out three people on the second day and put many more people on probation during the days after. Let it be known that this is WAR. User:Digiflex This year, Scheduled Presence was implemented. It involved RAs standing/sitting at set locations. No one was allowed outside when there wasn't Scheduled Presence without the accompaniment of a staff member. Going down to do your laundry during the weekends was not allowed unless there was Scheduled Presence. Neither was going past the turnstiles one minute before 7:30 to go to breakfast.
The Academic Counselor, Gabby Coranza, was a key issue. 2011 was Gabby's first year working for CTY and on the first day, she had already made herself unpopular. She tried to interfere with student life as she might have thought that a tight-knit community meant a closed and exclusive group. She asked prying questions, like whether two sisters involved others in their fights, often provoking outraged responses. |
| 12.1 | 12.2 saw the return of the notorious Andrea Administration. Scheduled presence remained in place and tighter than ever. Visits to Coldstone were a rare privilege, and so were the opportunities to order out from Chipotle. For a couple of halls, visits to Niwana and PaperMoon Diner were no longer existent, as was ordering Chinese takeout due to the peanut allergy policy. However, other halls were permitted to go to any shops in the surrounding neighborhood, including Niwana, Coldstone, Chipotle, and Dominion Ice Cream. Students were no longer allowed to leave for and from breakfast, dinner, and lunch by themselves. Dinner and Breakfast shifts were implemented. Because of impending thunderstorms, a day of study hall was canceled and instead replaced two daily activities the following week. |
| 13.1 | Sleepovers were once again banned due to fire hazards, but because of the new hall layout, this was easy to bypass. Neighboring dorm rooms could also tap messages with Morse Code through the wall. Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, and Ibuprofen were all confiscated by RA's, but it's handy to stash a few in your pillow or wardrobe just in case. However, a vending machine provides such medication. Also, strictness from previous sessions was lessened, although scheduling was tight since CTYers weren't allowed to go back to the dorms during the day because they were about a mile away due to construction. A few trips were made to Coldstone, Chipotle, and the bookstore. |
| 14.1 | 14.1 had an abundance of strict RAs, and the contrast between having a strict and not-so-strict RA was huge. This included physically parting couples (and not-couples) during slow-dances, leaving room for Jesus and all of his apostles, as well as jeopardizing sleepover privileges as common consequences, and getting in trouble for minor swear words. Everything depended on your RA, but other attributes of strictness included making girls in crop tops and high-waisted shorts change, not letting students visit other (not-neighboring) halls during free time, and cutting back on weekend outings. RAs who were strict outnumbered those who were a bit more, well, understanding of teenagers, and thus, it was a terrible year for making friends out of your class/hall. Students would be reprimanded for having cell phones out during free time/activities, PDA of any sort (dances and not, ranging from holding hands and hugging to platonic cheek kissing to tongue kissing) were all banned. An RA had to be within about ten feet of you at all times.
The breakfast and dinner schedules are the worst act to be implemented at CTY as it inhibits the ability for interpersonal interactions and the blossoming of new friendships (which used to be a focal point for CTY, along with its primary focus of the pursuing of academic talent.) Dress code was strict, girls would be made to change if skirts/shorts were viewed to be 'too short,' you would be made to change, crop tops (or anything showing midriff) were prohibited and there were RAs who had problems with spaghetti straps. Activities were banned should it be viewed as 'too hot' or if there were an impending storm (that would be obvious to anyone who looked that wouldn't come until at least after activities). Because of this, 40% of activities were banned and students had to stay in their halls - a nuisance, because, as mentioned before, cross-hall visits were not allowed. |
| 16.1 | 16.1 had the best RAs and none were strict. However, site manager Lesa handed down tough regulations, making it difficult for them to give students freedom. PDA was reprimanded by the annoying first years, but RAs intervened. Swear words and "friendly but offensive banter" was common, and cell phone use was unregulated. There was little cross-hall connection as sleepovers or movement into other halls was forbidden. A lot of people preferred rain days over activities, a testament to how boring some were. Kind RAs included Trent, Patty, Paul, Beth, Sarah, and Holy Emperor Jeff. The SRAs, Deans, and Site Director were also nice, with the admin participating in activities such as Random Acts of Senseless Dabbing, led by Markus. |
| 18.1 | had sleepovers and off-campus trips banned, to the frustration of all. The sleepover ban was lifted for the final night of the session, but many halls were able to get away with ISOs provided they were not so loud that their RA could no longer ignore it. |
| 18.2 | 18.2 had a lot of problems. The Baltimore site has always had problems with the administration following the letter of the law regarding rules, but in 18.2 this was taken to a new level. Beyond the standard tightening of already strict regulations (sleepovers were not allowed except for the last night and students were not allowed to set foot off campus), the administration targeted students, in particular the Princess of the Blood, and failed to properly deal with bullying, unsafe classroom environments, and sexual harassment.
The standard rules and regulations were present and stronger than any other year: Sleepovers were banned every day except the last, although there were RAs that allowed sleepovers as long as their students were quiet. Off-campus trips to everywhere except for the bookstore were banned, however, it was common to see halls in the CVS when they won hall of the day. Most RAs did not follow every little rule to a t, but SRAs were strict. One SRA told a hall of girls that they couldn't play Cards Against Humanity, for example, but this rule was broken in the second week. |
| 19.1 | 19.1 had strict rules on sleepovers, but some RAs stopped caring by the second week. The basic rules were to be asleep by 11:00 PM, only to have them on Saturday nights and no more than four to a room, which led to many ISOs. On the final night, students were not allowed to have sleepovers. This rule was not followed. Off-campus trips were allowed only to the bookstore and Starbucks once a weekend and for Hall of the Day. This was awarded for good behavior but was suspected to be an excuse for SRAs to tell halls what they were doing wrong. Cards Against Humanity wasn't allowed, but even the strictest of RAs gave up on that rule. BLAMMO, yet again, was banned at the site, because it "disrupted the other programs". RAs, TAs, and teachers were not allowed to participate in any shape or form in spirit days. The SRAs, in general, were pretty relaxed, but the strictness of RAs varied. Halls were required to stay together at all times and stick to their RAs like glue at risk of being kidnapped or assaulted. One student was kicked out in the second week due to rumored violence. |
| 22.1 | 22.1 saw much more openness to activities. Swaps were pretty frequent, off-campus time was DAILY and (unfortunately) just the one sleepover was allowed on the eve of Passionfruit. There were several great RAs (Enoch, Tatianna, Naziah, David, Trinity, Makayla… If you're reading this, I love you! -Switch) and some pretty great site directors (Hey Jacob. Also hey SRA Carlos) who were extremely nice to their kids, open to tradition and generally great people. |
Dances
Dances have specific themes (e.g. The 80's, Hollywood, Neon, Beach Party, Black-and-White, Jungle Safari, etc.). However, this does not have a significant effect on the music played (one exception was the 80's Dance, in which a larger amount of older songs was played). Music played at the dances tends to be pop. The dances usually take place in the Glass Pavilion. Students should bring a polo shirt (or anything more formal), as more than half the camp dresses up.
In the past, the CTY Prince and Princess (CTYers) were announced here, along with the CTY King and Queen (RAs). This tradition, however, has been forgotten. As has the role of CTY King and Queen.
| History | |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 08 | At 08.1 and 08.2, there was grinding at impromptu dances, but people would crowd around them to make them hard to detect. Several dances were in front of either AMR I or AMR II. |
| 09.1 | "Stairway to Heaven" was not played because almost all RAs were new and had not been former CTYers. Couples were monitored by RAs. |
| 09.2 | An Afterdance was started by a group of Lancaster squirrels. |
| 10.1 | Forever Young and Birdhouse In Your Soul were played in addition to American Pie and Stairway to Heaven at the last dance. Both American Pie and Stairway to Heaven were played at all 3 dances although Stairway to Heaven was played as the 3rd or 4th to last song at the first dance. The Afterdance was not continued from the previous year. |
| 10.2 | Forever Young, American Pie and Stairway to Heaven were played at all the dances, thus making Forever Young a new tradition for Baltimore. Afterdances were continued by Empress of Passionfruit Trinity (her name, not an affiliation with Lancaster's Trinity) and a fifth of the students attended. As such, the Empress and the JHU Traditions Committee (see below) formalized traditions such as BLAMMO and Love-Tape Day, and left the song Tunak-Tunak-Tun open for possible canonization in the coming year. |
| 11.1 | Forever Young, American Pie and Stairway to Heaven were played at all the dances. There was grinding, but the RAs didn't notice. |
| 11.2 | Forever Young, American Pie and Stairway to Heaven were played at all dances. However, there was a surprising lack of canon compared to last year's dance. The only canon played at the dances were Forever Young, American Pie, Stairway to Heaven, and Everytime We Touch. Much dance music was played, like Cali Swag District's Teach Me How to Dougie, Jerk, and L.M.F.A.O's Party Rock Anthem. Due to the abnormal amount of couples, RAs were assigned couples to watch, but there was grinding, kissing, and other activities happening regardless. Note to couples: Anything more than a kiss should be done in the corner of the movie theater downstairs from the Glass Pavilion or the broom closet next to the bathrooms. |
| 12.2 | Forever Young, American Pie, Stairway to Heaven were played at all dances. Everytime We Touch was also played. It should be noted there are additions to the JHU canon - Wobble Baby is played at every dance and is enjoyed by CTYers. |
| 13.1 | Forever Young, American Pie, and Stairway to Heaven were played at all the dances along with Wobble Baby, Low, Cupid Shuffle, and Everytime We Touch and I'll Make a Man Out of You at the last two. Students were DJs at the second and third dances. |
| 13.2 | Forever Young, American Pie, and Stairway to Heaven were played at all the dances, along with Wobble Baby, Cupid Shuffle, and Tunak Tunak Tun. So was King of Africa, opening it up as a potential canon song. |
| 14.1 | Forever Young, American Pie, and Stairway to Heaven were all played. Wobble Baby, Low, Cotton Eye Joe and Fancy were played at every dance as well. The RAs were strict, monitoring couples and walking around the masses of people during the dances, prying couples apart. Some RAs even went as far as to stop the traditional slow dance method of girls' hands on guys' shoulders and guys' hands on girls' waist and made the guys put their hands much higher. |
| 15.2 | Corey was notorious for walking through the couples and groups of dancers in order to prevent PDA. According to the skit at the start of the session, PDA could make others feel uncomfortable or queasy. Corey and another RA demonstrated this in a skit at the start of the session. Lots of canon was played, as well as the famous Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, a popular American song. |
| 16.1/17 | 16.1, 17.1, and 17.2, Forever Young, American Pie, and Stairway to Heaven were all played. |
| 18.1 | Sandstorm, Tunak Tunak Tun, Wobble, Everytime We Touch, Fireflies, Mr. Brightside, Forever Young, Stairway to Heaven, and American Pie were played at every dance. |
| 19.1 | Tunak Tunak Tun, Everytime We Touch, Low, Wobble Baby, Cupid Shuffle, Forever Young, Stairway to Heaven, and American Pie were played at the dances. Cotton Eye Joe was played at the first dance, but none of the others. The fill-in empress took it upon herself to revive the rave circle by teaching at an activity and handing out glowsticks, so there were twelve ravers at the last dance who could do at least two-beat. Sandstorm was played at the last two dances for ravers. Slow dancing was allowed and RAs cared less about PDA rules. A few students messed up American Pie at the second dance by running in too early, but it ended up fine. There was no Afterdance, but the Traditions Committee revived the chant through the tunnel. It rained at the first and last dance, and because of the "you get struck by lightning if you go outside during a storm" rule, many halls were late to the dances. |
| 22.1 | Cotton Eye Joe, Iris, Can't Hold Us, Cha Cha Slide, Mr. Brightside, Bohemian Rhapsody, Fireflies, Come On Eileen, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Tunak Tunak Tun, Everytime We Touch, Low, Wobble, and Cupid Shuffle were played at least once over the three dances.
Unfortunately, Stairway to Heaven was left out from the second dance, but the (amazing) RA and alumnus, Enoch, helped out with ensuring the standard canon criteria was met at each dance. Despite having arranged to only rave during the last dance, Rave Monarch Izzy Paladino started raving to Everytime We Touch. Empress Switch saw this and also joined in. Of course, they were back in the center when the same song played at the last dance, this time joined by glow stickers. Slow-dancing was popular throughout Stairway to Heaven and Forever Young, although during the second dance, everyone joined hands and swayed for Forever Young, a practice started by a small group of people from the halls Clark 3 and Wilson 2. A few people ran in early for American Pie on the second dance, but it wasn't the end of the world. The two circles returned in 22.1, with the inner circle being of RAs and for the last dance, RAs and nevermores. There was no formal Afterdance, despite plans to revive it for the last dance. However, many who knew it chanted "CTY has a nice butt" back from dances. |
| 23.2 | Cotton Eye Joe, Cha Cha Slide, Mr. Brightside, and Low were played at least once over one, two, or all of the three dances.
Stairway to Heaven was sadly, left out from all of the dances. It rained at the second dance. Because of the aforementioned "you get struck by lightning if you go outside during a storm" rule, all of the halls ended up running late. Also, the second dance did not have as much people in the Glass Pavilion as the previous dance because the music was too ear-piercingly loud and the RAs were unable to fix the issues. At the first dance, American Pie was messed up in the first chorus by both newcomers and squirrels as none of them ran into the circle at all, although the rest went fine. At the second dance, a lot of people joined in American Pie late because of the aforementioned sound issues. The sound issues ended up causing American Pie to get cut off several times (therefore botching the whole dance) before the RAs had to switch it to Sweet Caroline. Because of all these issues as well as the thunderstorm, the second dance ended up being a complete disaster (although a lot of students still did have fun doing leisure activities at the lobby of the adjacent Levering Hall and watching movies that were playing at the latter's Great Hall). At the third dance, the RAs immediately cut off American Pie for no reason as the song wasn't really over yet after it all went fine. Forever Young was also played before that, with everyone joining hands and swaying to the song. Once again, no decision was made was made on whether to revive the formal Afterdance or not. |
Sleepovers
The exact rules on sleepovers, how frequently they can occur and who they can occur with has varied throughout the years. Sometimes they have only occurred within halls, sometimes within residencies. Sometimes every weekend, sometimes on Passionfruit-eve, sometimes never. Sometimes with up to one person, sometimes with up to two people and sometimes with as many as possible. What does remain consistent about sleepovers, however, is that they are extremely popular whether or not they are ISOs or perfectly legal. It should be noted that unlike at other sites, the transport of mattresses is NOT permitted or in any way advise. This is due to the fact that JHU has raised beds which can be difficult to move mattresses. JHU floorspace in dorms is often variable. Some dorms have perfect wide squares that could fit a double bed whilst others have leaning walls, misplaced furniture and personal belongings making extra mattress placement difficult/impossible.
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Event | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07.2 | Sleepovers were banned. This was due to a conflict in rules - CTY administration did not allow sleepovers without transportation of mattresses, while JHU housing did not allow transportation of mattresses due to its classification as a fire hazard. However, in 08.1 and 08.2, this was resolved - CTYers could sleep over on weekends if they moved their sheets/blankets, but not their mattresses. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08.1 | Sleepovers on the last night of 08.2 were banned, angering nevermores. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09.1 | RAs were told that site admin would be patrolling the hallways between 12:00 and 3:00 AM, but this never happened. As a result of this deception, sleepovers happened without disturbances. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11.1 | Sleepovers were allowed. On the last night, it wasn't, but RAs looked the other way. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11.2 | Sleepovers were allowed on weekends. However, illegal sleepovers during the week were easy to have in the girls dorms where there were suites. Inter-suite sleepovers happened nearly every night without notice by the RAs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13.1 | Sleepovers were deemed illegal, but this rule was not strictly upheld on the weekends. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13.2 | Campers were told they could have sleepovers on the weekends if they traded roommates with other people in the hall. This was done many times, but illegal sleepovers on weeknights were also carried out without problems as the RAs checked to see if your room was dark by the lights-out time by looking at the door cracks instead of entering the room and accounting for all of the people who were supposed to be in it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16.1 | Sleepovers were allowed on the weekends. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18.1 | Sleepovers were banned for the session until the ban was lifted for the last night of the session although limited to four people per room. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18.2 | Sleepovers were allowed on the last night but banned for the rest of the session. Many RAs, however, allowed sleepovers each weekend and as well as during the week. There was an instance where a group of girls were caught having a sleepover at 1:00 am by patrolling RAs but were let off for doing 20 jumping jacks in the hall instead. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19.1 | 19.1 had strict rules on sleepovers, but some RAs gave up on caring by the second week. The basic rules were to be asleep by 11:00 PM, only to have them on Saturday nights and no more than four to a room, which led to many ISOs. On the final night, students were not allowed to have sleepovers. This rule was not followed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22.1 | Although sleepovers were only permitted on the eve of Passionfruit. These were also only permitted between halls and with two people, but this was hard for many RAs to enforce. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23.1 | Sleepovers were banned for the entire session. They were thought to be allowed on the last night, but after some people were caught out of their residency on the night of 3rd Wednesday… well, the rest is history. RAs were actively patrolling.}
Much of this article is obsolete. However, it may become useful if sleepovers become banned again (and also on the last Thursday). How to Survive an Illegal Sleepover" TraditionsNature of JHU TraditionsThe Baltimore campus does not easily maintain tradition. As Hopkins' open campus is in a larger (and more dangerous) city than most other CTY sites, increased strictness is expected. However, the majority of difficulty arises from the administrators inspecting and coordinating the site. The combination of unyielding restrictions and lack of past administration's desire to maintain traditions results in roadblocks. Nonetheless, JHU does have its traditions and many of these are well worth preserving. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This strictness means that there are select groups of people who have come to love and appreciate their site even more than any Lancastrian, Skidmorean or Carlisean ever could, due to how much they have to fight for it. We DO see a lot of squirrels at JHU, but star-eyed squirrels who are getting the first taste of the CTY spark and people who are a joy to watch integrate into the beautiful chaos of CTY. Baltimore-Specific HelpAnyone looking to further traditions at Baltimore is welcome and appreciated. Given the difficulties, it is best for Baltimoreans to seek help from previous royalty or traditions leaders who have dealt with the administration and regulations in the past. For anyone interested in starting up a game to replace BLAMMO, Empress Amelia has a great idea for an entirely new site-wide game which any interested JHU CTYer can initiate! "OMMALB," not to be confused with "BLAMMO," is a novel icebreaker game developed to help students get to know each other in a fun and non-banned way. Please contact Empress Amelia for OMMALB advice and resources. Help CenterThe following is a list of Baltimoreans who are open to all and any questions about JHU: - If you've been involved in Baltimore in any way in the past and want to help out future generations, feel free to add your name! -
The Traditions Committee/ EldersThe traditions committee, aka the elders, is a group of people who earn the honorary title of elder. These are individuals appointed and led by the sovereigns to assist with the spread of tradition in any way they can. This includes helping negotiations with admin, helping run traditions activities, preparing for passionfruit, sending out traditions calendars or info sheets and much more. The elders and sovereigns would often hold meetings.
The Book of LoveThe Book of Love is a book filled with all the Baltimore traditions that is passed down from Empress to Empress and Emperor to Emperor. Originally it was just the Empress or whatever monarch was named "Supreme monarch" or "The librarian," as Empress Switch coined the position. Eventually, a second copy (The "Original copy") was made. The first copy was made by Empress Amanda Sin and has been passed down until '18. In 2017, the "Original copy" was lost in the mail, and a new copy of the original was made (the "Original.2") by 18.2 monarch Lynne Kim. The Empress' copy has been the same in original content since its creation. Each Empress has added their own entry to the book and it details the history of tradition at Baltimore and what CTY has meant to each monarch. Something Empress Amanda Sin of 13.2 would dub an "unexpected accident or act of the supernatural" occurred in 2020: a global pandemic. Though the "Original.2" rests somewhere in the world, this copy could not be retrieved or sent off. So 19.2's Amelia Orwant appointed Switch as Empress for session 1 to spread tradition with a new Book of Love. Although Switch was attending session 1 and the book had always been part of session 2's richer tradition, Amelia decided it was best to have the stories of her session continue, even at another session. Switch constructed the Book of Love, the "good parts" version. This was made up from scans of the "Original.2" and although it unfortunately left out Amelia Orwant's entries, Switch was able to reconstruct them from here entries on the RealCTY wiki as was requested. The De Amore LibriThis book was created in 19.1 and is similar to The Book of Love that is used in session two. The title, "De Amore Libri," is "Book of Love" in Latin (courtesy of our unreliable Lord and Savior, Google Translate). Empress Claire wrote the book in order to help the next Empress, who, going against tradition, was a squirrel. It is a guide on everything one needs to know to be Empress and details JHU traditions. The book is intended to be handed down from Empress to Empress and grow traditions. Unfortunately, its fate remains unknown as Covid swept the world. The Tarot CardsThe Tarot Cards are handed down from Empress to Empress at the Passionfruit each year at Baltimore session 2 and now session 1 (as of 22.1). It is traditional for the Empress to read students' fortunes at Casino Night. The Afterdance18.2 Empress Lynne Kim and Princess of the Blood Amelia Orwant decided that this was a good tradition to bring in from the many other sites which participate. After each dance, while going through the tunnel from the Glass Pavilion towards the dorms, students chant the following as loud as they can: CTY has a nice butt CTY we love you Give us your souls Give us your souls CTY we love you There was a lot of participation. In Heaven There's No Beer, Tentacle Joy and the Hokey Pokey are also much loved after dance chants By 19.2, with the efforts of Empress Amelia and Princess Lena as well as their entire hall and a few other motivated students, participation grew. A lot of the difficulty was not with a general desire to participate but with understanding. Many students didn't understand the importance of the chant and, even if they wanted to join, many didn't know the words. Future royalty should teach the chant at social time and during traditions activities. It's important to get a critical mass of people chanting to encourage others to join in. Try to get as many people lined up along the side chanting with a few trusted allies marching with the crowd. 22.1 was not met with much more luck than 19.2. Despite plans to have a "formal" after dance, this did not go forward. However, a number of people chanted "CTY has a nice butt" through the tunnel from dances and did the Tentacle Joy in their dorms. Spirit DaysSwap DayYou've probably heard the legend. Known as Cross-dress Day at other sites, swap day is a spirit day meant to show solidarity. It began a few decades ago when a male CTY student tried to wear a skirt but the administration told him it was inappropriate and that he couldn’t wear it. Hearing this, many students decided to protest the unfair decision by swapping clothes the next day. The tradition has been continued in order to show solidarity and to provide an opportunity for students to try something new or express themselves. Swap Day acts as a celebration of the fact that we can wear whatever we want. We are free to present ourselves as we choose. We take our friends' clothes and present ourselves in whatever manner we please even if social norms may dictate it to be outlandish or atypical. Swap Day is not about wearing the clothes of the "opposite sex", nor is it about laughing at boys in skirts or girls in suits. This ideology was adopted and spread by admin of past years and caused later banning of the spirit day. Swap Day is not called "Gender Bender Day" as this name suggests gender is binary scale and that clothes follow this, with those participating having to wear clothes from someone of another gender identity. This is the opposite of Swap Day's message. Furthermore, the name "Drag Day" has been scrapped as it was felt to insult the act of drag. The future of Swap Day is uncertain as of 22.1, though if this misinterpretation persists, this may be for the best. Swap Day's true intention is worth celebrating, and future generations hope to re-establish it.
Goth/Emo/Punk DayGoth/Emo/Punk Day is celebrated the same as at any other campus on the second Tuesday. Most students do not dress in a goth/emo/punk style, but many choose to wear black or experiment with dark makeup. Love Tape DayLove Tape Day at Baltimore is probably the most popular spirit day. Masking tape or duct tape are used to tape people you love. This can be done to close friends, random people or whoever you choose. Some campers may write messages, signatures, symbols or some combination of the three on their tapes. It is also common for campers to stick their tape on their lanyards after the day is done any show them off until the end of the session. The act of "tape raping" (sneaking up on and bandaging) and "group taping" (what it sounds like) occur at JHU, but it is recommended that these are not done with duct tape. Please, please for the love of God, please no excessive duct taping! That stuff is hard to escape.
Towel DayTowel Day at Baltimore is held on the final Thursday. It is tradition to blast or sing It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. and to carry around a towel as an homage to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which preaches that a towel is the most useful thing to bring on intergalactic travels, even to the end of the universe (the final day of CTY). Remembering Sunday"Remembering Sunday" is the only spirit day to occur outside the three-week frame of a CTY session, being on the Sunday following Passionfruit. It is a day for community and to reach out to CTY friends from the previous session or even ones in the distant past to share memories and keep contact. It's a lonely 49 weeks, and Remembering Sunday serves as a reminder that we're all out there and (hopefully) "feel fine." Take-outIt was a tradition for the older halls to order Chinese take-out food on Friday and Saturday nights, when off-campus trips were less common. Some RAs allow ordering Chipotle, in which case he/she will have to pick it up with a few students. With more lenient admin, it is common for RAs to get hall takeout and for students to get takeout throughout the week.
PassionfruitPassionfruit doesn't happen consistently. It always occurs and is the most quintessential event any CTYer will experience. It always involves passionfruit juice and is student-run, despite RAs having run it in the past. Nevermores and RAs from other sites may bring in traditions for a certain session (e.g. election of an Emperor/Empress or writing out "CTY <insert year here>" with empty cups after Passionfruit). Students who have not attended Passionfruit before may or may not end their speeches with "I like you, I love you, I CTY you, I love CTY and I love the Passionfruit", even though they should.
Emperors and EmpressesMuch like at other sites, the Empresses and Emperors help run spirit days, Passionfruit, and advocate for [[1]] and other traditions. At the Baltimore site, they fight to bring back or adapt lost traditions and to maintain those that are already there. At Baltimore, there was, in theory, always one Empress and one Emperor. Though the titles themselves are gendered, the positions are not. As of 22.1, it was decided that in session 1, up to four empresses/emperors may be appointed. This was done to increase the chance of at least one of them returning and to follow a more Skidmorean/old Lancaster.2 structure that much of the 22.1 monarchy were familiar with. The four monarch system also acts as a nod to "The Chronicles of Narnia." You can read the full monarchy list here
The LibrarianCommonly known as the Supreme Monarch, this is the Emperor or Empress who is appointed the Book of Love. The Librarian acts as a holder of the Book and apart from acting as a preserver and living record, is the ultimate authority in terms of management of tradition. The librarian must add updates to the Book of Love and may choose to add a personal entry to it. Acknowledgments sections are popular, as are any scripted passionfruit speeches. Prince/Princess of the BloodThe Prince, Princess, or Monarch of the Blood is appointed by an Emperor or Empress at any time to help with advocating for traditions and spreading CTY culture throughout the campus. How much responsibility the Monarch of the Blood chooses to take on is up to them. In recent years, Monarchs of the Blood have expanded the cast of royalty at Baltimore in the hopes of creating a more vibrant culture of CTY tradition at the site. For a couple of years, Baltimore lost the tradition of their Monarch of the Blood, but the title was carried down through the Book of Love and reinstated when Empress Kathlyn appointed Princess Amelia for 18.2. As of Amelia's 19.2 reforms, multiple Monarchs of the Blood may be appointed by the Empress/Emperor.
Games God DeityGames God/Goddess/Deity is a position created in 19.2 by Empress Amelia Orwant. As BLAMMO has been banned for years, and the 19.2 attempt to reinstate it wasn't workable, JHU royalty have decided to turn to a new site-wide game, as well as other bonding activities. The benefits of a site-wide game align with the central objective of traditions: to bring the community together by creating an engaging and welcoming environment. A site-wide game is a way to get to know people and create the feel of a unified Baltimore community. Students can meet others and enjoy the gentle competition that nerd campers love. Student-run individual games allow for friendliness that site-run hall-wars can't. Pitting hall against hall doesn't encourage students to step outside of their pre-existing groups. Having an opt-in game that facilitates communication beyond the immediate hall and class groups holds a unique place in the CTY experience. While the much-beloved BLAMMO fulfilled those goals and more, it has become impossible to run at JHU. After the initial shutdown, based on stated reasons of potential violence or exclusion, the 19.2 BLAMMO Goddess and Empress (Amanda Chen and Amelia Orwant) provided the JHU administration with an updated set of rules that dealt with every problem indicated. The updated game was rejected with no explanation. The consequential "Underground BLAMMO" that formed also failed as it required the unified support of RAs. By the end of 19.2, BLAMMO was dead. While the Baltimore community laments the loss of the treasured tradition, the site will strive to create new traditions to fill the void of BLAMMO in the form of new games to create a close Baltimore community. The bulk of this goal will fall to the Games Goddess. The duties of a Baltimore Games God are:
There can be up to two Games Deities at a time, and they can appoint Demi-Deities. The First Games Goddess, Victoria Lam was appointed in 19.2 for the coming year by Empress Amelia.
Demi-Deity of GamesMuch like the Prince of the Blood is to the Emperor, the Demi-Deity is a helping force appointed by the God(s). The Games Gods may appoint as many Demi-Deities as they see fit. The duties are to help with the enactment of games, especially organizational tasks for site-wide games. An effective Demi-Deity should aim to enthusiastically participate in and help create games. Rave MonarchAs raving has been wavering at JHU in recent years, Empress Amelia established the position of Rave Monarch with the hopes of narrowing down the duties. In the past, interested students taught raving out of a passion for the tradition. The goal of this new position is to both make clear the importance of raving as a tradition and keep constant the rave participation from year to year. Rave Monarch duties are:
There can be up to two Rave monarchs at a time.
BLAMMOBLAMMO was brought to Baltimore in 2009 by two flying squirrels from Lancaster. They dueled for the title of God of BLAMMO: It was a fearsome battle between Sam, who wielded a trident of plastic spoons taped together, and his opponent with a sword created in a similar fashion. Sam won and became the first Baltimore God of BLAMMO. BLAMMO was banned at Baltimore in 16.2, and the 19.2 attempts to reinstate it were rejected by the administration. BLAMMO appears to be dead at JHU. It's a shame that BLAMMO is no longer a possibility at JHU, but that won't stop students from creating their own new games to unite the community. In fact, Empress Amelia has a great idea for an entirely new site-wide game which any interested JHU CTYer can initiate. This game, "OMMALB," will be played using plastic forks. Not to be confused with "BLAMMO," "OMMALB" is a novel icebreaker game developed to help students get to know each other in a fun and non-banned way. Please contact Empress Amelia for OMMALB advice and resources. 19.2 ReformationIn an effort to rehabilitate traditions at JHU, the 19.2 Empress, Amelia Orwant, initiated a number of reforms: Monarchy Traditional monarchy rules had to come second to creating a full royalty team. As of the 19.2 reforms, the rules for royal appointments were altered so that positions could be given to anyone deemed fit, regardless of age or time left at CTY. Previously, any high royalty positions (such as Emperor or BLAMMO God) were exclusively open to students who would reign in their nevermore year. Empress Amelia also created new royal positions to expand the monarchy, with the hope that traditions can be better generated and preserved. The large group is ideal for JHU given recurring difficulties with the administration. The larger Monarchy is meant to be able to more effectively advocate for the community and for traditions. In the 19.2 reforms, the position of Games God (and the corresponding Demi-Deity), and Rave Monarch were added to the JHU pantheon. (For more information, see the similarly titled sections of the Baltimore page.) Additionally, restrictions on the quantity of Demi-Deities, Prince/Princess' of the Blood were removed. Previously, only two could be appointed at maximum; this alteration was intended to allow freedom to expand the monarchy. It is recommended that there be no more than six Deities and Princes combined. There must be no more than two each of Emperors of the Passionfruit, Games Gods, and Rave Monarchs. Nevermore Clothing This is an 18.2 reform, but 19.2 will be the first repeat year at JHU. Empress Lynne sold T-shirts and hoodies for Nevermores following the example of many other CTY sites in 18.2. A new design was sold by Empress Amelia in 19.2 and any nevermore or nomore who wished to have a shirt as a memento of their final year of CTY was welcome to purchase any items. The monarchy hopes this will create a stronger sense of community at the Baltimore site. Traditions Calendars This tradition began in 18.2 with Amelia as Princess handing out a few hundred traditions calendars. These calendars established which days corresponded to which spirit days or traditions throughout the session. The updated 19.2 calendars did the same and included important royalty contact information on the back. In addition to the individual calendars, Empress Amelia brought larger traditions calendars in 19.2 to put up on dorm bulletin boards which included more detailed explanations of the spirit days. The explanations are important both to spread information and to serve as a potential safeguard against administration misinformation like in the case of 18.2. New Activities
Game Efforts 19.2 saw an attempt to bring back BLAMMO at JHU after the ban in 2016. While other sites have had success bringing back the treasured game, JHU, as the strictest CTY site, has had no such luck. Empress Amelia and BLAMMO Goddess Amanda, with the support of the Monarch team and many kind JHU RAs, attempted to start BLAMMO back up using new safe and vigilant rules. The changes made were based on the successful Lancaster 2018 BLAMMO rules, which added requirements that students to talk to their target before BLAMMO-ing them, created more effective layers of supervision and rule enforcement, and added more BLAMMO-safe spaces. Amanda and Amelia presented the rules to the administration, noting that Lancaster had accepted the same alterations and allowed the game to go forward. This was sent to a regional director, who rejected the rule changes and decided to maintain the BLAMMO ban. No comment was made as to why. While there were a few attempts at resistance and underground BLAMMO was formed, it ultimately could not proceed at the site. It is believed that 19.2 marked a true end to the game known as BLAMMO. However, site-wide icebreakers can take many forms and a new game, unaffiliated with BLAMMO, will be developed for 20.2 and beyond by the JHU Games God(s). The game is intentionally left vague as of post-19.2 writing. To reduce administrative roadblocks, the game is to be set up from the ground level and Amelia and Amanda have left the development up to others, remaining thoroughly uninvolved and unaffiliated. Empress Amelia created the Games God position in part to help develop and monitor the JHU site-wide game situation. It is the responsibility of future Games Gods to give their best shot at creating and maintaining a new site-wide game tradition. If the game is shut down, it is the goal of the Games Gods to attempt a new game. The goal is not to thwart the administration but to find a fun, peaceful, and safe game that can continue as JHU tradition. The reason it must be invented anew once banned is that it is much harder for the administration to officially go back on a ban than to allow a new, untested game to continue as long as it is safe and there are no complaints. Future Games Gods are encouraged to remember that the game should not push administrative limits or get out of hand. Everyone wants a site-wide game, and this looks like the best path to get one and keep it. Empress Amelia has a great idea for an entirely new site-wide game which any interested JHU CTYer can initiate. This game, "OMMALB," will be played using plastic forks. Not to be confused with "BLAMMO," "OMMALB" is a novel icebreaker game developed to help students get to know each other in a fun and non-banned way. Please contact Empress Amelia for OMMALB advice and resources. Empress Switch is also open to questioning on this. Help for Future Monarchs More Information The reforms of 19.2 were vast. If anyone would like to ask questions or appeal aspects of the changes, please contact Empress Amelia. All questions, comments, wonderings, awkward silences, and flirtatious glances will be accepted! In your reading, processing, and commenting, remember that reforms are not stagnant. The JHU community is changing and student-led efforts must match the community's needs. These changes will be made only when necessary and after extensive thought, but nonetheless, changes are expected and encouraged. There should not be so much change as to void the concept of "tradition," but enough to allow that treasured word to be a versatile one. For royalty members, squirrels, elders, and general community members alike, these rules are not set in stone. Baltimore CTY is what its campers make it. Other ProgramsCTY has shared the campus with various other programs. Summer JHU Campus Tours can frequently be seen. Groups of people will walk around following a guide who explains the campus. There is no interaction beyond CTYers looking at the groups and vice versa. Some tour guides explain that JHU hosts summer camps. LeadAmerica also shares the campus. In 07, they also shared the cafeteria and had an intrusive presence. In 08, they were on different parts of the campus, so the interaction level was low. They had bad table manners. The Field Hockey Girls shared the cafeteria in 08.1. They would leave out their bags and sticks everywhere. They returned in 18.2, leaving impressive piles of stuff in the lobby of the FFC. The Lacrosse Guys passed through the campus in a huge march in 07.2. In 08, they walked near CTYers and had a huge march, but had no further contact. They inhabited a modern building across the street from the campus, adjacent to the Barnes and Noble, the upper floor of which was used in 08.2 for Casino Night). In 09, they had several large migrations near the Gentle Slope. There was little contact between the CTYers and the Lacrosse Guys. In 12.2, they passed by in a huge march and some girls made it a daily thing to ask them for high fives as they went by. Precollege and Discover Hopkins: JHU hosts a pre-college program. In 08.1, they occupied part of AMR II. They did activities on their own but often were near the Gentle Slope. They also shared the cafeteria. In 10.2, they were seen at various times in the dining hall and on the twisty pathways. Hopkins Engineering Innovation: They share the cafeteria. Little is known about them. Center Scholars[2] share the cafeteria. They are part of the CTY program, mostly post-nevermores. All of them were former Baltimore CTYers. There was little interaction between most CTYers and them (with the exception of all Genomics classes), even though they don't bite. They are harder to distinguish from Precollege and Discover Hopkins and may show up for CTY dances. Volleyball Girls: In 10.2, they took the place of the Lacrosse Guys. Lead America made an appearance in 13.1. A leadership conference that loves taking group pictures, wearing suits, and looking attractive at all hours. They were often rude, leaving their dishes on the FFC tables, shaking their double ring binders at people, not moving when you said excuse me, and hooking up. One RA christened them "Prom Night Camp" thanks to their habit of wearing suits and fancy dresses when it was 30+ degrees Celsius out. Lax Bros (STIX): Hide your food, hide your cafeteria tables, STIX is here. The LaxBros ate extreme amounts of pizza and pasta and everything (about 42 tons of food at each meal) and were known for being preppy and stereotypical. At the peak of the invasion, the lines for food were at least 30 people long, leaving CTYers with the options of spending forever in line and surviving on rice/carrots. One tried to pick up a CTYer by commenting "You're hot" and stumbling around in front of Fresh Foods. There was an incident in which both a CTY class and a group of Lax Bros made fun of each other while there was a man filming the STIX for unknown purposes. Lax Bros have also been known to dare each other to talk to CTYers, which ends in extreme awkwardness. There may or may not have been Lax Chicks too, but CTY meal times always coincided with the bros. Envision: A career exploration-type camp. Envision participants wore fancy clothes even through the ninety-degree weather and created huge lines at Fresh Foods, often leaving halls no place to sit. It is inconclusive as to whether or not Envision people were college or high school students. However, it is believed that they were at JHU for an Advanced Medicine course and were high schoolers. Engineering: A camp for high schoolers interested in Engineering. One day in 22.2 as they were all in Fresh Food with matching shirts, a table of guys started to rip each other's shirts off. The students could be caught walking through campus with torn shirts after lunch. National Student Leadership Camp: An overly-pretentious academic camp where the students are easily distinguished by the branded folders they carry and the formal attire they wear on the regular. CTYersThis is an alphabetical list of CTYers who have attended Baltimore. Please add the years you have attended the JHU site and refrain from adding future sessions you hope to go to.
External Links |
