Project ron saks final

The tradition of the Mirror Lake Jump.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of ohio states students, strip down their clothes and jump into mirror lake the Thursday before the last game of the year, which is always against Michigan. The rivalry has been going on for years, but not one person knows the actual root of the tradition. Years before the actual jump started, upperclassmen would always throw the freshman in to mirror lake as a tradition. So, it has always been a tradition of initiation. When asking senior, Phil Rocci, about the tradition he said, " First thing that comes to mind is mind-numbingly COLD, but besides that, i'd say overall it's great to see a campus unite over a common love, BUCKEYE FOOTBALL! While my memory may have been hazy due to excessive alcohol intake, I vividly remember a grand sense of camaraderie and enthusiasm. "
Every student who I have spoken to who has done the jump has all said the same thing, they feel really proud to be a part of something that everyone else is so proud of.

The reason I did my project on Mirror Lake, is because this year I moved from CCAD campus down near OSU campus, and I have noticed a HUGE difference of pride between our students and theirs. We are very proud to be CCAD students, yes. But we don't have anything to prove it. No traditions, no banners, no blankets, no paraphernalia, and to be frank, when you tell people who ask you where you go to school that you go to CCAD, most people will say, where? When I moved here, I felt like there was a sense of belonging. Even though I do not go to Ohio State, the mind set here, is if you are a buckeye fan, than you are a friend. You could walk down the street with a jersey on and five people will yell out O-H to which you will respond I-O! without even thinking about it. Why do we at CCAD not have a chant to each other? When we walk down the street and notice someone is our student, we should be high-fiving and chanting and being PROUD of where we are. Everyone should know where we are from and what we do!
The poster I made is a poster that you would see on campus on a telephone pole or in a bar, or on the side of the road in car windshield wipers to get students ready for the next years "Michigan Week." I chose those photographs because the students were making the legendary O-H-I-O's with their bodies. mostly everyone had at least one letter up in the air at one time, all over the place.So I made sort of an advertisement out of the 277 photographs i took that night, these four were my favorite, they were all so genuinely excited to be there.

so that's what I have.
this is my proposal to CCAD.
lets show our pride for our school! out loud! and like we mean it! Yes, we're all tired all the time, but there is no reason to not shout it out loud to the world that we go to the greatest art school ever in one of the best cities in the country.

Final progress post for project Ron Saks

So i have my final 10 images that I think that i'm going to use for my project.
The reason i am doing this project is because I really believe that even though the environment is so different at Ohio State, CCAD kids should really go out and experience what campus has to offer. Who says us art kids can't enjoy football, beer, and 29 cent wings? I say that we definitely can. When I decided to move to campus, I was super nervous. I was nervous that no one was going to like me because I didn't go to OSU and I didn't know their traditions and ways of life. But on the contrary. I have met so many friends here and i feel incredibly welcome. I've been thinking of ways I would display these photos, and I was thinking, why not make them into flyers that I would put on telephone poles? Telephone pole ads are all over the place on CCAD's campus AND OSU campus. It is the way everyone can see what is going on that week all over Columbus. I would make the black and white xerox copies that I will post on campus(ours and theirs).
SO I am basically finished. :)
it's a Christmas Miracle!

O-H-I-O

Some CCAD students find Ohio State football to be obnoxious.
Others find it to be intriguing and enjoy it.

Ohio State students on the other hand, consider it to be their life.



These are some of the photos i may use out of the 300 I actually took the night of the jump.

I did a documentary on Ohio States traditional mirror lake jump. Happening every year the Thursday(or in this case a Tuesday due to the holiday) before the Michigan Vs Ohio State game.
Students get wasted and take their clothes off in the thirty degree weather just to participate in this tradition. As a bystander this year, I thought it was hilarious. I love how into football Ohio State students are. This year I really became a buckeye fan when I moved to Ohio State campus with my roommate. I love it down here, the atmosphere is always so lively and fun, especially on Saturdays during the football season.
It would be really great if CCAD students had some sort of tradition to hold on to. It gives the students a sense of family, even though there are thousands of students who go to the school.
Now that I've taken the shots, i'm going to talk to a few people who did the jump themselves and ask them about there experience and why they choose to do it every year.
I plan on going next year, will i jump? absolutely not, but i will definitely be there taking pictures.