It’s the event that RMC students look forward to all winter long. The reason we are surviving after a taste of freedom over Spring break. With free food, activities, merchandise, and socialization, the Spring Fountain Turn On is sure to catch the attention of all students alike. This year, the event took place on April 9th, 2024, at 4:30p.m. at the Fountain Plaza. Sponsored by Parkhurst, students were offered food and gifts upon attendance.
The Fountain Turn On is a great way for students to gather to celebrate the start of Spring on the Randolph-Macon campus. Not only does it signify the arrival of warm weather and sunny days, but it signifies the near end of the school year. However, before we say goodbye to the 23-24 school year, let’s take a look at how the RMC community celebrated the welcoming of Spring over two decades ago!
The Virginia Chronicle is an online newspaper archive that hosts almost all of our Yellow Jacket Newspaper publications dating back to the early 1900s. Upon scrolling through some old print releases, I stumbled across a recollection of the Fountain Turn On from 2002! (I wasn’t even born!)
Hosted on April 12th, the event took place at our very same Fountain Plaza. Rachel Riter ’05 described the preparations that took place before students were able to witness the iconic high-stream initial squirt of the fountain. “A lot of time and effort goes into making sure the fountain is ready for students to enjoy,” stated Riter. We still see this time and attention to detail today, as the fountain was repainted and thoroughly cleaned before the 2024 turn on.
Riter also highlighted the main entertainment from the evening, which was a 70s cover band Right On, that performed hits such as “Superstitious” by Stevie Nicks. While we were missing the 70s cover band this year, President Lindgren offered a speech before the turn on. He exclaimed that he was “excited to welcome the start of Spring at RMC!”
The 2002 publication also included some student feedback regarding the event. Former student, Sean Jones, stated, “I think it’s pretty cool. It’s about time the college did something for its students and not for its image.” Luckily, his wish came true and RMC has upheld the tradition for students to come!
Although Randolph-Macon has changed significantly since 2002, it still maintains the same community that is has always had. Bringing students and faculty together to see the fountain awaken every Spring is a token of the Yellow Jacket Community. We are so excited to have our lively campus back in action to finish out the school year strong!
