A rite of spring recently took place at Randolph-Macon College: the Fountain Turn On. On April 11, 2019, students, faculty and staff gathered at Fountain Plaza to welcome spring and continue a long-standing RMC tradition.

Iconic Gathering Place
Fountain Turn On is a tradition at RMC dating back at least to the 1980s. The college celebrated it up through the early 2000s, and alumni from many generations remember it as an unofficial start to spring. The tradition was revived in 2017.

“No one is really sure why we ever stopped celebrating Fountain Turn On,” says Lauren Bell, Dean of Academic Affairs, who, along with the student success committee that she chairs, organizes the event each year. “Fountain Turn On is one of the community’s most favorite events each year. The fountain is an iconic meeting and gathering place for students, faculty, and staff, and when it’s off for the winter, the campus just doesn’t have the same feel. Celebrating its return each spring is an opportunity to come together as a community at a place that is meaningful for so many of us.”

Students, faculty, and staff enjoyed a picnic dinner following President Robert R. Lindgren’s official order to turn on the fountain. Music was provided by DJ Syreen Goulmamine ’19. A behavioral neuroscience, biology and Spanish major, Goulmamine played a variety of musical genres.