Tarleton State University is built around its traditions. From when you first step on campus grounds until you leave, we are reminded daily to uphold all traditions to keep them alive. Being a senior at Tarleton, I have had ample time to learn most if not all the traditions Tarleton has to offer. When I first came to Tarleton as a freshman in 2015, I thought things like not walking on the grass was silly and quite frankly the Purple Poo scared me. Over time I learned exactly the weight of each tradition holds and how important it is to the community of Tarleton. There is a reason Tarleton is known as the “best-kept secret in Texas” because there is so much to offer to a wide demographic of students. If you went and asked students about their favorite traditions, many would say things like homecoming, purple thursday, duck camp, purple poo, etc. So many students really care about this university and understand how important it is to respect all traditions, but there seems to be a lack of knowledge and respect recently. Recently when going to Heritage Park on the infamous Tuesday morning to get a poo sign, I noticed all the poo signs said something along the lines of “Tradition is who we are” with hashtags like “#Respect Tradition”, or “#It’s NOT about who’s behind the mask.” It was disappointing that even after every sign talking about respecting tradition people were stealing them well before 8 a.m. This message immediately made my friends and I think that the poo might go on strike again. From someone who used to be scared by the poo, they have become one of my favorite Traditions at Tarleton. For those who don’t know the poo evolved from the original Ten Tarleton Peppers (TTP) and Ten Tarleton Sisters (TTS) secret organization. They purposely conceal their identity completely when dressed as the poo to primarily focus on raising school spirit. Within the past three years I have been at Tarleton, there have been multiple occasions where people have tried to unmask poo, guess who they are to their faces, try to steal signs and overall disrespect them. Various events lead the poo to go on strike and not attend events like they usually do. When the poo aren’t at events, you can just tell something is missing and I can’t imagine getting chosen to be a poo and not getting to take part in what the poo has to offer because students aren’t respecting tradition. I can guarantee that I am not the only student that doesn’t want the poo to go on strike, especially as a senior. So please remember to respect the traditions as well as the Purple Poo. Don’t take the signs from Heritage Park before 8 a.m., inform yourself of all Tarleton traditions and respect them equally, don’t steal signs, don’t focus on who is behind the mask, don’t walk on the grass, wear purple on Thursdays and remember to show school spirit. College goes by so fast, jump all in and most importantly remember to respect tradition.