Current Emory seniors may recall an incident their freshman year when the Robert W. Woodruff statue outside the Woodruff Library was the victim of vandalism. Students strolling by the library and saw the somber, bronze figure of one of Emory's most influential philanthropists covered in garish clown makeup so that it resembled Ronald McDonald. A note found near the scene contained the ominous threat, "Two-ply in every bathroom or next time he gets it for real."

Colleges and universities all over the country are known for the traditions and pranks, which -- providing they're harmless -- unite students and create a sense of community. In the past, it didn't have to be April Fool's Day in order for students to get the last laugh.

At Cornell University (N.Y.), for example, a giant pumpkin, weighing about 60 pounds, mysteriously appeared atop the 173-foot campus landmark, McGraw Tower, on Oct. 8, 1988. The inexplicable nature of the prank caught the eye of the national news media, including The New York Times, CNN, MTV and "The Today Show." Since then, the McGraw Pumpkin prank has entered Cornell's history books as the longest and most mysterious in campus history.

On the West Coast, the rivalry between Stanford University (Calif.) and University of California, Berkeley has generated an ongoing prank war dating back to 1893.

In 1962, on the Friday of the "Big Game" between Stanford and Berkeley, every copy of their rival's campus-wide newspaper, the Daily Californian, was stolen and replaced with a mock version prepared by Stanford students. The mock paper featured an article on the front page praising Stanford's football team. Inside the newspaper, in four-inch block letters, was printed "BEAT CAL." The real copies of the Daily Californian ended up scattered all over Cal's chancellor's lawn.

While pranks and traditions are rare on Emory's campus today, once upon a time, Emory students created their share of fun with outrageous pranks.

The Allure of Seney Hall's Bell Tower

Vice President and Secretary of the University Gary Hauk recalled a prank on the Seney Hall clock bell tower on Oxford's campus in his book on Emory's history, A Legacy of Heart and Mind: Emory Since 1836. The clock operated like a grandfather clock, keeping time with the assistance of pull-weights and a pendulum.

Allegedly, one night a group of students climbed into the tower, pulled the weights up and set a ratchet open, which caused the bell to ring continuously as the weights slowly fell.

The bell-tolling clamor awakened much of the campus, including Marshall Elizer, professor emeritus of mathematics and retired business manager of the College, who was sleeping soundly in his home two blocks from campus. After this rude awakening, Elizer went to campus to attend to the disruption.

Another prank on the Seney Hall Bell Tower involved a cow being led up the steps to the top of the tower and left there. Ex-Oxford tour guide and Goizueta Business School alumnus John Wozniak ('02BBA) said he used to tell this story when he led tours on campus.

"Apparently, cows are not nearly as good at climbing down stairs as they are going up them," he said. "The guilty pranksters left the adults liable for guiding the cow back down again."

"The Longstreet Caper"

On May 20, 1965, the Wheel reported the mystery of "The Longstreet Caper," an alleged prank that occurred earlier that month. Blood, a broken watch and a gory hammer were discovered in the lobby of Longstreet Hall. There was no body, and the evidence suggested homicide, so Emory administrators called in DeKalb County Police to investigate. Blood samples were collected from the scene and sent to a state crime lab for further analysis. The story soon escalated when an unidentified human corpse was found two days later along Peavine Creek, past the Lower Fields.

A freshman, sophomore and junior in the College confessed more than a week later to planting the fake blood and evidence and were suspended from the University for two years for their ill-timed prank. In an interview with the Wheel, a perpetrator stressed that the actions were supposed to be interpreted as a prank and not a hoax to trick the police into a fake lead. The blood was supposed to create the initial impression of murder but was not intended to serve as evidence of one.

The pranksters believed that police would discover that the blood used had previously been refrigerated. But the police revealed that it hadn't been refrigerated. The seriousness of the situation escalated when the police began to look for a murderer.

"To this day, the corpse found behind Candler fields remains unexplained," Hauk wrote in an e-mail to the Wheel.

Insomniac pranksters in Woodruff Library

Turning books and desks backwards as a prank on the teacher is probably one of the more common pranks pulled by students of all ages. But Professor of English Harry Rusche remembers an incident on Feb. 3, 1983, when some pranksters took this joke to the next level.

The Woodruff Library staff came to work that morning to find that an entire floor of shelves had been visited by a group of students, Rusche said, who turned every book backward on the shelves.

University Archivist Ginger Cain ('77C) said while pranks are supposed to be humorous, it was the opinion of some -- especially the library staff, who had to reorganize everything -- that this prank was not funny.

"Pranks should not create a negative response," she said. "This particular prank, while not damaging, certainly cost the library staff many extra long hours of reshelving."

The Miss Emory Contest becomes a drag show

The Feb. 1, 1972 issue of the Wheel reported the results of the Miss Emory Contest in which the winner, out of 18 candidates, was none other than a male student.

Then-College sophomores Carl Hiaasen ('74C) and Ira Luft ('74C) managed to enter the annual pageant. Hiaasen, who dubbed himself "the only serious candidate" during his campaign, was hit by a truck at the corner of Clifton Road and was unable to continue.

But Luft managed to take the title, winning 113 of the 567 votes. Luft ran as the renegade candidate in order to discredit the validity of the contest.

Luft's reign as Miss Emory came with several perks, including two full color pages in the campus yearbook at the end of the spring semester.

"To this day, Luft remains the first -- and only -- male student to hold the Miss Emory title," Cain said. "Actually, that may have been the last Miss Emory Contest."

Rush Limbaugh as a Commencement Speaker?

One of the more recent University pranks took place in 1993 in the University secretary's office. Mikhail Gorbachev was the 1992 Commencement speaker, and because of heightened interest by the general public, Emory was forced to fence off the Quadrangle and tickets were required to attend the ceremony.

In early 1993, there was much speculation about who would be invited to speak after Gorbachev. Hauk wrote that "handicappers were taking bets on the Pope, Fidel Castro and God."

But all bets were off when a campus-wide memo from the secretary's office addressed to the Emory community said that 1993's Commencement speaker would be conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.

"The memo said that the invitation to Limbaugh was one more affirmation of Emory's 'commitment to diversity,'" Hauk wrote.

In addition, the memo regretfully informed students that they would only be allowed four tickets, two fewer than they were allowed the previous year.

The next morning, the phones in the office wouldn't stop ringing. Half of the students were angry about only being given four tickets and the other half were upset that Limbaugh was the guest speaker.

But as it turns out, none of the memo was true.

The memo had been forged, along with the official letterhead, and several thousand copies had been distributed among every student's mailbox. The University corrected the problem immediately, but a few nights later, a copy of the memo managed to appear on Limbaugh's television show.

Prank apathy?

More recently, aside from the occasional residence hall prank, Hauk said the number of pranks has decreased substantially from previous years. But one joke that has been a staple since the 1970s is that of streaking. The tradition of streaking the campus is one in which students have involved themselves until now.

"When I was a student, I fondly remember students streaking the campus on Thursday nights after chemistry tests," Cain said.

Similarly, Senior Admissions Counselor Casey Gendason ('00C) also remembers adventurous students reveling in their birthday suits.

"The only pranks I can think of were when seniors would streak the Quadrangle after Buckhead Bounce, and they would have to reposition all of the chairs for Commencement," Gendason said.

Even University President William M. Chace couldn't recall any specific pranks over the past eight years, though he wrote in an e-mail to the Wheel that students should partake in them more often.

"In general I am in favor of them, provided they are truly witty and do not do damage," he wrote.

College senior Doug Malcolm agreed that pranks can be done without being harmful and feels that they can only enhance the feeling of cohesiveness and community among both students and faculty.

"Taking part in pranks and traditions on campus is something bigger than yourself -- bigger than Emory," he said. "You're making yourself a part of our campus history."

4Arts & Living Editor Jocelyn Ho contributed to this story.