What the Dean and Dukes really have to say about the quad brick tradition

It’s a tradition at JMU to take a brick from the quad before you graduate. Students see it as a right of passage for any true Duke, and the best way to take a little piece of JMU with you (literally).

On one side, there are many students who feel they pay enough in tuition to be allotted one simple brick. It’s been a tradition for years, and it almost wouldn’t feel right to leave without participating in it. What’s the big deal in taking one, anyways?

On the other side, a lot of people actually believe that it’s a bit reckless and even dangerous. Over the years, students have been hurt due to so many missing bricks, not to mention the many visually impaired or handicapped students on campus that find themselves in quite unsafe situations with so many holes in their pathway.

We asked two students what they thought about people taking quad bricks. One person who has taken one says, “I just thought it was something everyone did. I did it as a freshman when my roomie and I got bored one night and found a loose brick and took it. I got an early start on my senior bucket list I guess.”

This person believes that the tradition should stand, because “So many people before us have taken quad bricks so I don’t know why JMU is just now saying that it’s a problem. I understand why taking them is bad and yeah they are a lot of money, but it’s just a tradition.”

When another student was asked if they plan on taking one, they said “Not really, because I don’t feel the need. My closet is already small and I don’t have space for a brick!”

They stated that they were in no way judgmental of others who do it because they “like hearing stories of people taking quad bricks,” but also recognize that “eventually we will be the ones paying to have them replaced, so I’m not interested in giving JMU another reason to raise our tuition.” This student remains quite indifferent about the matter, saying that “it’s a fun tradition, but it doesn’t matter to me either way if it stays.”

Associate Dean of Students, Dr. Josh Bacon also weighed into the discussion. He made it clear that when it comes down to it, “it’s theft,” saying that “we take pride in our quad at JMU, and you’re destroying it.”

When asked if he sympathized with students who truly just want to partake in a fun little tradition, he responded, “Should they know that taking something that doesn’t belong to them out of the ground, should they know that’s theft? I guess in my opinion I think they should.”

Bacon doesn’t oppose the idea of having a tradition unique to JMU, but says that “to say our tradition is theft? That’s terrible.” He also claims that “most students aren’t stealing them, it’s a very small percentage. It’s not this huge tradition that everybody thinks.”

Bacon expressed how he hopes that administration has “gotten the message out now that students are being charged with theft, and it is having consequences.” If caught, students are given an education program, probation, as well as “restorative justice” in which students must go through a “circle process with other people who have stolen the bricks, and with people who have been harmed and impacted by the stealing of the bricks.”

Bacon states, “To us the big one that’s come out is empathy… They didn’t think how this affects the community of JMU and the people.” He says that students leave feeling more aware of their actions, “I love it, they never forget that meeting…for some this might be a moment that says wow, I can’t even come close to doing this type of stuff in the future.” He argues, “We want to graduate people who are leaders, not followers.”

Administration is coming up with new ways to address the issue, such as programs for students to anonymously return bricks they have already taken. They are also considering selling pieces of bluestone to students and using the money to go toward scholarships. Bacon notes that many students have said, “All I wanted was a piece of the quad,” so he wants to “use that money and make it something great.”

So is this just a fun tradition, or should we find a new way to remember JMU and everything we love about it? That’s up to you to decide.