Don’t follow the yellow chalk arrows that lead under the Bizzell clock tower on your first day of class. Seriously. Don’t follow them. Campus legend is that any undergraduate student who walks under the clock tower will be doomed to at least one extra semester of undergraduate study.

Scoff all you want at the urban legend, but campus tour guide Addison Schrouf makes it a point to tell his tour groups about the myth. From the story he tells, he isn’t the only one that believes the popular legend.

“When it snows, you don’t see tracks going under it; they go around it,” Schrouf says. “And in case it is true, you don’t want to be that kid that doesn’t graduate in four years.”

Although the Bizzell clock tower is arguably OU’s most well known myth, there are several others that freshmen are bound to hear within their first semester on campus.

Mex the Dog

Rescued by Mott Keys, an Army hospital medic, from an abandoned litter of puppies in Mexico, OU’s first mascot arrived at OU with his owner and quickly grew to be the Sooners’ perhaps most beloved mascot. Donning a red sweater emblazoned with an ‘O’ on its side, Mex patrolled the Oklahoma sideline, warding away stray dogs that wandered too close to the open playing field.

Mex died of old age on April 30, 1928, and the university closed its doors for his funeral and procession on May 2. Truly a Sooner for eternity, Mex is buried in a small wooden casket somewhere under Owen Field. On calm nights, some say you can hear the dog howl from the endzone.

Haunting of Bizzell Memorial Library

Built in 1928, Bizzell has seen its share of late-night study sessions and desperate students who will do anything to abate the stress of finals week.

Although several ghosts are rumored to wander through Bizzell’s stacks, the most well-known is that of a male student overcome with finals anxiety who threw himself through a window in desperation. Legend has it that students researching in the stacks late at night see ghostly feet appear in the skylight above them.

Perhaps feeding off the stress and frustration of current students, this Bizzell ghost is reported to appear primarily during during finals and midterms.

The Spoonholder

Located in the center of the North Oval, the Spoonholder was originally a gift from the class of 1910 but was destroyed in 1983 due to campus expansion. One of OU’s most romantic traditions was brought back to life through the joint efforts of the classes of 1999 and 1949.

Tradition says that young couples who kiss in the Spoonholder are destined to be married.

Tour guide Alisa Collins says she is always sure to point out the structure on her campus tours.

“Maybe it’s the girl in me that loves to tell people about it,” Collins says. “But parents seem to enjoy that one as much as students do.”

Collins’ fellow tour guide Chelsea Mooneyhan agrees that everyone seems to love the story, but she has a slightly different reason for telling the tale.

“The tour is really long,” Mooneyhan says. “It’s a cute anecdote that they can take away with them and remember about our campus.”