Raf Week

"Hi, my name is Emily Novak. I'm looking for Nancy Emerson? I was the student who called about the lake pigments."

"Oh, yes.. from Transylvania U? I'm sure that's a fun place to be around this time of year."

Yes. Yes, it is.

Granted, don't get me wrong- I had my fair share of tests and papers this week, but the spirit of Transy picked up to celebrate the festivities. All week the school has been hosting various functions in celebration of Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, or as he is affectionately called--"Raf". One night there was a bonfire and Improv Show, another night the Theatre Guild hosted ghost tours of the campus, and one night four lucky students got to spend the night in Raf's tomb. But why all the fuss about some old dead guy?

Let's rewind a couple hundred years to when Transy was established back in 1780. Raf was a french biology professor at the school and was known for being... "brilliant". Although he wasn't recognized for his genius back then, this eccentric teacher's work was later examined, and it is possible that he came up with many theories about evolution long before Darwin. While he was not an "A+" professor in the classroom, Raf roamed the Kentucky area classifying many new species of plants and observing the natural vegetation.

Fast forward a couple years to when the Transylvania President is sick of Raf skipping more class than his students and can't stand him anymore. Legend has it that while Raf was on a trip regarding his scientific discoveries, the President ordered all of his belongings to be consolidated from his two room space (Professors often lived and worked in the singular building on Transy's campus when it first opened) down to one room to make room for a student who needed a dorm room. Well, Raf came back and wasn't very happy about the changes. He claims that specimens had gone missing, equipment was broken, and at the end of a big fight, the President fired him.

In an angry rage, Raf writes an angry letter cursing the President and Transylvania, fleeing up the eastern coast to Pennsylvania.

Not long after, the President died out at sea on a trip with his wife, and the Transylvania building burned down. Supposedly, this is all because of Raf's curse.

After Raf's death, he was buried in a public cemetery. Many years later, the cemetery was destined to be destroyed and changed into something else to accommodate the growing Pennsylvania town. Students and staff refused to let such an interesting piece of Transylvanian history slip away, so Raf's remains (or at least, what we think were his remains... public graves often had multiple people buried in them) along with the tomb marker were brought back to the school and are now housed under the steps of Old Morrison.

Sometimes people blame the fire in the Old Morrison on Raf as well, claiming he started the fire. Mostly because the fire took place at the opposite end of Old Morrison and Raf's Tomb was perfectly untouched by the flames.

Nevertheless, the story of Raf is something the students here love to celebrate-- and it definitely makes Halloween week more exciting.