Traditions
We celebrate Simmons as a campus community all year round!
Celebrating Simmons
Traditions are part of what makes Simmons so special. From Founder's Day to the Simmons Soiree, our campus celebrates its legacy in fun and exciting ways. Check out a few of the ways we celebrate our Simmons pride!
Traditions with a long history at Simmons
Explore the University Archives for the history of some of the oldest traditions and activities that continue bring students together and build bonds that last a lifetime.
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May Day
May Day is the oldest continuous tradition at Simmons. This 100-year-old tradition meets the modern age with the senior and sophomore classes working together. Activities include flower crown making, a strawberry-themed brunch, singing, the maypole dance, and more.
Winter Wonderland
Catch the holiday spirit with res-hall decorating, themed dinners, and an ugly sweater party hosted by first-year students. This tradition loosely grew from the Olde English Dinner.
Shark Week
Seven days of swimming in Shark pride through events like casino night, scavenger hunts, laser tag, cake decorating, and more. Shark Week is an evolution of what originated as Track Day.
Founder's Day
Every year on October 30, we celebrate the birthday of Simmons’ founder, John Simmons with an essay contest, sparkling apple cider, and cake!
Friends and Family Weekend
Every year friends and families of our students come to experience Simmons for themselves. This tradition began as Father-Daughter weekend in the 1960s.
Newer traditions at Simmons
Candle Lighting Ceremony
A moving tradition that brings first-year students together on their first night to pause and reflect.
Simmons Soiree
Like prom, but fancier! You and your date spend the night dining and dancing at one of Boston’s finest hot spots, like Park Plaza or the State Room.
Traditions and Annual Events in the News
Celebrate Juneteenth 2024 in Boston
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Boston offers a variety of ways to celebrate, involving art, music, dance, food, and a shared remembrance of the history of slavery and freedom.
Reunion 2024 for Jubilee Classes
A celebration for all Classes celebrating 50 years or more since graduation, the Reunion weekend featured campus tours, visits to the Gardner, a Red Sox game and a night at Boston Pops, in addition to on-campus programming with Simmons University staff and faculty.
Explore Boston’s LGBTQ+ Events, Advocacy, and Support Networks
Throughout June, Pride Month celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and commemorates the June 28, 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, the presumed birthplace of queer activism in the United States. For Pride Month 2024, we are spotlighting local organizations dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals. (Note: this is not an exhaustive list of available resources in the Boston area).
Getting Ready for Orientation 2024
Orientation Leaders Katelyn Fox ’25 and Maggie Wettergren ’26 share the inside scoop on First Bite Orientation, June 13 and 14.
Honoring National Nurses Week
National Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2024, offers a time to reflect with respect and gratitude on the work of nurses. In recognition of the week, here is a round-up of recent stories on the School of Nursing at Simmons.
Professor Homi K. Bhabha Delivers 2024 Robert M. Gay Memorial Lecture
Professor Homi K. Bhabha, the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, was this year’s featured speaker for the Robert M. Gay Memorial Lecture. In his conversation with Simmons faculty and students, Bhabha emphasized the importance of dialogue with people from different backgrounds and points of view on their terms.
Creating Impact at the 45th Annual Simmons Leadership Conference
The 2024 conference featured a roster of speakers exploring this year’s theme of “Creating Impact” in their personal and professional lives, and how those efforts ripple out to the people and communities around them.
Join the Discussion on "Democracy on the Edge: A Conversation with Joy Reid" at the Ifill Forum
On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the 2024 Gwen Ifill Forum will feature a discussion with MSNBC political analyst Joy-Ann Reid, moderated by Emmy Award-winning anchor Latoyia Edwards.