"The evening before commencement marked the hours of the Lantern Festival, a custom which apparently began in the 1950's and continued until the late 1970's. Seniors, garbed in academic regalia and carrying lanterns, led a procession to an outdoor stage where the lanterns were hung in the shape of a large 'T.' The almost-graduates presented their thoughts concerning the meaning of Tusculum to each of them and then read a sometimes humorous last will and testament of the graduating class. This quasi-academic event closed with the seniors passing their robes on to the juniors and with the singing of the Alma Mater."
From Glimpses of Tusculum: A Pictorial History of Tusculum College, by Donal J. Sexton Jr. and Myron J. "Jack" Smith
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Kristen
Caudill
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Mike
McCormack
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The Lantern Festival was reinstated in recent years after a hiatus in the 1980's. It is now held a few days previous to graduation, rather than the night before. These scenes are from the 1998 Lantern Festival, held May 4.
The projection screen visible in the pictures (above and at left) is used for a slide show of the the year's reminiscences.