The fountain that sits in front of the Westcott building is the first thing visitors entering the front of Florida State University see.

The iconic fountain has been the site of everything from skinny dipping pledgees to some good old fashioned swimming.  Once a blind student tumbled into the fountain with her husband while trying to navigate the campus.

But as of February 12, a message from FSU Student Body President Carson Dale is bringing some big changes to the historic fountain.

The Westcott fountain also carries with it a tradition as popular as the Tennessee Crawl – throwing students in the fountain to celebrate their 21st birthday.  Dale notes that this behaviour is dangerous and can lead to serious injury and even arrests.

Dale also notes that the activity can lead to a permanent shutdown of the fountain.

“Once that happens, this tradition does not come back easily, if it comes back at all. In other words, stop climbing,” Dale said in his message.

Currently a fence surrounds the fountain.  Dale noted that in his “direct conversations” with university administrators including FSU President Richard McCullough; they are “reluctant” to end the tradition.

Dale noted, “if we want this tradition to exist for future students, we have to act like it matters…now.”

The fountain is now closed daily from 4pm to 8am until further notice, “to promote the personal safety of our community.”

In a social media post, FSU said, “this decision follows repeated instances of noncompliance with university directives that prohibit climbing the fountain. This action is designed to promote compliance and responsible behavior.”

Like all traditions, the fountain dunk has evolved and now often includes a Champagne bottle and students climbing the fountain before taking “the plunge”.

Flowing water and the hot Florida sun creates slick algae on the fountain which adds more risk of falling when a student attempts to climb on the fountain and cause serious injury.

Freshman marketing major Katie Ortega spoke on the tradition saying, “[going to friends’ fountain throws] had me excited for when I turned 21, as it is such a unique and fun tradition that I never heard about until I got here.  However, for the one time we went to just watch, a girl climbed to the top and fell, hitting her head on the fountain. She lay there for probably 30 minutes, and it was scary to watch. Everyone got out as it was a medical emergency, and thankfully, the girl was ok, but it definitely changed how I viewed the tradition.”