{"id":19430,"date":"2016-10-31T15:03:56","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T19:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=19430"},"modified":"2016-11-07T16:00:56","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T21:00:56","slug":"trick-treat-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2016\/10\/31\/trick-treat-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"A Trick-or-Treat Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sinister fairies, evil Jedis and monsters crept onto Campus Walk on Halloween morning, all with one thing in common. No one could resist the chubby, honey-loving bear offering candy and hugs.<\/p>\n

One day a year Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker \u201981 sheds his signature bow tie and seersucker pants to become the iconic Winnie the Pooh. It\u2019s not just a costume for Rucker. He sees it as part of his job \u2013 spreading friendship, community and care \u2013 for the past 15 years.<\/p>\n

\"Halloween\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Halloween\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Halloween\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"img_3091\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\u201cPooh and Dean Rucker are just two very happy, jolly people,\u201d said senior Mikey Barnes. \u201cWalking down Campus Walk and seeing this prominent figure dressed up as Winnie the Pooh \u2026 I look forward to it every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1977, when Rucker was a Mary Wash freshman, \u201cHalloweens\u201d was a giant affair, with revelers from schools near and far making their way onto campus. They came as M&Ms, policemen and the complete cast of Star Wars, Rucker remembered. And with the release of the feature film Animal House <\/em>the following year, \u201cI cannot tell you the amount of togas people wore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After earning a master\u2019s degree in sociology from the University of Virginia, Rucker returned to his alma mater to serve as associate dean of student activities. He\u2019d been promoted to dean of student life by the time he saw Andrew Painter \u201902 and Dan Musson \u201902 crashing the Fredericksburg Christmas parade, bounding down Caroline Street as two Tiggers.<\/p>\n

The Disney-esque costume planted a seed for Rucker, who tracked down a matching Pooh suit. Its fuzzy exterior and built-in mittens are a great fit for fall. The cut-out up top shows Rucker\u2019s face and big smile.<\/p>\n

Painter was surprised to learn recently that he\u2019d inspired the long-running tradition, but he wasn\u2019t shocked to hear that Rucker\u2019s still at it. \u201cCedric cares genuinely for Mary Washington. He cares genuinely for the students,\u201d Painter said. \u201cHe loves to bring happiness to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ensemble accommodates the serious side of Rucker\u2019s job, too. He can jump in and out of it to advocate for students, meet with administrators and teach his Monday night sociology class.<\/p>\n

In costume, he strolls Campus Walk, spending time at Lee Hall and the University Center, where students stream by between classes. Fresh off of midterms, they stop for selfies with Pooh, candy, hugs and one other thing \u2013 words of wisdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cPooh reinforces the values we have as a community,\u201d Rucker said, \u201crespect, student engagement, empowering students to support one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

The warmth goes both ways.<\/p>\n

Last year, when his mother passed away two days before Halloween, Rucker pushed through his grief to make his annual appearance as Pooh. He announced it on Facebook, and students showed up in throngs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outpouring was incredible,\u201d he said. \u201cI love these people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dean dresses as Winnie the Pooh to boost school spirit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Trick-or-Treat Tradition - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2016\/10\/31\/trick-treat-tradition\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"A Trick-or-Treat Tradition\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-31T19:03:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-07T21:00:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":480,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/Cedric_Pooh.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/31\\\/trick-treat-tradition\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Trick-or-Treat Tradition - 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