(with housing for 32), though exceptions have been made. There are also fourteen university-owned houses adjacent to campus that house a total of 56 upper-class students. Traditions The hash bell is a large hand bell rung at Elmhurst ceremonies as a reminder of the long history of the institution. This is the bell that kept the school on schedule in its early years, and generations of alumni have recalled fondly the loud clanging that woke students in the morning, assembled them for classes and activities, and then called them from their chores to dinner in the evening. One of the earliest Elmhurst catalogs declares: "Life in the institution is regulated entirely by the stroke of the bell." Why it came to be called "the hash bell" remains a mystery. The Victory Bell is a large bell located in the corner of Langhorst Field which is rung by every member of the football team after every home victory. The bell was originally located in the Old Main bell tower and moved to Langhorst Field in a new stone tower as a gift from the class of 1964. A wood stage in the game room (located in the Bluejays' Roost in the lower level of the Frick Center) is where occasional open mic sessions for students are held, including poetry slams, improv comedy, literary readings and musical performances, sometimes impromptu. The Elmhurst University Jazz Festival, now in its 53rd year and one of the oldest jazz festivals in the nation, has brought hundreds of high school and college jazz bands from throughout the country and dozens of notable judges and performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, Bobby Shew, Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, Clark Terry, Cannonball Adderley, Diane Schuur, Marian McPartland, Frank Mantooth and many others to the stage at Hammerschmidt Chapel. Now in its 23rd year, the Elmhurst University Summer Extravaganza is a free jazz concert held in the College Mall on a Saturday in June. The Manhattan Transfer, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Doc Severinsen have been among the guest performers with the Elmhurst University Jazz Band. Student, faculty and staff signatures and dates can be seen inside the clock tower in Old Main, some dating back to the founding years of the university's history. It has remained a rare occasion when students are allowed access, and it is a coveted prize to be able to