Carnegie Mellon University is home to a variety of unique traditions, some of which date back to the early days of its over 100-year history. Many of these traditions hearken to the university's strength in engineering, such as the buggy races and the mobots, while others are purely social in nature, such as Spring Carnival and The Fence. Alma Mater The alma mater of Carnegie Mellon University was written by Charles J. Taylor and set to music by J. Vick O'Brien when the university was still named Carnegie Institute of Technology. The song was copyrighted by the institute in 1924. While not used as much as alma maters at some other universities, its alma mater plays a vital role in the culture and history of Carnegie Mellon University. It is sung at convocation ceremonies of incoming classes, commencement ceremonies of graduating classes, and other official events such as the investiture of new presidents. The university's Kiltie Band plays it at certain home games. The full song has three verses. Normally, only the first verse is performed. Verses First Verse The first verse references the history of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the university is located. In the late-18th Century, after the United States won its independence, the settlement at the present city of Pittsburgh was known as the frontier and the Gateway to the West. The verse describes the wilderness through which the westward-bound settlers traversed to reach their goal. The verse concludes with the proud allusion that Carnegie Mellon was founded by Andrew Carnegie. Second Verse The second verse begins with Pittsburgh's role at the nation's inception. It references the history of the labor movement through the Antebellum Era and Gilded Age. Upon its founding in 1900, Andrew Carnegie had intended the university to be a vocational school for the children of the workers in his steel mills. As the university progressed, it embraced the arts as exemplified by the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, the first degree-granting program in the country, while continuing to focus on its technical and scientific education. The university maintains a strong collaborative culture among its constituent colleges ranging from the arts to the sciences. Third Verse The last verse references the university's dedication to academic excellence and high-quality teaching, alluding to its continued pursuit of collecting and disseminating knowledge. The Fence The first great tradition at Carnegie Mellon is The Fence, built in 1923, which