Wesleying’s MoCon Retrospective: Part 3- Traditions

Seniors, it’s just about time for you to wrap up your work at Wes and ride off into the sunset with your fancy new piece of paper. There is, however, one last tiny bit of business to take care of before you graduate. (Let’s pretend you’re actually reading this on the Saturday before graduation.) As the last students to have experienced MoCon’s magic, it is up to the Class of 2010 (what what) to bring this magic to the next generation.

We’ve talked about MoCon’s lovable key players and the Mokes-inducing cuisine. But let’s be real here—MoCon was never just about eating. Eating is for state schools. In this last chapter of the MoCon Retrospective, let’s look back at what we actually did in the cylindrical dining hall where fun came to LIVE.

(In the style of those nostalgic Facebook groups about our childhood/the 90s. Because I’m lazy.)

Remember when…

…you first learned how announcements were made? You had just opened your mouth to take a bite, when you heard a strange rumble coming from all around you and suddenly your hands had a mind of their own and they were pounding the table until all was silent except for the sound of palm against heavy plastic. And maybe there was someone standing at the balcony railing announcing this or that, but more likely it was some frosh fool who naively thought they could get a good view of the people below and now stood there bewildered by the hundreds of eyes staring up in anticipation. And you looked around you to see who exactly was booing the innocent little lamb all the while thinking how great that it wasn’t you. You may have thought the cup-dropping was really douchey. You may have dropped a cup yourself.

Remember when…

…the boogie club (whatever happened to them?) danced around dressed up as giant vegetables? Xue Sun ’08 does!

Or when…

“[Anonymous stud 1] and myself [Anonymous stud 2] decided that Wesleyan underclassmen needed something a little bit exciting to wake them from their post Thursday night hangover.  We somehow convinced the MoCon staff to play a certain song from a certain CD that we provided.  We climbed to the top of the staircase, got everyone’s attention (another long lost wesleyan tradition) and proceeded to dance to this certain song.  Oh yah, and we were wearing nothing but trenchcoats and sunglasses.  Oh oh yeah, and the song was: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqR_SwwByMM .  When the chorus hit, we shed our trenchcoats and revealed two strapping young freshmen, dressed in nothing but their birthday suits and some strategically placed tube socks.  Half the audience immediately ran for the exits.  The other half laughed.” WOW.

… and do you remember the million other streakers dangerously close to our food?

Remember when…

… we borrowed our hallmates’ clothes for Foss Cross then partied hard in MoCon like we were in a J. Lo video? That may have been the last time I went to a party sober.

Remember when…

… we had Thanksgiving dinner at MoCon?! Xue‘s still better at this than me:  “you would sign up for a table beforehand with 9 of your friends. it either cost the same as a regular meal or maybe a little bit more, except on the night of the dinner you’d show up and be assigned a table number and all the tables had, like, tablecloths and decorations and shit. and after everyone was seated, mocon staff would bring your table AN ENTIRE FUCKING TURKEY. we are not talking about wimpy, anemic baby birds. these things were GIGANTIC. you’d also get all the thanksgiving fixin’s. there was also a tofurkey option, for what it’s worth. in any case, it was just so much food, and it was all so good! def not standard mocon cooking. they advertised it as having dinner with your “wesleyan family”, and as i remember it, they also recruited faculty to help carve the turkeys.”

Or even weirder…

… that time when there was some kind of Medieval Times-y thing going on with giant turkey legs and Ella Enchanted playing? Ha, I don’t! But it sounds fun. Love me some Anne Hathaway.

… how, for Halloween, they played the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (AHHH) and served us food made to look like body parts? It was kinda gross, but also amazing. Holidays at MoCon. Sigh.

Remember when…

… the SOC fashion show was held in MoCon instead of the hockey rink? I don’t know how far back this tradition went, but I really just wanted an excuse to post a pic of this hot girl. [Photo courtesy of Xue.]

Alums, do you remember when…

… “several attempts were made to make MoCon a sexy after-hours destination, including the use of the name ‘Club M-Con?'” I’m sure it was no Webster Hall, but I woulda gone to that! [Thanks, Anna Pinkert ’06!]

Maybe you even remember when…

… in prehistoric times, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Steppenwolf (yeah!), and lots of other big names played at MoCon? Sheesh, when I ate at MoCon I got excited if they just played the radio.

Do you also remember when…

… Joan Crawford, Gloria Steinem, and Martin Luther King, Jr. (not at the same time!) spoke at MoCon? I can’t even comprehend how amazing it would have been to see them in person, not to mention in the same place where I ate my dinner! [Read more about MoCon’s history here.]

Or do you not remember anything at all…

… because you toked and moked? I don’t engage in illegal activities, so I don’t know much about the marijuana usage in MoCon… BUT I’ve heard that it was popular with the kids to smoke a bit in their rooms and then come to MoCon to stuff their faces. This was called the Toke N’ Moke. I’ve also heard about people smoking from apple bongs right inside of MoCon. Oh, kids.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten something really noteworthy, but I’m exhausted from partying every day this week, may still be drunk, and have a terrible memory. Add your stories if you have them!!

Thanks for the memories, MoCon and 2010 seniors. It’s been fun.

Love,

Whatshername