Title: Lucky Tracksuit & Neon Sneakers
General Information about Item:
- Ritual
- English
- United States
Informant Data:
- Stas Van Genderen was born on April 15th, 1999 in Moscow, Russia. His family currently resides in Cape Coral, Florida. He is a ’21 at Dartmouth studying Economics. Stas would love to pursue a career in finance. He is both very spiritual and superstitious.
Contextual Data:
Social Context:
- The data was collected in person in the Jones Media Center. Paul asked Stas if he had any pre-exam superstitions or rituals and gave him a minute to think before responding. Stas started wearing Adidas gear prior to all exams his first week at Dartmouth. He noticed other athletes that did that, so he wanted to mimic their behavior to create success for himself.
Cultural Context:
- The cultural context of this folklore reflects the competitive atmosphere of Dartmouth college, where every grade impacts as student’s GPA. Students at an Ivy League do not just try to succeed in their classes, but to outperform their peers. As a result of this high stress environment, students may turn to superstitions or ritual to lessen the pressure.
Item:
- Stas claimed to be a very superstitious person. He is currently ranked second in the state of Florida for the 500 freestyle for his age group. Ever since he was little, his club team wore Adidas gear at all swim competitions. So, at Dartmouth, he wanted to transfer his success in the pool to success in the classroom. He now wears an Adidas tracksuit and neon green sneakers for all exams.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
Before every exam I dress in full Adidas gear — full track suit… I had [an exam] today in Russian… I think it went pretty well… I have full Adidas gear and that means it’s always going to work… it has to be the green shoes, some form of Adidas sweats, and then an Adidas jacket.
Collector’s Comments:
- Stas’s lucky Adidas gear represents a modern form of contagious magic. By wearing swim gear during exams, he attempts to transfer his success in athletics to success in academics. This item is considered folklore because he learned about this charm from other Dartmouth students on his swim team who also have lucky gear.
Collector’s Name: Jamir Pleitez
Tags/Keywords: Physical Charm. Contagious Magic. Superstition.