Continuing a tradition that dates back to to the late 1940s, Georgia Southern President Dr. Bruce Grube and his wife, Katherine, will be taking part in the school's annual watermelon cutting Tuesday morning.
"This is the continuation of a long, long tradition that stretches back to previous presidents when students and faculty grew food on campus for the people who lived and worked here," Grube said.
This year's watermelon cutting will begin at 10 a.m. on the Pedestrium near the Carruth Building.
"It's a great social event that pulls faculty and students together to enjoy sweet, ice cold watermelon on a hot July day," Grube said.
The tradition was started in 1948 by then-president Zach Henderson and has continued with each of his successors. This year will mark the ninth watermelon cutting Grube has participated in.
"There's a symbolic value of the president being seen as serving, which is what I ought to be doing," Grube said.
Grube said he's usually so busy chopping watermelons to count how many people show up. He guessed a few hundred will show up on Tuesday.
"Thankfully all 16,000 students don't all show up wanting watermelon," he joked.
While Grube will be doing the watermelon cutting on Tuesday, the cuttings will continue every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month of July.
"This is the continuation of a long, long tradition that stretches back to previous presidents when students and faculty grew food on campus for the people who lived and worked here," Grube said.
This year's watermelon cutting will begin at 10 a.m. on the Pedestrium near the Carruth Building.
"It's a great social event that pulls faculty and students together to enjoy sweet, ice cold watermelon on a hot July day," Grube said.
The tradition was started in 1948 by then-president Zach Henderson and has continued with each of his successors. This year will mark the ninth watermelon cutting Grube has participated in.
"There's a symbolic value of the president being seen as serving, which is what I ought to be doing," Grube said.
Grube said he's usually so busy chopping watermelons to count how many people show up. He guessed a few hundred will show up on Tuesday.
"Thankfully all 16,000 students don't all show up wanting watermelon," he joked.
While Grube will be doing the watermelon cutting on Tuesday, the cuttings will continue every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month of July.