Greetings from ✨ The CC Spill ✨
For the record, damn 🤣
Welcome to ✨ The CC Spill ✨ This newsletter attempts to fill the gaps, plug the leaks, and repaint the undercoat of the most (and least) talked about Colorado College myths, legends, and forgotten traditions on a weekly basis.
Uncovering the Myth: Our Llama is (or isn’t) Tripping 🍄
The annual Llamapalooza music festival was not always inside the Ed Robson Arena, as it was last year. In fact, we allegedly had a whole herd of llamas accompany students on the Worner Quad. Just kidding, but we did have llamas annually attend our Llamapalooza festival beginning in the early ‘90s. The myth in question: did a llama take acid?
A current Llamapalooza staff member had an idea of their own. When asked if one of the original llamas took acid, they responded with: “There defff was. Someone gave it acid so now we can’t ever bring them (llamas) back.”
I had no idea that actual llamas were even involved, and I had no idea that they are no longer involved because a llama allegedly took acid. But what does the rest of the student body think?
Student Addi Schwieterman ‘24: Someone gave the llama acid? I don’t know if it is true. I feel like it could be. I don’t think so. How would they even get the llama to take the acid?
Student Oliver Smith ‘25: Yea, I think it did. I don’t think it took it, I think someone sabotaged it. It was looking funny.
Student Grace Baer ‘25: I feel like there’s no way it took acid, I am not some expert on how acid works but like is it possible for a llama to even take acid? I guess sometimes bears get high on like psychoactive honey or whatever.
Before we get answers, here is a little backstory from an original founder of the festival, Marc Phillips ‘94.
The first Llamapalooza arrived at a time when ‘paloozas were in heat. Most notably, the inaugural 1991 Lollapalooza began as a touring event, but it now a renowned music festival held in Chicago. Marc Phillips and Andy Brown, along with some of their first-year dorm-mates, had a similar idea. “‘Paloozas were on everyone’s mind,” Phillips said. And so, Phillips and co. decided to “get a little thing together.”
Getting a “little thing together” is different for everyone, I guess . . . 😂
Without knowing it, the Llamapalooza festival was born at Colorado College. But it didn’t stop at just a music festival.
Phillips and dorm-mates took the event to another level: “You know what would really make it cool? If we actually had a llama,” Phillips said. The Colorado College Campus Association (CCCA), the student government at the time (where Brown was a member), was able to fund a $150 llama rental for first event in 1991. According to Phillips, the llama was a reoccurring tradition for multiple years.
Circling back: did a llama take acid?
“I will actively and confidently confirm that this never happened in the years that I was there,” Phillips said. “I don’t know what the heck happened after we weren’t there.” In fact, Phillips was unaware of this rumor in the first place.
In regard to the overall treatment of the llama, Phillips said this: “Certainly during our tenure there was no llama harassment (although one year someone did try to ride the llama). If anything, the llama was the harasser.” The llamas were apparently fond of spitting and giving nasty looks to festival-goers. “The llama wasn’t friendly,” Phillips said. (See here if considering a rental.)
All in all, there was no confirmation of a tripping llama during Phillips’ time as a CC student. But we will never know why the llama was so grumpy, why it was spitting on students, and why Colorado College stopped spending $150 per year on the rental fee.
If you want to bring a llama back, vote here 🦙.
Reading between the lie 🤐
Before Reading: One story is false, two are real. Please vote in the poll for which story is the lie. Good luck.
The Milker 🐮 : A first-year student living in Mathias purchased a cow for the CC farm right off Uintah St. According to an article in the ‘89 Catalyst, he wanted to milk the cow for personal use. The article referenced him as trying to achieve his goal of “the sustainable ideal.” Sadly, the cow walked out of the farm and onto the street instigating a car crash just two months after moving to CC. The cow was (fortunately) forced to be relocated after CC President Gresham Riley found out . . . Thankfully nobody was harmed in the crash, but the student probably went through some well-deserved bullying. (As a milk enthusiast, I would also love to meet this person.)
A Winterfest Hijack ❄️ : CC’s annual Winterfest festival celebrated at Crested Butte in the early 2010s resulted in a hijacked shuttle bus, according to a chaperone’s firsthand account. A CC student was able to drive away with the vehicle — assumably with other CC students in the bus — and left it slightly banged up after the joy ride. The chaperone riding in the sister shuttle overheard the dispatch on the driver’s radio: “You need to return that bus right away. You need to park that bus right now.” The bus was returned, and a searing article was left in the Catalyst in the following year. Damn . . . who’s excited for Winterfest this Spring 😂?
Homecoming feat. Pink-Eye 👁 : A Homecoming/Parents weekend went wrong after an outbreak of pink-eye consumed campus as well as alumni and parents. The culprit: the last rager to be seen under a big white tent on Tava Quad in 2019. As said, both students and adults were consumed by pink eye in the weeks after the event. A staff present observed the “rain” inside of the tent and identified it as “people sweat.” Activities such as climbing poles, pole dancing, grinding on alumni, and dance-floor snogs were all contributing factors to the spread of the infection, based on witnesses at the event. Please, stay safe from pink-eye. #WeSeeYou. #YouCantSeeUs.
Note: These are two anonymous submission about a real-life situations. If you have something you would like to share, please submit it here.
Dear campus 📝 ,
1)
One day I went to the bathroom during math class because I had to take a dump. Next thing I know, my shit is in the toilet along with one of my overall straps. Decided to take it like a champ and pull it out of the toilet and put it back on. I smelled them to make sure it wasn’t too obvious, and lucky for me it wasn’t. At least my overalls were brown and you couldn’t tell they were wet. A girls got to do what a girls got to do.
2)
My freshman year I was at Tony’s with friends. A classic CC Tuesday activity. I went out back to catch some fresh air, but the bartender thought I was getting into some funny business. She immediately asked me to leave the establishment. I wasn’t about to walk home alone so I lurked around avoiding the bar until some of my friends were ready to go. Unfortunately, she saw me still inside later that night, and I watched as her face turned red and steam (basically) came out of her ears in anger. She pointed at me and began to yell… Suddenly, she was coming around the bar and CHASING me out the door. I have never had to run so fast through SO many obstacles: lively pool games, pitchers of beer, those stupid tall chairs and tables. I made it out just in the knick of time and continued running up Tejon for the next few blocks before finally stopping to catch my breath. I hope you all enjoyed this story LOL.