What Would Fr. Shea Do?: A Celebration of the “Walking JUG” Centennial

*Some former student names redacted for security reasons. The fear of JUG is still alive.

Fr. Arthur V. Shea, SJ conducted the first “Walking JUG” at Rose Hill in 1921.

The 2021-22 school year marks the 100th anniversary of the “Walking JUG,” which was former Prep Prefect (Dean of Students) and Athletic Director Fr. Shea, SJ’s personal touch on this Jesuit form of detention. 

The term JUG comes from the Latin sub jugum, meaning “under a burden.” Many Catholic school students also refer to JUG as Justice Under God.

Hall of Honor inductee Fr. Shea (1895-1979) worked at Fordham Prep from 1920-1924, taking a break to focus on his theological studies before returning to the school in 1931 until 1965. The September 19, 1921 entry in Fr. Shea's Prefect of Discipline Diary details his first time trying the “Walking JUG” with students as he writes,“[...] they walk path for space of fifty yards and return by same path. Usual time: one hour. If any disorder, offender’s time begins again when disorder ends. First day, 20 present. Many spectators.” The “path” referenced in his diary entry is the space between Hughes and Dealy Halls.

Fr. Shea’s “Walking JUG” continued on well after his time at the Prep. “Walking JUG” still takes place today in areas at Rose Hill such as Eddie’s Parade and Mentor’s Court.

Walking JUG during the 1950-51 school year.

Variations of “Walking JUG” have included other elements, such as trash cleanup, and carrying heavy buckets, which make the walk more difficult. Keeping track of 20 students during JUG might be challenging, but what happens when an entire grade level of students gets in trouble with the dean? 

“The best JUG I ever ran was the entire senior class from 2009,” remembers Dean of Students Steven Pettus. “They wouldn’t stop clapping at Mass. I brought them all back to the Leonard  Theatre after school and called each and every one of their names and made them clap just as enthusiastically for all 250 plus students,” he continued.

If you’ve ever made the mistake of clapping your hands too hard to the point of stinging, you’ll know that doing so 250 times wouldn’t be very pleasant. However, an alumnus who endured this form of JUG thought otherwise.

“We were there for like two hours,” recalled a 2009 Prep graduate. “It kind of backfired because we were having way too much fun.”

If Fr. Shea had witnessed the non-stop clapping during Mass, what would he have proposed for JUG? Would he have stopped their JUG session in the theatre if he realized the clapping punishment failed to burden the students in true jugum fashion?

Students in Walking JUG on Mentor’s Court during the 2003-04 school year.

Interestingly, Fordham Prep students had an affinity for organized chaos during schoolwide Masses in the Fordham University Church. Many former students remember singing “City of God” during Mass, which was phased out after efforts to control their enthusiasm for the song failed. Even an alumni parent from the classes of 2011 and 2015 remembers the song and the end of its tradition.

Assistant Dean John Mercorella ‘07 stated that students would “sing, clap, and stomp, but more so bang their feet on the pews” during “City of God” at the end of Mass.

“[The song] was a real favorite of our boys,” Dean Pettus said. “They did not stomp during the chorus but rather banged on the pews in front of them. Dr. Martin Carney [from Religious Studies and Campus Ministry] and I had attempted over the years to at least share this tradition with our seniors. We have in the past actually kept the seniors after Mass had ended and taught them the song. My understanding is the song was removed from the rotation a number of years ago by the group that plans our Masses. None of the boys currently at the Prep have ever heard that song at our Masses. Nobody has ever received JUG for singing that song during my 26 years at the Prep,” he added.

While Dean Pettus did not recall any stomping during the chorus of “City of God,” a student from the class of 2015 remembers being told not to stomp. “But it was not easy to stop so many students stomping,” he noted.

A student from the class of 2007 remembers that Prep deans and former Principal Robert Gomprecht '65 expressed concern over the stomping. He does not recall banging on the pews of the 170-year-old church himself, though.

“I wouldn’t say they were damaging the pews,” said Dr. Carney when asked if their concern was due to the possible destruction of university property. “It was a great song and I wish we could have redirected the energy to clapping instead of banning it altogether.”

A student from the class of 2015 remembers singing the song for the final time during the 2014-15 school year. 

“The university did express concern to us and the Liturgy Committee discussed it at length before deciding they would no longer use the song. They felt that the students' behavior was becoming disruptive rather than joyful and prayerful,” said Vice President for Mission Integration & Planning Brian Carney.

Prep Archivist Louis Digiorno ‘88 remembers the university expressing concerns about unrelated matters, but did not comment on the “City of God” tradition specifically.

Would Fr. Shea have banned the song from Mass, or would he have found a way to control the entire school’s enthusiasm with some form of JUG?

A display celebrating the centennial of Fr. Shea’s “Walking JUG” is on view at Fordham Prep until January 2023.

While we may never know, Fr. Shea’s legacy lives on at Fordham Prep. A display marking the centennial of Fr. Shea's becoming prefect, or dean, is set up in Rowen Lobby until January 2023. It features a free-standing, old-school Jesuit cassock on a mannequin. Be sure to check out the display during upcoming events at Fordham Prep.

Read Fr. Shea’s Hall of Honor biography.