Dragon Day - The Theatre, Film, and Dance Knight

The Theatre, Film, and Dance Knight

Not to be confused with the Engineer Knight of 1988, in Spring 2011, students from Cornell's Theatre Film and Dance Program constructed a large Knight-like figure, brandishing a pole-arm. The students pulled this Knight into Ho Plaza with state intention of "slaying the dragon" but were asked to kindly step to the side as the dragon passed through the square. The Theatre students complied, but then resorted to heckling the architects and chanting in protest of budget cuts within the Theatre, Film, and Dance departments. The 2011 Knight's final showing was a dramatic traversing of the Arts Quad, where the students alternated between chanting clever quips and singing "We Shall Overcome."

In Spring 2012, the Knight returned to the scene of Dragon day, this time as a grim horseman. Once again on a moveable platform pulled by ropes, the Knight was quickly maneuvered into place, this time on the grass next to Annabel Taylor Chapel. The Theatre students then proceeded to play Theatre warmups, make references to past productions, and once more rekindling the protestation of the Theatre program's budget cuts. One such chant was a play on the nursery song, "If You're Happy and You Know it":

"If your program has a budget, clap your hands!" To which all of the students (save a solitary Math major) would not respond to with clapping, but instead with sounds of disappointment. Also as with the previous year, the TFD students continually heckled the architects, but this time included the engineers as well. "Hey Phoenix! Get a Job! You look like a chicken!" were a few jeers gestured towards the phoenix that the Engineering students were constructing across the street.