Stepping on the millstones, which were delivered to Yale by oxen in the 1920s, is said to jinx a student's chances of graduating. The origins of the millstone lore are unknown. Larue Brion, master's assistant in Branford College, pointed out that decades ago, students were forbidden to walk on the courtyard grass and speculated that the prohibition extended to the millstones, creating the superstition. As with the millstone stories, the origins of most Yale superstitions are shady and unrecorded. Students may perpetuate a lot of stories and myths in the dorms, but they don't seem to go beyond the college walls.
Students agree that the tales are widespread and quickly passed on.
But I don't know who started it or even who told me. While most students say they are skeptical about the superstition, many admit to testing the truth of the folklore. Others write the superstitions off as pure fiction. Return to today's paper.