A Roundup of Memorable Finals-Week Offerings

by Sala Levin ’10 | illustrations by Steffanie Espat ’15

As long as there are final exams, there will be students pulling all-nighters, consuming too much coffee and generally panicking. But many Terps claim the secret to acing a test is making an offering to Maryland’s real power player: Testudo. For decades, superstitious students have given gifts to the statue in front of McKeldin Library in hopes of summoning the terrapin’s mercy when they face finals.

Not everyone is a fan of the tradition. Many alums from years before the offerings became routine consider them merely trash. The typical assortment of snacks and cups left there does bear more than a passing resemblance to garbage, so UMD’s Facilities Management team stops at the statue two to four times a day to collect items, says Bob Pils, assistant director of building services. They even try to return the more notable objects to their rightful owners—as in the case of a couch that found its way to Testudo’s feet.

We asked alums to tell us about their most memorable presents to Testudo. Here are a few of our favorite responses, from the weird to the wild to the wistful:

Using artificial intelligence to impress Testudo:
“A sand-roving robot from an ENES100 final project. Hopefully he enjoyed his new toy.”—Mitchell Roberts ’19

Appealing to Testudo’s love for his fellow animals:
“My Betta fish.”

Because even terrapins sometimes crave junk food:
“A 20-ounce bottle of Diet Mountain Dew and a bag of barbecue Baked Lays potato chips—my fuel to get through finals period.”—Jeremy Rachlin ’02

Bringing the Down Under spirit to College Park:
“I played a didgeridoo for Testudo in spring 2000—no one thought it was weird.”—Eden Golshani ’03

Because Testudo could use all the international lucky pennies he can get:
“The only 1 Indian rupee coin that I had—I scored well in that exam.” —Shankar Reddy Ippala ’17

Channeling the calm of nature:
“A potted plant.”—Allen Kao ’16

Transporting Testudo somewhere warm and magical:
“A Hawaiian lei.”—Michael Waranch ’88

Because studies say classical music helps terrapins focus:
“A pen drive containing all my study music.”

Harnessing the power of Maryland’s favorite seasoning:
“The crab mallet and Old Bay sent to me when I was admitted to the university! I felt that Testudo deserved it to help me ace an important final exam.”—Alison Pastor ’14

Looking out for Testudo’s health:
“A bottle of hand sanitizer. It was flu season, and tradition’s tradition, but we should all be careful too!”—Mo Jiang ’17

Hoping Testudo will just take your exam for you:
“One of my lucky shoes and a copy of a study guide for my least favorite exam.”—Awnya Frazier ’09