KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat A group of fraternity members hurl buckets of paint onto "A" Mountain Saturday morning as part of the traditional painting. Every year, members of the greek community gather on "A" Mountain to put a fresh coat of paint on the letter "A."

Blue Key and freshmen carry on UA tradition

A splash of red, white and blue brightened up "A" Mountain on Saturday morning, although the majority of paint was used to whitewash students who showed up for the "A" Day event.

Around 200 students, mostly freshman, continued the annual UA tradition of touching up the "A" on "A" Mountain before an early season home football game.

Upon arriving, 20 gallons of paint and 500 gallons of water were mixed into plastic buckets for groups of freshman to take up the mountain and dump on the "A."

For only the second time since the painting started in 1916, the "A" was painted red, white and blue to honor the United States as well as the UA.

The paint was donated, and the bus and water tank rentals cost $500.

Not all the paint survived the trip to the "A" on the top of the mountain.

"I think more paint got on people than it did on the mountain," said journalism freshman Blake Buchanan about the event organized by Blue Key National Honor Society.

In another annual event, Buchanan and psychology sophomore Nicole Hyatt were honored as "A" Day King and Queen before the Arizona-Oregon football game Saturday.

Blue Key chose the freshmen based on an application and interview.

The history of "A" Day and the mountain that the day is based on date back to a home football game in 1914.

The "A" was built following a huge Wildcat football victory over Pomona College , when students decided to build a 70- by-160 foot "A" out of rock and mortar and transport it to Sentinel Peak.

After the project was completed in 1916, the mountain immediately became known as "A" Mountain.

The tradition of painting "A" Mountain is not only significant to UA, but to the entire city of Tucson, according to Blue Key president Chelsea Good.

"This is something that the UA can give back to the community and show its pride," Good said. "You can see (the "A") from all of Tucson so it's a way for UA students to show the community their pride and appreciation to the city."

But even Good admitted that the tradition has formulated a split group, part serious and committed workers, and part freshmen looking to get messy because they missed out on Nickelodeon's "Double Dare" as children.

"The people at the bottom of the mountain were fighting with the paint and the people on the mountain were making sure the paint actually got on (the ÎA')," said undecided freshman Kim Bui.

Bui and other freshman said the event made them feel connected to the UA. Many freshmen learned "Bear Down" for the first time when student government president Doug Hartz taught them the song.

Others said they felt like a part of the UA family.

"I'm glad that UA has strong traditions that help us form these bonds and friendships," said political science freshman Sara Birnbaum. "We're forming roots with the UA."