Oh, there is all kind of hokey-wacky stuff out there:

The Waving of the Wheat at KU basketball games, taking a good luck sip of water from The Old Well on the first day of classes at UNC, the Hoop Roll at Wheaton, reserved for graduating seniors. There is Black Cat at Agnus Scott College, "which dates back to 1915. That's a weeklong celebration and welcome into the Agnes Scott world that begins with a midnight bell ringing and rush to decorate the quad, and ends with a formal Black Cat Ball."

There's "Hello Walk" at the University of Idaho, "where former University of Idaho President Alfred Upham greeted everyone while walking from his house to the Administration Building every day, and even made the greeting mandatory.  On this pathway, many students continue the tradition."

"There's Dooley!" If you hear that during Dooley's Week at Emory University, and Dooley (seen in picture), Emory's unofficial mascot appears at your classroom door, you just got a free pass out of class. Class dismissed!

At Rollins College, "each year the President surprises students with a special Fox Day. On this day, the President places a fox statue on the lawn, and cancels classes for the day so that students can spend the day doing things as a college."

Concordia College has their beanies: "Freshman beanies have been a tradition at Concordia since 1922, when the sophomore class originated the wearing of green headgear. Each August, freshmen don "golden domes" during Orientation. Transfer students also receive beanies, adding a few maroon domes to the abundance of golden ones."

And there are the secret societies, this, from the UVA website:

"Many secret ribbon and ring societies have been established at the University of Virginia, including the Seven Society, IMPs, Zs, 21, Thirteen, P.U.M.P.K.I.N., T.I.L.K.A., Rotunda Burning, Purple Shadows, and Eli Banana. Members are selected or 'tapped' based on the preference of current members of each society."

Cornell University has the mysterious Sphinx Head and Quill and Dagger.

From Wikipedia: "The College of William & Mary is home to the first known secret collegiate society in the United States, the F.H.C. Society, founded in 1750. The initials of the society stand for a Latin phrase, likely "Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio" or "Fraternitas Humanitas Cognitioque" but it has long been publicly nicknamed the 'Flat Hat Club'." Thomas Jefferson was a member of this secret society.

Yalies have Chi Delta Theta and Skull and Bones. This is a page from Yale's 1920 yearbook:

At many schools, old timey traditions and societies help bond students together. These are the essential societal glues that enhance the college experience and create arcing sparks of connectivity.