Bryan Cole / The Collegian

Rumor has it that picking a flower from the rose garden warrants a fine at Fresno State. Turns out, the rumor has grown from a seed of untruth.

Ryan McCaughey, grounds manager at Fresno State, said there are no rules against picking any flowers on campus.

“Its become an urban legend,” McCaughey said. He has been working at the school for three years. “It’s not true at all. Students are highly encouraged not to pick the flowers, but it’s one of those rules that is hard to enforce.”

McCaughey said the gardens have been around since at least 1978. He also said people are most tempted to pick flowers from the rose gardens. The grounds workers started the rumor a long time ago to get people to not pick the flowers. The rumor has been passed on for years.

Fresno State sophomore Crystal Lanas has never picked a flower, but said she’s glad the fines are just a rumor. “If the rumor was true I would feel that getting fined for picking flowers is too extreme,” Lanas said.

Fresno State student Nou Her also said she had heard about fines for picking flowers in her freshman year, which was in 2006. “I’ve heard the rumor before. I’ve heard that it can cost you from $250 to $500,” Her said.

Ken Ternate, coordinator of Dog Days, said that the rumor may have come up when students are asking questions during the orientation. He said that the tours are informal and that students may have been passing the rumor on through hear-say. However, he said, “It’s not part of the training protocol.”

Although students are encouraged not to pick the flowers, there is a group that is allowed to pick the mums on campus. “There’s a group that comes and picks flowers the day after Halloween. It’s a Native American ritual and we let them pick them,” McCaughey said.

However, McCaughey said he hopes others continue to believe the rumor so that the flowers will flourish. “We never disproved the legend. Everyone assumed it’s true. It’s a good thing,” McCaughey said.