As students rushed to submit their final exams and projects by midnight last night, President Kevin J. Worthen saddled up for his bi-annual hunt of the duck pond’s prized mallard. Sources close to BYU’s 13th president confirm that this tradition has helped Kevin unwind from the pressures of work for many years.

“During finals week, Dad’s eyes start to glaze over a bit.” explains his son, “He pulls out an old longbow and polishes it obsessively. He fills up our bathtub late at night and practices duck calls crouched near it. Everything is to prepare for the hunt.”

According to one BYU historian, the duck pond South of campus has been hunted by university presidents for over a century:

“Legend has it that Karl G. Maeser began the tradition when, after a long night of grading finals, he went on a midnight stroll to relax. While walking near the pond, one duck disturbed his peace with its incessant squawking. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Maeser rode home on his horse that second, grabbed a bow, and hunted the bird down.”

With another semester of finals complete, the historian is not surprised to hear that the hunt is on once more. President Worthen was last spotted in a tree near the pond, bow drawn and covered in war paint.