Clemson students showed up ready to jump. Clemson University police showed up ready to stop them.

The Big Jump, organized through the Instagram account @thebigjump2026, called on students to gather at the Reflection Pond in front of Cooper Library for a mass leap into the water. Organizer Thomas Holstein said he and a friend launched the account on a whim with no idea how many people would actually respond.

“A buddy of mine and I started the Instagram as a fun gag just to see what would happen and couldn’t believe how many people actually showed up,” Holstein said.

But when the group arrived at the pond, they were met not by a crowd of eager jumpers, but by University facilities staff and about five police officers stationed around the water. Organizers were quickly warned of the consequences of going through with the event.

“They came up to us and said something along the lines of ‘if you jump in the pond it’s considered trespassing,’ which would technically give them the right to put whoever jumps in the Reflection Pond in custody,” Holstein said.

That was enough to shut things down before they ever started.

Holstein said the group was disappointed, but not done. He hinted that bigger plans are already in the works, though he’s keeping the details quiet for now.

“While things didn’t work out the way we wanted them to, we are definitely thinking of bigger things to come,” he said. “(Everyone who) reads The Tiger can keep up with what’s next on our Instagram @thebigjump2026.”

For now, the Reflection Pond is empty of both water and students, but if The Big Jump has anything to say about it, that might not last for long.