Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

Page 11 text:

Romance has been a big part of I.U. tradition over the years. In the 1930's couples often strolled along an old boardwalk that led from near the Student Building Know the UGLQ to old sorority row, where Ballantine now stands. A boy and girl of the 40's might spend an entire evening in the old Sunken Carden, which was fondly dubbed i'The Passion Pit. Today, however, most of the old romantic haunts are only pleasant memories. Perhaps the only struc- ture that has stood the test of time is the Well House. Because of its strategic location, the Well House has for 59 years avoided the advance of building construction. But the student of 1967 more likely than not knows little of the complete history and tradition of the fabled octagon. Most fraternity pledges soon learn that it is shaped in the form of a Beta pin. and nearly everyone on campus knows 'isomething about a girl becoming a coed if she's kissed in the XVell House at eleven . . . or is it midnight? Theodore Bose. '75, an alumnus of Beta Theta Pi, donated the building to the University in 1908. The portals were taken from the Old College Build- ing, and the shape of the eight-sided structure corresponded to its donor's fraternity pin. The coed tradition says that a girl is not an official I.U. coed until she has been kissed in the YVell House by an upperclassman du1'ing the 12 strokes of midnight Cnoon doesn't countj from the nearby hell tower in the UCL. How this tradi- tion came about is not certain. It probably sprang from the mind of an ingenious upperclassman, but some say it originated with Beta actives, who, after presenting their girlfriends with pins or engage- ment rings, kissed them in the Well House. Years ago, when coeds had to be in by ll p.m. on weekends, a girl had to stay out more than an hour past her eurfew to enjoy the tradition. It's doubtful that many modern day coeds would ac- cumulate 60 minutes of pink slip time for any tradi- tion-except maybe- on Little 500 weekend. Since the installation of artificial lighting in the lVell House in 1959, interest in its tradition has diminished somewhat. Today, even though the lights are no longer there, students simply don't have time to pay lip service to 50- or 60-year-old traditions. The I.U. student of today rarely gets closer to enjoying romantic tradition than sitting on a park bench with his sweetheart. i .Ah 's S... n'-JS I 3 'f 1 . . .., s, A M' ' Y wr. 'iii ., ' 'I . 4' . X 1. !f , ' t' ,pk 'N gp ls.

Page 13 text:

Adam and Eve started the dating game a few years back. Today the tradition lingers on as a full- time sport in Bloomington, Indiana-second only to Hoosier Hysterian in its power to arouse mass emotion. Everybody plays . . . even freshmen. The keenest competitors are on the prowl . . . studying chemis- try: LAVALIER -1- persuasion : PIN -+- more persuasion : ENGAGEMENT RING. fWatch out, jack, the next reaction yields wedding bellslj Most, however, keep their cools and date around. Study- ing Cuntil 101 with Bob, the tall-dark-and-handsome junior across the quad. Calling Mike, the rugged He-man fbuilt like a Marlboro cowboyj, who took you to the Delt street dance and hasn't called since. Avoiding Harold, the persistent hometowner who waits outside Lindley for you on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He's so immature! I wish Bill would call. He hasn't asked me out since I sent him the birthday card-the one with the dove on the front and the poem I wrote on the inside. fm Flaissmn 1 :T1:i'E IX Ci The dating games most ambitious rookies even- tually adjust, becoming stable old pros. Looking back on the short-lived romances of his early years, the senior of 21 or 22 can manage a wry smile- wondering how he ever could have been so friv- olousland naive to believe in love at first sight. The majority of the dating game's young adults are then ready to retire from active competition and settle down to married life, grad school, a steady job, or a military obligation. Young mothers and youthful executives finally appreciate, in their fleeting free moments of rec- ollection, the romantic tradition of college life. For behind the artificial role-playing of the dat- ing game lie the lasting memories and experiences -the night a couple were actually old-fashioned enough to become pinned in the Well House or the time the Sigma Ghi's gave a brother a just- engaged clunking in the jordan during january- that combine to spark pangs of sentimentality when boy meets girl.