Night of the Living Red

Halloween, the day we all hold so close to our hearts for whatever reason. Whether it is the candy, the costumes or just getting together with friends, students at IU keep these festivities going all through the week. With local families and schools coming to campus to participate in various “Halloween Open House” events hosted by many residence centers and select Greek houses on campus. In addition to the community outreach efforts, the IU men’s basketball team hosted their own event, “Night of the Living Red.”

 Every year, the IU men’s basketball team looks for creative new ways to get the student body, and local faculty and residents, involved with the program before the season officially begins. This year, IU Coach Tom Crean and his team decided to host a Halloween themed night with tailgating, pep band, trick or treating and games.

In addition to bonding with the student body and local community, the basketball program is also proud of their newly completed practice facility, Cook Hall. This sprawling facility located on the southeast corner of Assembly Hall offers the team ample space to practice throughout the year. An impressive addition to Indiana University, the team is proud to introduce the new facility to the students and public during this event. Interested fans were allowed access to the Pfau-Shine Legacy Court to shoot around before the scrimmage game began.

At 8 PM, the Hoosier basketball team took to the court for the Cream and Crimson scrimmage. An unofficial game between members of the men’s basketball team that gave players the opportunity to get on the court in front of real fans before their season begins on November 12. And with plenty of energy from the fans and referees, the event offered fans a taste of what they can expect from the team this coming season.

The Colors of Fall

With the weather finally starting to feel like Fall, the colors around campus have become even more beautiful. Fall at Indiana University is undeniably the most beautiful season in terms of colors and weather. With warm, summer-like days still jumping into the forecast here and there, traveling to classes throughout the day can sometimes necessitate a wardrobe change as chilly temperatures start off the day and bright sunshine heats up the mid-day commute.

The Fall colors are especially vibrant throughout the oldest parts of campus, blanketing the grassy common areas around the Indiana Memorial Union’s south side. Students flock to this area during their down time between classes to finish last minute homework, grab a bite to eat or simply catch up on current events. Whatever the reason, this beautifully aged area of campus is rich in history and character, both of which are accentuated by the incredible colors raining down from above.

For most students, the ability to sit comfortably outside during the day is hit or miss this time of year. During the early part of the Fall semester, temperatures often create an unpleasantly warm environment, and the final weeks of the semester have been known to bring snow. Many students, especially upperclassmen, know this cycle all too well and take advantage of the Fall season to enjoy the fresh air. Early this semester Indiana University invested in high quality outdoor furniture at the Memorial Union and the newly constructed Informatics courtyard (10^th & Woodlawn). Benches, chairs and tables/umbrellas provide comfortable outdoor areas for students to relax with plenty of room for their books or computers.

It seems like it happens overnight at times, but yet again Fall is here. For new and prospective students, this is the perfect time to explore campus. While beautiful year-round, Bloomington really comes alive with its impressive color palette, unlike any other campus you’ve toured. For the more experienced students, be sure to get out and enjoy the last year weeks before sweaters and jackets become a necessity more so than a fashion statement. No matter who you are, get out and enjoy the beautiful sights and smells of Fall at Indiana University before they disappear until next year.

2010 Homecoming Parade

With the IU campus showing its fall colors, students, families and alumni gathered on the IU campus this weekend for various Homecoming events. Starting at 5:30 PM on Friday, the 2010 Homecoming Parade wound through the main thoroughfares of Campus. With both Third Street and Indiana Avenue closed, spectators lined the curbs to cheer on a various student organizations, clubs, sports teams, alumni, faculty, administrators and members of the Armed Services and surrounding police/fire/EMS departments.

With the excitement of Saturday’s game against Arkansas State on the minds of many, the overwhelming theme of the parade was made clear by the thunderous roar of the Marching Hundred as they made their way down Indiana Avenue, proudly announcing IU’s dominant goals for the next day’s game.

As nearly all of the official Homecoming events of this weekend were sponsored by the IU Alumni Association and the IU Student Alumni Association, the Alumni Foundations’ float was a prominent fixture in this year’s parade. Gleaming with signs, large cutout heads and advertisements for this year’s homecoming theme “Then and Now.”

With the enthusiastic support of current and past IU students, this year’s Homecoming parade was a warm welcome to a week of excitement filled sports and activities.

A New Take on Campus Housing

Being a new student on the IU campus is undoubtedly exciting, with a certain level of apprehension for what living conditions will truly be like in the residence halls. Whether you are assigned a random roommate or negotiate a deal with one of your best friend forever, no one can accurately describe exactly what living on campus for the first time will be like. As any past or current student will tell you, certain residence halls are more accommodating than others in terms of amenities and space. For instance, some residence halls have air conditioning, elevators, formal study lounges, recreation areas and even convenience stores. Others have only a select few of these amenities, but offer a more communal living environment where residents bond and participate more heavily in thematic events.

After living on campus for the first year, many students begin wishing for a little more personal space, whether it be a bigger room or simply their own bathroom facilities. And in years past, the typical remedy for this desire was to move off campus into a house or apartment. For many, this is the way it was meant to be, no more community showers, your own bedroom, a personal washer and dryer, and of course a kitchen…But for most, these amenities would be greatly appreciated on campus more so than off campus.

Although it has been a long time coming, there is finally an alternative to cramped, shared facility, on-campus housing. This fall marked the opening of Union Street Center, the newest addition to the residence hall community at IU. With enthusiasm and anticipation for this new on-campus housing option, many students waited anxiously for registration to begin early in the spring 2010 semester. This excitement is a clear indication of how most students view living on campus at Indiana University. With spacious living accommodations for 1 to 4 persons, the apartments feature private bathrooms, individual sinks, full kitchens, high-efficiency washers and dryers and individual bedrooms ranging from 130 to 170 square feet. The sprawling complex also provides students with ample green space, bike racks, and walking paths to navigate to and from all 7 residential buildings. And while located on the Southeast edge of campus, walking distances a reasonably short to nearly all major classroom buildings.

Living at the heart of IU is a pleasant experience that enables easy, open collaboration with other students and faculty throughout the semester(s), immersion within countless cultural and academic events, and close proximity to classes. And with buses running around campus and to various places throughout Bloomington, IU essentially becomes a transportation hub for students. Whether going to class, the mall or meeting up with friends that live off campus, the transportation options are seemingly endless both in regards to hours of operation and route/destination.

If You Feed Them, They Will Come!!!

This past Thursday marked the first official community-wide event for Indiana University’s newest Residential Complex, Union Street Center. With music playing and the smell of food in the air, it was not surprising to see such a large crowd waiting to be served an early dinner in the north courtyard.

While attendance at earlier community based events during welcome week was meager at best, the enticing advertisement of a hog roast and various sides, along with a beautiful fall afternoon, yielded an impressive turnout for a residential facility of more than 800 returning students.

With food being served from 6-8 PM, residents were given plenty opportunity to surrender the privacy of their brand new apartments and explore the diverse student body that lives around them. 

 Chairs and tables provided an intuitive location for friends and neighbors to mingle while enjoying the evenings feast.With the official completion date for Union Street Center quickly approaching (October 26), this first community activity was an impressive showing of the enthusiasm returning students have for this brand new facility. And with the incredibly enthusiastic attendance this event attracted, I would not be surprised if others are already being planned.