Beanbag chairs to blinking lights

For the past five years, IU has been encouraging its new freshmen to go late-night shopping as a part of their introduction to Bloomington. So much so, they provide free shuttle buses to the store of choice.\nMidnight Madness, held Friday night at Wal-Mart on State Road 45, was started as a marketing idea to increase visibility for the Wal-Mart store located on the far west side of Bloomington, a little farther than most students would care to walk. \nSince its inception, Midnight Madness has turned into one of the biggest social events for freshman Welcome Week, and a welcomed tradition in the Bloomington community. \nStarting at 10:45 p.m., students eager to spend money lined up at bus stops around campus to catch the shuttles to Wal-Mart. The event is so popular that some students had to wait hours to fit onto a shuttle.\nMany students at the bus stops were going to Midnight Madness just to see who else was going. \n"It took over an hour to catch the bus," freshman Melissa Roth said. "People were jumping into the street to stop the bus."\nFreshmen Jessica Ditzler and Melissa Jaeger had not planned on doing extensive shopping during the event. "We really don't need anything in particular," Ditzler said. "We're going for twinkle lights and Mountain Dew."\nJaeger said she and Ditzler followed the crowd to the bus strictly for social purposes.\n"Our friends were going, and we thought it would be fun," she said.\nOnce off the bus and into Wal-Mart, the scene was utter chaos. Thousands of anxious students packed the aisles front to rear, buying everything from beanbag chairs to bleach.\nDavid Combs, the store manager, said the annual event is enjoyable for him. \n"It's a whole lot of fun, the associates get very excited," he said.\nThough some think Midnight Madness is exclusively open to students, the store is actually open 24 hours, and is still open to the public during the event. Combs said most Bloomington residents ask when Midnight Madness will happen so they can prepare in advance. \n"The community seems to know the night (Midnight Madness) is, and they stay away," Combs said.\nMidnight Madness doesn't just attract freshmen. Some older students also took advantage of the opportunity to cram into Wal-Mart. \nSophomore Lonnie Tate came back because of the low prices on many items. "Everyone who can come to this should," Tate said.\nSophomore Tiffany Ferrell enjoyed watching the freshmen at work. "It was great," Ferrell said. "It's good to see all the freshmen, and it's a good start to the year."\nThe Wal-Mart associates also seemed to enjoy the madness. Associate Sean Montgomery said that it's good fun and good business. \n"In two hours, they can do almost a half day's sales," Montgomery said. "I've enjoyed it greatly, and it seems (the students) enjoy it too"