Painted Jordan Avenue bridges steeped in IU tradition

Three years ago, former IU student Jody Courter was out on a walk with her boyfriend. To her, it was just like any typical walk around campus -- the typical traffic and typical sights. \nBut one aspect of this walk would be a little more out of the ordinary.\nWhen Courer came to one of the bridges on Jordan, she didn't find the typical graffiti about rush or sports event information.\nInstead, Courter read, "Will you marry me?"\nThree years later, they're still married.\nThis instance may have been a little more out of the ordinary, but graffiti on bridges at IU has become something it isn't anywhere else -- typical.\nFor as long as anyone can remember, the bridges on Jordan that lie in the heart of IU have featured an assortment of spray-painted messages. Ranging from happy birthday wishes to welcome signs for new sports recruits, the bridges have become just as large a part of IU tradition and folklore as anything else on campus.\n"Those bridges have been painted for as long as I can remember," said Dean of Students Richard McKaig, who's been at the University since 1971. "I've always suspected that those bridges may be held up more by the paint than the original cement underneath it."\nPerhaps the most unique aspect of the bridges may not be in what they say, but the freedom they symbolize. At a place where rules await students around every turn, the art pallets that line Jordan Avenue are bound by nothing more than an unwritten code of ethics to which students hold each other, said former Interfraternity Council President and bridge painter Evan Waldman.\n"They are one of the few things on campus without any rules," Waldman said. "It boils down to how mature you can be and how much respect you can show for the others that have painted it before."\nFor many of IU's fraternities and sororities, the bridges have become as much a part of the Greek tradition as theme parties. The houses will gather up a band of brothers or sisters and head out in the wee hours of the night to partake in the painting.\n"It is great for publicity, but at the same time there is just a certain significance to those bridges," said senior and former Zeta Tau Alpha President Teeda Suwannetr. "The idea is just a huge tradition here."\nAs for the longevity of a message on the bridge, it is certainly not as long-lasting as the tradition as a whole. The turnaround for the bridge tends to be around two days, Suwannetr said. The two day code seems to stand true for the most part, but every so often a group may breech the unwritten contract and paint over the bridge shortly after another group did the same. This tends to be the only complaint that involves the bridges besides painting areas outside the bridge, McKaig said.\nThe bridges have been a staple of IU life for countless years past, and some say that their chances of remaining that way are more set in the stone than painted on it.\n-- Contact senior writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.