Campus clocks given playlist of songs

When Mike Crowe, director of IU facilities, began his search for large clocks to place on campus, he wanted to make sure the clocks would help students get to class on time. Giving those students a soundtrack was an added bonus.\nInstead of playing the traditional "Westminster chimes" at 15-minute intervals, the red, four-faced electronic clocks now play full songs at the beginning of every hour. Currently there are two clocks -- one outside of Woodburn Hall and another outside the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, and both were made by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati.\nShortly after Thanksgiving, Crowe approached Mark Ramsey, assistant University landscape architect, and suggested the clocks chime holiday songs at the top of every hour, in addition to the traditional chimes during the other 15-minute intervals. \n"I guess maybe I knew that (the clocks could play songs), and the others didn't," Crowe said.\nRamsey looked at the more than 100 songs the clock could play and sent a 20-song holiday \nplaylist to Director of Landscape Architecture Mia Williams for approval. \nCurrently, the clocks are rotating between 10 songs on a playlist called "Songs for a Stormy Day." Those songs include "Somewhere over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" and jazz favorite, "Stormy Weather."\nThe clocks have the ability to program new songs, and when the University adds two additional clocks, which it hopes to do by next year, all four clocks will be programmed to play "Indiana, Our Indiana," the IU fight song. \nThe new clocks will be installed in the Arboretum and on Third Street.\nThe clocks were purchased with the help of the classes of 1941, 1942, 1976 and the IU Foundation and fulfill a campaign promise from the IU Student Association of 2000-2001.\nCrowe originally met with members of IUSA in the summer of 2000.\n"Clocks that chimed were discussed at that time," he said, but it was not a criterion for their purchase. \nThough it has been less than a month since the clocks started playing songs, Ramsey said he has already received some feedback. \n"It's all been positive," Ramsey said. "I went out in person to hear them chime before Christmas, and I heard a group of students going on and on about them"