The Indiana Memorial Union has always been an essential part of campus life, said Cheryl Crouch, assistant director of marketing for the Union.
The Union was founded in 1909 by student John Whittenberger, member of the class of 1911. The building that now houses the Union was finished in 1932.
“I’m an IU grad and now I’ve been working here for 26 years,” Crouch said. “IU and the Union are in my blood now.”
The IMU has 500,000 square feet of space and includes an auditorium, the Biddle Hotel, a bookstore and numerous restaurants.
“There’s so much going on in the Union all the time, and that really shows with the huge amount of traffic we get,” Crouch said. “We have 14,000 students coming through the Union every day. It’s a hub of activity for them.”
Some of the most popular destinations for students are the Sugar and Spice bakery, the Starbucks in the IMU Gallery, the bowling alley and the student computing lab, Crouch said.
“The Union is just a really good pit stop,” senior Steve Zahariadis said. “I can come in here to eat, I can come in here to study. If you don’t know where to go for an hour or two, there’s usually something you can do in the Union.”
The IMU also sponsors free events for students. The Union Board organizes free movie showings in the Whittenberger Auditorium. Their movie screenings are the longest-running film series in the country.
The IMU also offers “Late Nite” events 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every Friday.
“The Union events are a great way to meet some new people and have fun,” Union Board member Dayton Livingston said. “For me, it’s where I met a lot of the people who are my close friends now. It’s a place you can consider part of your home.”
The Circle Café on the ground floor of the Union was a new addition this year, Crouch said.
“That’s a little spot that people really seem to be enjoying,” Crouch said. “It certainly didn’t take students very long to find out where it is. And it’s a nice spot for our hotel guests to get breakfast if they’ve got an early morning.”
The IMU’s new executive director, Hank Walter, took office in July 2015 and is working on developing other new spaces and events for the Union, Crouch said.
“We want to focus on making the Union the ‘living room’ of campus,” Livingston said. “The union, by definition, is meant to be a place of unity, so we try to make it as welcoming and exciting for other students as we can.”
One of the lesser-known Union locations is the Memorial Room next to Alumni Hall, Crouch said. The room is dedicated to IU graduates who served in the armed forces, and holds a book of their names dating back to the War of 1812.
“It’s just a unique place to visit if you’ve never been there,” Crouch said. “Maybe it’s not the first destination that comes to mind, but it’s a part of our history worth checking out.”
The atmosphere of the Union creates an attractive space for students beyond its stores and events, Crouch said. The IMU’s lounges and artwork are features she said she enjoys.
“For me, and I think for a lot of other graduates, the Union brings back a lot of great memories,” Crouch said. “And students here now are in the process of making them. It can be a great place for experiences outside the classroom.”
