Shoes clicked on the wood-paneled floor of Presidents Hall, tablecloths hung from tables and vases held colorful flowers. People filed into the room, chatting with one another about their pasts and presents, while the iconic Sample Gates stood beyond the back windows of the hall.
IU Student Government celebrated its 70th anniversary April 27 with a reunion of more than 85 IUSG alumni.
Reunions are held every 10 years, according to incoming student body president Isabel Mishkin.
The event-filled day started at 8 a.m. with a group breakfast and ended with a banquet and executive branch transition ceremony at 6 p.m. where the outgoing student body president spoke, and the incoming student body president took the oath of office.
The time in between was filled with panels, roundtables and discussions.
“This had been in the works for about a year, so seeing it come to fruition is wonderful and exciting,” said outgoing IUSG vice president Maggie Hopkins.
The first formal event of the day was a panel of former IUSG leaders. Speakers included Bloomberg reporter and former IUSG vice president Laura Litvan ,‘87, IU’s first female student body president Mary Grabianowski ,‘79, and former IUSG vice president and president Dena Rae Hancock ,‘92.
They reflected on the effect IUSG has on both the university and the individuals who participate in it.
Dick McKaig, former vice provost and dean of students, moderated the first panel. McKaig spent 38 years at IU and worked as the dean of students from 1991 to 2009.
“When I started at Indiana University, only birds tweeted,” he joked, reflecting briefly on his time working with IUSG.
Each of the panelists in the first event was a former executive member of IUSG, known as IUSA during their time in the organization. They went on to work in politics, education, journalism and philanthropy.
“IUSG has had a clear impact on the institution and on the people,” McKaig said.
Discussions continued throughout the day with former and current student leaders, ranging from mental health to initiatives addressing social, economic and environmental issues .
After spending the day reflecting and reminiscing, attendees concluded the reunion with a banquet and the executive branch transition ceremony, when Mishkin took the oath of office for the upcoming year.
Mishkin said if she was told her freshman year that she would be the bicentennial student body president, she wouldn't have believed it.
“I never thought my path would lead me here," she said.
Mishkin will act as the student body president for the 2019-20 school year.
