The wait is over for Indiana University Bloomington students. Since their disappearance in January, the bronze fish and water have returned to Showalter Fountain on Monday, leaving many students excited about their return.
The fish were previously removed in mid-January to protect them from potential theft ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship, leaving the fountain without its signature statues.
IU doctoral student Jerika Miller, who likes to have lunch at the fountain with their roommate, was disappointed in the fountain's emptiness.
“I’ve been waiting for it to come back,” Miller said. “I sat here a couple weeks ago but there was no water in it, so it wasn’t as fun.”
Miller, who sat at the fountain alongside other students, said there was a difference in the plaza since it was empty.
“The energy was definitely different too,” Miller said. “Nobody was really around.”
The tradition of stealing the Showalter fish started after the Indiana men’s basketball team played in the 1987 NCAA national championship, when one of the fish vanished after the team won.
Alongside protecting the fish this year, IU administered additional maintenance after their disappearance.
IU spokesperson Mark Bode confirmed the installation and maintenance in an email to the Indiana Daily Student on Tuesday.
“The fish returned yesterday,” Bode wrote. “Installation was followed by additional cleaning and waxing.”
In an email to the IDS on Jan. 14, Bode wrote the fish will return shortly, “hopefully with a win to celebrate.”
However, the fish had not yet returned three months later, with many seniors hoping to take commencement photos at the fountain disappointed with the fountain’s emptiness.
Now the fish sit in their rightful spot. The return is a relief for seniors like Zoie Ault, who postponed taking graduation photos until the fountain was functioning.
“I was kind of waiting 'til they put the water back,” Ault said. “My whole family’s gone to IU, and the Showalter Fountain’s been there the whole time, so it’s just really important and like a little piece of history for us.”
