Hey guys!
We’re right in the middle of the spring semester and midterms are on the way! College students everywhere are currently prepping for their exams, studying hard, and yes, losing sleep. But in a couple more weeks, spring break will be here, and with it, some beautiful weather to accompany the rest of the semester!
Over the last month, fighting both my homework load and the cold weather, I haven’t had much time to write any blog posts about my time in Iowa. I ran into the spring semester headfirst, dove deep into my workload, and the most exciting part became a tour guide for the university! For those of you who plan on visiting the University of Iowa over the next three years, maybe I’ll have the privilege of showing you around!
However, during my training, I came across a handful of fun facts about the university which I wanted to write a short blog post about. There’s a lot of history around the university, and I don’t know about you, but the best facts are the most outrageous ones! Those are the ones I’m going to be listing off for you today, so let’s get started!
Joe’s Fan Club
The University of Iowa has over 500 student organizations. However, if there isn’t a club for you, you can make one! That is exactly how Joe’s Fan Club came to be.
A few years back, a student named Joe wanted to make more friends around campus. So, he created his own fan club! Every week, members would make presentations, go on field trips to his favorite places, and on his birthday, they had a massive celebration! Unfortunately, Joe’s Fan Club doesn’t exist anymore, but maybe we can start an Elana’s Fan Club in its place!
Hot Tub Bachelor Night
The University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center is ranked 3rd in the country. Inside, there is a lazy river, pool, and a hot tub right at the very front of the building. When you go inside the pool area, you’ll see a massive TV screen on the wall, and every Monday night, a group of girls watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette in the hot tub. It fits 25 people, so if you and 24 of your closest friends like reality TV, I’d definitely consider watching it from the comfort of a hot tub!
Secret Tunnels
If you live in one of our east side dorms including Daum, Burge, Stanley, or Currier, you may get the opportunity to walk through the secret tunnels connecting them! There is a tunnel between Daum, and Burge called the Bunnel (no idea how it got this name, but it stuck!) and a tunnel between Stanley and Currier called the Stunnel (again, not sure why it’s called this). These are really nice when you’re trying to move between buildings in the winter and you don’t want to brave the cold. Not too many people know they exist, and for those of you who are really into aesthetic Instagram pictures, I’d DEFINITELY recommend going down there if you want to spice up your social media game!
The Shape of the Lindquist Center
The Lindquist Center is home to our College of Education here in Iowa and if you look at it from a bird’s eye view, you’d find the shape very odd. It’s a bit all over; the sides are bumpy, it consists of two different buildings, and the inside is, quite literally, a maze. When the center was being designed, designers decided they wanted the building that our future teachers would be learning out of to reflect their teaching styles. They wanted our teachers to think outside the box, so they made the building to reflect this way of thinking!
Molly’s Cupcakes
The University of Iowa is considered one of the best college cities because of its downtown scene. Right at the very front of the area is a light blue shop with an orange awning. This is Molly’s Cupcakes, and it won the very first Cupcake Wars on Netflix! Also, if it’s your birthday, they’ll give you half-off cupcakes. If you’re in town, definitely check them out!
The Airliner
Right next door to Molly’s Cupcakes is a restaurant called the Airliner. Today, the Airliner is famous for its 1$ pizza slices on Sundays, but another fun fact about Airliner has to do with a famous actor, Ashton Kutcher. Back in the day, Ashton Kutcher came to the University of Iowa as a Computer Science major. One night, he and his friends went to go get pizza at Airliner and that is how he was discovered by a modeling agent. Kutcher’s story gives me hope that, even though I moved from New York to Iowa, there’s still hope for my dream modeling job to eventually become a reality. Not sure how cute I look eating pizza, but I’ll be sure to practice on Sunday nights when I’m eating my dollar slice!
Filming Friends on Campus
The title is a bit misleading since there was only one scene filmed in Iowa, but it includes our Office of Admissions located in Calvin Hall. It’s only a quick shot of the outside, meant to represent Chandler and Ross’s dorm room, but it’s still something students love to remind one another of. Check out season 10 episode 11 if you want to get a glimpse!
There are so many fun (and weird!) facts about the University of Iowa, but these are just a few of the favorites that I know really pique people’s interest while I’m giving tours. I hope you enjoyed them too and maybe one day, I’ll get to give you those facts in person!!!
