June 2012
63 posts
Send me any ideas you have! They can be specific to IU, or just college in general. I’d love to know what’s on YOUR bucket list!
9 tags
#61. Attend the PRIDE film festival
Bloomington’s PRIDE film festival is a week-long program hosted each year by the Buskirk-Chumley theater. PRIDE is a celebration of LGBTQ culture and community, as well as artistic talent and diversity. Events include film screenings, live performances, lectures, and a dance party!
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#60. March in the Homecoming parade
TRADITION. Hoo-hoo-hoo Hoosiers!
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#59. Paint the Jordan Avenue Bridges
Usually the bridges are painted by student organizations or Greek houses, but other people also occasionally paint them to say funny things or leave special messages for friends. Wouldn’t this be an awesome way to ask someone out?
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#58. Go to the Farmer's Market
The Bloomington Farmer’s Market is held on Saturdays, April through November, 8am-1pm (and other dates, check the link). Eat your veggies!
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#57. Study Abroad
If you want to study abroad, you should start planning your trip as soon as possible so that you can work your course schedule around it. A lot of people choose to save their Gen Ed or electives for when they go abroad, especially if their major is very particular. Do your research early to find the best country and program for you, and watch out for those application deadlines.
7 tags
#56. See a film at the IU Cinema
The IU Cinema is a small theater located right around the corner from the Auditorium. The cinema shows a wide variety of films, ranging from documentaries to silent movies and foreign films. You need to get a ticket to go to these screenings (including the free ones), but tickets can be picked up at the Auditorium until half an hour before the event.
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#55. Go to Taste of Bloomington
Not to be confused with Taste of the Union (#25 on my list), Taste of Bloomington is a huge local food festival every June. Admission is $6, and you can buy small servings of food from different restaurants in Bloomington. There is also live music and entertainment.
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#54. Make pot brownies
Yummy in my tummy. If you’re in the dorms, make friends with someone who has a house or apartment. You never know when you’ll need a kitchen.
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#53. Get a heart-shaped pizza from Mother Bear's
Mother Bear’s Pizza only makes these once a year - the weekend of Valentines day, of course. Love and pizza is all you need in (college) life.
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#52. Go on a crazy Spring Break trip
Oh, college spring break. A wild week you’ll never forget (except for those parts where you blacked out).
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#51. Go to an ABC Party
An ABC party stands for “anything but clothes!” Time to get creative…and make sure you use enough tape!
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#50. Kiss a hot ginger
Gingers are rare creatures on their own, and finding a hot ginger on campus is like finding a unicorn - you know they’re very special and come with their own superpowers! Kissing a hot ginger is like rubbing the Buddha’s belly: instant luck guaranteed for at least one week.
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#49. Go stargazing at the Kirkwood Observatory
The Kirkwood Observatory is located right near Sample Gates. Its telescope is open for free public viewing on Wednesday nights.
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#48. Have a picnic in the Artboretum
It’s one of the prettiest places on campus. Enjoy it. For some reason, everyone else’s IU bucket list says you should do your homework here…but I think eating is more enjoyable than studying.
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#47. Be an officer of a student organization
It guarantees that you will meet new people and make friends. It will help you learn to manage your time efficiently, communicate with others, and be a leader. It also looks really good on a resume.
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#46. Go on a real date
Everyone should go on a real date, a grown-up date. You’re in college. At a beautiful campus with 40,000 other students (most of whom are pretty damn attractive). If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, surprise them by planning something special. If you’re forever alone, time to break out of your shell and casually ask someone to hang out. Bloomington is filled with fun and cheap...
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#45. Visit Chicago (if you don't live there)
Chicago is only a 4 or 5 hour drive from Bloomington. Road trip!
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#44. Go to a paint party
Because everyone should get silly sloppy and throw paint on their friends every now and then.
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#43. Volunteer in Bloomington
Do good things. There are many volunteer opportunities in Bloomington, including Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club, Humane Society, Mother Hubbard’s food pantry, and many more. Community service is a great way to get more involved with Bloomington and IU, and to make friends in the area, while helping those who need it.
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#42. Attend a performance at the Jacobs School of...
The Jacobs School of Music at IU is one of the top music programs in the country. They have free performances by top-notch musicians every week, and with so many great options to choose from you can be sure to find something that interests you.
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#41. Make the Dean's List
Forget about your silly high school honors classes or honor roll. Now that you’re in college, no one cares about what you did during those four years. So please stop talking about how your marching band made state, and instead focus on achieving something real at IU: the Dean’s List is an award given to students who have a semester GPA of 3.7 or higher.
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#40. Visit the Kinsey Institute
Alfred Kinsey was the first major sexologist, and he did his research in Bloomington. His work was extremely controversial at the time, but it led to a sexual revolution and allows us to participate in the debaucherous acts we do today. The Kinsey Institute has a public gallery full of erotic art and artifacts relating to sexuality. The Kinsey Institute also has one of the world’s largest...
12 tags
#39. Go to a Foam Party
They’re sloppy. They’re nasty. They’re slightly dangerous. Foam parties are AWESOME! IU frats throw them every now and then, and if you hear about it then you gotta go.
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#38. Drink a Fish Bowl
Most Btown bars sell fish bowl drinks, but you can also make your own. After a while, you’ll start to believe those Swedish fish are real.
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#37. Steak n Shake Happy Hour - at night
If you go to Steak n Shake between 2am-4am, two great things await you. First, your shake is half price. Second, there are tons of sloppy drunk IU kids everywhere. You will probably run into someone you know, and you will probably both be wasted.
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#36. Visit Nashville, Indiana
Nashville is about a half hour drive from Indiana. It’s one of those cutesy, touristy, old-timey towns where you can spend an afternoon walking around, eating, shopping, and looking at things. There’s a guy here who carves bears out of wood, and you can watch him work in his shop!
12 tags
#35. Go to an IU basketball game
Regardless of whether or not you’re into sports, IU basketball games are a lot of fun. They’re everything that our football games aren’t! And Cody Zeller is the man.
7 tags
#34. Get a library card
The Monroe County public library has a lot of great things that the Herman B. Wells doesn’t have - like books. Seriously, the Wells is great for studying or for group meetings, but if you actually want things to read for fun then you need to go to the MCPL (on Kirkwood). You can get a library card for free if you bring in an ID and a piece of mail that was sent to your Bloomington address.
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#33. Rent a boat on Lake Monroe
Party on a boat! You can rent a pontoon boat for a big group, bring your coolers, and pretend you’re chilling with T Pain and the Lonely Island. Some of these boats even have waterslides!
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#32. See the holiday lights downtown
In December, the downtown square is covered with twinkly lights and holiday cheer. Super romantic date idea.
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#31. Check out Collins
Collins, often referred to as “that dorm that looks like Hogwarts,” has a lot to offer. They have one of the best food courts on campus (with tons of vegan/vegetarian options), and they have a really comfy lounge for studying. They also host lots of cool events throughout the year, like Lord of the Rings marathons, Harry Potter Week, and Nutellafest (which is exactly what it sounds...
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#30. See Straight No Chaser
Straight No Chaser is a male a cappella group (like The Warblers from Glee…but in college). They perform on campus several times each year and their concerts are always a blast. They recently changed their name to Another Round, but no one really calls them that.
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#29. Visit Sanders Quarry
It’s the quarry from ‘Breaking Away’! Everyone visits the quarry before graduation because it’s a unique Bloomington landmark. Please appreciate the quarry from a distance, and don’t do dumb things (like cliff diving).
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#28. Check out the art in the IMU
The IMU has a lot of really cool paintings, sculptures, and other art on display, and for some reason most people choose to rush by and ignore it. Take some time and appreciate how beautiful this building really is!
Like this antique cabinet, for instance. It’s in the back of the IMU, and people walk by it all the time without stopping to really notice it. It’s absolutely incredible...
12 tags
#27. Make a vodka watermelon
Cut a hole in the top of the watermelon, stick the bottle in (or use a funnel), and let it sit for a couple days to absorb all the alcohol. Then you can enjoy your fruit while getting buzzed - eating healthy is fun!
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#26. Visit College Books (it's not what you think)
College Books is an adult entertainment store (a.k.a. sex shop). Toys, lube, vibrators, the usual. It’s about a five minute drive from campus. The best part? You can use your parents’ credit card here, and on their card statement all they’ll see is “College Books” and assume you were just buying textbooks!
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#25. Taste of the Union
Taste of the Union is an event at the IMU that happens every Welcome Week and also in January. All of the restaurants and cafes in the IMU give out free samples of their food: mini drinks at Starbucks, mini brownies at Sugar & Spice, mini fries at Burger King, etc.
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#24. Take a workout class at the SRSC
The SRSC offers a bunch of free workout classes: Zumba, cardio, cycling, kickboxing, and more! Grab some friends and try something new to get in shape.
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#23. Slip n Slide
Lots of frats make huge Slip n Slides in their yards during Little 5. Bring a bathing suit and forget about your Finite lecture today.
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#22. Get a neon rage tank
Neon tanks are an absolute essential for when you want to get your rage on. Tracks (the record/clothing store on Kirkwood) sells some really cool IU ones.
7 tags
#21. Hook up in the library
We call it the Herman Wells Shag-n-Dash. Sneak up to one of the upper floors before they close at midnight, and make it fast! Be careful not to get caught, and make sure you don’t try this during Finals Week.
12 tags
#20. Use the bathroom at Soma
Soma is this awesome little hippie coffee and smoothie shop. Their food is yummy, the place is really cool, but nothing else compares to this bathroom. Best bathroom in Bloomington right here.
#19. Get a job!
Seriously. Don’t be a lazy bum and live completely off of your parents money for four years. The RPS food courts and the SRSC are always hiring, and there are tons of other places around Bloomington that hire part-time. Work hard so you can play hard (and afford more booze)!
6 tags
#18. Go to a 'Rocky Horror' screening on Halloween...
The Buskirk-Chumley theater (on Kirkwood) hosts Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings every Halloween. So grab your garters and get ready to do the Time Warp (again)!
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#17. Run the Nearly Naked Mile
Hundreds of co-eds running around campus in their underwear, late at night, with condoms being randomly thrown into the crowd. Who could say no to this?! Besides, it’s for charity - you come wearing clothes you want to donate to the homeless shelter, then take them off when you get there.
8 tags
#16. Make Vodka gummy bears
Because it’s one of those stupid-crazy-fun ideas that you can only get away with in college. And they’re yummy if they’re made right. For best results, use fruit-flavored vodka and make a gigantic tub of these. (they take a week to make, but then they go pretty quickly!)
#15. See a comedy show at the IMU
The best stress release is laughter! IU has several improv and sketch comedy groups, all of whom perform free shows each semester at the IMU. My favorites are the University tWits.
5 tags
#14. Visit the Mathers Museum
The Mathers Museum of World Cultures is a museum on campus with exhibits relating to archaeology and anthropology. It’s free for students! They currently have a really cool exhibit called “The Origins of Everything,” which is a giant timeline of Earth and its life forms from the Big Bang until the present day.
11 tags
#13. Learn all of the words to "This is Indiana"
Or you’ll look like an idiot when they play it at parties, and everyone but you is singing along. Watch it here.
