100 Things to do Before You Graduate

In no particular order:

  1. Visit every building on campus.
  2. Take part in a community service project.
  3. Attend an Interfaith Peace Service sponsored by Ecumenical-Interfaith Programs.
  4. Learn the University’s fight song.
  5. Sit along the canal on Smith Mall at sunset.
  6. Attend Midnight Breakfast before finals.
  7. Have a 2 a.m. breakfast at Steak n Shake or Denny’s.
  8. Ace at least one class. Nothing prepares you for success quite like success.
  9. Hum along with chimes of the Bell Tower.
  10. Get to know a professor so well he/she invites you to dinner.
  11. Skip a class to do something fun on a warm, sunny Spring day.
  12. Eat an entire pizza by yourself late at night while cramming for a test.
  13. Attend a Greyhound game for each University sport.
  14. Bowl at Shelby Bowl.
  15. Fall asleep in the library; panic that someone saw you with your mouth agape.
  16. Study abroad or take a Spring Term travel trip, if possible.
  17. Sell your text books at the end of the semester.
  18. Write a letter to the Editor of the Reflector.
  19. Fall helplessly in love, get dumped, and recover.
  20. Get on a first name basis with Ted Polk, one of the Vice Presidents, or a professor.
  21. Have the courage of your convictions to participate in a heated debate in one of your classes.
  22. Go on a road trip during Spring Break.
  23. Live on campus or spend the night in a residence hall at least once.
  24. Bring a date on a picnic to Garfield Park (off Shelby Street).
  25. Attend one of the ethnic festivals downtown Indianapolis.
  26. Call your parent(s) or family member and tell them you love them.
  27. Go back and visit your high school.
  28. Prepare to pull an all-nighter by drinking three Mountain Dews and two cups of coffee; accomplish nothing due to an inability to sit still.
  29. Go to Jillians to play a game of pool.
  30. Visit Oliver Winery and do some wine tasting.
  31. Go camping at Brown County State Park.
  32. Attend a Crimson Express concert; hum along.
  33. Go to a UIndy theatre production or a music recital.
  34. Get your parents UIndy sweatshirts or T-shirts.
  35. Play a game of pool in Schwitzer Student Center.
  36. Have a giant tenderloin or hamburger at the Shelby Street Diner.
  37. Visit a museum or the zoo in downtown Indianapolis.
  38. Tell yourself how brilliant you are.
  39. Commit to memory at least one poem of your choice.
  40. Decide absolutely your mission in life.  Change it five times.
  41. Visit the Observatory at Butler University.
  42. Say thank you to your favorite professor.
  43. Attend a theater, dance, or music performance at a downtown Indianapolis theater.
  44. Learn to play a musical instrument or take an art class.
  45. Keep a diary.
  46. Make a meal that requires a cookbook and doesn’t come from a box or the freezer section.
  47. Volunteer to meet with a high school student visiting the campus.
  48. Attend an Indianapolis Student Government meeting.
  49. Take a course just for fun.
  50. Take a stroll along the canal in downtown Indianapolis.
  51. Stay up all night arguing about important issues on life.
  52. Find a job or a graduate school.
  53. Attend an Indians, Colts, or Pacers game.
  54. Attend all the Commencement Week events.
  55. Attend at least one International Flag Ceremony. 
  56. Help a Freshman who is lost.
  57. Listen to a weekly program on our radio station – WICR 88.7FM.
  58. Meet up with your UIndy friends over summer.
  59. Sit in the Hound Pound section during a basketball or football game.
  60. Attend the President’s Convocation.
  61. Get a 3.0 GPA at least one semester.
  62. Do something nice for a staff member in the Physical Plant or Food Services.
  63. Join at least one club or organization on campus.
  64. Participate in an intramural sport.
  65. Tell yourself you can never have too many friends and continue to meet new people.
  66. Be an Orientation Leader or UIndy Ambassador.
  67. Work on campus.
  68. Share a meal with friends at the annual Thanksgiving meal hosted by Polk Food Services.
  69. Volunteer for the Move-In Crew the day Freshmen move in to the residence halls.
  70. Attend a festival in downtown Indy.
  71. Read a book by an author you’ve never heard of.
  72. Make a midnight run to White Castle and then regret it.
  73. Plan to go to bed early...end up staying up late and talking to your roommate.
  74. Sit quietly and alone in the McCleary Chapel or the Meditation Room. 
  75. Have a movie night that lasts into the next morning.
  76. Spend time at a CDFAC art exhibit.
  77. Get to know a University staff member.
  78. Really “be there” for a friend who needs it.
  79. Visit Broad Ripple.
  80. Play a game of Ultimate Frisbee on Smith Mall.
  81. Play one memorable practical joke.
  82. Visit the alumni web site at http://alumni.uindy.edu.
  83. Attend a “Dessert Diversion" at the Alumni House during finals week to get free desserts compliments of the Student Alumni Association.
  84. Hang out in the “egg” chairs on the library’s first floor.
  85. Attend class the day before a vacation because sometimes a professor will give bonus points.
  86. Have Sunday brunch at one of the downtown hotels.
  87. See the following “classic” films: Hoosiers, American Graffiti, The Graduate, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Breakfast Club, the entire Star Wars series..
  88. Attend a Sibs & Kids event sponsored by Campus Program Board.
  89. Sign up to receive the monthly alumni E-News to stay in touch with campus news.
  90. Get dressed up for a special night in downtown Indy.
  91. Attend Tuesday $1 movie night at the Greenwood Cinemark Movie 8 theater.
  92. Say thank you to Ted Polk.
  93. Make a donation to a Senior Class gift to the University.
  94. Get a Greyhound license plate to show your UIndy pride!
  95. Go to Wal-Mart at 2:00 a.m.
  96. Write a letter to your parents thanking them for getting you where you are today.
  97. Introduce yourself to the University President.
  98. Flirt with someone “anonymously.”
  99. Be able to explain the “Universal Continuum” statue to visitors on campus.
  100. Start saving for retirement!

Adapted from “The 161 Things Every Cornell Student Should Do.”

Cornell Magazine, March 1995