Friday, August 15, 2008
The loud blast that rings throughout campus every 50 minutes might startle those new to the University, but campus rookies should not be alarmed. It is no reason to take cover; it is just the University’s not so subtle way of signaling the end of the class period.
The whistle has blown on campus for nearly 100 years. According to KU Info, the University originally used the steam whistle to signal curfew for students, but in 1912 it began using the whistle to announce the end of each class period.
The whistle, which sits on top of the power plant next to Watson Library, is the third version of the original whistle.
The first whistle lasted until World War II in the early 1940s. The second whistle survived for almost 60 years until it suffered an unfixable crack in January 2003.
The campus went silent from Jan. 22, 2003, until April 25, 2003.
The new whistle, which is the whistle that currently sits on top of the power plant, was made possible by a donation to the Kansas University Endowment Association that covered the cost of the manufacture and installation of a new whistle.
The whistle is so loud that people can hear it from one end Lawrence to the other.
“I could hear that thing blow when in my apartment at Tuckaway, and when I was playing softball in East Lawrence,” said Will Allen, 2008 graduate.
The steam whistle has been a question of concern for some students, but they admit it serves as a nice reminder throughout the day.
“I cannot stand the sound of that thing, but I think I would feel weird if I didn’t hear it at the end of class,” Erik Harms, Springfield, Mo., senior, said. “It’s a nice cue to leave class.”
No matter what students think, the steam whistle will continue to blow throughout the school year and for most students it will be a reminder of good news: class is over.
— - Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
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