Interview with Purdue Student
Interview was collected from Purdue Senior Trent, 21. Trent has lived in Indiana for his entire life and has attended Purdue for his whole undergraduate career. Interview was conducted via Zoom.
Full interview:
Selected quotations
“The first thing I think of would have to be the Fountain Run…”
“…you can see just random people doing the Fountain Run for fun…”
“As far as I know, it’s been a tradition for many years…so I assume [campus officials] make it safe for people to go into…”
“A lot of group meetings are there…”
“…I’ve seen people like jump from one [decorative pedestal near Loeb Fountain] to another and I’ve seen people like fall…”
Conducting this interview via Zoom did not seem to hinder the ability of the informant to communicate with the interviewer. Webcams were utilized to maintain a sense of face-to-face conversation. Interview and its subject had been previously discussed with informant, so informant did have information regarding the fountain pulled up in front of him.
Like previous interviews about the Showalter fountain, while there is a significant tradition surrounding the fountain, it appears to primarily be a campus landmark that would most likely come up when giving directions or when passing by the fountains.
Like the Showalter fountain, Purdue’s fountains have a tradition associated with becoming a student at Purdue. Incoming freshman run through 4 of the 5 main fountains on campus and then drink from the final one. This event, known as the Fountain Run, is sanctioned by campus officials and is a part of Purdue’s new student orientation. This offers a significant difference from the fountain tradition at IU, though their purpose as a rite of passage remains the same in both cases.