First, I would like to apologize for the awfully cliche photograph above. I had taken some remarkable pictures illustrating the myriad of weather conditions that State College has experienced this week, but because of problems with my phone memory they were incidentally erased. Yes, that is Old Main, possibly one of the most heavily photographed landmarks, aside from Beaver Stadium and the Lion Shrine. I was leaving class and thought, “why not?, I can finally voice my hatred of Old Main.” But before you leave me a comment including a death threat because I just said I have hatred towards Old Main, please continue reading and maybe you will understand my quandary. Do not get me wrong, to my knowledge Old Main was one, if not the, first building at Penn State and embraces the strong history of the University. The bell tower and long pillars contribute to its impressive architecture.
For those who have not been to Penn State, the clock tower of Old Main sounds off every 15 minutes with a unique sequence of rings. It is something like what a church bell sounds like when a couple is married, but much more frequent. To the virgin ear, this is pretty cool, but after a few days it gets a bit infuriating. I can see why some may find this useful. Back in the day when people did not carry watches, cell phones, any other electronic device that tells the time, this could be very useful for keeping track of time. Additionally, I could see how the ringing promotes the tradition and history behind the building.
All things considered, the 24 hour, 7 day a week ring of the bell is downright obnoxious. It is important to note that the bell can be heard from quite a distance; I’ve picked up its ring from the area around Pollock Commons, Curtain Road near the library, and the Life Sciences building, which is closer to the east side of campus. At times, and by times I mean on the hour, it is understandable. I have no problem with an hourly ring; it is a good reminder for those who are deep in work to keep track of their time. As a student living on campus in West Halls, one can imagine how much of an annoyance the quarterly ring is at times when I am trying to study, or even sleep. I will admit that I am an unusually light sleeper and will sense the slightest changes and wake up immediately. I can be sure of one thing though, I am certainly not the only one who finds the ringing aggravating when they are about to get to sleep and suddenly the 30-second long chime goes off to keep me awake for another 15 minutes until the next 30-second chime goes off. You can quickly pick up that this turns into an ongoing process.
Hopefully you now understand my dilemma and no longer have a motive to send me to my death. To solve this issue I propose this resolution. Between the hours of 9AM - 9PM the bell would operate on a 15-minute ring schedule, as it is rather useful during the day. Between 9PM-9AM, the bell would switch to operation on an hourly ring. This would be more efficient since the campus is more or less empty at night and a majority of students do not start classed until about 9AM. Are you up for this modification, Penn State?
Once again, I apologize for the cliche photo. Check back next week for something a bit more creative and unique.
Once again, I apologize for the cliche photo. Check back next week for something a bit more creative and unique.
I can easily see where you're coming from on the subject of the Old Main bell. I live in South halls and I really can't hear the bell from my dorm room so I cannot truly relate. For me, I hear the bell only when I am walking on campus to class or walking downtown. Since this is really the only time that I hear the bell, I have never considered the nuissance that the bell might be to others like yourself. It would undoubtedly be annoying to have to listen to a bell going off every night when you're trying to get to bed. As for the modification, I would personally have no objections. Like you said, everybody has, at the least, a cell phone on them at all times to tell the time so the bell is not really as useful as it once was.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how different experiences can result in radically different opinions about something as simple as a bell ringing. Growing up in State College, one of the things I most associated with campus was the ringing of the bell at Old Main. I can remember visiting my dad's work, or coming to Art's Fest during the summer, or just hanging out with my friends downtown, all to the sound of Old Main. It's comforting to me because it really is the sound of home, as cheesy as that may sound. However, I can totally see your point. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper and can't hear Old Main from where I live in North Halls, but for people in different living places, I definitely understand how a bell ringing loudly in the middle of the night could be annoying. The elimination of the ring every 15 minutes during the night sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! Hearing the rings every 15 minutes drives me crazy! Especially now, when they have changed the bells so they sound more chimey (If that is a word?). And it is not just the students that feel this way. The other day I had a class in Pond and just as our class was finishing up the rings went off. My professor said "Well, there are those annoyingly loud and obnoxious bells." It was a nice thought at the beginning of the semester that the bells would ring. Now, I groan every time I hear it.
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