Jaclyn Figg
Staff Writer
A new set of Bengal eyes will watch over ISU members from the heart of campus thanks to members of the 1901 club.
To honor the class of 2016, a vinyl print of the eyes was installed last week on the front windows of the Rendezvous building.
“We hope that by having the Bengal eyes prominently displayed on campus, we’ll continue to build school spirit and enthusiasm in our campus community,” said Stuart Summers vice president of the ISU Office of Marketing and Communications.
Though exact origins of the idea have been muffled with time, this didn’t stop the 1901 club from moving forward with it.
In a few months, the club was able to raise $15,000 to go towards the project through funds donated by various departments on campus.
“I think it’s highly visual, it seems like a simple thing but I think it does a lot to raise pride on campus,” said Jessica Clements, president of the 1901 club double majoring in psychology and public relations.
With a two-year warranty, the eyes should last between two and five years.
Money raised for the Bengal eyes includes a sum set aside for one reapplication of the vinyl.
“The 1901 student organization came up with the idea, secured the funding and worked with administration to receive approval for the project,” Summers said. “It’s exciting to see a group of dedicated and passionate students work to increase school spirit on our campus. Administration fully supported the idea, and we’re excited to see it take shape.”
The club presented the idea to the ISU Beautification Committee and explained the details of the project along with why they were representing it.
“I feel like being able to accomplish this project and going through all the steps it took for us to get there is beneficial from a student’s perspective,” said Kyley Sweet, 1901 member majoring in health sciences. “It was nice to see students were able to make this happen and have the support of people on campus as well.”
Established September 2014 by Tynan O’Neil and Rachel Bishop, the 1901 Club is a group dedicated to implementing Bengal pride through tradition and historical awareness of ISU.
“They saw a need on campus to promote some school pride and appreciation for history and tradition; they developed 1901 to be that club,” Clements said.
The club’s name stems from ISU’s first beginning in Pocatello as the Academy of Idaho, which opened March 1901.
Celebrating the 115th founding year, the club started a new tradition Friday March 11 with a barbeque celebration on the quad.
“We wanted to make it an event where we can celebrate the history of ISU but also bring in the future with the class gift each year,” Sweet said.
An announcement of the Bengal eyes for the class gift of 2016 was made after the clock tower chimed the fight song at noon.
According to Clements, first installed in 2008, former 1901 president O’Neil had the clock fixed last year to continue chiming this noon tune, and the alma mater song at 8 a.m.
On the quad, members of the club announced Founders Day along with the graduation present, which are both new traditions the club hopes continue through the years.
“This project will help with the brand and image of ISU. We are the Bengals—a campus known for superb academics and unlimited opportunities. We hope this project and future ones like it will foster pride in our students,” Summers said.
Through much support from people around campus, it is a student’s club to make this happen.
“I think it really helps to energize students. If we can get the message out there that a student group was able to make something this big happen on campus,” Clements said, “then it shows students they matter and they can leave a legacy; they can leave a difference when they come to Idaho State.”
SignUp Signs and Graphics, a local company in Pocatello, under specific weather conditions, was able to install the Bengal eyes throughout last week.
ISU students wanting to be a part of the 1901 club to support improvement on campus through Bengal pride, history, tradition, community and connection to ISU members, are welcome to join.
“We’re mostly a group of students who are dedicated to campus, the school itself and helping promote the idea of how it’s good to be a Bengal but also bring in the history along the way,” Sweet said. “I think it’s really exciting to be a part of it and hopefully in the years to come people will keep it up.”
