Consider yourself to be a true Cyclone? Consider this… In a 1960 Daily article, the society editor wrote that “A girl isn’t really an Iowa State coed until she has been kissed under the campanile just as the bells toll midnight.”
This practice of midnight smooching under Iowa State’s campus landmark is called “Campaniling.” You can get in on the Cyclone rite of passage during Homecoming or Veishea by taking part in Mass Campaniling, which brings hundreds of Iowa Staters to central campus for midnight fireworks and kisses.
While Mass Campaniling is a fun event to participate in with other students, the real tradition of Campaniling lies in you and your sweetheart (just the two of you!) stealing away to central campus and stealing kisses from each other as the bells strick midnight. It’s a romantic and thrilling way to be a part of something that ISU’s young lovers have done for at least 50 years.
So if you want to extend the romance of Valentine’s Day or find something different to do with your significant other any time of the year, slip away to the Campanile some night and pucker up!
(All photos courtesy of Iowa State University Archives, ISU Library)