Last April, the United States experienced its second total solar eclipse since 1979 at around 3:30 p.m. Classes were canceled or ended early, eclipse glasses were distributed, and students gathered with their friends for a watch party. This once-in-a-lifetime event became many students’ favorite college experience – especially this semester’s graduating seniors.
Maleyah Nowell is a senior musical theatre major who writes for our Her Campus chapter.
She was sitting in the quad on a big blanket with a good friend, reading during the eclipse.
“We both wore cute outfits, ate yummy snacks, and gabbed until the sun reached totality,” said Maleyah. “I will never forget the look of the sky when it was pitch black dark at 3, that sun was a glowing ring in the sky!” Muncie was flooded with out-of-town visitors over the eclipse weekend, and the city had unique activities organized everywhere. Maleyah would love to relive this moment over again, especially with a good friend by her side.
Gracee Hedge, a public relations major and editor-in-chief for our Her Campus chapter, is a graduating senior who also considers the solar eclipse to be her favorite college memory.
Gracee and her friends piled into each other’s cars and drove to Prairie Creek Reservoir to watch the eclipse. The 12 of them found a free viewing spot by one of the boat docks next to a few other groups, including these two sweet older ladies who accompanied a girl in her 30s.
“We got there a while before totality and just enjoyed each other’s presence. It’s a rare thing to get such a large portion of the friend group together,” Gracee said. “The eclipse itself was beautiful. It was like watching the sunset over the water. Everything was perfect, down to the bagpipes randomly playing from somewhere behind us.”
Senior communications major Molly Henderson looks back at the solar eclipse as being one of her most unforgettable memories too. Leading up to the afternoon’s total darkness, she spent the morning with her sorority sisters helping a local Girl Scout troop sell cookies on Riverside at the Christian Campus House. When she got back home, Molly and her roommates spread towels out in their backyard to take advantage of the day’s high UV index.
“We talked and played music as the eclipse began. When totality hit, our neighborhood erupted in cheers. It felt like the campus was completely united in celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Molly recollected.
I also took part in the solar eclipse celebrations. In my fellowship through Ball State Public Media, our cohort had been working hard on creating educational video assets that we released leading up to the eclipse. I went with a handful of the fellows to conduct a video interview with an expert from the community. It was cool to be involved with the production of this process. On the day of the eclipse, our office had an abundance of eclipse glasses for students and staff to take. I met up with my friends in the afternoon, and we stayed outside playing yard games while blasting music. We had a great view of the totality once it hit – something I’ll consider myself extremely lucky to have witnessed in my college years.