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A
Brief History Of the Student
Bridge:
Valparaiso
University’s Student Bridge
holds a special place in the
university’s history. Original
construction on Student Bridge
took place between 1859 and
1867. The bridge’s North
entrance was located on what is
now known as Valparaiso
University’s “Old Campus.”
Spanning the Pennsylvania
Railroad tracks to the Old
Campus behind Baldwin Hall, the
bridge extended over the
railroad tracks to Sagers Lake.
(Lake accessibility was
essential to students for
recreational purposes.) After
reconstruction by the city of
Valparaiso, beginning on March
22, 1940, the Student Bridge
continued to be popular with
University students. However, on
June 9, 1967 the Board of Works
and Public Safety of the city of
Valparaiso declared the bridge
unsafe and barricaded the bridge
on both the North and South
entrances. The bridge was later
purchased by a friend of
Valparaiso University Bill
Wellman in November 1967 and
relocated on Highway 30 near
Wellman’s Restaurant, presently
The Vineyard Church. The current
location of the bridge is 1.5
miles from campus.
The Student Bridge was much more than just
bolted steel, for with the
bridge came a rich history. It
became tradition that if a
student couple was strolling
across the bridge together and a
train happened to pass under,
the boy was permitted to kiss
his girl once if the train was a
passenger train, or twice if it
was a freight train. It was
believed that a University
female student was not
officially a coed until she had
been kissed on the Student
Bridge over a passing train at
midnight. However, the custom
was only properly performed if
the male involved was an
upperclassman and the kiss
lasted the entire length of the
passing train. A timeless asset
to the campus, “the bridge will
live on for years in the minds
and hearts of
thousands”—November 1969
Valparaiso University Bulletin.
Remembered by returning alumni,
the Student Bridge had also
became a landmark for students
who attended Valparaiso
University before 1969 and will
hopefully soon find its way into
the hearts of future students as
well.
Several organizations are responsible for
relocating the remaining part of
Student Bridge to the VU campus.
One of them is the Valparaiso
Alumni and Undergraduate
Leadership Team (VAULT), whose
mission is to “foster pride and
tradition among students and
develop lifelong relationships
with Valparaiso University.” The
reinstallation of Student Bridge
would be an undeniable asset to
the University in honor of the
alumni’s cherished traditions
and the university’s treasured
history. The bridge could
connect Valparaiso University
students of the past, present,
and future.
Co-founder of this project, the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE), has
dutifully handled all aspects
relating to engineering and
construction. This group of
dedicated civil engineering
students determined the
feasibility of physically moving
the bridge, surveyed the site
location, engineered the site
layout and final appearance,
procured materials, and
determined the necessary
construction phasing.
In the fall of 2003, VAULT began researching the
bridge’s history and explored
possibly relocating the Student
Bridge back to campus. Moving
the bridge to the Valparaiso
University campus would do
several things (1) allow alumni
to revisit a part of their past,
(2) allow current students and
alumni to connect through common
experience, and (3) allow the
opportunity for students to
create their own Student Bridge
memories.
With the approval of the Master Planning and
Space Allocation Committee in
December 2003, the project moved
forward March of 2004. A site
was selected on the north end of
campus located behind the
Christopher Center near Highway
30. Also in December of 2003,
the Senior Class of 2004 Gift
Committee (SCG) approached VAULT
and ASCE to see if they could
help assist financially with the
efforts of the project. The SCG
proposed they would contribute
any monies raised towards the
completion of this project,
specifically landscaping and
paving. This is yet another way
to connect current students to
the traditions of Student
Bridge. Fund raising efforts
began in February of 2004 and
will continue throughout May.
Fundraising efforts with the Office of
Institutional Advancement have
begun with anticipation to
complete the project by
Homecoming in October of 2004.
Both alumni and students alike
would benefit from having this
bridge where it belongs—at home
on the campus of Valparaiso
University.
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