The Indiana Memorial Union, arguably the heart of IU student life, was itself created by a student seeking to solve a crisis of division.
In 1909, IU student John Whittenberger came up with the idea for the IMU to bridge the gap between fraternities and non-affiliated groups and freshmen and sophomores, whose squabbles were sometimes becoming physical. With the help of then-IU president William Lowe Bryan, Whittenberger’s idea was realized in December 1909, and he became the union’s first president.
Since then, the building has hosted concerts, dances and served as the country’s longest-running college film series. Step inside the union today and you’ll see students grabbing a slice of pizza or a coffee, bowling after class or participating in activities programmed by the Union Board, the IMU’s 18-student governing body.
The IMU was first located in the Student Building before it moved to its spot at the center of campus, nudged between Dunn Meadow and Beck Chapel, in 1932.
Though the IMU was created to bring students together, the union was male-only until students voted during the 1952-1953 school year to approve a revised constitution that would allow women, according to archives of the Herald-Times.
The union’s programming and features have also changed throughout different eras. In the 1940s, the IMU held free movies for soldiers and Friday night dances. In 1960, it added the Biddle Hotel and Conference Center, which now boasts 189 guest rooms and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space. In the 1970s, it hosted Bob Dylan, held a bluegrass festival and organized discotheques, according to H-T archives. In 2021, the Union Board organized a Charli XCX concert as new students were welcomed to campus.
The IMU has been the backdrop for countless protests in Dunn Meadow, including last April’s pro-Palestinian encampment. As IU attempted to disperse the group, Indiana State Police officers set up a sniper rifle at the top of the IMU.
Now over a century old, the IMU has weathered the best and worst times in IU’s history. Today the 500,000 square foot building holds around 17,000 events per year and is almost always buzzing with student chatter or keyboard clacking. IMU upcoming events can be found online here.
This story was originally published in the Indiana Daily Student's Source print publication March 3, 2025.
