While students and staff were away for the summer, Southern Nazarene University made several changes to campus, including construction on a new Prayer Chapel and additional parking. One familiar feature, however, disappeared: the fountain in front of the Commons.
For some students and alumni, the fountain was more than an eye-catching part of campus. It became a place connected to memories, traditions and SNU’s history.
Originally, what is now the Fine Arts Building served as the Commons. In 1988, the SNU President at the time Dr. Gresham envisioned an area centered around water, which eventually became the fountain.
The fountain carried a physical piece of SNU’s history. Its bricks came from one of the university’s original buildings from when SNU was located in Texas.
Over the years, the fountain became part of campus traditions and student memories. Professor and alumni Dr. Melany Kyzer remembers one tradition that developed around it.
“When they first had the fountain it was all about putting bubbles in it,” Kyzer mentioned. “At night they would throw something in there and in the morning the fountain would just have bubbles coming out everywhere.”
The fountain also became part of graduation traditions. During the Ivy Ring ceremony, some graduates would jump into the fountain to celebrate.
“At the end sometimes some graduates would jump into the fountain, because what can they do to me, fine me or take my diploma or what?” Kyzer laughed. “For the record I did not jump into the fountain.”
For senior Judah Pigg, memories of the fountain go back even further than his time as an SNU student.
“I will miss having the fountain on campus because for me it holds a lot of memories from my childhood when I would come up here with my parents or when I would come visit my siblings while they were here,” Pigg said.
Pigg also has a personal connection to the fountain’s history. His father gave each of his children a piece of stone from the original fountain.
Those stones, however, will continue to have a place in SNU’s future. According to Kyzer, the university kept the original stones from the Texas building and incorporated them into the new Prayer Chapel.
Although the fountain is no longer in front of the Commons, a piece of its history will continue on campus. The stones now incorporated into the Prayer Chapel connect SNU’s past with its future, carrying memories and traditions forward for another generation of students.
Photo provided by: SNU Creative