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Fun Facts

General John A. Logan held the first Memorial Day service at Woodlawn Cemetery on April 29, 1866 in Carbondale.

Former SIU President Delyte Morris and his wife, Dorothy, rode a bicycle built for two. He, of course, got the front seat.
In just four years during World War II, 3,500 students were drafted from the fledgling university or enlisted, and enrollment plummeted to 850.
Before becoming known as the Salukis, SIU (then SINU) were referred to as the Maroons. When the mascot changed in 1951 other potential candidates were the rebels, Southern Knights, the Flyers…etc.
The Student Center’s lower floor is home to a mummy actually molded from a real SIUC student.
Gus Bode first appeared in “The Egyptian” on April 13, 1956.
On Sept. 15, 1958, WSIU Radio first signed on the air as WSRV – "Southern's Radio Voice". The station broadcast from a cement-block Quonset hut on campus that had been at one time a chicken hatchery, a battery repair station, and a tire repair shop.
The first University farm occupied the south end of the Student Center, Engineering and Neckers buildings, the arena and the practice and baseball fields.
The Student Center has more than 12,500 visitors each day and they use approximately 5.3 miles of toilet paper every month.
”Green Beanies” were worn by incoming freshmen until the 1969-70 school year.
The Student Recreation Center pool is 50 meters by 25 yards and holds 880,000 gallons of water while Pulliam pool’s 25-yard course holds 160,000 gallons of water.
Bill Clinton is the only president to visit campus while in office.
After years of disagreement, the faculty of Southern Illinois Normal University voted in 1898 to allow students to participate in football.
First elevator on campus was built in the New Life Science building (Lindegren Hall) in 1954.
In 1978, SIU won the Guinness Book of World Record for the world's largest “snake dance.”
In 1982 the Marching Salukis became the first group to perform an instrumental version of the National Anthem during a World Series Game, during Game 2 in Busch Stadium.
Each day, SIUC turns 1,200 pounds of food waste, paper napkins and milk cartons from its Student Center and residence halls into compost with the help of 2 million earthworms. The red wrigglers have their own “wormitory” on the southwest edge of campus.

Fun Facts

General John A. Logan held the first Memorial Day service at Woodlawn Cemetery on April 29, 1866 in Carbondale.

Former SIU President Delyte Morris and his wife, Dorothy, rode a bicycle built for two. He, of course, got the front seat.

In just four years during World War II, 3,500 students were drafted from the fledgling university or enlisted, and enrollment plummeted to 850.

Before becoming known as the Salukis, SIU (then SINU) were referred to as the Maroons. When the mascot changed in 1951 other potential candidates were the rebels, Southern Knights, the Flyers…etc.

The Student Center’s lower floor is home to a mummy actually molded from a real SIUC student.

Gus Bode first appeared in “The Egyptian” on April 13, 1956.

On Sept. 15, 1958, WSIU Radio first signed on the air as WSRV – "Southern's Radio Voice". The station broadcast from a cement-block Quonset hut on campus that had been at one time a chicken hatchery, a battery repair station, and a tire repair shop.

The first University farm occupied the south end of the Student Center, Engineering and Neckers buildings, the arena and the practice and baseball fields.

The Student Center has more than 12,500 visitors each day and they use approximately 5.3 miles of toilet paper every month.

”Green Beanies” were worn by incoming freshmen until the 1969-70 school year.

The Student Recreation Center pool is 50 meters by 25 yards and holds 880,000 gallons of water while Pulliam pool’s 25-yard course holds 160,000 gallons of water.

Bill Clinton is the only president to visit campus while in office.

After years of disagreement, the faculty of Southern Illinois Normal University voted in 1898 to allow students to participate in football.

First elevator on campus was built in the New Life Science building (Lindegren Hall) in 1954.

In 1978, SIU won the Guinness Book of World Record for the world's largest “snake dance.”

In 1982 the Marching Salukis became the first group to perform an instrumental version of the National Anthem during a World Series Game, during Game 2 in Busch Stadium.

Each day, SIUC turns 1,200 pounds of food waste, paper napkins and milk cartons from its Student Center and residence halls into compost with the help of 2 million earthworms. The red wrigglers have their own “wormitory” on the southwest edge of campus.