Editorial Staff
Like many other colleges and universities, Bethel College has a strong prank culture that takes on a community flavor.
“Pranks have been pulled on campus for decades. Some of my favorite pranks to tell visiting families about include putting a cow in the library (now the MLA), complete with hay bales, or when dozens of sleeping birds were placed under coffee cups at breakfast in the cafeteria, only to wake up and fly around when students tried to pour their coffee - that happened when my grandpa was here. When my uncles were on campus, they used to slip-and-slide on Goering Hall's tile floors, or launch water balloons and fruits off the roof of the Mods,” Nate Kroeker, alum from Wichita, said.
Alumni are famous for reminiscing about good prank stories, and students are usually in for a good tale if they ask. Some of the pranks range from smaller (like the fruit launching) to larger pranks, like the cow in the library and Bethel-henge.
"It (Bethel-henge) showed up one morning with a polite note to maintenance to please leave it up for a couple of days for students to enjoy. The mod responsible took apart the concrete benches on the green and arranged them in a circle formation like Stonehenge. If memory serves me right, that mod also showed up to help maintenance take it down," Carmen Powls, alum from Garnett, said.
As a general rule, the prank is only good if the pranksters agree to clean up the mess. Additionally, there are many pranks that remain classic to Bethel.
“You have the classic pranks, such as setting several alarm clocks to go off during Convo or Chapel, or TPing the President's house. Of course, the best prank ever pulled at Bethel was the creation of Herman Bubbert, who never existed, but somehow attended classes, took exams, and fooled professors into believing he was a real student at BC! I would say Herman is the best prank pulled at BC because he's taken the blame for any and all pranksters that have come after him!” Kroeker said.
While pranking tended to be more popular a generation ago, students on campus are still pulling pranks.
“More recently, pranks have included hanging the picnic tables around campus in nearby trees, or putting googly eyes on portraits around campus. The important thing is that no person or property gets hurt during the pranking, but creativity definitely makes mischief memorable!” Kroeker said.
If students are considering a prank, they need to remember that pranks have to be safe for the student body (or shame shall be put upon them) and they must at least help maintenance clean up the mess. Dangerous things like pulling fire alarms and pouring oil down stairs do not count and are highly discouraged.
Happy pranking!