Mike and I had a grand weekend that centered around our grandson, Andrew, and Purdue University. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana about an hour and a half from Indianapolis. The town is an interesting mix of people and lifestyles. On the one hand there is the academically charged area around the university that hosts well over forty thousand students and hundreds of professors. On the other hand, within that mix are the men and women who work in the numerous factories that are located nearby, many of whom never attended college. The more educated individuals tend to cluster around the university in West Lafayette and the laborers live in Lafayette proper. There is a noticeable difference in the two places. 

My daughter and her husband lived in a brand new neighborhood in Lafayette nineteen years ago. My son-in-law worked as an engineer and my daughter as an accountant. I became quite familiar with the town and fell in love with it’s quaintness, or should I say quirkiness. The center of life and the reason that the place even exists is the Wabash River which made for a nice trade route long ago. Eventually a railroad line tied the people to the larger cities and thus many of the manufacturing businesses came to be. Purdue University, much like Texas A&M, originated as a land grant college. To this day it offers a host of degrees in agriculture and agri-business. It also has one of the premiere schools of Veterinary Medicine in the country and of course an engineering program that brings more recruiters than any other in the USA. Andrew was attracted to Purdue for the world class engineering program, which is always ranked with the best. He might never have even heard of the school were it not for the time that his parents spent living and working in the general area. As a matter of fact he was born in the Home Hospital in West Lafayette. It seems fitting that he would choose this renowned place to study Chemical Engineering.

Even though I had a favorable mental picture of the area, I still needed to see Andrew’s environment before I would feel completely comfortable. The annual Purdue Family Weekend gave me the opportunity to better visualize Andrew’s daily life. I’m happy to proclaim that he made a very wise choice in selecting Purdue as his educational home for the next four years. It is apparent that the students and faculty are focused on academics while offering a welcoming atmosphere that takes student needs into account.

About forty percent of the student body comes from the state of Indiana. Another forty percent is comprised of young men and women from the other forty nine states. International students make up the other twenty percent. The university makes a concerted effort to help all of its students to embrace diversity. Of course Andrew is already there given that he hales from Sugarland which boasts the most diverse population in the world. He is more than ready to continue learning about different cultures and hopes to one day work in a foreign land.

Purdue is a serious place but it has a strong tradition of emphasizing the joy factor of life as well. On game days the seniors dress in costumes and walk around the town having a good time. A football game attracts a sold out crowd of students and alumni. The mood is convivial, with good sportsmanship on display. I love the train that is the official mascot of the school and has been for the seventy five years since 1940. There are traditional cheers and routines that keep everyone in sync. Before a kickoff everyone rattles their keys in the air. After the kickoff they chant, “IU sucks!” referring to their chief rival, Indiana University. There are shouts of “Boiler Up!” and “Hammer Down!” Everyone has a very good time but nobody takes the game too seriously. They seem to understand that at the end of the day the key to the school’s reputation lies in the outstanding academic programs that are offered.

We’ve had fun trying out some of the restaurants around town. One of our favorites was the Triple X (XXX) where we had some incredible burgers and root beer in mugs so much like that which I remember from when I was young. We also fell in love with DT Kirby’s, a downtown pub that specializes in a variety of sandwiches unlike any that I have ever eaten before. There are steadfast rules like, “no forks allowed” and “no ketchup for anyone over ten.” The bathrooms appear to be porta potties but they also have a surprise factor for anyone daring enough to use one. The food is fabulous.

We took a short drive out of town to eat lunch at the Klein Brot Haus which is known for its freshly prepared soups and homemade bread. To both our chagrin and delight the town where it is located was in the midst of celebrating the annual Apple Popcorn Festival which is a citywide garage sale and fair combined. It was a ton of fun seeing all of the wares and watching the people who were quite excited about having a very good time. We got a real feel for small town USA while we were there and the food was excellent.

All in all I fell in love with this place where Andrew will be. The drive along the Wabash River is quite lovely. On most days when college is in session one might see the Purdue Crew practicing their rowing skills on the water. The downtown area is filled with old time buildings that feature craft shops, art galleries, bars, restaurants, and local businesses and services. There is a great museum near the railroad tracks and a train that takes passengers to Chicago and Indianapolis.

We were sure to visit a venerable old place that has been in business since 1932. The Frozen Custard stand offers a variety of hots dogs along with its featured custard. The flavors vary with the seasons. In honor of fall there were the usual flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry along with cinnamon and pumpkin. For a long while there was a cute little woman who had worked there for decades. She was as delightful as the confections. When she died the owners erected a kind of shrine to her. We were sad to learn that she was gone but happy to enjoy some of the delightful flavors before the place closes up for the winter in October.

I suspect that most students in Texas high schools rarely think of attending a school like Purdue but if I were still working as an educator I would definitely suggest that they seriously consider coming to this remarkable place. The campus is beautiful, the reputation of the university is sterling, and even the food in the dining halls is way better than the average fare. Purdue offers so many different degrees in an atmosphere of openness that is missing in far too many halls of higher learning today. In fact, the administration is on record for insisting that its students all be exposed to the gamut of points of view so that they will be more familiar with the world and comfortable with forming their own opinions.

A great example of this is demonstrated by a group that arrives at the university daily to preach the word according to their worldview. They tend to insist that most of us are going to hell and they do so rather raucously but the students are quite polite to them, sometimes even engaging in discussions devoid of anger or disrespect. There are no safe zones because the members of the faculty believe that part of being educated is  understanding that not everyone thinks alike. It is up to each individual to formulate his/her ultimate philosophy.

Purdue has also been noted for eschewing the trend toward grade inflation that is so much a part of university culture today. Students understand that they will have to really earn the kudos from their professors. This is yet another reason why so many recruiters actually flock to Purdue. They know from experience that graduates are well prepared for the real world.

I feel quite content now. Andrew is in a great place. I’ll be able to picture him in his dorm room and walking around campus. I won’t worry at all. He’s a level headed young man who has his priorities set quite straight. Besides his mom and I made certain that he has a warm jacket and hat for the coming cold weather. He is going to be just fine!