Student government officers new and old were celebrating the just-finished inauguration Sunday night at a Hannah Street duplex. There were still cupcakes left, and a big cake with the DePauw University seal sat untouched.
At 10:45 p.m., college life met history.
Senior David Dietz, the outgoing executive vice president of student government, was in the bathroom when a friend called and told him Osama bin Laden had been killed, and President Barack Obama was about to make an announcement.
Dietz jumped out of the bathroom to shut the music off and gather everyone around. But, at that exact moment, a former and current officer were hatching a plot. Senior Gary Pett, outgoing vice president of student life for student government, and Nic Flores, incoming executive vice president of student government, were going to shove the DePauw seal cake in outgoing student government president Christine Walker's face.
As Walker wiped icing out of her eyes, everyone gathered around the television and pulled up their computers to follow the news.
"We had a pretty good discussion, it was a room of active, smart thinkers. Maybe it was meant to be," Dietz said.
In a more serious setting, the men of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity erupted into a chant of "U.S.A, U.S.A" in a chapter meeting when a member announced the news.
Despite the typical late-night Sunday homework spree, at least 30 students in Roy O. West library abandoned their studies to crowd around a small TV by the librarian's desk.
Janessa Brown, sophomore compared it to the interruption nearly 10 years ago when some middle schools turned on coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"It was like the same thing, with people gathering around TVs," she said.
Students, who were not studying, ran into the library with an American flag, yelling "U.S.A" for about a minute after the announcement. Brown said she and study mate Ashley Smith hopefully discussed the possibility for their family members in the military being able to maybe come home from the Middle East.
Across the quad, a cluster of Phi Delta Theta fraternity men marched to the Fluttering Duck to celebrate, having just set off fireworks at their chapter house. They joined a growing celebration at the bar, where students pumped money into the jukebox to play American-themed songs.
"We should play Miley Cyrus again," said sophomore Christopher Peden, after the artist's song "Party in the U.S.A" ended. He put on John Mellencamp's "Small Town." He had been at Sigma Chi fraternity when he heard the news and promptly went to the Duck to celebrate.
Senior Liz Orsborn and junior Dean Contreras were already at the Duck when Contreras received at text message that bin Laden was dead. They asked the bartender to turn on the news.
"It's about damn time," Orsborn said about bin Laden's death.
Next to Contreras, junior Emily Reavis was reading text messages from her sister who goes to school in Washington and was one of the early members of the mob outside the White House. News outlets reported that hundreds of people gathered at the capital after the announcement. Reavis received many photos of the celebration from her sister. One of the photo messages read, "Yeah, that's someone climbing a flag pole."
Sophomore Tyler Hess was working on homework in his room when he heard the news on TV. Hess thought critically about the broad implications of the announcement.
"My initial reaction was, I hope this doesn't serve as a justification for invading Pakistan," Hess said.
Hess also expressed concern about military spending increases at the expense of social and environmental programs, and the blooming media spectacle.
Also reflecting on the situation as a whole, Dietz tried to put the event in perspective for his generation.
"We were in seventh grade, we couldn't appreciate the significance of the day," Dietz said. "Now, 10 years later, we're finally capturing the symbolism, the personification of that day, and the struggle against radicalization."