Many students rolled out of bed before the crack of dawn Friday morning for a chance to witness history in the making: the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William Mountbatten-Windsor.
Small groups of students across campus gathered around television sets while their classmates slept to partake in William and Kate's wedding celebration. Some aspired to be the princess figure, Kate Middleton, and thoroughly examined every detail of the outfits and ceremony while others used the event to play drinking games following the Royal Wedding theme.
Freshman Christine Webster sat in her pajamas, slack-jawed with eyes glued to the screen as the future princess appeared for the first time in her wedding gown.
"I'm so jealous of her," Webster said. "Every girl hopes and dreams of being a princess and she actually gets to live that dream."
Jimmy Hiller, a freshman, awoke at 4 a.m. to join his friends for English muffins and tea around the television in College Street Hall. Hiller said the group enjoyed watching the cars arrive at Westminster Abbey Cathedral and discussed the outfits as the attendees paraded across the screen. The group said they enjoyed being a part of the historical moment, even if only from their couches.
"It's exciting to be part of a cultural event that's going to define our generation similar to Diana's and Charles's wedding," Hiller said.
For sophomore Meg Gloyne watching the wedding with her sorority sisters in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority TV room had special significance. Gloyne came to DePauw from England and so the wedding was an opportunity to see and remember her home.
"I've been so excited for this moment, but it makes me very homesick. I was crying the whole way through and my mom was texting me and so was my sister," Gloyne said.
Other groups gathered to take a drink every time the Queen came on the screen — among many other occasions when drinking was expected. A freshman girl, who wishes to remain anonymous because she is not of legal drinking age, said that she woke up early to join her friends in an elaborate drinking game prompted by the wedding ceremony.
"Weddings are way better drunk," she said. "I'd like to think we even took it to a whole new royalty sort of level, royally uncommon wedding success."
Though majority of campus remained in their beds, for the few waking up at four in the morning meant a glimpse into a historical event, "royally uncommon success" included.