By: Jordan Siden, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2017, History, Bloomington Decline: 1988-2002 The news was announced in the fall of 1987. After 37 years on the sidelines, women finally won the opportunity to race on bicycles in the inaugural Women’s Little 500. Though the race would comprise just half as many laps as the men’s… Read more »
By: Jordan Siden, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2017, History, Bloomington Beginnings: 1955 to 1971 “Women Behind the Men Make the Race a Success,” read the headline to Lynn Sproatt’s article in the Indiana Daily Student on April 17, 1955, a little over a month before the fifth running of the annual Little 500.[1] “For weeks… Read more »
By: Jordan Siden, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2017, History, Bloomington Crisis: 1978 to 1987 The man in the photograph clutches the tricycle between his legs. His open mouth and eyebrows raised in concentration accentuate his round face. Dressed in a polo shirt, short ’70s shorts, and a boyish baseball cap atop curly hair, his wiry… Read more »
By: Jordan Siden, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2017, History, Bloomington After spending the first few months of my Mini 500 project deep in primary sources, at the start of the fall semester I decided to work toward placing my story in its larger context. This included reading about women’s experiences in American colleges since… Read more »
By: Jordan Siden, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2017, History, Bloomington I was after a story that would show me what life was like for former students at IU, how they related to the University, and how they related to each other. When I first proposed my topic to the IU Bicentennial department, the Mini… Read more »