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The Green

Before there was the Green in front of the Administration Building, an interurban trolley line came almost up to the building’s steps. In 1961, trolley service ended and the street was closed from Bethel College Mennonite Church to the Ad Building. Development of the Green began in 1962, with trees planted and the fountain plaza area and walkway added. Today the Green is the literal and figurative heart of the campus. It is a popular spot for Ultimate Frisbee^® as well as a place for students to sit and study or visit when the weather is still warm in fall or begins to warm up in spring. The Green fills with tents, booths and people each fall for Fall Festival. At the end of fall semester, the Lighting of the Green, a ritual of lighting the Advent darkness with small candles in preparation for remembering Christ’s birth, takes place. Following the first convocation of the school year in fall, there is the traditional “hand-shake walk” around the Green, and at the end of the school year another traditional walk, around the Green to Thresher Stadium, with graduating seniors led by faculty in their academic regalia to Commencement ceremonies.