Breakfast Club
When I first set out to write about Breakfast Club, I contemplated many different options, but I concluded that in order to get a feel for what Breakfast Club really is like, I should interview people who have participated in the tradition. Fortunately I know someone who is participating in the tradition today, and as well as someone who experienced Breakfast Club at Purdue in the past.
Karen is a twenty-one year old student who is a junior here at Purdue University.
What exactly is Breakfast Club?
Breakfast club is an event where Purdue students go to the bars in the early morning before Football games. Everyone dresses up in costumes.
Who participates in this tradition, or whom do you usually go with?
Anyone over the age of 21 can participate in Breakfast club. Typically, it is just Purdue students. Friends and family of Purdue often participate as well. On family weekend, many parents go to Breakfast Club as well.
What time of year do you participate in Breakfast Club?
There is a Breakfast Club before every Football game. There is also one Breakfast Club in the Spring on the Saturday of Grand Prix.
What time do you usually get up for Breakfast Club?
I usually get up at 5:15 am. My friends and I typically try to leave by 6am so that we can be in line by 6:15am.
How do you pick the costumes that you wear?
Usually my friends and I will find costume ideas on Pinterest or somewhere else online. We typically do group costumes so that there are a bunch of us dressing for the same theme. We will usually do all the buying the week before.
What are your favorite costume you have worn, and your favorite/most interesting you have seen?
My favorite costume that I have worn so far was my flamingo costume. My friends and I dressed in all pink and pinned pink feather boas all over our body. We also wore foam visors that were made into the shape of a beak. The most interesting thing I have seen is people dressed in full animal costumes- like gorillas or bears.
Karen’s mother, Debbie, also went to Purdue and participated in Breakfast Club. Her take on the tradition was a little different from how it is today. She recently participated in Breakfast Club during Parent’s Weekend.
How was Breakfast club in 2014 different from what you remember when you were in college in the late 1980s?
When I was in college we didn’t dress up in costume for Breakfast Club, but it was still in the morning always before home football games. I remember going Edo’s, which was torn down, and reconstruction into the parking lot across from Harry’s Chocolate Shop.
What were the similarities from Breakfast Club in the 1980s and Breakfast Club today?
I found that the main reason for having Breakfast Club remained the same over the years. We generally would get up and spend time with friends before football games. When I went this past fall, we all got a big table at Jake’s, a local bar, and it reminded me of how my friends and I would get together for Breakfast Club over 25 years ago.
Why do you think this should stay a tradition at Purdue?
This is a fun thing for alumnae to do when they come back in town. It reminds them of something they did when they were younger. I think it will stay a tradition at Purdue because people like to drink with their friends.