Jutting from a bed of red bricks at the south end of Booth Library, the Alumni Association Clock Tower chimes regularly for campus, but its voice holds greater potential.

Dedicated to Eastern in April 2005, the 30-foot clock tower was donated by the Alumni Association to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

The clock tower cost the Alumni Association $90,557, which was funded entirely through contributions to the association, Alumni Association Director Steve Rich said.

While some students might think they are hearing the clanging of the bell that hangs in the clock tower, Rich said all the sounds are produced by a speaker within the tower.

Chimes mark each hour as students walk past, and Eastern’s alma mater plays at regular intervals. However, Rich said the alma mater did not come programmed and was added to customize the gift for Eastern.

“(The clock tower) came with a standard list, and so we requested the alma mater be added,” he said.

While the alma mater is played most often, the clock tower has the potential to produce 206 songs.

The master list of songs breaks down the chimes into categories, including those for rainy days, love songs, classical songs and songs for children.

“Edelweiss,” “Puff, the Magic Dragon” and “Over the Rainbow” dot the list of popular songs the clock tower can produce.

Changing the song the clock tower plays is not as easy as flipping a switch, Rich said.

A staff member from the Alumni Association must reprogram the clock tower from Booth Library to play each specific song.

“It’s not something we can do from our computer,” he said. “A person has to physically go down to Booth Library and reprogram the control system.”

Although the alma mater is one of the only songs the clock tower plays, Rich said the Alumni Association does change songs for holidays such as Independence Day and Christmas.

However, the association is open to programming other songs to play for other holidays and special occasions, he said.

Along with being able to control the songs the clock tower can play, the Alumni Association can also control its volume level.

When the clock tower was dedicated, adjusting the volume to an appropriate level was a trial-by-error experiment, Rich said.

He said particular attention was paid to volume so that it could be heard at a reasonable distance while not disrupting classes and students in Booth Library.

“Shortly after it was installed, we tried to be very, very aware of volume,” he said. “If it were turned up loud enough to where you could hear it in Old Main, that could be disruptive to people who are 100 feet away in Coleman Hall or in Lumpkin or Booth Library.”

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812 or tadeters@eiu.edu.