The scene: the first day of classes your first semester at NIU. The mood: total chaos and mayhem.

I’ll bet none of us will ever forget our first week of school—wandering around aimlessly, trying to find what buildings our classes were in and how in the world to pronounce “Reavis” (Ree-a-vis? Rev-is? Ree-vis?). I was too cool as a freshman—what with memorizing which shoulder to sling my bookbag on—to ask directions or amble up to the giant map in the MLK mall.

Well, most of us did learn to find our way about campus and discovered our niche in whatever building housed our major. But does anyone stop to think who these buildings were named for?

Being an avid reader and English minor, I found it slightly suspicious and intriguing that there seems to be a mystery link of sorts on campus—Holmes and Watson. Coincidence, or did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Basil Rathbone make a hefty contribution to higher education?

Curious, I ventured into the archives and found the answer. Watson Hall, as it turns out, is not named for Sherlock’s rather rotund sidekick, but Chauncy B. Watson. Chauncy was an NIU professor, prominent DeKalb civic leader and member of the State Teachers College Board.

Likewise, the HSC is not named after the tweed-clad detective, but for Leslie A. Holmes, long-time NIU president. The tower part, in fact, was not added to the original building (called “University Center”) until 1968. So much for the mystery theory.

My other guesses about NIU buildings also fell apart rapidly. I, the eternal rerun couch potato, mistakenly thought Fred and Ethel’s last name was Wirtz, not Mertz. Therefore, the business-HFR building was not named for Lucy and Ricky’s neighbors. Alas, namesake William W. Wirtz came to NIU in 1910 and served as a teacher, men’s athletics coach and chairman of the Governor’s Board.

Wirtz’s son, W. Willard Wirtz (yes, they all had the initials WWW) was the U.S. Secretary of Labor under President John F. Kennedy, the first DeKalb resident to become a cabinet member. The soon-to-be-razed Wirtz house was Willard’s childhood home, built by the elder Wirtz.

Following the ‘50s and ’60s TV comedy theme, I wondered if McMurry was named for Fred “My Three Sons” McMurray, but once again, I was wrong. Mr. McMurry was a longtime faculty member and DeKalb citizen.

DuSable may sound like a neat German car, but the building’s namesake is Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable. He was an instrumental figure in settling Chicago and in the Revolutionary War – unusual for a black man in the seventeenth century, a time of strong racism and slavery.

Some of NIU’s other buildings are obvious—the Psych-Math building was not named for Mr. Psych-Math, Lincoln and Douglas residence halls were named for those debaters Abe and Stephen A. and others for various NIU professors and leaders.

That concludes today’s little history lesson. However, there is one thing common to many halls and buildings I still haven’t figured out. Who spray painted Goofus and Gallant (from “Highlights” Magazine) all over campus and why are they green?