Story by Kimberly Marselas

Rise, shine and listen up. It's early morning and busy little squirrels are laying down a scratchy crunch, crunch, crunch as they forage through fallen leaves, their sharp little claws blending with the melodious chirping of starlings looking for their breakfast. Meanwhile, the gentle trickle of McKeldin Mall’s Omicron Delta Fountain serves as a delicate bass line and the steady hum of traffic floats over from Route 1.

Less than a mile away, a plane takes off, its purring engine adding a new dimension to the surround sound as it streaks over campus. Along Paint Branch Creek, 100 Air Force ROTC cadets come running out of the woods and cut through any remaining quiet with precisely timed cadences delivered in a stunning baritone. Then, at 8 a.m. sharp, the bells in Memorial Chapel usher students to the first class of the day, and the daily sidewalk banter and cell phone ringing begin in earnest.

Easy to miss or blaring with urgency, these are the many sounds of Maryland: the soundtrack of each student’s campus experience, a symphonic blend of magical and quite ordinary sounds that we’ll forever identify with being a Terp.

While the Memorial Chapel bells will always be an audible landmark, they are no longer the biggest noisemaker on campus.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a deadly tornado that hit campus just weeks later, an eerie new sound showed up in College Park. The university’s Department of Public Safety installed an Early Warning System in spring 2003 to alert people on campus and in the surrounding community to natural or man-made emergencies.

On the first Wednesday of each month, three sirens mounted atop the Benjamin Building, the Computer and Space Sciences Building and the Service Building each blare at a harsh, high-pitched 128 decibels. It’s a 30-second test heard across campus— fortunately during a class change at 11:55 a.m.

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