Triskaidekafanatics unite — Friday the 13th is Colgate Day!
The excitement starts at 9:29 a.m. (EST) June 13 in New York City when 13 Colgate alumni will ring the morning bell at the New York Stock Exchange (watch it live here).
Colgate fever will certainly sweep the globe, as alumni wear Colgate garb to work, to the park, or to grab a slice. Out in cyberspace, you can post photos of your own celebration on the university’s Facebook page. (Facebook users need to become a ‘fan’ of the page to share photos. Not on Facebook? E-mail pictures to news@colgate.edu and we’ll upload them for you)
Nothing to wear? Not to worry! Through June 13 the Colgate Bookstore is offering 20 percent off clothing purchases, both in-store and online. Internet customers receive free ground shipping.
On campus, an ice cream social sponsored by the Dean of the Faculty will be held at 12:30 Friday.
As many former undergrads know, the university’s connection to the number 13 dates back to its founding.
In 1817, 13 men — six clergy and seven laymen — met in the frontier settlement of Hamilton with “13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles.” During that meeting, the men founded the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York, the cornerstone for what would become Colgate.
But the relationship with the number doesn’t stop there.
There’s the university’s address, 13 Oak Drive.
And Colgate’s zip code, 13346. The first two numbers, standing alone, are the number 13, and the sum of the remaining three totals 13.
Even the university’s motto has a connection with 13. There are — no surprise here — 13 letters in “Deo ac Veritati,” a Latin phrase meaning “for God and for truth.”