Standing on a platform draped with a Colgate banner, President Rebecca Chopp along with a group of alumni and university friends rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning, officially kicking off Colgate Day. (To watch the event, click here.)
From coast to coast and around the world, Colgate faithful are sporting their favorite maroon gear in celebration of the university’s love affair with the number 13.
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| Colgate President Rebecca Chopp is flanked by alumni and friends of the university as she opens trading today at the New York Stock Exchange. |
By celebrating Colgate every Friday the 13th and scoffing at triskaidekaphobia, the university community is enjoined to not be superstitious.
“Our alumni are clearly passionate about Colgate and consider wearing maroon to be lucky on Friday the 13th,” said Marty Bair, of the Colgate Bookstore.
And the proof is in merchandise sales, especially those online, which have doubled this week.
Bair said Colgate alumni from as far away as Australia are snatching up everything from T-shirts and polos to belts and ties.
Online, you can post photos of yourself decked out in Colgate gear on the university’s Facebook page. If you’re not a Facebook user, e-mail pictures to news@colgate.edu and we’ll upload them for you.
The page has gone viral; more than 1,300 people have become fans since it was created in early May.
Jason Rand ’07 is using the online community to get word out about a Friday the 13th gathering tonight for Colgate alumni in San Francisco.
“Despite the fact that we’re 3,000 miles away from Colgate, there’s no doubt that ‘gaters from the West Coast will be rejoicing in the fact that we love the number 13,” said Rand.
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| Students, staff, and faculty members celebrate Colgate Day with a campus ice cream social outside Merrill House. (Photo by Adriana Brodyn ’08) |