Some students secretly wish they could wear their Cody Hawkins jersey in the middle of January. For those students, they’re in luck; CU student leaders are creating a new tradition known as “Spirit Fridays” that they say will encourage the CU community to wear their school apparel on Fridays.
In an effort to raise the spirit and Buff pride at CU, student leaders are inviting and encouraging students, faculty, staff and the Boulder community to don their festive CU wear on Fridays.
Buffs began to pull out their CU football jerseys and other familiar black and gold shirts in support of the new tradition at CU on Jan. 16. The newly created tradition will continue this Friday.
“You can always be proud of CU, there’s no special time,” said Dustin Farivar, a junior political science major and Tri-executive for the University of Colorado Student Union. “Whether it’s your pride in our environmental sustainability or our leadership in community service, it’s important to show pride in your school.”
The new tradition is the result of a partnership between CU Staff Council, the Division of Student Affairs and UCSU. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Julie Wong jump-started the idea shortly after winter break with the help of student leaders.
“We kind of hit the ground running, and we’re hoping to build a sustainable tradition that anyone from the community can join in,” Farivar said.
To help spread the new tradition and in hopes of getting everyone involved, Staff Council and various student groups will be holding special events and contests throughout the spring semester, including a photo contest for the most spirited Buff and a design for a “spirit pin,” according to a CU news release.
YouTube addresses to students and faculty will also be uploaded online in order to strengthen the camaraderie of the so-called “Buff Nation”, according to student leaders.
The coordinators of Spirit Fridays say they are confident the idea will catch on quickly.
“Our vision is that Spirit Fridays will build a community. It will be a way to bring Buffs together and display unity and pride that everyone can see and feel,” said Kathleen Majewski, UCSU Liaison for Athletics and Alumni and junior broadcast major.
Students said they like the idea of creating unity on campus.
“It could create unity,” said Ashley Haas, a sophomore communications major. “I feel like spirit is not as big a deal on this campus compared to others, so it will be good for our campus to unite.”
Student leaders say other expectations for this new tradition go beyond the existing Buff community.
“[We want] freshmen and visitors to come to our campus knowing that’s what we do,” Farivar said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taylor Coughlin at Taylor.coughlin@colorado.edu.
