They are etched into slabs of stone at the entrance to the UMC, on the walkways leading to the sun dial plaza at Norlin, scattered around the stairways of the engineering center and other areas across campus. Students walk past them with an occasional glance or tread over the bold indentations on their way to class.
Act, Honor, Integrity, Accountability, Respect, Accept and Contribute are the seven core principles that combine to create the Colorado Creed, a standard of living and being at CU.
Sydney Schavietello, a 21-year-old junior English major and Creed member said that she started participating in the organization because it was something that her values aligned with.
“It’s a general way of being,” Schavietello said. “The values wind up coming out in your own actions because that’s what you believe in.”
Creed members are currently looking for ways to promote these principles.
At their Monday night meeting, they discussed ways to promote the values of the Creed, to increase their membership and to become a more active part of the student consciousness on campus.
Members suggested new avenues of reaching the CU population, from interactive theater performances like those commonly shown at orientation sessions, to greater recognition of students who exemplify the Creed’s seven values.
Currently, according to the Web site, the Creed organization gives out eight Creed awards at the end of each year, seven to individuals who have clearly represented a particular value of the Creed and an eighth award for overall excellence.
Members at the meeting talked about possibly extending this process of recognition to include students that would be nominated campus-wide within different groups and activities. These students wouldn’t receive the official Creed award, but would be able to take part in the awards dinner and be honored for their contribution to the campus.
According to the Creed Web site, (link to -http://www.colorado.edu/creed/) the set of values was adopted in 2003 when a group of CU students came together with the objective of improving the way the community viewed the university by promoting the merits that they saw in it every day.
CU students said they often learn about the Creed early on in their experience on campus.
“I remember learning about it at orientation and it seemed like a pretty respectable set of ideals,” said Jonathan Charkas, an 18-year-old sophomore aerospace engineering sciences major.
Despite his respect for the central concept of the Creed, Charkas also said that it’s not something he really stops to consider.
“I see it around in the architecture occasionally, but other than that I don’t really think about it,” Charkas said.
Krzytopher Tung, a 22-year-old senior mechanical engineering major, also said that he’s never taken the time to think too much about the Creed and that the university doesn’t seem to highlight its importance.
“For them having it carved in all the buildings, they don’t really emphasize it much in classes,” Tung said.
Ryan Brauchler, a 20-year-old junior economics and finance major, said that he became a Creed member because he wanted to get something more out of his college experience.
“I had a desire to make the piece of paper I get when I leave here worth more,” Brauchler said.
Executive director of the Alumni Association, Ron Stump, told the Creed members at their meeting that he thinks the CU campus would be hollow without their presence and their dedication to maintaining and promoting the ideals of the Creed.
“I think you guys have to exist,” Stump said. “Somebody’s got to be the core to keep talking about these values.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kaely Moore at Kaely.moore@colorado.edu.
