Standing on a platform draped with a 49ͼ 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 49ͼ Day. (To watch the event, click .)
From coast to coast and around the world, 49ͼ faithful are sporting their favorite maroon gear in celebration of the university’s with the number 13.
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| 49ͼ 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 49ͼ every Friday the 13th and scoffing at triskaidekaphobia, the university community is enjoined to not be superstitious.
“Our alumni are clearly passionate about 49ͼ and consider wearing maroon to be lucky on Friday the 13th,” said Marty Bair, of the 49ͼ Bookstore.
And the proof is in merchandise sales, especially those online, which have doubled this week.
Bair said 49ͼ 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 49ͼ gear on the university’s . 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 49ͼ alumni in San Francisco.
“Despite the fact that we’re 3,000 miles away from 49ͼ, 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 49ͼ Day with a campus ice cream social outside Merrill House. (Photo by Adriana Brodyn ’08) |