STORY BY KATE HAVENS
“How do you live blue?” is a question that went around campus last week for Live Blue week.
Live Blue was a time to show school pride and to reflect on what living blue means to students. One of the students who organized Live Blue, senior marketing major Becky Copoulos, described the mission of the week.
“Live Blue Week was started to make Drake pride more visible,” Copoulos said.
The idea of Live Blue originated from the Drake faculty group the “Sweet Sixteen.” The “Sweet Sixteen” developed the definition of Blue’s acronym: bold, lead, unity and engage — four words that have become a part of Drake students’ live.
According to the Live Blue DU Facebook page, “A Bulldog who lives blue uses passion and personality to add value to the Bulldog family, celebrate traditions and embrace new opportunities.”
Along with Copoulos, Nicole Kasperbauer, Matt McManus, Bridget Banks, Kayla Hughes, Mario Rossi, Gary Ricks and Emily Raecker all played a role in planning Live Blue through the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) capstone.
The members have worked since the beginning of the semester, meeting with administration and mapping out what they wanted Live Blue to look like.
Junior sociology major Matt McManus explained how each member was assigned different tasks to put this week together.
“I am involved in more of the connections with staff and students and talking to the right people,” McManus said. “We all have our own role and duties.”
Each day of the week, a different activity took place. On Monday, a video was posted on the Live Blue DU Facebook page, where numerous students gave brief descriptions of what “living blue” means to them.
Tuesday was the first day of the photo challenge. Students were asked to post a picture on Facebook that demonstrated “living blue.”
On Nov. 5, capstone members handed out cookies, hot chocolate and other Drake giveaways in Helmick Commons from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
LEAD capstone members agreed that their favorite part of the week took place on Thursday. Members were busy handing out over 600 free T-shirts until 2 p.m.
Among students hustling to class, LEAD students broke out in a flash mob to showcase their school spirit. Kasperbauer, a senior magazine journalism and graphic design double major, related the flash mob to the purpose of Live Blue.
“We were bold, we lead others into the excitement, we created unity within one another and we engaged with our campus and the student body,” Kasperbauer said.
Wrapping up the week, the winner of the photo challenge Susanna Hayward was announced on Friday. Hayward, a junior graphic design magazine and public relations triple major, accepted the first place prize, an iPad mini. Senior creative advertising major Haley Austin came in second.
Kasperhauer thinks Drake students can look forward to more Live Blue weeks to come.
“I hope to see this initiative alive in the future years when I come back to visit,” Kasperbauer said. “We have high hopes that the Student Alumni Association will be taking over this week and making it the best it can be for future years. I think that if carried through with passionate students, this will definitely hold a place on our campus.”
