A “Be Boulder” sign hangs on a pole near the Center for Community building on campus. This is a new marketing campaign recently launched by CU, and the CUSG freshman council will be holding an entire “Be Boulder” week beginning April 21. (Calyx Ward/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Student Government is planning a “Be Boulder” week to coincide with CU’s rollout of its new marketing platform, “Be Boulder.” The week of events, planned by the CUSG Freshman Council, initially inspired by a video for an app called “Blend” that depicted partying at CU — which, according to the council, portrayed CU in a negative light — will take place from April 21-25.
CUSG Chief of Staff Lora Roberts, a junior communications major, said the freshman council is made up of 18 freshmen that shadow members of CUSG’s executive staff. She said the council generally puts together one or two events per year, but this year they decided to do a whole week of events.
“CU is a lot more than what the media usually shows,” Roberts said.
According to Roberts, each day during the “Be Boulder” week will correspond with something that the freshman council feels CU is known for besides partying, and although the council is still in the planning stages, the events for each day have been set:
Monday, April 21: “Wellness Day,” promoting CU students being “happy” and “healthy”.
Tuesday, April 22: “Earth Day,” which will focus on students being “green” and “sustainable”.
Wednesday, April 23: “Community Day,” which will encourage students to be “involved” and “united” with the university, celebrating what Roberts called Boulder’s “history of activism.”
Thursday, April 24: “Academic Day,” aimed at shedding light on students being “academic” and “revolutionary.”
Friday, April 25: “Day Without Hate,” an event previously put on by the freshmen council as a stand-alone event that has been co-opted by the “Be Boulder” week. It will promote peace and nonviolence, and people are encouraged to wear white.
While the freshman council is in charge of the week’s events, they have been receiving help from the university’s communications department.
“What we’re hoping for is to support the students in their efforts to produce the week and pull it off,” said Jon Leslie, CU Boulder’s director of strategic marketing and web communication.
Leslie said that the freshman council conceived the idea for “Be Boulder” without any help from the CU administration.
“I couldn’t have been more excited about it when I found out,” Leslie said.
Both Roberts and Leslie stressed the week will not be an expensive undertaking, and both feel the week will be successful.
“I’m hoping students like this, and it becomes something we can make a tradition out of,” Roberts said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Samuel.klomhaus@colorado.edu.
