When Trevor Kauer and Cailin Bary realized there weren”t many spring semester events aimed at fostering school pride, they were inspired by other universities to create an I Heart Idaho Week.
Kauer, president of the University of Idaho Student Alumni Relations Board (SArb), said after they heard about events like I Heart UCLA Week at a conference, they decided to orchestrate something similar at UI.
“We learned about it and we were like, “You know, we haven”t done anything to instill Vandal pride or promote Vandal pride in the spring semester,”” Kauer said. “In the fall, we have Homecoming and that”s a huge thing and Vandal pride is a huge aspect of that.”
Kauer and Bary, one of the committee chairs for I Heart Idaho Week, spent the whole year planning for the event.
“The idea behind it is it”s the same amount of spirit as Homecoming, there”s just no competition,” Bary said. “It”s straight-up a week for all students to show their love for UI.”
Each day of the week running February 29 through March 5 follows a different theme.
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Benaiah Cheevers (right) picks a random act of kindness for I Heart Idaho Week Monday outside the Idaho Commons.
Bary said the event began with Make it Great Monday, during which SArb tabled outside of the Idaho Commons and encouraged students to do good deeds around campus, like complimenting a stranger or holding the door open for someone.
“Students had a chance to pick a good deed out of a basket,” Bary said. “A great way to start off the week is to have students do nice things for other students.”
Kauer said other I Heart Idaho Week events included Tradition Keeper Tuesday, which gave students the chance to learn about UI traditions and the history of campus buildings, and With Love, Wednesday, in which students could share what they love most about Idaho.
Kauer said computer science students within the College of Engineering teamed up to create a special Theophilus Tower light show for I Heart Idaho Week”s Light Up with Love event Thursday.
Bary said of all of the events, she”s most excited for the Great Late Potato Bake, which will be held at 10:30 p.m. Friday at the Campus Christian Center.
“We”re taking over the Campus Christian Center and we”re selling baked potatoes for students,” Bary said. “Idaho is known for our potato industry, so you can show up for $3 and you can get a baked potato with toppings like sour cream and butter.”
Kauer said for the final event of the week, students are encouraged to show their Vandal pride at the basketball game between UI and Idaho State University Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.
This is the first year SArb has hosted the event and Kauer said he looks forward to seeing how the week develops in the years to come.
“In the future, we hope to gain some funding and be able to do really big things and do kick-off events and maybe pre-Mom”s Weekend events,” Kauer said.
Kauer said he would also like to incorporate faculty and administration into I Heart Idaho Weeks in the future and organize events like Meet a Professor or Pancakes with the President.
“I would like to see the week move into having different departments, maybe have professors and faculty partner with us,” Kauer said. “To make an event to show that we have our administration and we have our professors but we all love Idaho, I think it brings together the Vandal family.”
When it comes to the future of the event, Bary said they intend to focus on expanding the week through more advertising and a larger social media presence.
“I”m excited to build this tradition because I would love for it to be a week that all of campus gets to be excited for and all of campus gets to look forward to,” Bary said. “That”s kind of the point of any transition, right? Is to connect all of campus.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond