Over 800 orange and blue cookies and a table full of cupcakes arranged into the state of Illinois were handed out to students in celebration of the University’s 147th birthday last month, which ended the second annual I Love Illinois Week. The weeklong series of events is the brainchild of the student philanthropy organization 1867 Society.
“We celebrate Homecoming in the fall, but there really isn’t anything to look forward to in terms of spirit and pride in the spring semester; this is how I Love Illinois Week came about,” explains 1867 Society President Katie Chan.
Encouraging a culture of philanthropy and celebrating the University are at the forefront of the week’s events. The 1867 Society kicked off the week by offering “I Love Illinois” tank tops to students. From shirts to pastries, the freebies throughout the week were really about showing love for both current and former students.
“Sure, we’re giving away a lot of stuff in the process, but we believe this is the most effective way to gain a student’s attention and to tell them about how great our University is and how they have been impacted by private gifts whether they know it or not,” Chan, a senior in accountancy, says.
As the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences celebrates its 100-year anniversary, I Love Illinois Week was an opportunity to spread love for LAS. The college, along with handing out 600 of those cookies, gave away LAS souvenirs and free T-shirts to students who wrote down what they loved about LAS—such as “It’s home. It allows me to expand my mind and my soul.” And “I experienced amazing faculty and teaching methods.” Their quotes were tweeted along with their photos. A commemorative board signed by LAS students is now on display in the Lincoln Hall cafe. (See more photos of LAS’s booth.)
One coincidental event that roused Illini pride happened on the first day of I Love Illinois Week. Ellen DeGeneres initiated a surprise costume contest on the Quad on Monday, Feb. 24. As people packed around the fenced-off area where the remote broadcast was held, Jeannie Klisiewicz, College of Education alumna, showed up to reign in the excitement as the host. Ellen’s tweets were pretty mysterious leading up to the event, but they brought up to 4,000 students and onlookers into an episode of The Ellen Show that aired that Wednesday.
Chan emphasized the importance of reaching out to recent alumni of the University, citing social media as a hugely important part of communication about I Love Illinois Week.
The flood of posts on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #ILLINOISlove, containing everything from excitement about Ellen’s surprise to happy birthday wishes to general school pride shout-outs say something about the success of the week.
“We hope that even though they are alums, they are still loving Illinois and supporting it in any way possible,” Chan says. “Alumni provide many resources to us, including supporting I Love Illinois Week. With that, we hope [current students] will contribute back to their college, department, etc., to help support other student programs on campus.”
Chan hopes that in the future, the 1867 Society can organize an official event to bring alumni back to the University to participate with current students, but feels that their first goal is to get I Love Illinois Week established on steady ground. The outpouring of orange (and blue) on “Wear Orange Wednesday” made it seem like I Love Illinois Week already has a fond place in students’ hearts, but it will be exciting to see how the week evolves by the University’s 148th birthday.
