Starting on Thursday at the Activities Fair, students will have the opportunity to register a group of 4 to 6 people and compete in the Go Be Red initiative. Go Be Red is a six-month-long spirit competition in which teams will be able to participate in various events that include sporting events in order to earn points toward a final prize.
Points will be awarded to team members based on their attendance at the different events. For each team member present at the event, a certain number of points will be awarded. If the entire team is present at an event, bonus points will be awarded to the team as well.
At the end of the six months, the team with the highest number of points will be provided with a spring break trip paid for by the Go Be Red committee and Empress Travel. “Other big prizes will be given away to top teams as well,” stated Grand Marshal Max Yates. “We have a nice little budget to work with,” Yates added, referring to the $6,000 budget and extra money provided by sponsors.
“We will have Go Be Red challenges every two to three weeks,” said Class of 2007 President Hannah Kim. There will also be the opportunity to attend sporting events every week. According Yates, “the goal is to go to as much as you can.”
According to Yates, the main purpose of this initiative is to raise morale. Yates and Kim both agree that Go Be Red will increase school spirit. According to Yates, a large percentage of the student population is involved in some aspect of sports—whether it be varsity, intramural, or club sports, or even using the Mueller Center facilities. “We have such a strong focus on our academics that we forget that one of the central activities that brings people together is sports,” states Yates. “When you get people to go out and support our athletes, they tend to do better,” he added.
The first big event for the Go Be Red initiative is the “Big Red Chill,” which will be held on September 17, immediately following the football game. “It’s an attempt to break the world record for largest electric slide,” Kim explained. The event will take place at the ’86 Field and teams that register that day will also receive bonus points.
For more information on the Go Be Red initiative, visit the webpage at http://gobered.rpi.edu/. Registration forms can also be found online. Teams that register at the Activities Fair on September 1 will also receive bonus points.
