Greyhound pride on campus is building up as UIndy Day, a day that is meant to unite The University of Indianapolis community, approaches, according to UIndy’s website. According to the site, UIndy Day will take place on April 18, this year, and is a day meant to celebrate and strengthen Greyhound pride for students. Associate Director of Annual Giving in the Office of Advancement Andrew Brown said an important aspect of UIndy Day is the prospect of being able to show thanks to those who donate and support the school.
“We always want to give people who are connected to the university an opportunity to give back to the university and stay connected to UIndy,” Brown said. “A lot of the things that students use throughout the entire year are funded by things through gifts like the UIndy Fund, the scholarship fund.”
According to Brown, there will be two main events this year including the UIndy Day Headquarters, located in the Schwitzer Student Center. The headquarters, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., allows students to visit and fill out postcards for donors and win prizes. There is also a new Crimson and Grey Fashion Show, according to Brown.
Brown said he helped facilitate the fashion show, but students were the ones to come up with the idea. The fashion show, which is held by the Business Administration Club, will also be located in Schwitzer and will begin at noon in the student center as well.
“We encourage students to wear their UIndy gear, wear anything crimson and grey related and to come out and have fun,” Brown said. “It’s a day when we want to see all students getting together and enjoying being students at UIndy.”
Senior Director of Annual Giving Lora Teliha said she was also in charge of planning the event. UIndy TV was tasked to create the video for the day, according to Teliha, and it shows how gifts and donations are used on campus. In addition to this, they also planned a happy hour event for the alumni that will be downtown. According to Teliha, UIndy Day is a vital part of creating an alliance between UIndy’s past and present.
Teliha said UIndy Day is an essential part in creating a culture of generosity. She said it helps for all people, past and present, involved in UIndy to have a chance to unite and come together. People get to show their pride in the school and what they love about UIndy, Teliha said, to show why it is important to support UIndy students both now and in the future. According to Teliha said she has been working closely with UIndy television to create content to help promote the day.
“We are working with UIndy TV to create the video for the day that shows how gifts are used on campus,” Teliha said. “We are working together to design emails and social media posts that are available to alumni.”
Teliha says the organization encourages students to show support by using #UIndyDay on their social channels and wearing their UIndy gear. If students are interested in signing up to participate in the fashion show, Teliha said they can reach out to the Office of Student Affairs. Brown said the goal of the two events is to provide students with multiple avenues to show their support no matter what their level of engagement might be.
“I always tell students ‘You really go to an amazing school with so many unique and amazing opportunities,’” Brown said. “We should have a day to celebrate that. It’s out there and celebrating, [that], ‘I’m a UIndy Greyhound. Here’s what that means to me. Here’s why I love this place.’”
