Beginning in May 2005, wishes will grow on trees - or so it will appear to visitors to Syracuse University's Orange Grove, who will see the results of the winning entry in the SU Alumni Association's recent Create a Tradition Competition. The new tradition, created by two graduating SU seniors, tells future seniors that those who tie an orange ribbon (representing a wish) in the Orange Grove during the week before Commencement will have their wish come true.
According to winners Courtney Bell '04 and Betsy Sherwood '04, the color orange represents the sunrise and accompanying hopes for a golden future. It is the winners' hope that the "golden futures" of the alumni honored in the Grove might inspire seniors' new wishes to come true.
The spring timing is also symbolic of seniors' transition from students to alumni. To kick off the tradition, the Office of Alumni Relations will give each graduating senior an orange ribbon at cap and gown distribution next spring. Also, the Alumni Association Board of Directors will install custom wrought iron tree guards on which the ribbons can be tied - giving students a place to leave their wishes, while preserving the Orange Grove trees for future generations.
The Create a Tradition Competition contest invited students, parents, alumni and friends of SU to integrate the Orange Grove into campus lore by creating a new tradition associated with the area. The contest also stemmed from students' desire to see more Orange tradition on campus. As a reward for developing the winning tradition, Bell and Sherwood will receive their own 3-line paver in the Orange Grove and a $100 gift certificate for the SU Bookstore.
Says Joanne Alper, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, "We are thrilled to launch a new tradition that will enrich the University experience for our students. That the winning entry came from students themselves gives us confidence that the student body will embrace this as well."
The Orange Grove was dedicated during Homecoming Weekend 2003. For more information on reserving an inscribed paver in the Orange Grove, call the Office of Alumni Relations at (800) 782-5867 or (315) 443-3258, or visit http://orangegrove.syr.edu. For information about the Create a Tradition Competition, call Tina Casella, associate director of Alumni Relations, at (315) 443-9202.
