This past Friday not only marked the start of GW’s annual Colonials Weekend, but also the annual basketball preseason kickoff known as Colonials Invasion. The event proved an overall success, an indication of just how spirited GW students can be despite the oft-mentioned lack of unity.
The quality of Colonials Invasion was the primary reason for the positive response to the event. The night featured an impressive performance by Capital Funk, choreographed dances by members of the basketball teams, a performance by the Chicago Bucket Boys percussion quartet and even University President Steven Knapp jumping on the drums with GW’s Colonial Brass. This effort by the GW Spirit Program was very successful in making GW students and guests feel part of the GW community.
Attendance can be a major challenge for University events held on Friday nights. Planning Colonials Invasion on Colonials Weekend was a positive move because it provided a family-friendly event on the one weekend of the school year students tend to actively seek out such programming. The inclusion of parents into Colonials Invasion builds connections with parents and gives students whose parents do not visit a place to go on the usually low-key weekend.
The event was indeed flawed by a power outage, during which audience members were unable to hear music and introductions to the women’s basketball team. But these technical difficulties only slightly detracted from the success of the night.
Colonials Invasion 2009, with its entertaining show and effective scheduling, was an overall success. This type of programming and student involvement are necessary for promoting unity and school spirit at GW. The strong student response to Friday’s rally is a promising sign that the Spirit Program’s efforts and general calls for school unity are not lost on the GW student body. At some point, it will be up to the individual students of GW to promote spirit. Colonials Invasion 2009 is a good example of how that can happen.
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