A-Day marks 101 years of serving the community

                    A-Day, a 101-year-old tradition, is a chance for students to celebrate spring while they serve the campus and community, said Scott Olson, adviser for A-day.
    “This A-Day is for current students,” Olson said. “We held an A-Day for freshmen a couple weeks ago, but this event is targeted to the students to help promote service for their school and community.”
    Ryan Gudmundson, a student involved with the Student Alumni Association, a group that sponsors the event, said it benefits students to participate in A-Week.
    “Students benefit by participating in these activities in lots of ways. They can serve others in the community and on campus, and it is a great way to socialize and meet new people,” Gudmundson said. “They can take part in a tradition that has been around for over a hundred years at Utah State, and they can get involved with the university and different clubs on campus.”
    Originally, A-Day began as a day when students and faculty would prepare campus for all the visitors attending commencement, Olson said. Decades ago, classes were canceled on A-Day so everyone could participate. Since the school has professional groundskeepers now, it is a chance for students to find service opportunities while keeping the traditional aspects of A-Day.
    A-Day has turned into A-Week and has activities like Game Night on the Quad, Midnight 5k Run and Operation Smile benefit concert. Friday, however, is the day for the main activities. There will be music, food and booths on the Quad from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The booths will be occupied by campus clubs and organizations, as well as various businesses from the community, Olson said. There is a True Aggie Night Dance on the Quad at 10:30 p.m., and students can become a True Aggie at midnight. Saturday finishes off the week by having an Aggie Service Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
    Gudmundson said his favorite part of A-Week is Friday, out on the Quad. He said he enjoys being out in the nice weather, hanging out and enjoying all the activities.
    “They usually have fun activities to participate in all day, like bounce houses, obstacle courses and slides,” Gudmundson said.
    “I think that A-Week has been a great chance to do service, unite all the different organizations on campus and create traditions and memories of campus life,” Gudmundson said.
    He also enjoys the Friday night dance that can lead to potentially becoming a True Aggie with someone. He said a lot of people kiss on the A and there are always “great turnouts” at these events.
    Erin Fleming, an A-Day committee member, said her favorite part is running the 5k at midnight and the “awesome True Aggie night dance.” She also agrees that participating in A-Week is a college experience everyone should have.
    “College life is all about being involved, having fun and meeting people,” Fleming said. “A-Day events give you all of those things. Don’t graduate without tons of memories of all of the things you got to do while in school.”
– megan.b@aggiemail.usu.edu