As we commence another academic year, it is not just another year on the Hill. The College is celebrating its bicentennial during the 2012-13 academic year, with a years worth of planned events to commemorate its founding on February 27, 1813. With a website to keep the Colby community up to date on events, students will have the opportunity to become involved in the celebration of the College’s long and distinguished history.
While the bicentennial calendar features a couple of events in early October, October 19 marks the official launch of the bicentennial, on which day there will be celebratory events on campus and in the Waterville area. The calendar, accessible on the website created specifically for the bicentennial, provides information on bicentennial events happening from then on a weekly basis.
Other features of the bicentennial website include a timeline and history of the College, including facts such as the original cost of land for the campus alongside the Kennebec River, $ 4,000; the name of Colby’s first graduate, George Dana Boardman; and the year the first Greek-letter fraternity was established, 1846. Additional facts are that Colby was the first college to assign e-mail addresses to students in 1983 and that in the past, our school was referred to as Colby University. Check out the history section of the bicentennial website for a great collection of Colby’s history—who knows what else you will discover!
The website also features written stories and audio documentaries from 1940s alumni to recent graduates and a large selection of historical photos (don’t miss the photo of Colby’s first baseball team). There is even a quiz on Colby history—participation means eligibility to win an iPad and other bicentennial prizes. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the bicentennial logo, which features an early Colby seal from the nineteenth century.
Other than incredible lectures, a sweepstakes, occasional parties and access to an assortment of Colby’s history, what else does it mean to be a student at Colby during its bicentennial celebration year? It means that as students, we are able to celebrate being part of an institution and community that has been around for longer than eight times our lifetimes. It means that we get to hear from alumni, who are proud to have gone through the same experiences we are going through each day, and it means that we have a specific chance to appreciate the place that we are able to call home for four years. And if nothing else, it means that we have the opportunity to dress to impress during the bicentennial ball, which takes place during the launch on October 19!