Not too long ago, a friend and I went on a little excursion into the city of Rochester. Originally planning on going to the Little Theatre, our plans quickly fell through when we missed our movie. Determined not to give up on the night, we explored and decided to see what surprises may befall us. We began our night at a local museum and then shuffled into a nearby sushi restaurant. While walking through the door, I noticed a big, fat “RED” sticker on the door.
The Rochester Every Day Program, launched in 2003, was originally created to draw stronger ties between UR and the city of Rochester. Since its conception, it has grown to include over 150 businesses, including my favorite, the House of Sushi on East Avenue.
Just browsing through the RED Web site reveals an entire world of options – restaurants, boutiques, spas, clubs, theatres and even N’Vasion Paintball.
With two of its original creators, seniors Emily Josephson and Pia Weston, the RED program has really taken off. This year in particular is opening big doors for the program.
As more businesses throughout downtown Rochester have joined, the RED program shows that it is continually growing. “Thanks to the new Web site, new bus routes and constant addition of businesses, we are confident that the program will continue to grow and succeed,” Weston said.
The future is limitless for this program. Most recently, a promotional deal with Coca-cola is being worked out. “Our hope for the future is to use Flex at RED businesses,” Josephson said. “One of the Aramark executives is interested in getting that rolling.”
The RED stickers are not the only ones clinging to our student ID cards, though. Seniors get to sport the “Class of 2005” stickers. And Greeks, well they get something too.
The senior class stickers are in their third year here at UR. Although each senior class council decides whether or not they would like to implement the stickers, thus far every council has opted for them.
These stickers, unlike the RED stickers, are used merely to identify the senior class from other members of the campus. Rendering themselves most helpful during senior week, it insures that seniors get their tickets to all senior week events.
“[These stickers] have had a positive impact and really eased along the ticket process for seniors,” Associate Director of Wilson Commons Laura Ballou said. “They have really increased class unity and have given seniors a sense of class pride.”
Not to be left out of the sticker craze, Greeks on campus have stickers now, too. These stickers, however, serve little purpose outside of uniting the Greek community.
Ordered before Monica Smalls’ arrival in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs in 1999, these stickers have been sitting in her office for quite some time.
“The stickers are really just for fun,” Smalls said. “I have been using them as seals for envelopes and thank-you notes for a while.”
With these three stickers stuck on our identification cards, it is impossible to deny the current sticker craze.
Whether you are an Eastman student, a senior, a Greek or all three, there is a sticker for you.
Ricketts can be reached at aricketts@campustimes.org.
