Taking aerial photographs of a giant UB logo comprised entirely of students has become an Opening Weekend tradition. It was recreated for a third year this past weekend, with nearly a thousand students dressed in blue and white on the football field.
According to Jennifer Wantz, assistant director of student affairs, few other schools have attempted an aerial photo using students to form an image of their school's logo.
"It's no small expense, but it's totally worth it," said Wantz, explaining that the project probably cost about $10 per participant.
Preparations began months before the actual photo was taken. A helicopter was rented to take the aerial photo, T-shirts were ordered for every student on the field and a giant LCD screen was rented. The symbol is drawn on the field behind Clemens Hall the Wednesday before Opening Weekend.
"I just thought it would be fun," Wantz said.
The UB photo rose from humble beginnings to become a huge draw during Opening Weekend. At its introduction, there were 390 participants. The following year the number of students almost doubled to a staggering 760 participants. This year the expansion continued, with an estimated 806 people turning out for the photo.
The first photo featured the UB logo outlined in blue. After the unexpected turnout, the Student Life staff upped the ante the following year. With increased participation, the team at Student Life was able to fill in the blue outline with a white interior. For their third year, the Student Life staff decided that for optimal results, they would try making individual dots where they thought that each person should stand.
"The entire staff decided to use individual dots to fill it in better," said Jennifer Hitchcock, student activities associate.
Other new features for the interlocking UB photo included e-mail cards that were handed out with the t-shirts to give students a way to receive a copy of the picture in their inbox. Wantz said that she would still accept e-mail requests for the image.
The newest incarnation of the photo was made up of the traditional UB colors, with letters outlined in white and filled in with blue.
The iconic image has made great progression since its infancy.
"The interlocking UB photo will continue into the future and with the support of the students and their families. It will become another tradition here at UB," Hitchcock said.
Wantz's ultimate goal for the interlocking UB photo would feature the fully outlined UB insignia. To accomplish this goal she estimates they would need 2,400 to 2,500 participants.
Traditionally the photo is taken the Friday after freshmen students are encouraged to move in, and contains mostly freshman participants. Wantz said that there is, however, a possibility of doing a different large-scale aerial photo for upperclassmen, if a unique concept is developed.
To keep the image fresh, Wantz plans on throwing in personalized touches that will help distinguish from year to year.
This year, many people were surprised to see within the formation of the UB symbol, the phrase "We (heart)" in red. This addition came courtesy of Andrea Costantino, Director of Student Life.
According to Wantz, the photo not only serves as a great marketing tool, but as a way to bring students together.
"It gives students a (large-scale) team building activity," Wantz said, "and it shows that so many people working together can accomplish one thing."
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
