Auburn students across campus have heard or seen the Creed at some point in their college careers with it sprinkled throughout campus and present in everything the Auburn Family does. As a way to honor it, SGA decided to host Creed Week this past week.
George Petrie wrote the Auburn Creed in 1943 and captured the ideals of all Auburn students. Carlone Matthews, director of Creed Week for the 2017-2018 term and assistant vice president of programs for the 2018-2019 term, said SGA is trying to celebrate its importance to Auburn through their second annual Creed Week.
“Really, the main thing that we focused on this year was trying to turn it into something that people want to celebrate year to year, something they can start to recognize,” Mathews said.
Patrick Starr, assistant vice president of programs for the 2017-2018 term and executive vice president of programs for the 2018-2019 term, said they are taking the best parts of all the programs seen throughout the past year and trying to incorporate them into the Creed Week.
Two years ago, during Starr’s first term in SGA during his freshman year, SGA began creating Creed Week, and Starr was able to assist in the process. Starr and other SGA members determined each line of the Creed was too important to just have one day for the whole thing, so the event was determined to be a week long.
“We decided to split it up,” Starr said. “We followed that pattern this year. We have one, to two, to three lines per day to emphasize to the student body. I think that was just a high point from last year that this team saw.”
The Office of Student Conduct gave SGA the idea for Creed Week and over the last two years, it has blossomed into an event Mathews and Starr hope will be celebrated each year.
“The Office of Student Conduct has the ‘Be the Creed’ campaign, where they encourage all students to live the Creed and that just promotes a great atmosphere on campus,” Starr said. “The first year we took that and that was our branding. Then we wanted it to be a week and so this year we just said Creed Week instead of Be the Creed Week.”
Mathews and Starr, along with the rest of their team, decided to break up the Creed and celebrate two lines a day for the five days of the week. On Monday, the first day, they focused on the first two lines about hard work and education, Mathews said.
“We had scantrons, we had coffee, we had doughnuts all for free on the concourse that we were handing out to promote education,” Mathews said. “And then we also had cards where you could write a letter to your favorite professor so that you could show them how they had made an impact on your time here at Auburn.”
The second day, Tuesday, they focused on the lines of honesty and truthfulness and a sound mind and body. Mathews and her team had bubble wrap on the concourse so students could pop it to “pop away their problems,” Mathews said.
SGA partnered with The Auburn University Recreation and Wellness Center to offer a free group fitness class, Bolly X, and handed out vouchers for free hot dogs at the baseball game that night.
“Wednesday was our day where it was a big party on the Campus Green,” Mathews said. “We had the camels and all that. The camels went along with the human touch. We had a whole petting zoo so people could practice their human touch using animals.”
Mathew and Starr, along with the rest of their team, were able to use Starr’s access through his petting zoo business to put together a petting zoo on the Green Space for students.
The other line for that day focused on obedience to law so they had police officers, firefighters and campus safety officials on the Green Space talking with students and sharing tools from their professions, Mathews said.
Thursday’s line was the line including “I believe in my country.” SGA was on the concourse handing out flags that students then planted on Cater Lawn. That night, SGA sponsored a speaker, ret. Maj. Brian Jenson, on Samford Lawn as well as the “Be the Creed” honoree reception, Mathews said.
The final day, Friday, celebrated the final line of the Creed, “And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.”
SGA hosted a tailgate on Samford Lawn where they offered everything from free food to face time with Aubie and the eagles. Everyone enjoyed their time at the tailgate as well as during the other events throughout the week, Mathews said.
“The Auburn Creed affects every member of the Auburn Family,” Starr said. “I think it promotes an inclusive atmosphere on this campus.”
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